Pedri has been handed the number eight shirt at Barcelona, which was left vacant by Dani Alves departure.
Spain sensation Pedri had been wearing the number 16 since his signing from Las Palmas in 2020.
But the opportunity to take on a shirt notably worn by World Cup winner Andres Iniesta has presented itself this close-season.
Since the great Iniesta left Barca in 2018, the number had been worn by Arthur and Miralem Pjanic in unsuccessful stints, before the returning Alves – number two in his first spell at Camp Nou – took it on last season.
Alves has now left as a free agent, at 39, and the Blaugrana revealed Pedri s new number on social media on Friday.
A new era begins. Pedri .
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
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Stefano Pioli has urged his Milan players to mark the club s 120th anniversary celebrations with a victory against Sassuolo on Sunday.
Previous Rossoneri stars will be in attendance at San Siro as Milan, who have won Serie A 18 times and the Champions League or European Cup on seven occasions, remember their fine history.
The glory days appear an awfully long time ago given Milan started this round of fixtures 10th in the table with a return of 20 points from 15 games.
Pioli s side have recorded back-to-back victories, though, and the head coach wants to make that three in a row on a special day for Milan.
Tomorrow s celebrations are just a reminder to the players that this is not just any club, Pioli told a news conference.
Tomorrow s game is v…
Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Inter Milan central defender Stefan de Vrij, according to . The report in the Italian news outlet has claimed that De Vrij is out of contract at former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners Inter at the end of the season, and that Spurs head coach Antonio Conte wants to bring him to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Inter have made an offer to De Vrij and want him to stay at the club beyond the end of the season. The Italian giants want to keep the 30-year-old central defender for a further two years and are willing to pay him €4 million per season. The Netherlands international is yet to respond.
Tottenham head coach Conte worked with De Vrij at Inter, and they won the Serie A title together in 2020-21. Spurs are aiming to fin…
Chelsea will offer Antonio Rudiger a new contract amid interest from Tottenham Hotspur, according to . It has been reported that Tottenham have been keeping tabs on the Germany international central defender, who is out of contract at Chelsea at the end of next season.
However, Chelsea do not plan to sell the 28-year-old central defender this summer. Instead, according to the report, the newly-crowned European champions plan to offer Rudiger a huge new contract. Talks will open in the coming weeks, and Tottenham have decided to end their pursuit of the former AS Roma star.
Rudiger has been on the books of Chelsea since 2017. The Germany international has not always been a regular, but he has been a big figure in the team under Thomas Tuchel and helped the Blues win the …
Istanbul Basaksehir celebrated their first Super Lig title with a 1-0 win over Kayserispor, ending the stranglehold of Turkey s big three.
Defending champions Galatasaray, Fenerbahce and Besiktas have dominated Turkish football – the three Istanbul giants winning
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54 league trophies between them.
But the powerhouse trio were unable to compete with fellow Istanbul outfit Basaksehir this season.
Basaksehir – formed in 1990 – became just the sixth club to win the Super Lig since the league s inception in 1959 thanks to Sunday s victory and second-placed Trabzonspor s 4-3 loss to Konyaspor.
ŞAMP1YON MEDİPOL BAŞAKŞEHİR
— İstanbul Başakşehir #TürkiyeninYeniŞampiyonu (@ibfk2014)
Boasting the likes o…
Prediction: Draw
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After months away, the UEFA Champions League is back. Football fans around the globe flock to this competition and see it, in many ways, as the pinnacle of club football across the world. We re now down to the last 16 teams with everyone eyeing up a spot in the final, including Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, who will run back their encounter in the 2020 showpiece over the course of two legs.
Paris Saint-Germain
While they ve enjoyed a great deal of domestic success in recent times, Paris Saint-Germain still haven t been able to enjoy the kind of European dominance they set out to have when their investment period really began under new owners. They ve gotten close, but they have yet to lift that famous…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s hat-trick led Arsenal to their first win of the new season as West Brom were thrashed 6-0 in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
The Gunners have endured a difficult start to the Premier League campaign, losing to Brentford and Chelsea in succession and increasing pressure on Mikel Arteta.
But the Arsenal manager was rewarded for naming a strong XI at the Hawthorns, where West Brom changed their entire line-up.
Aubameyang scored twice and created a third for Nicolas Pepe in the first half, then completed his treble in style either side of strikes from Bukayo Saka and Alexandre Lacazette after the restart.
West Brom enjoyed flurries early in either half but were largely on the back foot and trailed when Saka s shot was spilled at the feet…
AC Milan are preparing a move for Celtic s Kristoffer Ajer, according to Sky in Italy.
The young centre-back came through the youth ranks at Lillestrom SK, before moving to IK Start in the top tier of his homeland in 2014. Two years later, he made his move to Scotland to join Celtic, and he spent the second half of 2016/17 on loan at Kilmarnock. Last season, he made a total of 49 appearances for the Scottish champions in all competition and has already added seven more this term, scoring and assisting once apiece. At the age of 22, he has 16 international caps for Norway.
Ajer s representatives asked Celtic for a valuation of his services last month, as they seek to secure a move elsewhere. Milan have been considering a swoop all summer with head coach Stefano Pioli kee…
Wales manager Rob Page has promised to “ignore the noise” amid reports that his job could be in jeopardy.
It was reported on Saturday morning – little more than 24 hours before Wales’ vital Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia in Cardiff – that Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney had wanted former Sunderland and Ipswich manager and TV pundit Roy Keane to replace Page following June defeats to Armenia and Turkey.
Page signed a four-year deal in September 2022, but Mooney confirmed this week that the manager’s position would be reviewed next month if Wales did not qualify for Euro 2024 automatically.
Wales are currently fourth in Group D and need to win their final three games against Croatia, Armenia and Turkey to realistically sec…
Best Odds: 4/11
Bookmaker:
Hoping to get their Group H adventure off to a flying start on Thursday night, Denmark will welcome Finland to Copenhagen.
Denmark
Starting with the hosts, suffering a World Cup nightmare out in Qatar over the winter, Denmark open their Europan qualifying campaign seeking a much-needed boost. Eventually failing to punch their knockout stage ticket in the Middle East and claiming just a single point from their three Group D appearances, Kasper Hjulmand s men have shown a string of issues over the past nine months. Signing off their woeful World Cup adventure with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Australia, the Danes have won just a pair of their last seven matchups across all competitions a run that stems back to June 6th. Likewise, missing …