Truth revealed over Raheem Sterling's potential switch to Arsenal in Man City's Sanchez deal
The 22-year-old had been linked with a move to the Gunners
It had appeared to be one of the potential shock deals of the summer transfer window when Raheem Sterling was linked with a switch from Man City to Arsenal.
The 22-year-old had been reportedly set to be part of a deal to get Alexis Sanchez up to the Etihad Stadium, which included some cash into the mix as well.
However, The Mirror* have revealed that the England international was never part of any deal lined up and that City were furious that the link had ever even been made.
City's sporting director Txiki Begiristain reportedly called Sterling immediately to tell him that he remains a key player in Pep Guardiola's long-term plans.
Sanchez was keen on a move to City this summer, however the deal never materialised and the Chilean will remain with the Gunners until at least his contract runs out next summer.
Wenger says Arsenal were never even close to selling Alexis Sanchez to Man City
However, Wenger revealed that the move for Sanchez to go to City was not close and that the Gunners never intended to let their star man leave for their Premier League rivals
* Guess which paper first printed the Sterling exchange 'story' as fact ...
Sergio Agüero has been left feeling like a second-class Citizen
Pep Guardiola’s treatment of the still prolific striker, who is closing in on the Manchester City scoring record, has been mystifying
It isn’t easy sometimes understanding why Pep Guardiola gives the impression that he is never fully satisfied with Sergio Agüero, and it is even more perplexing when we cannot be too far away from the Argentinian going into the record books as the most prolific scorer in Manchester City’s history.
As it stands, Agüero’s 170 goals in their colours leave him seven short of the highest total and, to put it into context, it took the record holder, Eric Brook, 11 years to accumulate that number, from 1928 to 1939. Agüero is just starting his seventh season in Manchester and is almost there already.
Even last season, when we were repeatedly told he was having a bad year, it was difficult to follow the logic. A bad year? Agüero managed 33 goals in all the different competitions, more than any other player in England with the exception of Harry Kane. It was one hell of a bad year.
There is no getting away from the fact, however, that at the same time Agüero is chasing down that 177-goal target his mind must be filled with a little self-doubt on the back of the club’s attempts to sign Alexis Sánchez – an upgrade, in the eyes of Guardiola – and the questions it leaves regarding his own position.
Not just when it comes to City, either. Agüero, the scorer of 33 goals in 82 caps for Argentina, did not play a single minute of his country’s goalless draw against Uruguay in the early hours of Friday. Even when his team were searching for a late winner, the Argentina coach, Jorge Sampaoli, decided he could get by without the City striker.
Yet the fact Agüero was even on the bench was actually progress, of sorts, bearing in mind Argentina’s games in June against Brazil and Singapore. Sampaoli, a few weeks into the job, left Agüero out of the entire squad and it might surprise you how uncontroversial that decision was. When the Argentinian sports daily Olé ran a poll in March asking which players should be dropped, 80,000 readers responded: Agüero had 86% of the vote.
Agüero, in other words, is going through a difficult and challenging period, for club and country. The two go hand in hand and this is why nobody should just pass off the latest stories about his discontent in Manchester as assumptions and hearsay on the back of City’s attempts to bring in another elite forward.
On the contrary, it has been apparent for some time that the relationship has been strained and that it predates the move for Sánchez. There is no warmth, little chemistry, not a lot of interaction. Agüero is no longer a mandatory pick and that, in turn, is threatening to have repercussions on his international career. The word in Argentina – where they are not exactly short of front players – is that nobody should just assume he will automatically be picked if or when the albiceleste get to the World Cup.
Amid all that nonsense with the steward at Bournemouth last weekend, the more relevant detail was that Agüero was left out of City’s starting lineup to accommodate Gabriel Jesus (just as he was last season). Agüero then headed off for international duty and when he returns to Manchester this coming week it will be in the knowledge that, if Arsenal had not dug in their heels, Sánchez could conceivably have supplanted him in the team to face Liverpool on Saturday. Of course Agüero is going to be wondering what all this means. Of course there are going to be moments of insecurity. Which footballer in that position would not feel that way?
If you find it all rather confusing, then join the club. Agüero was still the first player Zlatan Ibrahimovic mentioned – apart from himself, naturally – when he was asked recently to identify the best striker in the Premier League. Nobody has scored more goals for City in less time, or done more to elevate the club to a new level. He is still only 29, the age when many strikers reach their top level, and it is easy to understand if he feels bruised when the previous City manager, Manuel Pellegrini, treated him so differently.
The Chilean used to talk about Agüero being third on the list of modern football greats, outperformed by only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and even if he was applying a little top-spin you knew why he was saying it: fluffing up the player’s ego, playing on the fact that all footballers, but strikers in particular, tend to do better when they are high on confidence.
Guardiola has taken a different approach entirely and it has been obvious ever since he replaced Pellegrini that the new manager did not care greatly if the players he disappointed were the ones with the greatest presence and personality.
Agüero scored 11 times in his first six games for the Catalan. Sure, there were compliments from Guardiola but, equally, there were follow-up remarks that stopped you in your tracks. What an important player, Guardiola would say, then a few sentences later there would be a line that felt puzzling and incongruous when it was unprecedented to hear a City manager, even one as forthright as Roberto Mancini, question Agüero’s contribution.
Even when Guardiola was invited to praise his player it was never articulated with the warmth that would be evident later on in his eulogies about Jesus or some of his other signings. To begin with, it wasn’t something you would necessarily pick up on. Then, after a while, it stood out like a sore thumb.
Is Agüero still the same player? Maybe not quite, but if there has been a slight deterioration it is only in the tiniest of fractions and the manager must take a degree of culpability, too. Guardiola’s demands that a 30-goals-a-season player change his style of play might form part of a tactical masterplan. It has also jarred the player’s confidence and created a situation where Agüero feels unfairly maligned, where he has started to feel sorry for himself and has been snatching at some of the chances he would ordinarily have been expected to put away. However it is dressed up, it is difficult to think of it as good man‑management
Where all this leads is not so clear but a player of his standing would be within his rights to contemplate leaving in January, especially if there is an attempt to resurrect the failed deal for Sánchez. Until then, however, Agüero doesn’t really have a great deal of choice, this being a World Cup year, other than trying to prove his manager wrong.
He is more than capable of doing it. Yet it is also easier said than done sometimes when a player, especially a star player, feels unappreciated by his manager and, in fairness to Agüero, he is not alone when it comes to thinking his manager should cut him some slack. Jesus has bags of potential, undoubtedly. For now, however, there are not many people at City who would agree that the Brazilian is the superior player. Not yet, anyway.
The harsh reality for Agüero, however, is that if it were not for Jesus breaking a metatarsal at Bournemouth in February then it is more than likely the younger man would have finished that season as the team’s principal striker. Sánchez was seen by City as another central attacker. Jesus, already established as one of Guardiola’s favourites, occupies the same role and, at most, there is space for only two players in that position. Agüero, City’s record scorer in waiting, could be forgiven for wondering where he was supposed to fit in.
GOLDEN BOLLOX 3-9-1892
The first league match at Hyde Road ends in a 7-0 win for Ardwick against Bootle. Both sides had met previously in the Alliance League, but this was the first taste of League football for both sides. In a parallel with the first League game that will be played at Maine Road 31 years later, the first penalty taken is missed as Ardwick captain Dave Russell places the ball straight into the keeper’s hands.
Man City captain vows to remain in the game after retirement
IF it was not for the accent, you would swear Vincent Kompany was a fully paid-up Manc.
Vincent Kompany joined Manchester City in 2008 from Hamburg for £6m
The big Belgian has Blue blood coursing through his veins and fell in love with Manchester City from the moment he first walked through The Etihad players’ entrance nine years ago.
Kompany cost a bargain £6million from Hamburg back then and went on to win two Premier League titles, the FA Cup and two League Cups as one of the most successful skippers in the club’s history.
And when he met lifelong City supporter Carla Higgs, married her and had two junior Blues there was never any doubt where his allegiances lay.
So with just two years left on his current contract, at 31, the big question is where does Kompany go from here?
The answer is simple. Nowhere.
“It’s 100 per cent certain that I will remain in the game”
The centre-half is determined to enjoy the next 24 months – hopefully adding even more silverware to his already sizeable collection – and then he will devote his long-term future to the game he cherishes with a passion.
He said: “I don’t know where I will be in football when I finish but it’s 100 per cent certain that I will remain in the game.
“It’s my passion. It’s like you studying to be a doctor and you saying, “I’ve done all the exams and I’m 32 now – but I’m not going
to be a doctor’.
“I have played and lived this game since I was six so I don’t see why I should throw all that experience away all of a sudden.
“I have good contact with the younger people here and I just love getting across my experience and how I see certain things.
“I have learned from the best – from their mistakes as well as my own – and hopefully I will be better because of that.
“I have given myself the obligation to not think about anything regarding contracts until my deal is up.
“I’m really easy in my relationship with the club. It’s that good there won’t be any panic on their side or my side.
“Let’s get the most out of these two years with City and at international level and then see where we are at – with no stress.”
Kompany has enjoyed all the ups and been frustrated by the downs, as injury set-backs threatened to curtail his glittering career at the club.
But he has fought back from adversity and will do all he can to help City to more honours over the next two years, while learning from the master himself, Pep Guardiola.
Kompany’s eyes open wider when he talks about City’s Catalan coach, who during the international break was busy working out how to stop the Liverpool juggernaut in its tracks when the two sides meet this Saturday lunchtime.
He added: “It’s very clear to me that his No.1 quality is that he sees the technical and tactical aspect of a game really fast – which is not something you can learn or teach. I do think that improves with experience.
“There are times in a game when you are trying to figure out what is going on, especially with players you don’t know. But he has this thing where he can break down a game pretty quickly, the way he transmits the message to solve the issue.
“It’s not about genius in that case it’s about having the skill to put the message across in a way the team understands. I think his previous teams at Barcelona and Bayern Munich have been successful because of that.”
Looking back, Kompany has come a long way from when he arrived aged 22 and a virtual unknown. And he is determined to be remembered for lifting even more
trophies before those golden boots are finally hung up.
Kompany said: “I’ve been lucky enough to be at a club that has grown as my career has developed.
“We have won the title twice and if you put everything into perspective, it’s an incredible achievement.
“We had to catch up on 25 years of dominance by another team, not just with regard to football but financial dominance. We had to scramble and fight together to get that first one.
“Then we got a second one to confirm things and since then we have been in the mix.
“Now, there’s a chance to be more dominant and have a season where we win most games and have a huge tally of points.”
GOLDEN BOLLOX 3-9-1894
City play out a 1-1 draw with Burton Wanderers in their first home game under the club’s new Manchester City name, having previously been named Ardwick FC. The Blues wanted to use the game to show that they were a different entity to Ardwick, with a different outlook. The draw reassured some of the support but the 4-1 home win over Burslem Port Vale just five days later acted as the catalyst for increased interest. MCFC had well and truly arrived
LIONEL MESSI
Lionel Messi will not renew his Barcelona contract and will become a free agent next summer, according to Onda Cero.
The Argentine has agreed to sign a new four year deal at the Camp Nou, but has still not put pen to paper.
Barcelona have maintained that Messi will stay, but following Neymar’s world record move to PSG, the possibility of a club paying his bumper €300 million buyout clause seems realistic.
With no contract signed, the 29-year-old has been linked strongly with a move to the Etihad Stadium in 2018, due to his close relationship with Pep Guardiola and director of football Txiki Begiristain.
Messi may have stalled a new Barcelona contract but he is expected to stay at the Camp Nou beyond next summer.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is understandably in no rush to sort out a new deal and will bide his time until a much improved offer comes along, despite strong links to Manchester
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger makes bizarre claim about Alexis Sanchez's Man City move
[*]The proposed transfer of Alexis Sanchez between Arsenal and Manchester City fell through on deadline day.
The Arsenal manager's claim comes as he insists the Chile striker will be '100 per cent' committed at the Emirates despite his move to City breaking down at the 11th hour .
And Wenger's insistence that it was a long way from happening is sure to raise eyebrows with City bosses who felt they were very close to getting their man.
Arsenal accepted a £55million bid on deadline day with the proviso they could bring in a replacement.
Their last-gasp effort to land Monaco's Thomas Lemar fell through, despite a £92m bid being accepted - though whether a deal of such magnitude, for a player who was away on international duty, was ever going to go through in the final hours of the window is debatable.
The upshot was City were denied a player Arsenal knew they had wanted for four months, yet Wenger told beIN Sports: "It was not very close.
"It's very difficult for me to speak about that because what I want now is the player to focus on his career, on his season and on Arsenal football club.
"I cannot tell you everything that happened because after when you decide to let a player of that calibre go you need to replace him, because nobody would understand why you let the player go.
"And when you cannot do it you keep the player and make a financial sacrifice, because at the end of the day what you want is to have a team with a good potential and top quality.
"So that means Alexis Sanchez will go, like Mesut Ozil, in the final year of his contract, or you think that during the season you find a way to extend the contract, or at the end of the season the player goes for free."
City will resurrect their pursuit when Sanchez becomes a free agent next summer.
And the Blues could yet launch a fresh bid in January - but their preference is to wait until the end of the season when his contract at the Emirates expires.
Wenger - who never wanted to lose Sanchez - believes the player will be committed for the remainder of his time at Arsenal, despite being said to be angered by the outcome
"100 per cent. I have no doubt about that," said the Gunners boss.
"I spoke before about integrity and values, and I always think first: make sure my commitment is at the level that it is expected from people who pay me and have confidence in me, and I think on the player's side it is exactly the same."
Manchester City: Bring Back The Inflatable Bananas
The inflatables craze that swept across the nation’s terraces in the late eighties originated at Manchester City and remains entirely synonymous with the club. Rightfully, Blues derive a fair amount of pride from this even if it’s accompanied by bashfulness from some, like recalling a drunken evening singing Bee Gees songs on karaoke way back when. Yet to my mind any diffidence is misplaced: it was funny, fun and surreal, especially given the climate of the era that saw every supporter viewed as a hooligan by a government intent on making going to the game a dystopian experience.
To those unfamiliar with the inflatables fad some back-story might be necessary but first, if you’d indulge me, a little personal input.
I have twice asked a policeman for directions at an away game. The first occasion the copper in question shoved my brother forcefully to the ground into a muddy puddle for having the temerity to be really nice and polite to him. A year later we were both armed with four foot inflatable bananas. The reaction of City fans to Thatcher’s Britain was a Banksy mural come to life.
In 1987 a City fan named Frank Newton took a plastic banana to a game for a bet and waving it aloft – complete with hat, shirt and felt-tipped face – prompted the Kippax to urge for ‘Imre Banana’ to come on as a sub instead of the striker Imre Varadi who was sitting frustrated on the bench. Soon after ‘Imre’ had many yellow comrades all waved in unison at games and a daft and brilliant phenomenon was born.
It was a phenomenon that later spread to most other grounds with thousands of inflatable haddocks being brandished at Grimsby, black puddings at Bury and Hammers at, well, take a guess. But it was at away games where the craze really took flight.
Two awaydays in particular will forever be cherished by Blues who were present.
During the first half of a midweek game at West Brom in 1988 a six foot Frankenstein emerged from the sea of yellow plastic and was duly greeted with his signature ‘Frankie’ chant. But then, to his left, an equally imposing Godzilla materialised. Nobody was expecting that. For a good while a scrap took place between the large mythical creatures until the Ray Harryhausen flick on acid took an even stranger turn when a huge blow-up fried egg joined the fray. People forgot there was a match on.
Three months later 13,000 Blues turned up at Stoke’s Victoria Ground on Boxing Day most bedecked in fancy dress, all carrying a bizarre assortment of inflatable paraphernalia. Should anyone have inadvertently left theirs at home, the team ran onto the pitch each carrying a banana which they distributed into the throng. One of the players that day, Paul Lake, later told me the whole club buzzed off the craze and he’d been in hysterics en route to the game as the team bus overtook a car on the motorway that was towing a trailer carrying an inflatable paddling pool. In the pool was a fan drinking a beer.
At the risk of going all Jerry Maguire, we live in a cynical age and its easy now to scoff at the childishness of taking children’s toys to football matches. But it is important to remember the context of the times in which the mania grew. Newspapers referred to supporters as ‘slum people’ while the authorities both within the game and out didn’t even bother attempting to conceal their utter contempt. This was a reclaiming of our identity at a time when identity cards were being introduced. This was us fighting back with fruit.
If a bit of plastic back then helped defuse a fractious period in English football then a lot of plastic now defines it. From our credit cards used to buy extortionately-priced tickets to the seats that we’re forced to stay still and quiet in; from the cups that hold our half-time beer to the – in certain sections of certain grounds – fans around us the game has become synthetic. It has become an altogether different kind of dystopian experience.
Which is why I – and others but certainly not all – would love to see a revival of the craze that swept the nation’s terraces thirty years ago: if not inflatables then something equally as silly and inconsequential.
I have written before about the poor atmosphere at the Etihad and what can be done to address it. At a time when a remarkable era beckons under a remarkable coach the noise is muted to the odd song or round of applause and while no blame should be allocated there is frustration knowing that many present used to stand on the Kippax and chant to inflatable monsters.
Bring back the bananas I say and turn Project Pep into a party. Who’s with me?
WAG OF THE DAY
GOLDEN BOLLOX 3-9-1906
City endure what will be the club’s biggest league defeat - 9-1 – during a nightmarish 90 minutes at Goodison Park. The Toffees tore City apart – and this after the Blues had lost the opening day game 4-1 to Woolwich Arsenal. City showed their mettle by winning the return 3-1 at Hyde Road and managed to restore a lot of pride in the process.
OTHER BOLLOX
Real Madrid rejected the chance to sign Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez in the transfer window but could return for him next summer when he is free agent. (Don Balon, via Express)
Sources close to unsettled Chelsea striker Diego Costa, 28, who missed out on his preferred move to Atletico Madrid, say he has offered no suggestion he is prepared to return to the London club and make himself available for selection. (Telegraph)
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is to hold showdown talks with Philippe Coutinho next week after his dream move to Barcelona failed to materialise in the transfer window. (Star)
But Coutinho, 25, could be available for Liverpool's trip to Manchester City next week. (Liverpool Echo)
Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer, 47, could be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season after losing his first three league games and former England boss Roy Hodgson, 70, could be a surprise candidate to replace him. (Sun)
Chelsea's signing of Kylian Hazard, 22, could help convince his rather more well-known elder brother Eden Hazard, 26, to sign a new deal with the Blues. (Express)
Barcelona director Robert Fernandez says that the club tried to sign PSG playmaker Marco Verratti this summer. (Mail)
Former Manchester United forward Angel Di Maria's move to Barcelona broke down after PSG demanded £64m. (Mirror)
Sporting Lisbon director Nuno Saraiva called West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan a "liar" in response to his statement over the Premier League club's failed attempt to sign William Carvalho. (Mail)
Inter Milan are going offer Ivan Perisic a new contract with a buyout clause inserted after resisting interest from Manchester United during the transfer window. (Tuttosport, in Italian)
Everton made a last-ditch attempt to sign Benfica forward Raul Jimenez, 26, on loan. (A Bola, via Liverpool Echo)
Stoke boss Mark Hughes is keeping an open mind on Bojan Krkic's long-term future at the club after the late decision to allow the 27-year-old to leave on a season-long loan to Alaves. (Stoke Sentinel)
Jonny Evans is happy to stay at West Brom after Man City, Arsenal and Leicester all attempted to recruit the 29-year-old Northern Ireland international on deadline day. (Birmingham Mail)
Wilfried Bony, 28, has revealed that his family said "don't think about anything else" other than to make a return to Swansea. (Wales Online)
At Old Trafford, Danny Webber and Ruud van Nistelrooy were on target for a Manchester United Legends side in a 2-2 draw with a Barcelona XI containing Patrick Kluivert and Edgar Davids. United won the two-legged match 5-3 on aggregate.
More Manchester United legends - "the class of 92" - Phil and Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, who own non-league Salford, have been tipped to take over as owners of United, along with former teammate David Beckham. (Mirror)
The Premier League could go head-to-head with popular TV shows X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing by staging Saturday night games, with club bosses to discuss the latest proposals at Thursday's Premier League meeting in London. (Sun)
Out-of-favour Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, 25, replied to an Instagram advert for the academy set up by his former Bournemouth teammate Tyrone Mings with the plaintive message: "Do you take 25-year-olds who can't get a game? I'm fit and ready to go." (90min)
Powerfully Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa, 35, a Liverpool fan, feels Jurgen Klopp's team are one striker away from winning the Premier League - and has joked he could be the man to fire the Reds to the title. (Liverpool Echo)
GOLDEN BOLLOX
On this day - 2013
Man City's new hard man recruit Demichelis will give Blues mean streak
City’s hard man recruit may not quite fit with his boss’s vision of the beautiful game but he will bring a wealth of experience and nous to the dressing room
New City defender Martin Demichelis’ wife once had some words of wisdom for her fellow Wags: “Women with footballers must always hire ugly.”
It is a piece of advice which Blues boss Manuel Pellegrini might have taken to heart when he made a move to land the
32-year-old Argentine stopper and plug a gaping hole in his club’s squad.
Demichelis’ wife is former Playboy model Evangelina Anderson, and she was referring to her own policy of only hiring ‘ugly’ maids to do the washing and cleaning in the family home, to remove temptation from her husband’s path.
The 6ft defender does not fit with Pellegrini’s vow to play beautiful football, and his reputation for solid tackling and a ‘They shall not pass’ mentality will not get him onto the
Christmas card list of any opposition Premier League strikers.
But the Chilean, for all his attacking philosophies, wants his defenders to defend and Demichelis has done that at a high level for more than a decade in the tough Argentine league, the powerful and technically proficient Bundesliga and in the subtler environs of La Liga.
“Life has made me a fighter, because of my principles and because of where I came from,” Demichelis said. “I have struggled in life and those difficulties define me.
“I am a hard worker.”
Now he needs to show he can rise to the faster pace and greater physical demands of the Premier League and fill the hole left by Vincent Kompany’s absence through injury.
It has to be remembered that Demichelis’ signing is not a knee-jerk reaction to the loss of Kompany. City were already on his trail before the skipper limped out of the 4-0 victory over Newcastle with a groin injury.
The Blues have been trying to bring on Real Madrid’s Portuguese international Pepe all summer and, after giving up on him, Pellegrini was quick to turn to Demichelis.
As always in situations like this, it is wise to go to a well that you know and Demichelis has already played for Pellegrini twice before – for River Plate, and for Malaga.
He also has plenty of experience and the kind of winning mentality which is a necessity for anyone who spends seven years at Germany’s premier club.
There is a worry that City may have signed a player on the down side of his career – he is 32, was allowed to go by Bayern three years ago and had moved to Atletico Madrid from Malaga this summer, before City stepped in.
But Demichelis is still performing to a high level – he was named in the La Liga team of the year last season, and only one player in Spain won more tackles than he did for Malaga.
Schooled in the hard-knocks academy of Argentine football, Demichelis is typical of the defenders to come from that country – think Pablo Zabaleta, but three inches taller and a few pounds heftier.
He also played as a defensive midfielder in his first few seasons at Bayern, when he found Lucio and former City loanee Daniel van Buyten blocking his route to his preferred position.
But Pellegrini is not likely to want to employ him in that role – and it is doubtful whether Demichelis would be happy to reprise the role.
His selection in that position in place of the suspended Mark van Bommel in 2008 brought a curt refusal from the player and led to Demichelis publicly expressing his dissatisfaction with manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, eventually leading to his exit from the club.
He apologised and continued to play for Bayern but, two seasons later – after he had clashed with coach Louis van Gaal – Pellegrini was quick to take him on loan at Malaga when he was made available.
Demichelis gave sound service to Bayern, despite his problems with Hitzfeld and van Gaal, winning four Bundesliga titles and appearing in the 2010 Champions League final, when they were beaten by Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side.
The player was a big part of Malaga’s march to the
Champions League quarter-finals last season and he thrived enough to become a part of Argentina’s defence during the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
“There’s a mutual trust and respect between us,” Demichelis said of his manager. “We have known each other for many years and worked together at River Plate, where we became champions.
“We worked together again at Malaga for two successful years and now life has given us a third chance .
“Manuel was an important part in this. He trusts in me after those two years at Malaga. I want to repay on the pitch the confidence shown by the club and the coaching staff.”
Demichelis performed well for Malaga last season, despite the tragedy of losing his father, Juan Carlos and his partner in a road accident in Argentina in February.
But the player has not forgotten his roots – his home town club in Justiniano Posse runs around in boots and gloves once owned by
Bayern greats like Oliver Kahn and Roy Makaay, donated by Demichelis, who has also helped to pay for new facilities at the club which set him on the road to stardom.
Gaz Baz: I know all about Evertons history, it’s a fantastic club
Gareth Barry admitted that it was a relief to get his loan deal to Everton signed, sealed and delivered.
The England international put pen to paper just before the 11pm deadline and is now keen to get started in a royal blue jersey.
“It’s been a long day and the deal was done late but it was something that I always hoped would get over the line,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to meeting up with the lads and helping Everton to progress.
“I know all about Everton’s history and it’s a fantastic club. I’ve enjoyed playing games at Goodison Park, the atmosphere is always fantastic.”
Barry joins an Everton team unbeaten under Roberto Martinez after a Premier League start of three successive draws and progression in the Capital One Cup.
“To be honest as soon as I heard about Everton’s interest I have paid a lot of attention to the opening games,” he said. “The bits I’ve seen, they’ve been unlucky not to win the games that they drew.”
The 32-year old midfielder has been on the opposing end of a passionate and lively Goodison Park crowd when he’s been in the colours of Aston Villa and Manchester City and so he’s relishing the prospect of being in the home team at his new base.
“The atmosphere is one of the best in the Premier League,” he enthused. “The noise the fans make and the way they can upset opposing teams is fantastic for the players playing for Everton.”
A press conference introducing the England international as an Everton player following his season-long loan move from Manchester City will take place at 11.30am today (Tuesday).
And Evertonians will be able to view his introduction to the media live on evertonfc.com.
Simply access evertonfc.com/live from 11.30am and you will be able to see the 32-year-old midfielder talking about his switch to Goodison.
Drogba wanted me at Chelsea - Yaya
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure revealed on Monday that he would have become a Chelsea player if he had taken Didier Drogba’s advice back in 2005.
Both players were invited by state television RTI to clarify rumours about their lingering animosity which many in Ivory Coast feel is the cause of the national team’s lack of success in top competitions.
Toure, who was named African Footballer of the Year last December for the second time in a row, said he had no differences with the Elephants’ captain Drogba, who was sitting to his side during the interview.
And that during his trying days in Ukraine with Metalurh Donetsk, the former Chelsea star pressured him to join the London club, which would have worked out but ran into snags at the last minute.
“I have never had quarrels with Didier Drogba like people have been saying,” Toure said. “Didier has been my long-time friend. He did everything possible for me to join Chelsea back in 2005 and we have been close pals since then.
“Would your enemy ever want you to work with him in the same place? Didier is my friend, my brother, my adviser. We have never had a fight and we’ll never,” he said.
The Ivorian team’s 4-1 loss to Mexico last month in an international friendly brought back sad memories of their near-misses in the Africa Cup of Nations, with many supporters back home unwilling to attend the team’s upcoming match against Morocco in the 2014 World Cup qualifying.
However, Toure promised they would try to deliver to reconcile with fans and officials, even though nothing is at stake as the Elephants are already through to the knockout stage of the qualifying.
Other Bollox
Marouane Fellaini, 25, delivered a transfer request in person to Everton after driving to the club's training ground on Monday evening to speak personally to manager Roberto Martinez and plead with him to sanction his switch to Manchester United. Daily Mirror
Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye, 27, had his hopes of a transfer deadline move to Arsenal dashed when Magpies boss Alan Pardew and the United board told him that he would not be allowed to leave. Daily Star
Tottenham defender Danny Rose, 24, has said no-one at White Hart Lane should begrudge former team-mate Gareth Bale, 24, his world record move to Real Madrid. London Evening Standard
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere believes the Gunners have made the signing of the summer after completing a club-record £42.4m for Real Madrid's 24-year-old midfielder Mesut Ozil. Goal.com
German international Ozil is believed to have turned down a bigger offer from French side Paris Saint-Germain to join the Premier League side. Daily Mirror
Manchester United were knocked back by Real Madrid after making an offer of £35m for 26-year-old Germany midfielder Sami Khedira. Independent
Real Madrid were prepared to let Khedira leave the Bernabeu, but they wanted United to make an improved bid. Metro
Chelsea blocked Arsenal's bid to take striker Demba Ba, 28, on a season-long loan to the Emirates because Jose Mourinho saw the Gunners as serious title rivals. Daily Mirror
Arsenal had competition from Roma, with the Italian Serie A side keen on taking the Senegal striker on loan. Daily Express
Porto midfielder Fernando, 26, appears to have ruled out a £15m move to Everton via his Instagram account. Metro
