Cesc Fabregas insists a return to Barcelona is off the cards after a nightmare season with Chelsea.

Fabregas left Arsenal to join Barcelona in 2011, where he spent a trophy-laden three years before returning to the Premier League with Chelsea.

He won the title and the League Cup in his first season at Stamford Bridge, but his second was a tale of woe as Chelsea lost the services of their most successful manager in Jose Mourinho and sit in ninth with one game to play.

And while a return to the Catalan giants Fabregas boyhood club  might seem an attractive one, the Spain international said it was not realistic.

A return to Barcelona would no longer be possible, even if I wanted to, Fabregas told Marca.

The Barcelona stage of my career is over, …

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With only a point next to their name after two matches, Iceland head into the final group stage clash against Croatia with faith no longer in their hands. On the side, the Vatreni are virtually in the knockout stages and will only need a point to secure their top spot in Group D.

Iceland

The tiniest nation to qualify for the World Cup has thus far been unable to replicate the success achieved at the European Championship in 2016. Iceland’s World Cup dream began with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Argentina but the Vikings were quickly given a rude awakening with Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa brace and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s missed penalty in the 2-0 defeat against the African nation.

In what’…

Ciro Immobile hit a hat-trick as a rampant Lazio thumped AC Milan 4-1 in Serie A at the Stadio Olimpico. 

The Italy international delivered a masterclass in finishing to help inflict a first defeat of the season on the Rossoneri. 

He broke the deadlock from the penalty spot before expertly controlling a volley past Gianluigi Donnarumma to make it 2-0 before the break. 

His treble was completed just three minutes into the second half, with Luis Alberto adding a fourth shortly after. Riccardo Montolivo pulled one back for the visitors, but Lazio – who lost Marco Parolo to a stoppage-time red card – never looked like relinquishing their grip on the three points. 

The win means Simone Inzaghi s men remain unbeaten this season, but the result ra…

According to a report released by , Guangzhou Evergrande have confirmed they will be signing Paulinho from Barcelona on a permanent basis in January.

Having spent two seasons with Tottenham Hotspur, the Brazil international went to the Chinese club in 2015 and moved to Barcelona in 2017. After only a year with the Catalans, during which he made 49 appearances and found the opposition net nine times, he returned to China this summer on loan. It seems, however, the deal is about to become permanent.

It is an option that has been included in the loan contract between the clubs, and Guangzhou will part with a sum of €50million in the winter transfer window to get Paulinho back as their full-time employee.

The transfer has been conducted in this manner to comply wi…

Cologne have parted company with head coach Peter Stoger following Saturday s draw with Schalke, a result that left them winless and rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga.

Stoger has led Cologne since 2013 and, after winning promotion, secured European football for the first time in 25 years last season with a fifth-placed finish.

However, the 2017-18 campaign has been an abject failure, with Cologne collecting three points from their opening 14 games, and facing elimination from the Europa League should they fail to beat Red Star Belgrade on Thursday.

Last weekend s loss to Hertha Berlin appeared to be the final straw for Stoger, who has mutually agreed to bring his four-year tenure to an abrupt end.

It was clear to us on Friday that the Schalke match …

Germany star Mesut Ozil has confirmed he is retiring from international football with immediate effect in an astonishing attack on German Football Federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel.

Ozil was criticised by the DFB after meeting Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the World Cup.

The Arsenal star, who has Turkish heritage, explained on Sunday his meeting with controversial figure Erdogan had no political intentions .

In the second part of a three-part statement, Ozil hit out at the DFB over its handling of the incident, suggesting the Erdogan meeting has been cited unfairly as a factor in Germany s group-stage exit at Russia 2018.

And in the concluding section of the statement later on Sunday, Ozil confirmed he will no longer be available …

Melbourne Victory have received another major boost to their A-League championship hopes, luring New Zealand international Marco Rojas back to the club. 

The skillful winger returns to AAMI Park on a two-year deal after parting ways with 2.Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart. 

Rojas, 24, left Victory for Europe in 2013 but endured a difficult time overseas, making just over 50 appearances across three seasons, including loan spells at Greuther Furth and FC Thun. 

This is another significant signing for our club as we continue to prepare for the new A-League season, Victory head coach Kevin Muscat said.

We all know the quality Marco possesses. We re excited to see him return to Victory and I m sure our fans will welcome him back.

It s official. Wel…

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson has said he and his team-mates want to win everything ahead of a busy period that could see them end the season with an unprecedented quadruple.

The Reds have already won the EFL Cup and are a point behind Manchester City in the Premier League title race as well as still participating in the Champions League and FA Cup.

Liverpool will have 13 more games left to play between now and the end of May should they reach the finals of both those competitions, but Alisson is confident the team can deal with the hectic schedule.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Champions League quarter-final second leg against Benfica, a tie in which they lead 3-1, the Brazilian stopper was asked about the physical demands of being in so many competi…

Neymar has rejected the offer of a new contract from Paris Saint-Germain, according to .

When, and indeed if, the Brazilian star would return to Barcelona after leaving them in 2017 has been a rather popular guessing game in recent months. Apart from his former club, their arch-rivals Real Madrid and Juventus have been mentioned as his possible destinations as well, but there have been no concrete developments of that front. His father was reported to be planning a trip to Barcelona to thrash out a deal, but he has personally denied that particular claim.

Neymar s current deal with the Ligue 1 champions expires in 2022, and they were very keen on extending it at least until 2025, but Sport insist he has rejected the offer and is only thinking about the La Liga holders. …

According to Bild, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Julian Weigl will not be remaining at the club beyond this season. The German international may have played at the weekend but it doesn’t seem like the club see a role for him in the future, at least, not a consistent one.

Roma are believed to be interested in bringing him over to Serie A on loan, whereas Paris Saint-Germain have also looked into the possibility of signing him.

Weigl first joined Dortmund back in 2015 and while he’s been an important part of the German side’s squad since then, it appears as if that’s no longer the case. Either way, though, he won’t be short on options with clubs around Europe who want to pick him up, and if he makes the right move, then he could easily break his way back into the…