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    Jamie Vardy says it was easy for him to reject a move to Arsenal, insisting both his head and his heart told him to stay at Leicester City. After playing a crucial role in last season's surprising Premier League title win, the England international was the subject of a bid from the Gunners which triggered his £22 million release clause. Instead, the striker opted to remain at the King Power Stadium and signed a new deal with the Foxes. And Vardy, 29, says it was an easy decision to make. “I was in a hotel room [in Chantilly] for so many hours of every day with nothing to do. You had a lot of time on your hands," he told The Guardian . “I am not going to beat around the bush – every time I thought about it, and every aspect of it I thought about, both my head and my heart were saying to stay at Leicester, which is why I made my decision to stay. “There were loads of reasons. You get that much time to think about, every single thing down to the tea lady. You think about w

  John Stones, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana will replace Chris Smalling, Dele Alli and Daniel Sturridge. Joe Hart, who made a deadline-day loan move to Torino from Manchester City, will keep his place in goal despite not making a league appearance this season. The game in Trnava is Allardyce's first since taking over from Roy Hodgson. Captain Wayne Rooney will also become England's most capped outfield player when he leads the team out on Sunday, overtaking David Beckham's record of 115 appearances. His Manchester United team-mate Luke Shaw, who had earned his first call since breaking his leg last year, was rested from training on Saturday and subsequently removed from the squad. Allardyce said Shaw's withdrawal was "for precautionary measures", adding "he's not injured". The game is the Three Lions' first since the shock 2-1 defeat by Iceland that sent them out of Euro 2016 at the last-16 stage in June. England begin their 20

  Mesut Ozil insists he only listens to Arsene Wenger and Joachim Low and ignores criticism from fans. The midfielder drew the ire of Germany fans for perceived lacklustre performances during Euro 2016, notably the country's opening 0-0 draw with Poland and missed his penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out victory over Italy after opening the scoring. Ozil feels the expectations of fans can be too high as he says "everybody expects something special", while the opinions of his Arsenal and national team head coaches, Wenger and Low respectively, are far more valuable. "The expectations of the fans and the general public is very large," he told Express.de . "Some like my style of play, others do not. It has always been like this. "As a player, I also strive after that, because I know that I can bring my team-mates into good situations. But when I haven't scored a goal or even had a shot, many people are disappointed. "Sometimes I think they do

  Ronaldinho is back at Barcelona! Its a surprise right, fans, as it is in a non-playing role... The Brazilian, 36, is teaming up with the club he helped return to its former glory between 2003 and 2008 in an ambassadorial role. Barcelona are opening a new office in New York, USA, to enhance their growth internationally on 6 September, which has brought about them re-signing Ronaldinho. The Catalan giants will certainly prove to be a hit in the States if Ronaldinho is good an ambassador as he was with his feet back in his heydey at Camp Nou...

  Gernot Rohr claimed his first win as Nigeria coach as his men saw off Tanzania by a single goal in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium. Kelechi Iheanacho's lone strike was all the hosts needed to see off the strong-willed Taifa Stars who came to Uyo with the ambition of shocking the Super Eagles. The visitors posted some threats inside the hosts' half in the opening five minutes, but Rohr’s team reclaimed possession and dictated the pace of the game. Despite the dominance, Nigeria failed to convert clear cut chances with Victor Moses the major culprit as he spurned glorious chances while Odion Ighalo looking very tired against Charles Mkwasa’s side. Aside from the comedy of misses, Aishi Manula was at his best to keep the game scoreless with breathtaking saves. However, the pressure paid off  in the 77th minute as Iheanacho gave his side the lead with an audacious strike. He finds space outside the Taifa Stars’ defence b

  Mesut Ozil is ready switch focus back to contract talks with Arsenal once the international break is over, with the Germany star revealing negotiations had already begun. The 27-year-old still has two years to run on his current deal, but is expected to be handed a significant pay increase to extend his stay at Emirates Stadium. Ozil, who also spoke of his wish to assume the No.10 role with the Gunners, told German newspaper Express : "I have a contract until 2018. We have had discussions, but they were suspended for the European Championship. "I wanted to focus at this time only on the national team. Now we look to continue the negotiations." The World Cup winner has admitted that a return to Germany or a future move to MLs does hold appeal, however. "In football, you can never say never. You don't know what will happen. I had a good time in Germany. That was a lot of fun. "Eventually [moving to America] could be an option. I have fun everywhere. My fan

  France coach Didier Deschamps believes Anthony Martial is a revitalised player after looking "exhausted" at Euro 2016. Following a fine first season in the Premier League with Manchester United, in which he scored 11 goals in 31 appearances, Martial failed to have much of an impact on France's run to the final on home soil. The 20-year-old played just 69 minutes across three matches, but opened the scoring in France's 3-1 friendly victory over Italy in Bari on Thursday for his first senior international goal. And Deschamps, attempting to lead France's recovery after their final defeat to Portugal in July, reckons a refreshed Martial will learn lessons from his Euros disappointment. "He was expecting more from the Euros and I was too," Deschamps said. "But, things were difficult. He has to learn from this to progress.  "He was the first to say he was not satisfied. Deschamps continued: "He arrived there exhausted because he had a very l

  Cristiano Ronaldo has tackled his injury with typical brute force and determination, and Real Madrid for one predict he will be returning to the pitch before too long.  The Portugal forward suffered a knee problem which forced him off early in July's Euro 2016 final, which his side won 1-0 against hosts France. He missed his side's opening two La Liga games, but on Thursday Madrid released a video showing that he is busting a gut to get back onto the field for the club. #RMCity Another day closer to full fitness for @Cristiano ! #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/p3FYxo3Wf1 Ronaldo himself has also been keeping track of his recovery, and gave Instagram users a glimpse of his fitness as he put in the hard yards on the exercise bike.  Click CR7 to view picture Madrid have made a typically strong start to the season even without their star man, but his return will undoubtedly be a big boost - especially if he remains in peak condition.

  Manchester United have confirmed that Bastian Schweinsteiger will be part of their 25-man squad for the upcoming season, despite having not been part of a single matchday squad so far. The German, who played his final game for his country on Wednesday, signed for United last season but he didn't have the impact many were hoping for under Louis van Gaal. Since Mourinho was appointed as the Dutchman's replacement, Schweinsteiger has constantly been linked with a move away and he has been training with the U21s rather than the first team. Despite this United have included him in their squad for the season, meaning that he will be able to play Premier League games should Mourinho have a change of heart or suffer an injury crisis. Schweinsteiger discussed his future whilst on international duty, saying that he would consider a move to MLS in the future but he has no problem with Mourinho and still dreams of playing for United. "I have no personal problems with Jose Mourinho

Lionel Messi says he "did not deceive anybody" after making his first appearance for Argentina since reversing his decision to retire from international football.  Messi shocked the footballing world with his decision to retire from the Argentina national team following their loss to Chile in the Copa America Centenario final in June.  The defeat was the third in three years Messi and Co. had suffered in the final of a major international tournament.  However, after a meeting with new Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza - who flew to Europe to meet with Messi - the Barcelona star elected to return to the national team. And on Thursday he proved to be Argentina's hero, scoring the only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over Uruguay to move top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification standings.  Messi insists he did not attempt to fool anyone with his decision to retire, believing it was the right call to make at the time.  "I am very grateful [to return to the national team],&

  New Nigeria boss, Gernot Rohr has reiterated his desire to give some newly discovered young players to blossom in the senior national team. The German tactician started fringe players like Chidozie Awaziem, Wifred Ndidi, Shehu Abdullahi  in the team’s 3-0 victory against Akwa United in a friendly game played on Wednesday. He explained to Goal that he decided to bench the established players against the Promise Keepers as he hopes to  groom a new breed of Super Eagles. “ The game against Akwa United was to see the young players in action. I am sure that we can do it together if we play as a team and live well together,” Rohr told Reporters . “We will concentrate on raising young energetic players to make the Eagles strong." He also insisted that he would also special attention to the local based players. "I was in Spain to see the NPFL All Stars because I wanted to see young players coming from Nigeria and I picked some of them for this match,” he continued. “We should have

  Henrikh Mkhitaryan has handed Manchester United an injury scare ahead of next weekend's derby with Manchester City at Old Trafford after being substituted on international duty. Mkhitaryan hurt his knee in a collision with Marek Suchy during the first half of Armenia's friendly against Czech Republic on Wednesday and was duly taken off. Armenia were 2-0 down at the time and Mkhitaryan's team-mates went down to a 3-0 defeat ahead of their opening World Cup qualifier against Denmark this Sunday. The attacking midfielder is yet to start a competitive game since moving to United from Borussia Dortmund during the close-season, but his potential absence from the top-of-the-table clash is unlikely to improve Jose Mourinho's mood over his reunion with opposite number Pep Guardiola taking place immediately after the international break. "Some [players] are coming back on the Monday before the Manchester City match, but some are coming back on Friday," he told MUTV .

With Jose Mourinho through the door and placed in charge almost as soon as Louis van Gaal had lifted the FA Cup aloft at Wembley in May, there has been a clarity within United’s transfer strategy not seen since the Ferguson era. Mourinho’s own success is often mirrored by how decisive he is during the summer window, and much like the pre-season of 2014-15 in which he got his business done early before going onto walk away with the Premier League title, there is a feeling he has got United back on the right path through the signings he has made. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all represent the showpiece signings the club have always been associated with while the signs show that Eric Bailly has what it takes to replicate the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra in arriving as a relative unknown and eventually leaving as a legend. United have, of course, been burnt before in recent years when it comes to headline-grabbing arrivals. Angel Di Maria, Radamel Fal

From being one of the most wanted men in European football barely three years ago, Cesc Fabregas is now out of favour at Chelsea and the latest to hit him is his exclusion from the Spain squad. Things looked bright for the mildfielder when he switched London for Catalania back in 2011, but a return to his local club barcelona didnt go well with him since things were very tough during Pep Guardiola’s final season, as well as the tough tenures of tito Vilanova and Tata Martino. Fabregas can be forgiven if he says he play mostly through injury and was utilised in different positions during his last year at Barca, He truelly really lived up to expectations. Even with however, his stock remained high in England and a move to Chelsea was initially a success as he starred in the Blues' Premier League-winning campaign in 2014-15 - particularly in the first six months. After Christmas, for some reason, he always seems to fade, but this time the decline appears more long term and followin