Rakitic lauds ´world´s best´ Modric

Mohamed Salah only puts in about 20 per cent effort in training as he is worried about getting injured, according to Liverpool team-mate Alberto Moreno.

Salah has enjoyed a spectacular first season at Anfield, scoring 43 goals and registering 13 assists in all competitions and winning both the PFA Players Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year awards.

The Egypt star has only missed four matches in all competitions in 2017-18 and played the full 90 minutes of the 4-2 Champions League semi-final second-leg defeat to Roma, a result which saw Liverpool progress 7-6 on aggregate.

Moreno admits Salah now takes it easy in training in order to stay fit and has jokingly offered to help him while he fasts during Ramadan, which begins on May 15.

Sala…

West Ham are facing a nervy wait to discover the extent of a knee injury sustained by Aaron Cresswell in Saturday s pre-season encounter against Karlsruher.

The full-back was left in agony by a crunching tackle and he received treatment on the pitch before walking off with the assistance of West Ham s physio.

Reports on West Ham fan website Claret and Hugh suggested that Cresswell could miss as little as a month of action, or as many as six.

And chairman David Gold confirmed as such on Twitter on Sunday, when he posted: CandH sources are accurate and we are apprehensive but it doesn t look minor.

We await the scans in the next day or so good luck Aaron. dg.

CandH sources are accurate and we are apprehensive but it doesn t look minor. We await th…

Chelsea midfielder Lewis Baker will spend the 2015-16 season on loan at Vitesse, the two clubs announced on Friday.

The 20-year-old is a product of Chelsea s youth academy and has previously spent time on loan at Sheffield Wednesday and MK Dons, helping the latter win promotion to the Championship last term.

Baker made his senior Chelsea debut in a 2-0 FA Cup victory at Derby County during the 2013-14 season and won the club s Young Player of the Year award at the end of that campaign.

The England Under-20 captain joins a long line of Chelsea youngsters to have been loaned to Vitesse, with Josh McEachran, Wallace and Bertrand Traore having spent last term in the Eredivisie.

…

Spanish daily that Barcelona are eyeing a move for Manchester City youngster Denis Suarez.

The talented footballer impressed playing for Spain at the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey and his excellent displays did not go unnoticed.

Marca has suggested that Barcelona are looking to lure the 19-year-old at the earliest opportunity.

The Catalans have already offered the player a four-year deal that would see Suarez spend one year in the reserves and another three in the first team and they are awaiting a response from his representatives.

Seeing as how the midfielder has just one year left on his deal with Manchester City, Barcelona are hoping to sign him on a cut-price deal this summer.

Denis Suarez joined Manchester City from Celta Vigo in 2011, but …

Jamaica coach Winfried Schafer claimed his team would protest some of the cards given to his team on Tuesday, and revealed goalkeeper Dwayne Miller was taken to hospital.

Miller was substituted in the 24th minute after suffering a head injury in Toronto but Jamaica went on to win 1-0 over El Salvador to top Group B at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Despite losing Miller and defender Jermaine Taylor in the first half, plus having Darren Mattocks sent off with nine minutes left, Jamaica claimed their second victory in Group B to advance to the quarter-finals.

Mattocks received two yellow cards as Jamaica finished with five, and Schafer was clearly unimpressed at the treatment his team received from the referee.

We have to talk. We have 24 hours to protest, th…

Former Barcelona goalkeeping coach Frank Hoek has backed the Spanish champions pursuit of Ajax s Jasper Cillessen.

Reports in the Dutch media claim that the clubs have agreed a fee of €14million for the Netherlands international, who is expected to sign a five-year deal at Camp Nou.

And Hoek, who worked with Louis van Gaal at Barca, Manchester United and the Dutch national team, feels Luis Enrique has made a shrewd choice to sign a goalkeeper with strong all-round capabilities.

I know him from having worked with him at the national team, Hoek told Mundo Deportivo.  We were together at the World Cup with Louis van Gaal as coach, and he was number one.

He s a cool goalkeeper, very balanced, who dominates all facets of the game.

He s in the Du…

Jurgen Klopp is not surprised to see Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United spend with no limits and says Liverpool can be successful living within their means.

Champions City forked out a British record fee of £100million for Jack Grealish, while Chelsea smashed their club record when they re-signed Romelu Lukaku for a reported £97.5m on Thursday.

United have also splashed the cash with a £76.5m move for Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane is poised to complete a big-money switch to Old Trafford ahead of the 2021-22 season.

The Reds have recruited Ibrahima Konate from RB Leipzig for a reported £36m, while Virgil van Dijk on Friday followed Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Fabinho in signing new deals.

— Virgil van Dijk (@V…

Gerard Pique says cash-strapped Barcelona s captaincy group are proud to take a pay cut after he scored in a 4-2 LaLiga victory over Real Sociedad.

Barca revealed on the eve of the club s opening game of the campaign that Pique had taken a substantial reduction in his wages in order for Depay, Eric Garcia and Rey Manaj to be registered.

Pique s gesture ensured the Catalan giants, who were unable to keep Lionel Messi due to their financial troubles, are within the salary cap.

Fellow skippers Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto and Jordi Alba are also prepared to take a pay cut.

Depay started to repay Pique by setting up the opening goal on his debut and Martin Braithwaite struck twice, with Sergi Roberto completing the scoring after late goals from Julen…

Real Madrid will open a probe into press reports that club president Ramon Calderon manipulated last month s stormy annual general assembly vote in order to get its fiscal accounts for 2008 and 2009 approved.

We have decided to investigate the matter and we have asked the club s commission for social discipline to confirm these facts, the defending Spanish champion s director for members, Luis Barcena, told a news conference on Tuesday.

In the case that any club members are found to implicated, they will immediately be expelled from the club, he added.

Earlier Tuesday sports daily Marca, citing anonymous witnesses and sources which it said were absolutely reliable , said Calderon had stacked the December 7 annual general assembly with a significant number of f…

Burnley piled further pressure on under-fire Hull City coach Phil Brown with a 2-0 win on Saturday that leaves the north-east club third from bottom in the Premier League.

Two goals either side of half-time by Graham Alexander gave Burnley the points but Brown was incensed after a stunning free-kick from Geovanni was controversially ruled out with half an hour to play and the score 1-0.

Hull s fury at referee Mike Jones was compounded minutes later when Geovanni saw red after collecting a second yellow card for a mistimed challenge.

The result capped a forgettable week for Hull, who are embarking upon their second season in the division following their promotion in 2008.

Chairman Paul Duffen resigned from his post on Thursday amid rumours that Brown was …