Chelsea defender David Luiz has revealed he rejected an official offer from FC Barcelona in favour of staying at Stamford Bridge, understands.

Luiz, who joined Chelsea from S.L. Benfica for a fee believed to be in the region of €25 million in January 2011, has been linked with the Spanish champions on several occasions over the past two seasons, with many suggesting the Brazilian could be the long-term replacement for Carles Puyol.

The Brazil international, 26, made his season debut in the Blues defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Super Cup at the Stadion Eden in Prague on 30 August.

There was an official offer [from Barcelona], but I decided to stay at Chelsea, Luiz told Gazeta Esportiva.

I am happy to play for a big club and be in the …

Douglas Costa is keen to build up his fitness and form when Bayern Munich take on Darmstadt on Saturday, ahead of a Champions League test against Juventus.

The Brazil international has netted just two goals in 16 league outings this campaign and he has admitted he can still improve in front of goal.

Bayern won 3-0 at Darmstadt earlier in the season, but only snuck past Dirk Schuster s men 1-0 when they met in the DFB-Pokal.

While keen to improve his tally in front of goal against Darmstadt, Costa will be taking nothing for granted against a side that have won three of their last four away games.

We re not thinking of Juve yet. We ll take it step by step: first Darmstadt, then Juventus, Douglas Costa said at a media conference.

The most important…

Sevilla have confirmed the sale of striker Alvaro Negredo to Manchester City.

The La Liga club announced the deal on their official website with the player set to undergo a medical at the Etihad Stadium in the coming days, although the finer details of the move have yet to be released.

A move to City for the Spain international had long been mooted, with new manager Manuel Pellegrini keen to add to his forward line following the sale of Carlos Tevez to Juventus.

It s official: Alvaro Negredo is a Manchester City player, short of doing the medical tests, a club statement read.

Sevilla has organised a farewell gathering for the player at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan this (Wednesday) evening at 19:30 (CET), so that those who have been his team-mates can say goodbye be…

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has hit out at Schalke s fans for the way they have treated him since he left the club in 2011.

The Germany international came through the ranks of the Schalke youth academy, but opted to leave his boyhood club when Bayern came calling.

He has since been subjected to offensive chants on more than one occasion when the two clubs have met, and Neuer feels the supporters are crossing a line with their behaviour.

I don t mind it if they whistle me when I m on the ball. But I cannot understand it when they insult me with the words they used, Neuer told Kicker.

Emotion is part of the game, but I find it incomprehensible when I hear people shout at me and call me a son of a w****.

Everything that happened when I l…

Kevin De Bruyne is not concentrated  on Belgium s final World Cup Group G match against England, because the Red Devils have already qualified.

Belgium and England have won their opening two matches over Tunisia and Panama to book their places in the last 16, though Thursday s meeting in Kaliningrad will decide who takes top spot.

Head coach Roberto Martinez hinted he will make wholesale changes, with De Bruyne one of three players a booking away from a ban and Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Eden Hazard and Vincent Kompany all injury concerns.

The Manchester City midfielder does not appear too worried about rounding off the first stage with a strong result against England.

Obviously they have a good team. But to be honest I m not really concentrated on …

The spine-tingling feeling slowly wears down as we turn our attention to the Champions League’s ugly sister Europa League.

In order to extend the sensation, we have decided to treat you with 5 Things We Learned from the opening week of Europe’s elite club competition. We witnessed plenty of great football, fantastic goals and record-breaking stats but also ugly scenes and spoilt-child behaviour.

Fortunately, we have it all piled up right down here:

Cristiano Ronaldo is Real

Interpret the pun as you like.

Real Madrid superstar extended the and put in a flying display against APOEL. Before you rush to weigh the strength of Los Blancos’ rivals let us just hit you with these Opta-provided numbers just to get a clearer picture as to how important the …

Belgium playmaker Eden Hazard hopes to seize on the early departure of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to become the star of the World Cup.

Argentina lost 4-3 to France in the first match of the round of 16 on Saturday, and Portugal joined them in making a swift exit when they were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay later the same day.

The absence of two players who have monopolised the Ballon d Or and dominated the headlines at club and international level for more than a decade has left room for a rival to grab the spotlight in Russia, where the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe loom as potential replacements.

Speaking ahead of his team s meeting with Japan in Rostov-on-Don, Hazard welcomed suggestions it could be his time to make an impact on the
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big stage.

Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks described it as special  to play against Real Madrid s Luka Modric – a role model of his from the Croatian s time at Spurs.

England international Winks was a young prospect at White Hart Lane when Modric was turning out for the London club, before he left to join Madrid in 2012 – and went on to win three Champions League titles.

And it was in Europe s premier competition on Tuesday where the two went head-to-head, with Winks impressing before lauding his 32-year-old opponent.

When I was coming through the academy at a young age, he was someone I always used to watch at White Hart Lane, said Winks, who is 11 years Modric s junior.

I still admire him to this day – he s a fantastic, world-class player. To play agai…

Catalan media outlet Sport is reporting that Manchester United and Barcelona lead the chase for Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil.

The German midfielder has decided to leave the Gunners as his contract is due to expire and his agent is already speaking to interested sides.

Manchester United seem keen to bring Ozil to Old Trafford, but the player also wants to hear what Barcelona has to offer.

According to reports, Ozil’s agent Erkut Sogun recently met with Barca chief Pep Segura, which is enough to suggest the Catalans are ready to do business.

The 29-year-old has been at the Emirates since September 2013 and he produced 34 goals and 62 assists in 174 competitive outings for the club.

…

AC Milan are set to complete the signing of Argentine midfielder Jose Sosa from Besiktas, Sky Sports Italia can reveal.

The Rossoneri are believed to have agreed a €7.5 million deal for the 31-year-old footballer, who has arrived in Italy to undergo medical examination.

Sosa has moved to confirm that he will be joining Milan immediately upon touching down in Italy.

“I m ready to begin on this new path,” Sosa confessed to Sky Sports Italia.

The experienced footballer will sign a two-year contract with the Rossoneri, and he is expected to improve the team’s creative department.

Sosa has spent last two years in Turkish Super Lig with Besiktas, scoring 14 goals and producing 23 assists in 78 competitive appearances for the Black Eagles, helpi…