Yaya Toure has reversed his decision to retire from international duty and made himself available for selection by Ivory Coast.
The Manchester City midfielder stepped away from national team duties in September 2016 after winning 113 caps in 14 years.
However, the 34-year-old wants to play for his country again and to help the younger players who are breaking into the set-up.
Writing on Twitter, he said: I love my country and am available for national team selection. I want to help the next generation and use my experience to make all Ivorians proud!!
I love my country and am available for national team selection. I want to help the next generation and use my experience to make all Ivorians proud!!
— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure)
Earlier o…
Juventus winger Marko Pjaca has given his nod on a Schalke loan move until the end of the season, Sky Sport Italia can confirm.
The 22-year-old Croatia international joined Juventus at the beginning of the 2016/17 season but suffered a cruciate ligament injury which cut his debut season with Bianconeri short and denied the talented winger an opportunity to prove his worth with the Italian champions.
Pjaca has since then failed to get back to the first team at Juventus and is now deemed surplus to the requirements.
And with the World Cup in Russia on the horizon, Pjaca is looking for a move out of Juventus in order to boost his chances of earning his place in the Croatia squad.
Pjaca was initially being mentioned as a bargaining chip in Juventus’ pursui…
Manchester City right-back Bacary Sagna has backed compatriot Eliaquim Mangala to shine against Paris-Saint Germain in the absence of Vincent Kompany.
Club captain Kompany appeared set to give boss Manuel Pellegrini a fitness boost for Tuesday s Champions League quarter-final, which is poised at 2-2 following last-week s first leg at the Parc des Princes, when he returned to training ahead of schedule from his latest calf injury.
But Pellegrini told a pre-match news conference Kompany was not 100 per cent fit, meaning Sagna s fellow France international Mangala is expected to line up alongside Nicolas Otamendi at centre-back – the Argentina defender having been passed fit despite suffering a twisted ankle during Saturday s 2-1 win over West Brom.
Inconsistent…
When I played in the streets of Madeira and dreamed of reaching the top of the football I could not imagine that one day I would take a picture like this, he wrote.
I dedicate this moment above all to my family, my friends, my team-mates, the coaches with whom I have always learned and so many others at my clubs and with the national team.
Finally, a special thanks to my fans. These trophies are yours too!
Real Madrid are back in action against Numancia in the Copa del Rey on Thursday before resuming their Liga campaign at Celta Vigo this weekend.
The 3-0 Clasico defeat to Barcelona before Christmas left Zinedine Zidane s side fourth in the table, 14 points behind their bitter rivals at the summit.
…
FIFA s director of security believes the governing body have successfully mitigated the threat of match-fixing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Former Interpol director Ralf Mutschke – tasked with protecting the honour of football – has confidence in FIFA s long-term integrity measures to ensure criminality is eradicated from the game.
Mutschke acknowledged that an event of the magnitude of the World Cup would be targeted by fixers, but said the organisation s several preventative steps have left him confident of an incident-free tournament.
First of all, match manipulation and match fixing is the evil to all sports including football, Mutschke said.
Football is being played worldwide and therefore we are threatened by organised crime, by criminals on a worldwide …