Chelsea in contact with Real Madrid defender

According to the Express, Chelsea have made contact with the agent of Sergio Ramos over a potential move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

The 28-year-old has already turned down the offer of a contract extension from Madrid, and his current contract expires in 2017.

Ramos is already drawing attention from other Premier League sides such as Manchester United and Arsenal, but reports say it is Chelsea that have made the first move.

Potential earnings

The Spanish international is looking to be earning as much as teammates Karim Benzema, and the World’s most expensive footballer Gareth Bale.

Ramos is believed to be keeping his options open ahead of a shock move away from the Santiago Bernabeu, and could end up playing for former coach Jose Mourinho.

Rumours are that Ramos is the key target out of a bunch of players in Mourinho’s head, as he looks for a long term replacement for Chelsea veteran and captain John Terry.

Title winner

The Spanish centre-half is no stranger to winning silverware, with a vastly impressive list of honours to his name.

In his time at Real Madrid Ramos has won the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the FIFA Club World Cup, La Liga 3 times and the Copa del Rey twice.

Alongside that he has also with his country Spain won the FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA European Championship’s twice.

New contract from Carlo

Whether or not Ramos fancies giving life in English football a go under either Jose Mourinho, Louis van Gaal or Arsene Wenger remains to be seen, but his future now remains in the hands of current manager Carlo Ancelotti.

 

Qatar 2022 World Cup could possibly clash with Winter Olympics

FIFA have publicly announced the two possible dates for the 2022 World Cup, and both are in winter.

Ever since it was announced that Qatar was to host the World Cup there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the decision. Talks of potential scandal and bribery to allow Qatar to win the right to host the prestigious tournament. Mentions of unethical work methods being taken up in the country, which has seen a number of workers killed during construction. But today we may have been given the answer to a question that was on football’s governing bodies lips, when was it to be held?

The FIFA World Cup is a sporting event which is predominantly held in summer time, around the months of June and July, but that simply was not an option for the World Cup in Qatar. Summer lasts from May till September in the middle-eastern country, with average temperatures surpassing 38 degrees Celsius, and approaching 47 degrees Celsius. The tournament does tend to be hosted during the summer as all of the domestic leagues from countries that compete in the World Cup are over, but the case may be different for Qatar.

The suggestion to host the competition in winter time was first made shortly after the announcement that Qatar would be hosting, as the issue with temperature was taken into account straight away. So FIFA have discussed the possibilities on several different occasions and it does seem that they have announced their short-list of the two potential best dates for the tournament to be held.

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke made a statement on Monday saying: “We are getting closer to narrowing the dates for the FIFA World Cup to two options – January/February 2022 or November/December 2022 – but FIFA has also been asked to consider May 2022.

“We will summarise what we’ve heard today and provide feedback to all parties in order for them to prepare for the next meeting as we progress towards a final decision.”

UEFA has argued strongly to hold the tournament in January/February 2022, as these dates would minimise disruption to the Champions League. But holding the competition at that time would raise the prospect of a clash with the Winter Olympics, which FIFA President Sepp Blatter has guaranteed will be avoided.

So only time will tell to see when the 2022 World Cup will be hosted, and whether or not it will clash with the Winter Olympics.