Porto give Silva five-year deal, €60m release clause

Mark Hughes decision to make six changes paved the way for a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of champions Chelsea on Saturday, but the Stoke boss revealed he had one eye on the crunch clash with Newcastle.

With injuries depleting his defensive options and a huge game with Rafael Benitez s fellow strugglers on New Year s day, Hughes rung the changes at Stamford Bridge.

The effect was somewhat predictable Stoke found themselves 3-0 down inside 23 minutes, and although the visitors battled hard, Chelsea wrapped up a big win thanks to goals from Willian and Davide Zappacosta in the second half .

But afterwards, Hughes insisted he had always been focusing on finishing the hectic current schedule with a home win on Monday a game he expects to have Joe Allen, Xherdan …

Real Madrid can pull within a point of faltering La Liga leaders Barcelona with victory at Getafe on Saturday.

Barca s sudden and unexpected dip in form has seen the Catalans fail to register a win in three league fixtures, allowing chasing duo Atletico Madrid and Real to close in.

Luis Enrique s men looked to be coasting to the defence of their title, but back-to-back league defeats against Madrid and Real Sociedad have checked their momentum.

Madrid, by contrast, are on a six-match winning run in La Liga since losing to city rivals Atleti in February, and overcame a 2-0 first-leg deficit to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Wolfsburg on Tuesday, with Cristiano Ronaldo netting a hat-trick.

Barca, who host Valencia on Sunday,…

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has turned to yoga in a bid to curb his hyperactive touchline antics.

The former Juventus and Italy coach has urged English football s authorities to reconsider the hectic festive schedule in the Premier League for fear of it doing damage to players.

But when a tactician is so intensely animated as Conte, a rapid turnaround in fixtures can also take a toll in the dugout.

I think I am well trained for this but to play every three days is a big effort not only for my players but also for me, he said, with his reigning Premier League champions set to face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

When you live the game in this way, when you finish you are a bit exhausted.

Maybe in the future when I become older then I st…

Molde FK manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed that English Premier League new boys Southampton have submitted a formal bid for highly-rated Norway international defender Vegard Forren, .

Forren, 24, was set to join Liverpool on a week-long trial, with the Reds keen on sealing a permanent switch for the centre-back.

However, the Saints surprise bid for the player has led to the cancellation of his week-long trial at Anfield, with Molde having reportedly accepted Southampton s offer for the Norwegian defender.

Forren is expected to open talks with Southampton about a possible move to the Premier League in the next couple of days.

There have been many inquiries from various English clubs, but Southampton submitted an offer, it was very int…

Former AC Milan defender Cafu said Brazil must win the 2014 World Cup to restore the nation back to football greatness.

The retired right-back is the most capped player for his country with 142 appearances to his name, and is regarded as one of the South American nation s greatest-ever players with two World Cup victories to his name.

Now, speaking exclusively to Goal.com, he acknowledged the nation s struggles on the international stage since their last triumph in 2002, and for that reason emphasised their need to lift the title on home soil.

We must win the World Cup to rescue the image of the Brazilian team, because for me there has been a loss of identity, the 41-year-old explained.

The Selecao was not at its best in 2006 and 2010, but now we expec…

Roman Abramovich s tenure as Chelsea owner means the Premier League might have to implement tougher testing for potential owners, according to the competition s chief executive Richard Masters.

Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 and oversaw a transformative period for the club, who have since won five Premier League titles and triumphed five times in the FA Cup, three times in the EFL Cup and the Champions League twice.

However, Abramovich was forced to put the Blues up for sale earlier this year when, after Russia s invasion of Ukraine, the UK government sanctioned the Russian oligarch.

Todd Boehly, who also co-owns the Los Angeles Dodgers, led a consortium that eventually bought the club in May, bringing an end to Abramovich s spell at the helm after 19 yea…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken responsibility for Manchester United s Champions League elimination, admitting his side failed to play as a team in their 3-2 loss to RB Leipzig.

United – who only required a draw to reach the last 16 – fell behind inside 109 seconds and were two down with 13 minutes on the clock as they struggled to adapt to a tweaked five-man back-line on Tuesday.

Angelino scored the opener and the Manchester City loanee set up Amadou Haidara for the second goal, before Justin Kluivert s clipped finish gave last season s semi-finalists further breathing space.

Solskjaer s United rallied late on thanks to Bruno Fernandes penalty and substitute Paul Pogba s header in the space of 135 seconds, but they could not find the equaliser needed to send …

Brazil s misfiring striker Fred claimed no-one should have been surprised by the host nation s failure to score against Mexico.

Mexico held Brazil to a scoreless draw at the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday in Fortaleza with their goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa making a handful of top saves to deny the likes of Neymar, Paulinho and Thiago Silva.

Fred was subbed off in the 68th minute for Jo after a fairly lacklustre performance but the 30-year-old striker claimed it was never going to be easy against Mexico.

We had expected difficulties, Fred told Brazilian newspaper O Globo.

(At the 2013) Confederations Cup we won with (a) late goal in a very open game. Today s game was more open and the goal did not come out but we have to congratulate their goalkeeper who produced four m…

Venezuela produced an efficient performance to beat Honduras 3-2 in an international friendly on Wednesday.

Richard Blanco, Arquimedes Figuera and Edder Farias were all on target as Venezuela punished a wasteful Honduras outfit 3-2 to end a run of five consecutive defeats.

Venezuela had lost to Honduras, South Korea, Japan, Chile and Bolivia prior to Wednesday s clash but the South Americans finally ended their winning drought at Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula.

Figuera and Farias put the result seemingly beyond doubt in the second half after Blanco opened the scoring in the 21st minute, though Honduras threatened a comeback with two goals in the final 10 minutes.

It was Venezuela s first win since September 2013.

In the first mat…

Celtic have their work cut out to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as their dismal European away record continued with a 1-0 Group E defeat at Villarreal on Tuesday.

Dead-ball specialist Marcos Senna, one of Spain s Euro 2008 victors, produced a trademark free-kick 23 minutes from time to break Celtic s resistance.

Celtic now have just one point from their first two matches and their next match is a daunting trip to Old Trafford to face reigning champions Manchester United on October 21.

Villarreal are locked with Manchester United on four points at the group summit and travel to group outsiders Aalborg BK on the same day.

Senna, who starred for Spain in their triumphant march to the Euro 2008 title, said that despite a good start they…