Diego completes loan move to Atletico

Roberto Martinez has dismissed suggestions Everton are thinking about selling Romelu Lukaku following claims from his agent Mino Raiola.

Lukaku has been a key figure for Everton ever since joining from Chelsea in 2013, with the deal becoming permanent in 2014 after an initial season-long loan.

The Belgium striker has netted 30 goals in 77 Premier League games for the Merseyside club, and his performances have led to speculation that he could leave Goodison Park if the price is right.

But, speaking ahead of this weekend s clash with Sunderland on Friday, Everton boss Martinez said: Lukaku has been a real joy to see developing.

He has had a very important role with us from a young age. He is now in a position to take on more responsibility on the pitch.<…

Cristiano Ronaldo became the leading goalscorer in the history of the Madrid derby with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

The 31-year-old struck a deflected free-kick to give Real Madrid the lead midway through the first half before making the points safe with a penalty and a simple finish from a Gareth Bale cross after the break.

Ronaldo now boasts 18 goals against Madrid s city rivals, taking him one above the previous best in this fixture set by Santiago Bernabeu great Alfredo Di Stefano.

His tally in league games at the Vicente Calderon now stands at seven, with only former Brazil star Ronaldo (nine) having scored more for Madrid at the home of their city rivals.

It was a particularly disappointing game for Atleti goalkeeper Jan Oblak, …

Thomas Tuchel declared Romelu Lukaku fit but remains unsure of Thiago Silva s availability ahead of their clash with Aston Villa on Saturday.

Lukaku, who has scored in each of his previous five Premier League appearances against Aston Villa, revealed he was set for a scan after picking up a knock in his 100th Belgium appearance against the Czech Republic last weekend.

However, Tuchel confirmed Lukaku reported back to training fully fit.

When asked if Lukaku s injury was an issue, Tuchel told reporters on Friday: No, not at all. Maybe he had some problems but he came back and he has trained with us, no problems at all.

RL9.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

While Lukaku looks set to feature at Stamford Bridge, the Blues await a decision on whe…

Luis Enrique believes Spain s performance in the first half of Saturday s defeat to Switzerland was their worst 45 minutes of his reign.

Spain slumped to a disappointing 2-1 loss in Zaragoza that leaves them trailing Portugal by two points in Nations League Group A2 heading into the last game.

That final group match is on Tuesday as Spain prepare to face the leaders in Braga, with Fernando Santos side 4-0 winners over the Czech Republic on Saturday.

La Roja did not muster a single shot on target until Jordi Alba s 55th-minute equaliser at La Romareda, and Luis Enrique could not hide his disappointment at the showing.

Losing is always something that hurts. It has been a pity, but we must value Switzerland, who from the beginning caused us many difficultie…

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has made an inquiry into the availability of Benfica forward Rodrigo Moreno, .

The Blues have already made several attacking reinforcements this summer, while they are also hoping to sign Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.

Nevertheless, A Bola has learned that Chelsea are also showing interest in Benfica starlet Rodrigo.

The interesting thing is that Jose Mourinho arrived at Santiago Bernabeu just as the forward was leaving los Blancos for Benfica, but the Portuguese manager has closely monitored the player s progress over the years.

As a result, he is convinced Rodrigo can be a good addition to the squad at Stamford Bridge and could even attempt to sign him this summer.

The 22-year-old, who came through the youth …

CAF Champions League holders Wydad Casablanca qualified from the group stage with 2017 beaten finalists Al Ahly also booking a place in the quarter-finals.

Anas Al Asbahi struck in the 56th minute to earn Wydad a 1-0 home win against Mamelodi Sundowns, with the South African side left on the brink of elimination.

Horoya boosted their chances of following Wydad out of Group C with a 2-1 home win over Togo Port, Bolaji Simeon Sakin controlling the ball in the box and firing the Guinean side s winner through a defender s legs.

Al Ahly won 1-0 at already qualified ES Tunis to guarantee their progress from Group A, Walid Azarou scoring the only goal of the game against the run of play for the Egyptian giants.

STATS | Check out the full-time stats! Which team h…

Miralem Pjanic labelled Cristiano Ronaldo s red card absurd after the Juventus star was sent off in his team s Champions League win over Valencia.

Ronaldo was dismissed before the half-hour mark at the Mestalla on Wednesday after a coming together with defender Jeison Murillo.

In his first European appearance for the Serie A giants, Ronaldo saw red, but Pjanic netted two penalties – and Dani Parejo missed one for Valencia – to see Juve to their win.

The Bosnia-Herzegovina midfielder felt his side were dominant early and he was shocked by Ronaldo s red card.

Football is a strange game. We could have been 4-0 up after the opening period, then came that absurd sending off, Pjanic said, via the club s website.

1 Cristiano Ronaldo has received his…

Luton captain Tom Lockyer said he “literally died” after his heart stopped for two minutes and 40 seconds during his harrowing on-pitch cardiac arrest.

The 29-year-old Welshman, speaking at length for the first time since he collapsed in the 59th minute of the Hatters’ abandoned Premier League game against Bournemouth on December 16, admitted it is “out of his hands” if he will ever play again.

Lockyer was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after he was hospitalised for five days.

Tom Lockyer gives an account of his cardiac arrest and how he has been doing since

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL)

Reliving the incident which rocked the football world, Lockyer, who also suffered a collapse during May’s Cham…

Andreas Brehme, who scored the winning goal for West Germany in the 1990 World Cup final, has died aged 63.

The defender scored from the penalty spot late on to give his country a 1-0 win over Argentina in Rome.

He played for Bayern Munich and Kaiserslautern, winning the Bundesliga with both and also lifted the Serie A title with Inter Milan.

Ruhe in Frieden, Andy! | IMAGO

— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team)

Bayern said the former left-back will be remembered as a “very special person”.

The club posted on X: “FC Bayern is deeply shocked by the sudden death of Andreas Brehme. The German record champion is united in mourning with his relatives and friends.

“We will always keep Andreas Brehme in our hearts – as a world champion and…

Holders Japan will begin their Asian Cup defence in 2015 with a fixture against the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup.

The draw for the competition, which runs from January 9 in Australia next year, took place in Sydney on Wednesday as four-time winners Japan were also grouped with Jordan and Iraq.

Alberto Zaccheroni s men find out who will complete Group D when the AFC Challenge Cup finishes on May 30.

The entrants in that competition are Laos, Turkmenistan, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Myanmar, Afghanistan and the hosts Maldives.

Asian Cup hosts and 2011 finalists Australia face Kuwait in their competition s opening game at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, with South Korea and Oman also going into Group A.

Three-time winners Saudi Arabia get th…