Robin Van Persie blasts Louis Van Gaal

Former Manchester United star Robin Van Persie has been opening up on how his time at the club came to an end.

In an interview, the Dutchman reveals the brutal manner in which his compatriot Louis Van Gaal ended his United career.

Van Persie sensationally moved from Arsenal to United in 2012 to fulfil his dream of playing under Sir Alex Ferguson. He hit the ground running, bagging 30 goals in his first season and helping the Red Devils to bring home the Premier League trophy, as per iSports football data API.

However, Sir Alex retired at the end of that season and Van Persie could not reach the same heights under David Moyes and Ryan Giggs the following term, although he still netted 18 times in an injury-ridden year.

（iSports football data API covers a wide range of football games with score, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

He then spent a season under Van Gaal but struggled to adapt to the new manager’s more possession-oriented playing style. He scored just 12 goals in 31 games in 2014/15, according to football livedata provider iSports API and it was at the end of that season when Van Gaal wielded the axe.

‘I had this chat with Louis van Gaal and he told me: “Ok Robin, our ways will part. I’m the coach, you’re the player – you have to go, your time is up” the striker recalled.

‘I was like: “Yeah but I still have a contract?” He said: “I don’t care”.’

‘Ruthless. Towards the end of it, I saw something coming but not this ruthless. And the way he said it as well. My kids are going to school, they have their friends and everything. So in like a split second, all these things come across. How do you react to that?

‘I said: “We will see what happens. That’s your opinion. But I have a contract and I’m happy in England at Manchester United. So we will see what happens”. And I stood up, shook his hand and left it.’

‘That ruthless, that hard, that direct. And then loads of things came through my mind and we started pre-season. I wasn’t allowed to play in the 11 vs 11 and I was given a ball and told to do my own stuff. So you try to stay calm, stay cool but there’s loads of things happening. You’re playing the macho card “It doesn’t affect me”, but it does. It does affect me, my family and my career. Big time.’

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World-Class Defender to Reject PSG in Favor of Premier League

After Paris Saint-Germain was named as one of the clubs that could realistically sign Kalidou Koulibaly, the Napoli defender reportedly prefers to play in England or remain in Italy, as per iSports football livescore API.

According to French media, Koulibaly is reluctant to join PSG this summer even if the club submits a significant offer for his services.

（iSports football data API covers a wide range of football games with score, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

Koulibaly instead prefers a move to the Premier League with Manchester City and Manchester United the two clubs thought to have the best chance of landing the Senegal international. Also ahead of PSG is the chance of Napoli retaining the 28-year-old.

Accoding to football data provider iSports API, with Thiago Silva expected to leave PSG at the end of the season when his contract expires, PSG could use an upgrade at the center-back position but not signing Koulibaly isn’t the end of the world.

Against Borussia Dortmund, Presnel Kimpembe and Marquinhos proved they can combine to silence one of the most potent attacks and I feel most supporters are comfortable with that duo at center-back moving forward.

As I outline in my preview of the 2020-21 squad, the money that would be spent on Koulibaly could be instead used to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić.

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Mexican football suspends promotion and relegation for 5 years

On Friday, Liga MX president Enrique Bonilla confirmed that promotion and relegation in Mexican football have been suspended for the next five years.

The 18 Liga MX owners voted in favour of the matter after the Ascenso MX owners had approved the vote earlier in the week.

Currently, due to financial and structural guidelines, none of the 12 teams in Mexico’s second-division were even eligible for promotion. The league has dropped from 18 teams to 12 teams in the last three years, according to football livescore data provider iSports API.

（iSports football data API covers a wide range of football games with score, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

Ascenso MX clubs will receive an annual total of 240 million pesos ($10m) for five years or 20 million pesos ($845,000) per club per year.

The goal is to make Mexico’s second division a breeding ground for young talent, though the specifics have yet to be decided on.

One measure that will reportedly be in place will be the limit of players on each club over the age of 23.

As a result, the infamous 20/11 rule will be eliminated as confirmed by Bonilla today.

The rule currently requires all Liga MX sides to field players under the age of 20 years, 11 months for at least 1,000 minutes per season, otherwise, they will face a three-point deduction at the end of the regular season, as per iSports football API.

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Real Madrid Planning a Move For English Superstar

Real Madrid could make a big-money move for Tottenham Hotspurstriker Harry Kane in the summer transfer window. The Englishman has come through the ranks at the North London club to become one of their most important players.

According to local news media, the Spanish side’s President Florentino Perez wants to bring Harry Kane to Santiago Bernabéu in the summer. But, the report states that it will be difficult to prise the English international from Spurs as manager Jose Mourinho is a big fan of him, while Chairman Daniel Levy will not let him leave easily.

Harry Kane’s current deal with the club expires only in 2024 which puts Spurs in the driving seat if Kane does want to leave. The Englishman is third in the list of all-time topscorers for the club, having scored 181 goals in 278 appearances for the club in all competitions, as per iSports football livescore API.

（iSports livescore API covers a wide range of football games with score, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

Then, will Harry Kane be a good fit for Real Madrid?

Real Madrid made a big move last summer when they signed young Luka Jovic for around €60 million from Eintracht Frankfurt. But, the Serbian international has been poor for the Spanish giants, scoring just twice in 24 appearances for the club. Madrid are a club that does not offer too many opportunities, and the 22-year-old could be on his way out in the summer.

Manager Zinedine Zidane has had to rely heavily on experienced striker Karim Benzema throughout the season, who has scored 19 times in 36 appearances in all competitions for the club. But, Madrid can’t depend only on Benzema to score the goals and will need to bring in a player who can score 20+ goals apart from the Frenchman, as per football data provider iSports livescore API.

Harry Kane would be a great addition to the Real Madrid squad, which has lacked goals since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Last season, Benzema was the top scorer for Madrid with 30 goals, 21 of those which came in the league, followed by Gareth Bale, who scored 14 goals, 8 of which came in the league, according to football livescore provider iSports API. Those numbers aren’t good enough for a side like Real Madrid, who need at least 2-3 players to score 10-15+ league goals every season.

The only problem that Zidane may have is how both Benzema and Kane can play in the same team as the Madrid manager currently plays with just one central striker. He could perhaps move to a 4-3-1-2 formation, with Eden Hazard playing behind the two central strikers, i.e. Kane and Benzema. This would be a lethal strikeforce that could torment most defences in Europe.

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Chinese Basketball Association postpones restart until at least July

The Chinese Basketball Association is facing another setback in its efforts to resume play in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

It is reported that league officials met overnight to discuss the fate of its season, which has been on hold since Jan. 24 according to basketball data provider iSports APPI, and elected to postpone its schedule again, this time until at least July.

The CBA had been scheduled to resume play on April 15, and teams had taken steps to call back American players. But on March 30, the General Administration of Sports -- an arm of the Chinese government -- issued a wide-ranging ban on large-scale sporting gatherings due to concerns with containment of the virus, as pei iSport basketball API.

（iSports API covers a wide range of basketball games with livescore, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

Further complicating matters is the entry ban that was implemented by the Chinese Foreign Ministry in late March on all non-citizens, including residents and foreigners with previously issued visas. Several players were unable to enter China, leaving many CBA rosters without one or both of the allotted import players.

No final decision on the CBA's season can be made without government clearance, which won't happen until mid-May at the earliest. The possibility of canceling the remainder of the season is still in play.

The CBA's ability to return to normalcy will be closely monitored by sporting leagues across the globe, including the NBA and EuroLeague, which are both postponed indefinitely.

According to Chinese media outlet Xinhua, CBA CEO Wang Dawei will take a 35% pay cut, and other executives will also reduce salary to help ease financial pressure.

Caught in limbo are more than a dozen Americans who returned to China and have finished their 14-day quarantine period. CBA teams have been conducting basketball activities in varying formats, some with full-contact practices and others through social distancing methods. Several player representatives told they've been informed that teams will look to extend contracts and put players on retainer in hopes of resuming play in July, while others may send foreign players home while waiting to see if reopening is likely.

CBA contracts are considered some of the most lucrative in professional basketball, which can make for a difficult decision for Americans. Considering the Foreign Ministry's ban on incoming travel from non-citizens, returning to China in June may prove impossible for those now leaving the country. Some of the top players in the CBA told they intend to stay in China as long as they are receiving salaries, rather than conducting two additional 14-day quarantines.

(Start free trail with you long-term sports data partner with reliable basketball data provider, click iSports API)

Serie A suspension extended to May 3

Serie A's suspension has been extended to May 3, in line with the Italian government's latest lockdown measures to combat the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, which were implemented on Tuesday.

All sporting activities in Italy had been put on hold initially until April 13, with the country having been on a national lockdown since March 10.

Serie A was the first major league in Europe to suspend games due to fears over the coronavirus threat when four matches due to be played on the weekend of Feb. 22 and 23 were called off, according to football data provider iSports API.

（iSports API covers a wide range of football games with livescore, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

Players and managers will take a salary cut of one third should the season not be played out and one sixth if it is finished conclusively in order to help with the financial burden of football not being played.

However, the decision to implement a wage deficit was labelled as "shameful" by the Italian PFA.

There has been uncertainty over whether the Serie A season will come to its conclusion. The owners of Fiorentina and Torino said they believe the league will be unable to finish but Italian FA chief Gabriele Gravina has said it would be an "injustice" to scrap the campaign.

He added that Juventus, who are one point clear of Lazio at the top of the Serie A table, would not accept the title were the season cancelled.

Football was last played in Serie A on March 9, when Sassuolo beat Brescia 3-0, recorded by iSports football API.

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Immobile eyeing Higuain's Serie A record

Lazio star Ciro Immobile is eyeing Gonzalo Higuain's Serie A goalscoring record when the season resumes.

Immobile had scored an incredible 27 Serie A goals this season, as per iSports football livescore API, when the campaign was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With 12 games left to play, Immobile is nearing Higuain's record of 36 goals in a single Serie A season, set with Napoli in 2015-16, according to football data provider iSports API.

（iSports API covers a wide range of football games with livescore, standings, events, line-ups, pre-match odds, statistics）

The 30-year-old hopes he can reach that mark, telling Sky Sport on Monday: "I don't know. It depends.

"I'm training hard to achieve this goal. Everyone has their own. It would be nice. It's like the Easter egg. We'll see what the surprise will be when we get back on the field. I'll do my best."

Immobile had helped Lazio sit second in the table, just a point behind Juventus, when the season was stopped.

The Italy international said the club would be setting their sights on a first Serie A title since 1999-2000, as pre iSports football API.

"The ambitions remain. It is obvious that at this moment we have thought little about football," Immobile said.

"When the time to get back on the field is getting closer, we will have to be good at preparing ourselves mentally because there will be 12 very important matches to continue our dream."

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