Chelsea in talks with Atlético Madrid for left-back Filipe Luís

Chelsea have resumed talks with Atlético Madrid over the recruitment of the highly rated Brazilian left-back Filipe Luís, one of three potential signings by the Premier League club from the Spanish league winners.
Luís was a key member of the Atlético defence, backed up by the Chelsea loanee Thibaut Courtois in goal, that shipped only 26 goals in 38 games to claim a first league title since 1996. The 28-year-old full-back moved to Vicente Calderón from Deportivo la Coruña four years ago and, while he suggested after Saturday’s Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid that he intended to honour the final three years of his contract, the London club are confident they can lure him to Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are seeking a replacement for the departing Ashley Cole, whose eight-year stay will end when his contract expires at the end of

Atlético Madrid celebrate La Liga title after draw at Barcelona

Atlético Madrid have done it. A year after they went to the Santiago Bernabéu and took the Copa del Rey from Real Madrid, they came here and took the league title from FC Barcelona. It is their first in 18 years. Next they travel to Lisbon to play their first European Cup final for 40 years. What Diego Simeone and his side have achieved is barely believable. Barcelona's supporters recognised the magnitude of what they had witnessed: when the final whistle went here, they immediately broke into applause.
Spain suffered a collective coronary as the season headed into the final minutes of the final day with a single moment sufficient to change the destiny of the title. Barcelona's goalkeeper, José Pinto, was even up for a corner that almost dropped his way. But in the end Diego Godín's header from a corner was enough to

Chelsea's José Mourinho: Eden Hazard does not sacrifice himself for the team

José Mourinho has lamented Eden Hazard's error in Chelsea's Champions League elimination but has no qualms with the Belgian's comments following the midweek exit to Atlético Madrid. Hazard, one of Chelsea's best players for much of the season, failed to track back to allow Atlético to equalise in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg and later said the Blues are set up to counterattack, not to take the initiative in games.
The comments were interpreted as a slight on Mourinho's tactics, which have been criticised of late, and coming from a player linked with Paris Saint-Germain this summer led to speculation over his future.
"I listened to the interview," said Mourinho, whose side lost 3-1 to Atlético and play Norwich in the Premier League on Sunday. "There was nothing critical in

Gareth Bale hopes for Champions League glory after Bayern crushed

Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid to dismantle Bayern Munich in their own stadium, taking his club to a first Champions League final since 2002, and said that momentous nights such as these were the reason why he moved from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record £86m last summer.
Real won 4-0 at the Allianz Arena to advance 5-0 on aggregate and they will face either Chelsea or Atlético Madrid in the final in Lisbon. Carlo Ancelotti, the Real manager, said he would be happy to face Chelsea, who sacked him in 2011 while José Mourinho, the Stamford Bridge manager, would surely like to face Real, from where he departed last summer.
It was the sheer force of Real's first-half performance against the defending champions that took the breath away, with Sergio Ramos heading two

Paolo Maldini: 'All Milan's good work is being destroyed'

The former Milan great Paolo Maldini believes the struggling Serie A giants are destroying the progress made by the club over the last decade following an indifferent season at home and in Europe.
Clarence Seedorf's side are currently 11th in the standings after losing 4-2 at home to Parma on Sunday, leaving them 12 points off fifth spot and qualification for next season's Europa League with just 10 matches to play. Milan were also

As Fernando Torres turns 30 is it time he returned to Atlético Madrid?

 In the week of Fernando Torres's birthday, it can't have been much of a present to see Didier Drogba back at Chelsea. The Ivorian's visit with his current club Galatasaray brought with it tributes from José Mourinho, hugs from his former teammates and misty-eyed pre-match reminiscences. All around Stamford Bridge banners still hang that proclaim Drogba as one of the greatest to wear Chelsea blue, and few fans would have begrudged the old warhorse one last goal at the ground. Torres must know that he will never be taken to heart in the same way.
He has always seemed to exist in Drogba's giant shadow. Though he was signed for £50m in January 2011, the sort of fee that