‘Messi is a magician while Ronaldo is a general’
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has taken the time to praise La Liga stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, referring to the duo as living legends, reports Goal.com. The 76-year-old feels the two are quite different on the pitch, but has nothing but positive words for both the Barcelona star and the Real Madrid attacker. ‘Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo? Both! They are different but both fantastic for football,’ Blatter was quoted as saying by Marca. ‘Cristiano wants to be the general on the pitch, lay down the law and scream here I stand. Messi, on the other hand, is like a conjurer, a magician. They are both living legends of football.’ The FIFA boss then went on to stress that outspoken coaches like Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Pep Guardiola are good for the image of the game. ‘Mourinho’s one of the giants in football. It’s good for the sport to have big names like Mourinho, Ferguson, Wenger, Guardiola. ‘Each one has his own style and charisma. They don’t sit on the bench all sad and quiet.’ — Sports Desk

Mourinho joined Real in order to challenge Barca
Jose Mourinho has revealed that the chance to challenge Barcelona was one of the main reasons for him to join Real Madrid in the summer of 2010, reports Goal.com. The flamboyant coach feels that La Liga is arguably the best competition in the world when it comes to the top teams, and believes the rivalry between both clubs is pushing them to new heights. ‘We are talking about Barcelona and Real Madrid, two great teams. Pick any other team in the world, and they would not finish in the top two in La Liga,’ Mourinho told AS. ‘And that’s exactly why I joined Real Madrid. Because it’s not easy to challenge Barcelona. It’s very hard to be successful in this competition. ‘Life’s much easier in any other league. Any league where you are not locking horns with Barcelona is easier. Barca are the main reason why Madrid got to where we are now, because they set the bar very high. Barcelona’s era of winning consecutive Liga titles is over, but their cycle has not come to an end yet. They are still a great team and so are Madrid. The rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona is a blessing for football. I don’t have any figures but I’m sure the Spanish Supercopa had a bigger audience than many Champions League games last term.’ — Sports Desk

Barton ban extends to France
English midfielder Joey Barton on Thursday saw his match ban officially rolled over to his French league experience with Marseille. Barton is currently serving a 12-match ban after being found guilty of two charges of violent conduct while playing for QPR in the 3-2 defeat to Manchester City on the last day of last season. And it was confirmed that Barton, on a year loan from Queens Park Rangers to the Mediterranean club, will sit out nine Ligue 1 or League Cup matches in France, in accordance with FIFA transfer rules. The ruling came on the same day that Barton issued a dinner invitation to Frenchman Ousmane Dabo, who was left needing hospital treatment after a violent clash in training when the duo were at Manchester City five years ago. ‘If Ousmane wants to come to a Marseille game, have dinner and discuss it like adults, he’s more than welcome anytime. For me now, its over!’ tweeted Barton. Barton was reacting to an interview Dabo afforded L’Equipe newspaper in which he called the English player ‘very violent’. ‘Thats all I have to say about this chap. I have moved on. Je suis fatigué de cette discussion (I’m tired of this discussion),’ said Barton. ‘I see Dabo is yet to move on, I feel for him. What happened was unfortunate. Next time he should think twice about throwing his weight about.’
— AFP, Marseille