The Squad Sports Blog

The EPL season is just around the corner again, less than a week from now. This spells the end of boring weekends where you have to watch unimportant (friendly) matches and rather dull encounters. Every supporter would be gearing up for what should be an exciting season (not that we'd ever expect less) yet again, with each team analyzing tactics, changing coaches, trading players all to meet their targets. While there's so much that could be said on that, we choose to give you a little update on notable changes to the game that you should expect as Arsenal host Leicester in their opening fixture on Friday. PITCH CHANGES In recent seasons, we've been treated to remarkable pitch designs/patterns from groundsmen that truly captivates the eye. Notable designs include those on display in Leicester's King Power stadium and Southampton's St Mary's ground. Leicester's King Power stadium pitch pattern. Such pitch patterns would not be on display in th...

Neymar is nearing a world record £198m move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.  Sky Sports  spoke to Brazilian football expert Tim Vickery about why it is such an important moment in the forward's career Between joining Barcelona from Santos in 2013 and confirming his intention to depart for Paris Saint-Germain this week, Neymar lifted eight major trophies and established himself as one of the world's leading players. The Brazilian formed arguably the greatest strike force of all time with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, scoring 105 goals in 186 games over the course of four seasons in Catalonia. The decision to leave it all behind has sent shockwaves around the world of football, but it can also be seen as a necessary step for Neymar to fulfill his personal ambitions. Unseating Messi as Barcelona's main man in the foreseeable future would be a near impossible task for any player, so when the Argentine signed a new four-year contract this summer, Neymar decided to ...

How much do I need to start my own league, sure wouldn't be more than £450 million. As it stands though, a single being playing the round ball that we all love is worth just that amount. But what is the fuss all about, it isn't my money anyway. The ultimate truth in the midst of all these chaos is this - This is the best best decision Neymar could have made. Consider this for a moment, Neymar arrived Barcelona in 2014 and since then he has won the 2 Laliga titles, 3 Copa Del Rey titles, a Club World Cup and a solitary Champions League title. These trophies together constitute every major trophy a player can win whilst playing in Barcelona, and he has won them all. So I am sure Neymar would be thinking to himself, what more challenge can life at Barcelona offer and the honest answer is nothing. For a player of Neymar's caliber, with all the glitz and glamour associated with him, what he must sure desire the most is to win the Fifa men's best player and staying at Bar...

Wladimir Klitschko has announced his retirement from boxing, ending the prospect of a rematch with Anthony Joshua. Eddie Hearn had penciled in a November 11 date for a second Joshua-Klitschko clash  in the wake of their stunning heavyweight fight back in April. But that 11-round Wembley epic will now be the last of Klitschko's 69 professional contests after the Ukrainian's decision to call time on a 21-year career. A statement from the former world champion read: "I deliberately took a few weeks to make my decision, to make sure I had enough distance from the fight at Wembley Stadium. "As an amateur and a professional boxer, I have achieved everything I dreamed of, and now I want to start my second career after sports. "I would have never imagined that I would have such a long and incredibly successful boxing career. I'm very thankful for this. Thanks to everyone who has always supported me, especially my family, my team and my many fans....

Roger Federer defeated long term rival Rafa Nadal 6-3 6-4 for the third time this year at the Miami Open Final In what was their third meeting this year and their second meeting in the final of a tournament in 2017, in the first set, the Australian Open Champion broke Nadal in the eight game to serve for the set at 5-3. In the second set, Nadal was broken again but this time in the ninth game and Federer served for the match at 5-4. This was Federer's third Miami Open title and Sunshine double, and his 26th ATP Masters title . The last time he won the Miami Open was in 2006 when he defeated his coach, Ivan Ljubicic. Nadal still leads the head to head 23-14 but has lost the last four games to Federer dating back to 2015. With this, FedEx has moved up to No. 4 in the ATP rankings. Give it up for the Swiss Maestro !

Neymar showed once again why he is been tipped as the heir to Messi and Ronaldo's dominance in the Balon d'Or by putting in a fine display as Brazil all but booked a spot at next year's FIFA World Cup in Russia with  a 3-0 home win against Paraguay. Neymar was the Captain for the day, his first time of wearing the armband since March last year and he didn't fail to impress as he scored his 52nd international goal. Philippe Coutinho scored the first goal of the encounter 10 minutes before the recess after combining with Paulinho, who scored a hattrick against Uruguay a few days back. Neymar then scored the second from the penalty spot after 64 minutes. Marcelo put some gloss on the scoreline with four minutes remaining to hand the CONMEBOL leaders their ninth successive victory under Coach Tite. What a way to qualify for the World Cup. Is Brazil getting their mojo back?

Cristiano Ronaldo gets one over Lionel Messi as the Portuguese earned more than the Argentinean in 2016-17 making him the highest earning footballer in the year under review. On the other hand, Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho was the highest earning manager, topping the list which features the likes of Bayern Munich boss, Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City gaffer, Pep Guardiola Best paid footballers 2016/17. 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - €87.5 million. 2. Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona) - €76.5 m. 3. Neymar Da Silva (FC Barcelona) - €55.5 m. 4. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) - €41 m. 5. Ezequiel Lavezzi (Hebei China Fortune) - €28.5 m. Best paid football coaches 2016/17. 1. José Mourinho (Manchester United) - €28 m. 2. Marcello Lippi (China) - €23.5 m. 3. Laurent Blanc (without a team) - €20 m. 4. Carlo Ancelotti (Bayern Munich) - €15.8 m. 5. Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) - €14.5 m. These earnings ...

It started as johnbinho.blogspot.com but has now become thesquadsports.blogspot.com with more contributors. This is a blog owned and managed by a group of sports afficionados with a bias towards football. We are here to bring to you all kinds of rumours and news from the world of football​ and other sports as we get the inspiration to. We're not making any promises, but be rest assured that we'll deliver to the best of our abilities. One thing is sure, we all love football, and we'll let you in on our personal thoughts about trending football stories or issues, players, managers, clubs and competitions. Watch this space because we are about to serve you sports news just like hot pepper soup with goat meat. Join us on the ride as we take you around the world of sports by doing what we love doing.