For the past seven seasons, Stoke City have showed why they deserved to be part of the Premier League.
Angel Di Maria has written an open letter to Manchester United after having completed his big money move to Paris Saint-Germain, ostensibly in order to smooth things over with a fan base that holds him in just slightly higher regard than Radamel Falcao, which is to say it doesn’t like him.
The letter is professional, and makes it clear that he is really sorry for failing to live up to expectations.
To Manchester United:
Mario Gotze has turned into one of the most disappointing players on Bayern Munich’s roster for fans. He has struggled to consistently perform and his attitude on the pitch has suffered accordingly. It’s shocking, really, to see the man that scored the game winning goal of the 2014 World Cup Final fall to such a level.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid was without a doubt one of the greatest and most drawn-out transfer sagas in football history, and it all began shortly after Manchester United rise to the top of the world as newly crowned 2008 European Champions.
American international Aron Johannsson is reportedly moving to Werder Bremen for the 2015/16 Bundesliga season. AZ Alkmaar, the club Johannsson departs, announced the transfer on Twitter.
AZ in hoofdlijnen akkoord over transfer Jóhannsson naar Werder Bremen. http://t.co/hL8OHDQLM3 pic.twitter.com/k8yLV3yqAC
— AZ (@AZAlkmaar) August 4, 2015
It’s a great time to be VfL Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne, shocking misses aside. He has just won the German Supercup for the second year running, beating Bayern Munich both times, no less. He is arguably the most sought after attacking midfielder in the world, and his play each and every week seems to only increase interest in him. He is the top dog in a very good team, and it seems that he is also aware and responsible for his actions, or at least that is what his latest words imply.
It was all sunshine and rainbows for PSG on the field Saturday. The reigning French champions defeated Lyon 2-0 behind goals from Serge Aurier and Edinson Cavani. Aurier in particular was a revelation at left-back.
Off the field, though, was a diferent matter for the club, who look like they might lose star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
"It could be that this was my last game for PSG," Zlatan said after the game.
Borussia Dortmund have announced the extension of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract with the club until 2020, according to the club's website. The Gabonese forward has been sought out by many European clubs, including Arsenal and Bayern Munich. His pace makes him an attractive player to many managers, but his talents will remain with Dortmund.
Former Liverpool and Southampton striker Rickie Lambert is off to an auspicious start with new club West Bromwich Albion.
Lambert, a lifelong Liverpool fan who spent just one year with the club, was signed away by West Brom after a disappointing 2014-2015 season.
A few hours later, Lambert bagged a brace against Bristol Rovers (another former Lambert team) in 56 minutes of work with his new club, which led to great jokes on Twitter.
Drogba lands in Montreal
Everyone's likely already heard that Didier Drogba has signed with the Montreal Impact, a team that recently put up a second place result in the CONCACAF Champion's League. While the rumors were originally for Chicago, Montreal was able to steal him away with a combination of targeted allocation money — they backed the Brink's truck up to Drogba's front door — and location — Montreal being a French speaking town.