Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has turned down a massive pay rise to remain at Stamford Bridge, but fans of the Blues need not worry about losing the Special One. 

The Sun (h/t Charles Perrin of the Express) claims Mourinho will extend his current contract with Roman Abramovich for two further years, staying on his current £8.5 million annual salary, after rejecting the offer of increasing his wealth. 

A source reportedly told the Sun, regarding the new deal, which keeps the manager in west London until 2019: “It has been an easy deal to do. Jose said he’s happy on the same money as before so we’re just extending the contract by two years. Everyone’s delighted.”

Chelsea fans will be jubilant at the news—and the fact Mourinho appears to be at Stamford Bridge for all the right reasons, rather than increasing his personal financial gain is just an added bonus. 

Football writer Rob Beasley expressed shock at Mourinho giving up the opportunity to sign improved terms:

Mourinho has repeated the success he found at Stamford Bridge during his first tenure at the club, winning the Premier League once again—and positioning the team as England’s best.

Despite winning the Champions League after the coach’s departure, the club has craved to jump ahead of the EPL’s most likely sides once again, and Mourinho has facilitated this. 

The Portuguese manager—who has also managed Inter Milan and Real Madrid to major honours—admitted last term it is not money that motivates him, per Perrin: “I don’t need a contract, I don’t need a pay rise. I stay as long as Mr Abramovich wants me!”

Mourinho has formulated a ruthlessly efficient squad, and it was his decisions in the summer transfer market last year that won Chelsea the league. His side hit 73 goals in their charge to the Premier League title, conceding just 32 times, per Squawka.com.

The additions of Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas highlight just how aware Mourinho is of the task at hand in England, and how to fine tune a good team into a winning side. Even without major additions for 2015-16, Chelsea appear to still be at the front of the queue for silverware, with the team going through a stable period—in terms of transfer movement. 

It is likely Mourinho will bring further success to Stamford Bridge—and it will not cost Abramovich any more to keep the best manager in the business. 

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It is to be hoped Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal interrupted his holiday in Portugal to watch some of the Copa America. 

It would have provided him with a clear reminder of why he sanctioned the £59.7 million signing of Angel Di Maria nearly a year ago.

At the tournament in Chile, the Argentinian looked in impressive form as Argentina reached the final before losing to the hosts on Saturday night. 

In their semi-final, Di Maria scored twice and provided an assist to help Argentina overcome Paraguay 6-1 in Concepcion.

Last season, Di Maria was rarely seen at his best at Old Trafford. But in Chile, he played with his usual confidence and the verve and attacking intent that made him one of the world’s leading players.

Inevitably, there has been renewed speculation that Di Maria could be the subject of a bid from either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich this summer.

There might be a temptation from Van Gaal and the Old Trafford board to cash in on Di Maria, get most of their money back and reinvest it in another player during this transfer window. 

But that would be a grand and costly mistake, for Di Maria still has the ability to be United’s most influential and important player next season.

United possess a rare and brilliant talent, who must now be nurtured and given the stage he deserves rather than cast aside after a single season.

Every leading club in Europe is searching for a catalyst, a player who who can inspire others and help to transform their fortunes. 

In Di Maria, United already possess that player, who remains a world-class talent and, aged only 27, is now approaching his peak.

It is true he endured a difficult first season at United, but the Premier League is littered with stories of foreign players who have needed time to settle and of clubs who were rewarded for their patience. 

This summer, Arsenal have celebrated the 20th anniversary of the signing of a Premier League icon, Dennis Bergkamp.

When he first arrived at Highbury, the Dutchman looked a lost soul. Inter Milan looked to be vindicated for their surprising decision to sell him, but his talent was far too great to fester for long, and soon it would emerge to help overhaul Arsenal and deliver seven trophies over the next 11 years.

Today, a statue of Bergkamp stands outside the Emirates Stadium.

Five year later, Arsenal had a similar experience with Robert Pires, who looked off the pace and unsuited to the rigours of English football after signing from Marseille in 2000.  

But Pires led Arsenal to the double of the Premier League title and FA Cup in his second season, and he was voted the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year. 

It would be rash and almost negligent for United to dispense with Di Maria and allow him to take his talents elsewhere.

United have got through the hard part, the settling-in season, the cultural adjustment, and they should now begin to enjoy the benefit.

Amid his underwhelming first season, when United were only treated to a fleeting glimpse of what Di Maria could do, the Argentinian still managed to provide 10 assists, the third most in the Premier League.

There should be excitement at Old Trafford at the prospect of what a settled and content Di Maria could now deliver.

It is true United’s most impressive performances last season came when Di Maria was not actually in the starting lineup.

Last spring, United, set up in a 4-3-3 formation, brushed aside Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City with successive and dominant wins.

Di Maria had to watch from the bench as Ashley Young thrived on the left side of the attacking three.

But Di Maria has too much talent and cost United too much money to simply remain a spectator, and though it might seem harsh, he needs to start the season instead of Young.

As impressive as Young was last season, United still limped to a fourth-place finish. With Di Maria, they have a player who can take them to the summit of the Premier League.

During the ’90s, Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Eric Cantona as his side’s “can-opener.” 

“Of all the many qualities a good team must possess, the supreme essential for me is penetration, and Eric brought the can-opener,” the former United manager said. 

Cantona and Di Maria are different players, but they both have the same ability to provide this penetration and unlock defences for their team-mates with an astute pass or cross.

Di Maria also brings the added advantage of genuine pace and a track record of success in the Champions League.

Two decades on from Cantona’s time in Manchester United’s No. 7 shirt, Di Maria can become Van Gaal’s own can-opener and help transform his United side next season.

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Steve Nash retired following a successful 19-year career in the NBA, but the 41-year-old may not be done playing sports. 

According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Nash may get a chance to play with the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos B team.

“The future NBA Hall of Famer trained this week the New York Cosmos B Team of the National Premier Soccer League, the Daily News has learned, and there’s a possibility he plays Sunday in a game against the Rhode Island Reds,” Bondy wrote. 

The Cosmos B team is having a good start to the season, with Bondy noting they currently have an 8-0-1 record entering play Sunday. 

Nash is a well-known soccer fan. His foundation holds an annual “Showdown” event in cities like New York and Los Angeles, in which he and other NBA players join forces with professional soccer players in a game to raise money for charity. 

In 2013, Nash had a courtesy tryout with Inter Milan in an effort to help bring publicity to the Guinness International Champions Cup tournament in Miami that year. 

Nash’s NBA career ended with a whimper, as he went from winning back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006 to saying he wasn’t going to retire before his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers ran out so he could get all the money on his deal.

While Nash and the Lakers’ marriage ended without him playing a game last season, the former All-Star point guard is apparently healthy and ready to give his other sport of choice a shot if the New York Cosmos B team wants him.   

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Lukas Podolski‘s time with Arsenal appears to be over, with the attacker set to be unveiled as a Galatasaray player.

The Turkish club revealed the news via their official Twitter feed, giving details on his contract signing:

The German international saw success with the Gunners during the 2013-14 season, helping the team to win the FA Cup. However, the player spent the second half of last season on-loan at Inter Milan, suggesting a permanent move would follow, this summer. 

Podolski arrived at Arsenal in 2012 for £11 million, signing from Cologne. The 30-year-old hit 31 goals in 82 appearances for Arsene Wenger, per BBC Sport. 

Football writer Samuel Jay C. confirmed further details of the player’s move to Cim-Bom, citing the transfer fee that secured Podolski’s services:

Despite being a fan favourite, the Independent’s Jack Pitt-Brooke gave a scathing assessment of the German’s tenure in north London:

However, Pitt-Brooke’s comments were put into context by Sky Sports, which instead highlighted the player’s successes at the Emirates:

The time is certainly right for Podolski to say goodbye to the Gunners, as Wenger looks to build a world-class attacking unit—an element the player cannot provide. 

Turkish football will offer the German a more stable environment to pick up first-team minutes, and with his eye for goal he could become a Gala hero in no time at all. 

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Trotting toward the corner flag, a beaming smile on his face, Antoine Griezmann performed a little jig that culminated in a leap and a fist pump. The routine had come to be the Atletico Madrid striker’s customary goal celebration, but this one was different. The animation was greater, the look on his face telling. 

Griezmann had surprised himself. 

Moments earlier, following a set-piece sequence that had become a pinball exercise at Deportivo La Coruna’s Riazor back in April, the Frenchman had added an exclamation point to the move, soaring to blast a stunning bicycle kick past Depor goalkeeper Fabricio and into the top-left corner. Skilful, powerful and complex. It was breathtaking.

The goal was Griezmann’s 19th in the league and 22nd in all competitions. Minutes later, he added his 20th and 23rd respectively, extending Atletico Madrid’s unbeaten run, which had started in March, to 10 games.

Europe had been put on notice. A week later, the former Real Sociedad star made it 22 and 25—remarkable tallies when you consider he spent large portions of the first half of the season as a substitute.  

Predictably, the continent’s heavyweights have begun to lurk, looking to prise away another prolific goalscorer from the Vicente Calderon. According to the Guardian, Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea have considered a move for Griezmann. In the Spanish capital, Marca added that Bayern Munich are also interested.

As such, Diego Simeone’s answer when quizzed by Marca in June about which Atleti players were categorically not for sale was somewhat ominous. “Koke, Godin and that’s about it,” said Simeone. Amid transfer interest from cashed-up heavy hitters, it felt as though the Atleti manager was subtly instructing the club’s fans to brace themselves for the worst.

Yet at the same time, one’s mind was also taken back to the early parts of last season, when Simeone refused to treat Griezmann like a star despite the club’s outlay of €30 million to make him a marquee summer signing, as we explained here at Bleacher Report in February: 

When he arrived at the Vicente Calderon, Griezmann wasn’t just in for a period of learning and development. He was also in for a reality check. As ESPN FC‘s Lee Roden put it, “At Real Sociedad, Griezmann was one of the stars. At Atletico there are no stars.”

Simeone wasn’t afraid to make the club’s marquee signing aware of that, playing him both sporadically and out of position in his opening months at the club. In no way would “El Cholo” ever make Griezmann feel like a star.

Early substitutions were extremely regular. Brief appearances at the end of games were, too. There was a shift in mentality that was needed, an alteration in how he viewed his game and his status within a group of players.

Until he’d fully embraced the Atletico way, the Simeone way, he’d be a peripheral figure.

For Simeone, leaving Griezmann off the list of players considered untouchable was perhaps a continuation of that, another effort to keep the 24-year-old’s feet grounded while his reputation, value and fame soar. On the banks of the Manzanares, Atletico Madrid have become what they are because their Argentinian leader won’t let them subscribe to individual acclaim. Simeone has clearly gone to great lengths to make Griezmann aware of that.

But what other clubs do is out of Simeone and Atleti’s control, and the reportedly circling Chelsea and Bayern Munich are only heightening Griezmann’s stardom. Consequently, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo was forced to break Simeone’s tough love, describing the Frenchman as “un-transferrable” to Radio4G (h/t ESPN FC). “Nobody should doubt that,” he added. 

Cerezo stance is justified; Los Colchoneros can’t afford to lose their leading scorer. But it’s about more than just goals and output—it’s about the club’s investment into Griezmann. 

When Atletico brought the precocious winger from the Basque Country to the Spanish capital, there was a degree of risk involved. Griezmann had been a star at Real Sociedad, yes, but €30 million was a hefty sum for a player who still needed to do a lot of work before he could be classed among Europe’s elite.

Additionally, the France international wasn’t exactly the type Atleti wanted or needed; having lost Diego Costa, signing a powerful and explosive centre-forward was the club’s primary desire but one that couldn’t be satisfied until this summer’s purchase of Jackson Martinez.

Atletico took something of a punt on Griezmann, identifying a player who, while not the finished product, could be moulded to their liking with discipline and hard work. Initially, it was difficult. It took six months to begin seeing any substantial return. But by season’s end, Atleti had crafted the player they wanted, a very Atletico player—tenacious, intense, lethal and committed to a two-way existence.

They don’t want that hard work to now benefit someone else. 

In Simeone, Atleti possess an alluring manager, one players are now extremely keen to work under having seen the development he’s fast-tracked in so many others. And Griezmann is no exception, having expressed the way he’s learned to love El Cholo to Al Primer Torque (h/t Football Espana).

As such, amid transfer interest in the Frenchman, Atleti might have an important trump card in that sense if the interested parties were Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Manchester United, AC Milan, Inter Milan or Juventus. But they’re not. The lurking clubs are Chelsea and Bayern Munich. That means Mourinho and Pep Guardiola—perhaps the only two managers in the game with a reputation as rich as Simeone’s right now.

That’s likely to be attractive to Griezmann. And both outfits would have the resources to pay the forward’s €65 million buyout clause—a figure that would represent a massive profit on the player for Atletico but one whose departure would also leave a massive hole and feeling of emptiness.

Atletico fans will thus hope Cerezo is correct that Griezmann is “un-transferrable,” even if the reality is different. 

Follow @TimDCollins

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