Spain’s tax agency have released their annual list of people and companies who owed more than 1m euros in taxes at the end of 2019.

With a debt of 34.6m euros, Neymar is one of the most high-profile names to appear on this year’s list.

Various clubs also appear, with Real Murcia owing 10.7m euros in back taxes, Hercules 3.7m euros, Lleida Sportiu 1.5m euros, Real Jaen 1.2m euros and Reus Deportiu 1.1m euros.

Girona’s basketball team owe 10m euros, Atletico Alcantarilla 1.8m euros and Balonmano Neptuno 1m euros.

Retired Argentine footballer Gabriel Milito appears with 1.8m euros and former MotoGP rider Alfonso ‘Sito’ Pons has 1.9m euros of debt, after also appearing on the list in 2019.

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has admitted that star striker Timo Werner did not take a penalty in the shootout defeat by Tottenham because he had cramp.

Werner has impressed since his summer arrival from RB Leipzig and was expected to be one of the Blues’ first five penalty takers on Tuesday night.

Instead, the German was nowhere to be seen and Lampard explained after the game that he refused the chance to step up to the spot because of the cramp.

‘We spoke to the players,’ said Lampard afterwards. ‘You work on penalties and try and have a plan but it’s very difficult to know.

‘Timo had some cramp at the end and Timo would have probably taken one so we had to adjust around that.’

Werner suffering from cramp might be somewhat of a surprise given that he had played only 90 minutes – there was no extra-time in the game, which went straight to penalties after the stalemate.

Chelsea’s players also had an extra day to recover from their previous match – a 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday – than Tottenham’s players, who drew 1-1 with Newcastle on Sunday.

In the shootout, all of the first nine penalties were scored, with Eric Dier, Tammy Abraham, Erik Lamela, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Jorginho, Lucas Moura, Emerson and Harry Kane all successfully finding the net.

Then, much to Blues fans’ surprise, rather than Werner it was Mason Mount who stepped up for the decisive kick, but he could only find the outside of the post and Chelsea were knocked out.

Mount’s missed spot-kick means Tottenham go through to the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, and they will find out their opponents for the next stage of the competition on Thursday.

Jose Mourinho’s side now have less than 48 hours’ rest before their home Europa League play-off clash with Maccabi Haifa

Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has been ruled out of action for at least the next two matches with a knee injury.

The German international missed almost the entire 2019-20 campaign for former club Manchester City following knee surgery after tearing a cruciate ligament in the 2019 Community Shield win over Liverpool.

And Bayern coach Hansi Flick revealed on Tuesday that the 24-year-old’s new problem is on the same knee.

It means Sane will miss Bayern’s Super Cup showdown with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday and Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with Hertha Berlin.

Sane could also possibly be out of the rescheduled German Cup first-round match against Duren on October 15.

‘Leroy is out. Hopefully he will be back after the international break,’ Flick said.

‘He’s got a capsule injury in his knee.’

Sane, who played for 73 minutes in Bayern’s 4-1 defeat by Hoffenheim on Sunday, which ended a 32-game unbeaten run, is also likely to miss Germany’s Nations Cup matches against Ukraine on October 10 and Switzerland three days later.

Sane joined Bayern from City after putting his name to a five-year contract in July.

He has scored one goal and contributed two assists in his first three appearances for the German champions.

Flick also revealed defender David Alaba faces a late fitness test for Wednesday’s meeting with Dortmund due to a muscle problem.

Sergino Dest has arrived in Barcelona ahead of his move from Ajax.

The right-back flew in to Barcelona on Tuesday evening and is expected to complete his transfer to the Catalan club imminently.

He’s likely to undergo a medical on Wednesday morning, but it won’t be announced until all the details are finalised.

If everything goes to plan, the American will be presented as a new Barcelona player by the end of this week.

Although a final agreement is yet to be reached – one is expected in the coming hours – between the two clubs, Ajax have allowed Dest to travel to Barcelona.

The 19-year-old arrives at the Camp Nou to replace Nelson Semedo, who has left to join Wolves in the Premier League.

At the moment, Ronald Koeman has Sergi Roberto as his only right-back option at the club.

Dest will be looking to make the position his own, but that’s something no player has been able to do since Dani Alves left in 2016.

Bayern Munich also pushed hard to secure his services from Ajax, but Barcelona are closing in on a deal worth 20 million euros, plus five million in add-ons.

Ousmane Dembele’s disciplinary problems at Barcelona are showing no sign of abating as the Manchester United target turned up late to training once again, to the frustration of new coach Ronald Koeman.

The 23-year-old’s Barcelona career has failed to kickstart since he signed for £136m from Borussia Dortmund in 2017,  with a series of injuries as well as disciplinary issues plaguing his spell at the Nou Camp.

And according to Marca, the Frenchman has had off-field problems again after failing to turn up to training on time on Monday morning.

Dembele reportedly arrived at club’s Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training complex at 10.15am, 15 minutes after Koeman’s deadline of 10am.

It is not the first time that the former Dortmund winger has had issues getting to the training ground on time. During the 2018-19 campaign, Dembele failed to show up to training altogether after oversleeping.

Following that incident, the club placed strict measures on the talented attacker – including banning late night video gaming sessions and ensuring his phone is kept on and not turned on silent.

Dembele was once fined £90,000 in the wake of another late arrival to training, when he turned up two hours after the deadline.

The Frenchman’s fall down the pecking order since Koeman’s arrival has led to speculation that the £136m man’s future may lie elsewhere.

The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to England, with Manchester United identifying him as a possible alternative to Jadon Sancho if the Red Devils fail in their pursuit for the Englishman.

United are reportedly wanting to take the former Dortmund star on an initial season-long loan with an obligation to buy, though no official approach has been made, ESPN claims.

The Spanish news paper reports that, Manchester United representatives and Barcelona has finally arrived in a fee of 50million euros . Barcelona want to buy Manchester United former player Depay, and want to cash in on Dembele.

Fabian Soldini, Lionel Messi’s former agent, has revealed how close the Barcelona superstar came to playing for Spain.

The forward emerged as a first team player at the Camp Nou in his mid-teens, attracting the interest of Spain and his native Argentina.

“The Argentina youth team didn’t call up Leo because they thought there was no competition in Spain,” Soldini said.

“In Argentina you play against River Plate, Newell’s Old Boys… and Barcelona played against Lleida and always won 5-0.

“They thought there was no competition.

“At that time, Spain did give him a call-up, but Leo wanted to play for Argentina.

“We made a promise with Leo that he would not drink any more Coca-Cola until the national team came calling.

“We waited two or two and a half years.

“I did it to him because he was very fond of it and because the nutrition issue was complicated.

“We killed two birds with one stone

Portuguese sports daily ‘A Bola’ claims the agent has made over 20 million euro in the current transfer market affected by the ongoing pandemic.

Jorge Mendes is one of the highest profile agents in world football with his Gestifute agency dominating the Portuguese market with a series of high number players and managers on his portfolio (Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, James Rodriguez, David de Gea…).

Mendes’ latest deals have included moves for the likes of Rubén Dias, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabio Silva and Nelson Semedo with the Portuguese sports daily claiming that the ‘super-agent’ has collected approximately 20 million euro in the current transfer window with a rough calculation based on the FIFA stipulated 10% commission for the middle man.

Digging deeper, A Bola claim that Mendes earned approximately 6.8 million euro for the Ruben Dias deal with a further 1.5 in moving Otamendi to Benfica. He also collected three and four million euro respectively for the arrival of Semedo and Fabio Silva to Wolves with Semedo moving from Barça for 30M€ and emerging talent Silva leaving FC Porto with 40 million euro securing his signature. Mendes also collected a 4.4 million euro commission for the Diogo Jota Wolves to Liverpool transfer.

With just over a week left in the current transfer window (extended due to the Covid-19 pandemic), more deals are feasible with the Jorge Mendes agency currently benefiting from the summer’s transfer moves.

Tottenham goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos has been hit with a one-match ban and an £8,000 fine for confronting referee Peter Bankes after Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Newcastle.

Santos was sent off for his overzealous protests following Newcastle’s controversial penalty equaliser at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Portuguese accepted the charge of using abusive or insulting language towards a match official, the Football Association has announced.

‘Tottenham Hotspur FC’s goalkeeper coach, Nuno Santos, has been suspended from the touchline for one match and fined £8,000 after admitting a charge for a breach of FA Rule E3 and accepting a standard penalty,’ read an FA statement.

‘At full-time of the Premier League fixture against Newcastle United FC on Sunday he used abusive and/or insulting language towards a match official on the field of play and/or his behaviour amounted to improper conduct.’

A Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervention awarded Newcastle a last-gasp penalty in north London on Sunday, owing to a heavily-questioned handball decision against Eric Dier.

Spurs had been heading for victory thanks to Lucas Moura’s first Premier League goal since December, but Callum Wilson buried the spot-kick to level the match.

Santos was among a clutch of players to vociferously protest the decision, that proved just the latest in a spate of controversial handball calls following the recent rule changes.

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho refused to criticise the officials or the new handball interpretations in light of the draw, determined not to receive any personal fine.

International Football Association Board (IFAB) rule amendments mean that if the ball hits the hand of a player who has made their body ‘unnaturally bigger’ then a foul will be awarded.

The switch has led to a swathe of disputed penalties at the start of the new Premier League campaign, with Manchester United claiming a similar spot-kick at Brighton and Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson left infuriated too.

Speaking after Sunday’s match, Mourinho said: ‘I don’t want to comment, I just don’t want to. My team played a fantastic match, I cannot ask more from the players.

Eric Dier has urged FIFA to change the controversial handball rule that saw him concede a late penalty in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Sunday.

Dier was adjudged to have handled an Andy Carroll header with his outstretched arm after jumping to beat the Newcastle forward to the ball. Callum Wilson converted the resulting penalty to steal a point for Newcastle.

But even Toon boss Steve Bruce said the spot-kick shouldn’t have been awarded and now Dier has spoken out on the incident for himself.

‘Everyone is on the same page, something has to change,’ Dier told Football Focus. ‘In my case, if you look at it as a whole, the foul leading up to the free-kick, the distance between me and Andy Carroll, the fact that I get pushed in my back which people are not really talking about.

‘The push in my back is what makes my arm go up, that is a completely natural reaction and if someone does touch you like that, your normal reaction is to go like that.

‘Even without the push, he is less than a metre behind me and I don’t really know what more you can do.

‘You cannot jump without your hands, you cannot defend without using your arms to balance and move so it is what it is. It is a massive problem, not just mine – there were many last weekend.’

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho stormed off down the tunnel when Newcastle scored their penalty and refused to give his thoughts in his post-match interview because he felt he would get fined if said what truly thought of the decision.

‘We had a situation that we lost two points but I’m not going to comment on it… if I want to give some money away, I’ll give to charity, not to the FA,’ Mourinho said.

Tottenham face Chelsea in Carabao Cup later on Tuesday and then meet Maccabi Haifa in their Europa League play-off encounter on Thursday.

Didier Drogba has been selected to receive the 2020 UEFA President’s Award.

The former Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker was hailed as a ‘pioneer’ by UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin.

Drogba fired Chelsea’s winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League final shoot-out, steering the Blues to four Premier League titles and as many FA Cup triumphs across nine years in two Stamford Bridge spells.

The 42-year-old recently failed in a bid for the Ivory Coast presidency, but has a thriving charitable foundation and is now aiming to move into football administration.

‘Didier is a hero to millions of football fans for his achievements throughout his glittering playing career,’ said Ceferin.

‘He is a leader – a pioneer. I will remember him as a player for his skill, strength and intelligence, but above all for his insatiable appetite to succeed – a trait which is just as present in his desire to help others off the field of play.

‘The UEFA Champions League has become the greatest club competition in the world, partly due to our clubs being able to attract the best players from around the world.

‘We have been lucky to have seen the likes of George Weah, Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba play at the very highest level. They in turn, have blazed a trail for African footballers and have given inspiration to a whole new generation to look to follow in their footsteps.’

Drogba will collect his award at Thursday’s Champions League draw in Geneva.

He racked up 164 goals in 381 appearances in a trophy-laden Chelsea career, while also helping his country to three World Cup tournaments.

‘To have won a Champions League, to have played and scored for my country at a World Cup – these are things I could only have dreamed of when I was a child,’ said Drogba.

‘There are so many children in the developing world who have the potential to become not only footballers, but also doctors, teachers and engineers.

‘This is why it is so important to help and support our youngsters to let them fulfil their dreams and aspirations.’

Balancing his charity work with studying for UEFA’s executive master for international players (MIP) programme, Drogba continued: ‘I had been thinking, “how can I keep having the same impact without playing, without using my physique, my legs and my heart?”

‘The best way was to use my brain and think about how to stay in football and go into administration.

‘That is why I am here – to get all the tools and skills needed to improve not only as a person but as an ambitious man who wants to contribute to the development of football.’