Espanyol turn down Real bid for Casilla

Espanyol president Joan Collet has revealed the club turned down a bid from Real Madrid for goalkeeper Kiko Casilla.

Having previously turned out for Real's reserve team earlier in his career, Casilla joined Espanyol for the 2007-08 campaign.

In recent days, reports have emerged suggesting Real legend Iker Casillas could be set to depart the Santiago Bernabeu, with speculation mounting that Casilla could make the switch to the capital to replace him.

Speaking on Saturday, Collet confirmed Espanyol had rejected Real's offer, while striker Christian Stuani could be in line to leave the club for pastures new.

"There is no negotiation with Real Madrid right now, we have rejected the offer," he said.

"We are negotiating the possible departure of Stuani."

Derby hit £250,000 jackpot prize

Derby County have become the latest club to benefit from Sky Bet's Transfer Fund after being selected to receive £250,000 on Friday.

The scheme sees fans entering the draw on behalf of their clubs before a winner is selected at random, and the prize money will allow Derby to invest in new players and wages.

Derby fan Richard Jones won the prize for his club and Paul Clement's side could now dip into the transfer market for a seventh time during the close season.

Tom Ince was the latest to arrive at the Championship club for a club-record fee from Hull City, joining Scott Carson, Alex Pearce, Andreas Weimann, Chris Baird and former loanee Darren Bent.

Clement is also a new arrival at the club - the former Real Madrid assistant replacing the sacked Steve McLaren, who is now manager at Newcastle United.

Messi lost his third major international career

Lionel Messi will end his career with an international trophy, Argentina team-mate Ezequiel Lavezzi insisted after Saturday's Copa America loss.

Messi, who has only won titles with Argentina at under-age levels, lost the third major final of his international career in Santiago, with Chile triumphing 4-1 on penalties after the visitors had dominated the goalscoring opportunities through 120 goalless minutes.

Argentina's failure at the Estadio Nacional will only serve to strengthen arguments by critics that Messi will not be truly great until he earns silverware for his country, but Lavezzi reckons it is only a matter of time before he dismisses those doubters.

Messi was also on the losing side in the 2007 Copa America final and last year's World Cup decider in Brazil.

"At some point Leo [Messi] is going to win something with Argentina," said Lavezzi, who came off the bench in the first half to replace Angel di Maria.

"We thought this was an opportunity to make our mark, but unfortunately we could not. It hurts a lot. Once again we are left with a bitter taste. It hurts because we believed that this was the chance to win something.

"I think that we should continue on this path. We are all very good in terms of the group. We are just missing that little step to achieve something."

Lavezzi was one of 10 players to have played a role in both this year's Copa decider and the 2014 World Cup final, while only Messi and Javier Mascherano have three final losses to their name after succumbing 3-0 to Brazil in Colombia eight years ago.

Mascherano could not believe he had missed out on an international winner's medal again.

"I cannot find a way to describe it. Hopefully, in the future Argentina can win," the Barcelona defensive midfielder said.

"I wanted enjoyment with this shirt like anyone, but I have to suffer.

"…Three finals of the Copa America and I lost all three. I cannot find an explanation.

"I thank the fans for the support, like a year ago at the World Cup. We could not provide the joy that we wanted. It is a torture.

"It's a great sadness, especially for us who were doing very good things."

Messi, who was the only Argentine to convert a penalty against Chile, won an Olympic gold medal with Argentina's under-23 team in 2008 and the FIFA Under-20 World Cup three years prior.

Stephen Keshi sacked as Super Eagles coach

Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi have been relieved of his duty after been sacked by the Nigerian Football Federation(NFF).

The NFF made the announcement on Saturday amid reports Keshi applied for the vacant Ivory Coast coaching job.

A statement on the NFF's official website read: "Having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr. Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles' head coach, which we found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation's objectives as set out in the coach's employment contract.

"To this end and pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment Contract between Mr. Stephen Keshi and the NFF [the contract] and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr. Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect."

It is not the first time the NFF and Keshi, who signed a two-year deal in April, have parted ways.

After being appointed in 2011, Keshi resigned two years later but quickly reversed that decision, before his contract expired after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Keshi continued in his role on a match-by-match basis for the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign, though he was replaced by Shaibu Amodu in October - only to be reinstated two weeks later.

The 53-year-old was unable to lead Nigeria to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, however, with Daniel Amokachi taking over on an interim basis after that failure, before Keshi returned to the hot seat in April.

"In the interim, the Super Eagles' team affairs will be jointly managed by assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf and the Technical Directorate of the NFF headed by coach Shaibu Amodu, until the Federation names in due course a new head coach, who, along with the NFF will chart a new direction for the Super Eagles to ensure credible participation in international competitions and assist in building a sustainable football culture for the country," said vice-president Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi.