JOAO PEDRO REACTS AFTER NEYMAR BEATS HIM TO BRAZIL'S 2026 WORLD CUP SQUAD

Joao Pedro has detailed the "frustrations" he has faced at being left out of the Brazil squad for the World Cup this summer, with the Chelsea star claiming he will now focus on cheering on his national team during the tournament held in North America.

The versatile forward was one of a few surprise calls made in Carlo Ancelotti's 26-man Brazil World Cup squad named on Monday night, which included a recall for Neymar.

That, however, has seen Pedro miss out despite a standout campaign for Chelsea, which has seen the 24-year-old score 20 goals and assist nine across all competitions for the Blues.

Joao Pedro Statement

After becoming one of the high-profile omissions from the Brazil squad announcement, Pedro released a statement on social media to give his thoughts on the situation.

He stated on his Instagram story: "I tried to give my best at all times. Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to fulfill this dream of representing my country in a World Cup, but I remain calm and focused, as I always try to be.

“Joys and frustrations are part of football. From now on, I wish good luck to everyone who is there and I will be just another fan cheering for them to bring the sixth title home."

The Chelsea forward is one of several players who were expected to feature in the 2026 World Cup, but won't be doing so, as Eduardo Camavinga missed out on the France squad for this summer's tournament in another high-profile dismissal.

Pedro's national team career hasn't quite kickstarted yet, having made eight appearances for Selecao since his debut for the side back in 2023.

He was in and out of the squad during World Cup qualification, featuring four times out of a possible 12 appearances, though his appearances in the most recent March international break against both France and Croatia gave some hope that he would make the final 26-man squad.

It isn't to be for Pedro, at least for now, as he waits to make his first appearance for Brazil at a major tournament, with Ancelotti explaining the bold call to the national press during the unveiling of his squad.

It isn't to be for Pedro, at least for now, as he waits to make his first appearance for Brazil at a major tournament, with Ancelotti explaining the bold call to the national press during the unveiling of his squad.

- Luke Thrower

CHELSEA SUFFER TRANSFER BLOW WITH NICOLAS JACKSON SET FOR SHOCK RETURN FROM BAYERN MÜNCHEN

Nicolas Jackson left Chelsea to join Byern Munich on loan (Picture: Bayern Munich)

Bayern Munich chief Uli Hoeness says Nicolas Jackson will return to Chelsea next summer and will ‘definitely not’ sign a permanent contract with the German champions.

Jackson’s Chelsea career appeared to be over after he joined Bayern Munich on transfer deadline day on an initial loan deal.

Bayern reportedly paid an initial £14m to sign Jackson on loan for the rest of the 2025-26 season, and would sign him permanently next summer for £56m if he made a set number of appearances.

That looked like superb business for Chelsea, who signed Jackson for £32m two summers ago and were open to offers following the signings of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.

But Bayern chief Hoeness has revealed Jackson needs to start 40 games to earn a permanent move to Munich, something he says ‘will never happen’.

‘The player and his agent contribute for €3m, so we pay €13.5m loan fee,’ he told German TV channel SPORT1.

Bayern Munich’ chief Uli Hoeness (Picture: Getty)

‘There will definitely not be a permanent contract. That only happens if he plays 40 games from the start, it will never happen.’

Jackson is not expected to start for Bayern Munich this summer and will play back-up to England captain Harry Kane.

Following his departure from Chelsea, Jackson said: ‘I’m really happy to now be part of this great club. Bayern is one of the best clubs in the world.

‘Everyone knows the names of the legends who’ve played here and knows that this club stands for the greatest success.

Jackson spent two seasons at Stamford Bridge (Picture: Getty)

‘I’ve got big goals and dreams here and will give my all to help Bayern win further titles.’

Jackson enjoyed a promising first season at Stamford Bridge, scoring 17 goals in all competitions, but went backwards last term.

Chelsea were willing to sanction his summer move after signing Brazilian forward Pedro from Brighton and English striker Delap from Ipswich Town.

The Blues briefly considered blocking Jackson’s departure after Delap’s recent injury but eventually sanctioned his deadline-day move to Bayern Munich.

Jackson admitted he was ‘a little sad’ to leave Chelsea despite signing for ‘one of the biggest clubs in the world’.

‘I was simply very happy to sign for one of the biggest clubs in the world, to discover another league and other great players,’ he said.

‘At the same time, I was a little sad to leave Chelsea, my teammates, and the fans. I experienced so many strong emotions there: we won the Conference League and the Club World Cup.

‘Now I’m 100% focused on my new project and I can’t wait to experience the incredible atmosphere at the Allianz Arena.’

- Louis Sealey

ROMANO REVEALS WORLD RECORD 'DEAL AGREED' AS BLUES MAKE 'DIRECT CALL' FOR £78M STAR

Fabrizio Romano with the latest Chelsea transfer updates.

Chelsea have reached an astonishing agreement with Bayern Munich for Nicolas Jackson as Fabrizio Romano reveals the Blues held a ‘direct call’ over a new playmaker after signing Facundo Buonanotte from Brighton on Friday.

The Blues have signed both Joao Pedro and Liam Delap as new strikers this summer which pushed Jackson down he pecking order, and although Chelsea preferred his permanent sale, Bayern have agreed to pay €15m [£13m] to take him for the season, which amount to a world record fee for a loan.

Fabrizio Romano took to X to reveal the astonishing deal: ‘EXCL: Nicolas Jackson to Bayern, here we go! Deal agreed with Chelsea on initial loan move. €15m loan fee for one season plus buy option clause not mandatory for €80m package and sell-on clause. Jackson, set to fly to Bavaria with his agent Ali Barat from Epic Sports.’

The move pushes Chelsea into the black this summer, with their net spend almost exactly zero once Alejandro Garnacho’s been officially confirmed as a new player after joining from Manchester United, with Christopher Nkunku’s sale to AC Milan offsetting that cost.

They’ve been targeting further attacking players, and after Tottenham beat them to the signing of Xavi Simons, Romano revealed on Friday that they’ve bolstered their ranks with Buonanotte, who impressed on loan at Leicester from Brighton last season.

Romano wrote on X: BREAKING: ‘Facundo Buonanotte to Chelsea, here we go! Deal in place with loan move and there’s no buy option clause included. Understand Chelsea will have chance to match future bids and get Buonanotte if they can agree with Brighton. Exclusive story, confirmed.’

But despite reports to the contrary, the 20-year-old’s signing has not caused Chelsea to walk away from a possible deal for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez.

Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo claim the Blues ‘will go all out’ to sign the Spain international – who’s valued at €90m [£78m] by Barcelona – in what remains of the transfer window, with their resolve strengthened having missed out on Simons.

And Romano confirmed on Friday evening that Chelsea held further talks with Fermin’s representatives after landing Buonanotte and wait for the midfielder’s decision.

“Even after signing Facundo Buonanotte, Chelsea had a new direct call with the agents of Fermin Lopez to try to understand the situation,” Romano said on his YouTube channel.

“But Chelsea and Barca are both waiting to see what Fermin Lopez wants to do.

“In Spain, the media said he would release a statement on Friday clarifying his future but he didn’t do that, let’s see what happens on Saturday. Club-to-club talks will only advance when their is an indication from the player.

“Barcelona maintain belief that Fermin will not go”

ENZO MARESCA REVEALS CHELSEA TARGETED THREE PSG PLAYERS IN CLUB WORLD CUP WIN

Enzo Maresca masterminded a victory over PSG (Picture: Getty)

Enzo Maresca revealed the tactical masterstroke that inspired Chelsea’s 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final.

The Blues were the underdogs heading into Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium, but produced a stunning display to shock the Champions League holders.

Cole Palmer showed his class with two well-taken finishes before setting up Joao Pedro, whose deft chip marked his third goal in just two Chelsea games having signed from Brighton midway through the tournament.

PSG have been far and away Europe’s best team this season, and comfortably dispatched of Real Madrid with a 4-0 win to reach the final.

But Luis Enrique’s side were tactically outhought for large swathes of the match, with their frustration on show towards the end of the match and shortly after full-time.

Few teams have been able to such produce a peformance against the French side this season, and Maresca revealed that the key to unpicking PSG on the night was by exploiting the space on in behind their midfield on the left side.

‘There are three midfielders, two of them were in charge of Reece [James] and Moi [Caicedo] this point, and Vitinha was in charge of Enzo [Fernandez],’ the Italian said post-match.

Cole Palmer starred as Chelsea won the Club World Cup (Picture: Getty)

‘Analysing them, we saw that was a good opportunity to exploit that space, and we scored a goal on that side.

‘It was just a game plan, as we said many times, we tried to use different game plans, and we tried to help the players to be in a position where they can give everything.

‘Today, it worked quite well. But overall, I think, as I just said, it has been the effort from all the team, all the players, and I’m very happy, especially for them, because they deserve this moment.’

Luis Enrique cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines (Picture: Getty)

Maresca continued: ‘I repeat, analyzing it, we saw that there was a lot of space on the left side of it, and that’s where we tried to win the game.

‘It went well, but I think we won the game in the first 10 minutes, when the team came out to demonstrate that we were here to try to win, respecting the rival, considering the rival the best team in the world at this time.

‘But I think in the end, you can give the players a plan, but in the end it’s them who have to execute it, and they did it very well.’

- Ben Fleming

DECLAN RICE RED CARD: ARSENAL - BRIGHTON AUDIO SHOWS REF ANGST

Premier League referee Chris Kavanagh conceded he "didn't like" showing Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice a red card for kicking the ball away during the draw against Brighton last month, but had no choice.

The audio of the incident was released on Tuesday in the first episode of the Premier League's "Match Officials Mic'd Up" in which former referee Howard Webb joined former England striker Michael Owen to discuss five on-field decisions.

In it, Kavanagh is heard talking to his assistants via his microphone, saying "I don't like it, but he's knocked the ball."

Rice, who had already been booked, tapped the ball away from Joël Veltman to delay the taking of a free-kick. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta afterwards said he was "amazed" that the England midfielder had been shown a second yellow card.

Kavanagh was clearly uncomfortable with the decision he had to make, but said he was put in a difficult situation.

"Second yellow, for me. I had no choice, he knocks the ball away. As [Veltman's] about to kick it, he knocks the ball," he is heard to say. "I have no choice. He's put me in an awful position. Dec, you need to go I'm afraid."

The Premier League hope the show will help fans understand the processes involved in decision-making by on-field and VAR officials, following intense criticism last season.

Webb, who is the chief operating officer of referees' body the PGMOL, agreed that Kavanagh was correct to send off Rice.

"We've messaged very clearly and strongly to the players in pre-season around the importance of not getting involved with the ball once the whistle is gone, not delaying the restart in that way," Webb said.

"Once he's seen Declan Rice deliberately, clearly kick that ball away from the position of that free-kick, then I don't think he's got any choice."

Arteta was also annoyed that Brighton forward Joao Pedro had escaped a yellow card for delaying the restart in the first half, and Webb conceded he should have been booked.

"Of course, he [Pedro] should have been cautioned here," Webb admitted. "The officials on the field gave him too much benefit of doubt, feeling that the actions weren't really impactful because they felt that the Arsenal players were not ready to take that throw-in."

Among the other incidents discussed was a penalty that was awarded to Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Brighton by referee Simon Hooper but overturned after VAR invited the referee to review the incident.

Footage showed Calvert-Lewin had actually trodden on the foot of a Brighton defender Lewis Dunk, not the other way round.

"Sometimes the referee's call will be clearly and obviously wrong and in this case it was," Webb said.

"So that's a good example of a situation where the referee's call was wrong and it needed intervention by the VAR."

Webb did admit that VAR Tim Robinson was wrong to disallowed Dango Ouattara's stoppage time winner for AFC Bournemouth against Newcastle United for handball.

"In this situation, the ball strikes Ouattara's shoulder, upper-arm area." Webb explained. "It's hard to be totally conclusive as to exactly where. I don't think that's conclusive enough to intervene."

Information from ESPN's Dale Johnson contributed to this report.

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