Real Madrid forward Emmanuel Adebayor has insisted he’s not a trouble maker, despite disagreements with previous managers and fellow players.

Adebayor has enjoyed a fine start to his time at Real making scoring two goals in three appearances.

But the Togolese striker has made positive starts elsewhere before falling out with colleagues – most recently at Manchester City.

He had a public dispute with team-mate and Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure which resulted in the pair being pulled apart in training.

“I’m not a troublemaker at all. I’m a very nice guy and I love enjoying my life,” said Adebayor, who is likely to feature when Real Madrid face Espanyol in Barcelona on Sunday.

“I love enjoying myself. I love laughing a lot. I love playing. I love joking. That’s how I see life. Sometimes, you know, we are all human beings, sometimes it happens that even with me and my mother we don’t find an agreement.”

“That’s part of life. That for me is normal. So, I’m not a troublemaker and I would never fight against anybody.”

Latest reports have suggested the 26-year-old’s loan deal will become permanent with City expected to make a significant loss on the ?25 million they paid for him.

Despite only making 34 appearances at Eastlands the former Arsenal striker scored 15 goals.

He’s not the only player to move from Manchester to Madrid either – and Adebayor is already enjoying linking up with former United star Cristiano Ronaldo.

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“I think Ronaldo is, yeah, a strong player. I have a chance to train with him now,” Adebayor said.

“I can guarantee you how he works every day. He’s always in the gym working to be very fit. To push him to the floor is not easy, so whenever he got on the floor I think he got a lot of kicks.

“I think Ronaldo got a lot of kicks. But that’s the game and I think he will come back stronger and score a lot of goals for Madrid as he’s doing at the moment.”

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp could have been forgiven for cursing his luck after the talismanic trio of Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić and Rafael van der Vaart were all ruled out of action within quick succession. With Tottenham’s forwards struggling to find the net this season, Redknapp has had to rely upon his midfield for goals, and the aforementioned trio have contributed 25 between them in all competitions.

Many expected January signing Steven Pienaar to mitigate the losses of Bale and van der Vaart, but instead, Niko Kranjčar, a man seemingly headed for the White Hart Lane exit last month, has come to Tottenham’s rescue.

Kranjčar came on as a late substitute against Bolton Wanderers last week and scored a stunning injury-time winner, before striking a superb volley to secure all three points for Spurs against Sunderland on Saturday. The Croat had only made four league appearances for the side prior to his late introduction against Bolton Wanderers. Redknapp himself has been quick to praise the efforts and attitude of the former Portsmouth man.

Speaking after Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers, Redknapp said: “He’s continued to work hard and show the right attitude, continued to train even after training, do his sprints, his running, spends time shooting every day and generally shows a great attitude. He’s not one of the boys who throws the towel in and spits his dummy out when he’s left out of the team, he’s the exact opposite to that.”

In addition to scoring crucial winning goals, Kranjčar’s reinstatement to Tottenham’s starting line-up has shown that Redknapp has other tactical approaches to call upon when certain first choice players are unavailable. The side’s success over the past year has relied heavily upon the natural width and searing pace provided by Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale.

Kranjčar, bereft of the pace and mobility bestowed upon Bale, instead relies upon his guile and vision to create chances, and drifts infield far more frequently than the Welshman. The Croat provides his manager with a valuable option when opposing full-backs have successfully neutralised Bale.

Indeed, Kranjčar’s recent form has lead Redknapp to consider utilising his talents in conjunction with those of Bale. “I could always stick Niko somewhere else if Gareth was fit because Niko deserves his place in the team,” he said.

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In an age when players frequently think only of themselves, it is so refreshing to see a player of Kranjčar’s quality conducting himself in such a professional and selfless manner. One need only look at Fernando Torres’ behaviour last month to see an example of the archetypal modern footballer.

The timing of Kranjčar’s return to the team (and return to form) is indicative of Tottenham’s excellent strength in depth. Indeed, the Croat played a key part in the club’s successful bid for Champions League qualification last season, most notably scoring the winner against Stoke City last March. Only a fool would bet against him having a similar impact this season.

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Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond will host a summit in Edinburgh on Tuesday to discuss last week’s Old Firm Scottish Cup replay.Wednesday’s match at Celtic Park saw Rangers trio Steven Whittaker, Madjid Bougherra and El-Hadji Diouf red carded, while there was an ugly spat between Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist and Celtic boss Neil Lennon after the final whistle.Police and the Scottish Football Association (SFA) have been vocal critics of the clubs in the wake of the match, during which 34 people were arrested inside the stadium.Strathclyde Police requested the summit to address the problems.Police will attend, along with representatives from both clubs and the SFA, with a statement on any findings to be released later on Tuesday.”There can be no doubt that the levels of drunken violence that have blighted our communities and the number of people who have been arrested due to their sectarian behaviour is simply unacceptable,” a police statement read. “Something has to be done.”

Former French playmaker Zinedine Zidane has described ex-Juventus team-mate Alessandro Del Piero as a ‘champion’.The 38 year-old was delighted to return to action for the Bianconeri against a Torino legends side in a charity match on Wednesday, and lavished praise on his former team-mate.

“It’s great to play once in a while and see the old friends and it’s good to come back to Italy because I don’t come here often,” Zidane said.

“It’s great seeing him (Del Piero) like that, we’re almost the same age and seeing him playing like this it’s just great. He is a champion, he still is, Del Piero.”

“Juventus was really important for me and for my career, so coming back here and meeting the guys I played with and the guys I made history with is great.”

Zidane, who left Turin for Real Madrid for a then world record transfer fee, said he regrets seeing Juventus hit a slump this season, with Luigi Delneri’s side in seventh on the table and out of the European places.

“I, like everyone else, don’t like to see it,” Zidane said. “We want to see Juventus on the top, always as they were in the past.”

“There are hard times now, but with time maybe they will be return again to being the same old Juventus.”

It is often said that Manchester United are the biggest club in the world, let alone the Premier League, and I guess you could say that these stats kind of prove that. Almost everyone on the globe is on Facebook these days and it appears that a huge number of people that are support Man United! We have been scouring Facebook for the official club fan pages of the 20 teams in the Premier League and you could say that the results weren’t surprising in regards to the most followed pages.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were by far and away the leaders with more than 10 million fans, that’s more than twice as many as Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, who are the second, third and fourth most liked official Premier League club fan pages respectively. The rest of the top ten is to be expected, with the traditional bigger clubs’ larger fan bases resulting in more followers.

So Gunners, Reds and Blues fans, make sure you become a fan of your team’s fan page to help your club become the second in the Premier League to break the 5 million Facebook fans mark. Here are the top ten…

[ad_pod id=’fox-mpu’ align=’right’]

Man United – http://www.facebook.com/manchesterunited – 10,883,239

Liverpool – http://www.facebook.com/LiverpoolFC – 4,890,949

Arsenal – http://www.facebook.com/Arsenal – 4,879,868

Chelsea – http://www.facebook.com/ChelseaFC – 4,449,082

Man City – http://www.facebook.com/mcfcofficial – 493,012

Tottenham – http://www.facebook.com/TottenhamHotspur – 489,383

Aston Villa – http://www.facebook.com/avfcofficial – 146,380

Everton – http://www.facebook.com/Everton – 137,729

West Ham – http://www.facebook.com/pages/West-Ham-United-FC-Official/129911763708715 – 136,309

Newcastle – http://www.facebook.com/newcastleunited – 131,391

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Don’t forget that Football FanCast is on Facebook too! Click here to join the Football FanCast Facebook Fan Page.

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There you’ll find plenty of awesome stuff, including videos like this…

[ffcvideo file=’topten_sologoals’]

Inter boss Leonardo has conceded a comeback against Schalke in the Champions League quarter-final could be beyond their reach.Despite a positive start at the San Siro after Dejan Stankovic’s long-range strike, the Italians saw their lead and hopes of retaining the title slip away from them courtesy of a three-goal second-half performance by the Bundesliga club, who go into the return leg 5-2 up.

“Tonight’s game started in the best possible fashion and it would have been difficult to predict what was to come,” the Brazilian said after the game.

“Early in the second half we missed a couple of chances and immediately Schalke scored their third.”

The Inter boss, who saw also the Nerazzurri concede ground in the Serie A title race following the loss in the Milan derby on Saturday, rued Schalke’s ruthless conversion rate on Tuesday.

He admitted his side had a mountainous task to overcome in the return leg at Gelsenkirchen next Wednesday.

“They had six or seven shots and scored five goals, so in that we can feel hard done by,” he said.

“After their third and fourth goals responding became difficult, especially with ten men, and in the end we lacked balance, as we did on Saturday against Milan.”

“It’s difficult to think about mounting a recovery in the second leg, but we’ll try to capture the best possible result.”

“Unfortunately, the crucial period of the season has come at the wrong time for us. It took a lot of effort to climb the league standings and Inter always play to win. It’s the only way we know.”

Despite the emphatic away victory, Schalke boss Ralf Rangnick refused to be taken away by the result, insisting the contest was not over – yet.

“We are not in the semi-finals just yet, but we have a pretty big chance now,” he said. “In the end, we could have scored even more.”

“It is surely the best game of my career. Had someone told us before the match that we would beat Inter by three goals, we would have had him (or her) declared crazy.”

Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez is adamant that the referee’s sending off of Real Madrid’s Pepe was the right decision.Portugal defender Pepe was given his marching orders for a lunge on Brazilian wingback Dani Alves on 61 minutes in Barca’s 2-0 defeat of Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday, which also saw Madrid boss Jose Mourinho sent to the stands for his continual protesting over the decision.

But despite the post-match attention centring on the officiating – with Mourinho stating he believed Barca continually received favourable decisions – Xavi insisted the refereeing should not overshadow his side’s performance.

“I don’t want to talk about (Jose) Mourinho. I only want to discuss Barcelona. We put in a good performance and it’s a fair result. This is a victory for football,” he told Spanish sports daily Marca.

“I just want to talk about football. There will always be decision from referees that will be talked about. Sometimes they go against you and sometimes they go in your favour. It was clear to see for everybody that Pepe’s dismissal was a correct decision.”

The 2-0 result, courtesy of two goals from Argentine dynamo Lionel Messi, has put the Catalans in a commanding position ahead of the return leg at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

“We got the result that we deserved. We were again superior. We’re a team that wants to play attacking football and have fun on the pitch. They (Real Madrid) are just hoping that we’ll make mistakes. That worked in the Copa del Rey final, but not this time,” Xavi said.

Team-mate Gerard Pique blamed Real Madrid for naivety and negative tactics on their own turf, which he believed led to their demise.

”We fought well and had a good result. Now it is up to the second game,” he said. “It’s always the same. They didn’t want to play at football, (even) at their own stadium. They play at the limit of violence. If you play with fire, you can end up burning.”

Javier Mascherano, however, warned his Barca team-mates of complacency, insisting their rivals were capable of mounting a comeback in the reverse tie.

“I’m very content with the outcome from this match, but this doesn’t change anything about the second leg,” he said.

“There is another game to be played and Real Madrid are a very strong team that will do their utmost to turn things around.”

The 2010/11 season has arguably Nani’s year and the Portuguese winger has finally shown the Old Trafford faithful what all the fuss was about and why Sir Alex Ferguson maintained his belief that he would come good at Manchester United. It is a shame that his season has been cut short during the past week, but that is generally what happens when an opponent puts studs into your shin bone.

While Nani looks to recoup at home and get himself back to full fitness he can take great pleasure while his beautiful other half, Daniela Martins, looks after him. I’m sure Nani is gutted at missing a chunk of United’s run-in, although I am certain that Miss Martins will more than cushion the blow judging by the gallery below.

Click on Daniela Martins to see her in all her glory

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Nigeria fullback Taye Taiwo has joined Serie A champions AC Milan on a free transfer from Ligue 1 club Marseille.Taiwo, 26, completed a medical with Milan on Wednesday before finalising his switch from the Stade Velodrome to the San Siro on Thursday, signing a three-year contract.

The left-back had made more than 185 appearances in six seasons with Marseille, playing a key part in the club’s Ligue 1 championship success last season.

Formerly of Nigerian clubs Lobi Stars and Gabros, Taiwo scored the winner for Marseille in their League Cup final victory against Montpellier last month.

“I thank God for this move, joining another big team like AC Milan is a dream come true,” Taiwo said.

“I am leaving a big club for another one, one I was only able to dream of playing for as a kid.”

“I will surely miss the city and Olympique Marseille, the fans, players, management and French football in general.”

“It is emotional and sad to leave a place I have come to call home but I’m taking a piece of Marseille with me.”

Taiwo has 48 caps for Nigeria and appeared in the 2010 World Cup finals.

He joins a Milan side celebrating their first Scudetto since 2004, the same year he made his full international debut.

“I hope to bring my best to a team that’s parading great players already,” he said.

“The three-year deal is signed now and all I can do is give my all to a dream club and win trophies to complete the union.”

“I am a happy man and my immediate target is to be a winner here.”

Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker heads a list of 10 players who have been released by the Midlands club.The 27-year-old joins John Carew – who spent the latter part of the season on loan at Stoke – Moustapha Salifou, Robert Pires, and Isaiah Osbourne through the exit door at Villa Park.

Youngsters Harry Forrester, Arsenio Halfhuid, Durrell Berry, Ellis Deeney and Calum Flanagan have also left the club.

Reo-Coker, a former England Under-21 captain, spent four years at Villa after signing from West Ham in a deal worth a reported 8.5 million pounds in July 2007.

Despite establishing himself as a regular under Gerard Houllier last season – making 30 appearances compared to only 10 under Martin O’Neill in the previous season – he is now free to move on.

Striker Carew signed for Villa in January 2006 from French outfit Lyon after spells with Valencia and Roma, and finished as the club’s leading scorer for three consecutive seasons.

But after falling out of favour with Houllier, he moved to Britannia Stadium in January in search of a fresh start, although Stoke boss Tony Pulis is yet to confirm whether he will offer the 31-year-old Norwegian a permanent deal.