New Barcelona signing Arturo Vidal says he is stepping up a level in his career and is intent on winning the Champions League three times over his three-year deal.
The La Liga champions signed the 31-year-old Chile midfielder from Bayern Munich for a reported fee which could rise to €21 million ($24 million) and he was officially presented at the Nou Camp on Monday.
“To arrive at Barcelona is a much bigger step than Bayern,” Vidal said.
“I hope to be an addition who can help to win all the titles. With the confidence that the people have given me, I want to win it all.
“At 15 I promised my mother I would be one of the best. I’ve played for a lot of teams and now I’m arriving at the best in the world.”
Vidal, who won Serie A with Juventus four times between 2012 and 2015, and the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons at Bayern, has never lifted the European Cup.
Barcelona last won the Champions League in 2015, beating Vidal’s Juventus in the final, and rivals Real Madrid have won it in each of the three seasons since, twice knocking out the Chilean while at Bayern.
“I don’t have accounts to settle with anybody, just my objective, which is to win the Champions League, not settle scores with Real Madrid,” said Vidal.
“I hope to win three Champions Leagues in the three years I will be here.”
Barcelona new boy Arturo Vidal wants to win three Champions League titles in three years
Barcelona new boy Arturo Vidal wants to win three Champions League titles in three years
- Chile international has won a host of league titles but never lifted the European Cup.
- Moved to the Nou Camp after a €21 million move from German giants Bayern Munich.
Undefeated boxing great Terence Crawford announces retirement
- Crawford, (42-0, 31 knockouts), retires as the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO supermiddleweight champion after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision in a masterful performance
- Crawford’s career straddled three different decades, with the southpaw making his professional debut in 2008 and rapidly becoming one of boxing’s brightest talents
LOS ANGELES: Undefeated world super middleweight champion Terence Crawford announced his retirement from boxing on Tuesday, hanging up his gloves three months after a career-defining victory over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
The 38-year-old from Nebraska, who dominated Mexican legend Alvarez in Las Vegas in September to claim the undisputed super middleweight crown, announced his decision in a video posted on social media.
“I’m stepping away from competition, not because I’m done fighting, but because I’ve won a different type of battle,” Crawford said in his retirement message. “The one where you walk away on your own terms.”
Crawford, (42-0, 31 knockouts), retires as the reigning WBA, IBF and WBO supermiddleweight champion after defeating Alvarez by unanimous decision in a masterful performance.
Crawford had also held the WBC super middleweight belt, but was stripped of it earlier this month following a dispute over sanctioning fees.
Speaking in his video, Crawford said his career had been driven by a desire to keep “proving everyone wrong.”
“Every fighter knows this moment will come, we just never know when,” Crawford said.
“I spent my whole life chasing something. Not belts, not money, not headlines. But that feeling, the one you get when the world doubts you but you keep showing up and you keep proving everyone wrong.”
“I fought for my family. I fought for my city. I fought for the kid I used to be, the one who had nothing but a dream and a pair of gloves. And I did it all my way. I gave this sport every breath I had.”
Crawford’s career straddled three different decades, with the southpaw making his professional debut in 2008 and rapidly becoming one of boxing’s brightest talents.
He won his maiden world title, the WBO lightweight crown, with victory over Scotland’s Ricky Burns in 2014.
Crawford won 18 world titles in five weight classes, culminating in his win over Alvarez.
He retires having never been officially knocked down in a fight.
All of his 42 victories have come by way of unanimous decision or stoppage, with no judge ever scoring in favor of an opponent during his career.
