Mbappe desperate for first Ballon d´Or win, names Benzema and Mane as main rivals

A stunning move for Cristiano Ronaldo could be in the works.

The Portugal captain may end up back with a former club in a swap deal.

The price for Manchester United would be high.

TOP STORY – RONALDO SWAP DEAL RUMOURED

If Manchester United want to bring Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, they may have to surrender Paul Pogba.

La Gazzetta dello Sport reports Juventus would consider using the 36-year-old forward in a swap deal for Pogba, who has a year left on his contract.

The question is whether United would part with the 28-year-old France midfielder in return.

Altalena Ronaldo: se lascia la Juve, Pogba o Icardi pedine di scambio

— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it)

ROUND-UP

Manchester Ci…

Wigan Athletic have sacked manager Uwe Rosler less than a year after the German was appointed by the Championship club.

The former Manchester City striker has paid the price for a poor start to the season that has seen the 2013 FA Cup winners drop into the relegation zone.

Wigan were expected to be among the contenders for promotion after being beaten by QPR in the play-off semi-finals last season, but have won only three of their first 17 games in the second tier this term.

A 3-1 derby defeat against Bolton Wanderers last Friday ensured Wigan have secured just one victory in their last 12 league games and chairman Dave Whelan has lost patience with Rosler, who he recruited from Brentford last December.

The Wigan chairman said in a statement on the club s…

Belgium have lost centre-backs Nicolas Lombaerts and Dedryck Boyata from their Euro 2016 campaign, the pair joining captain Vincent Kompany on the sidelines in a mounting defensive injury crisis.

A hamstring issue has sidelined Zenit St Petersburg defender Lombaerts, while Celtic s Boyata will not recover in time from the unspecified problem he picked up in training on Monday. 

Belgium were already without a first-choice defender in the form of national team skipper Vincent Kompany, the Manchester City captain having suffered a groin injury in the Champions League semi-final second leg away to Real Madrid earlier this month.

Head coach Marc Wilmots has called up Genk s Christian Kabasele, uncapped at senior international level, as a replacement. 

Lombae…

Leon will be hoping to take a giant stride towards the double when they host Pachuca in the opening leg of the Liga MX Clausura final.

Gustavo Matosas Leon will go head-to-head with Pachuca at the Estadio Leon on Thursday, having already won the Apertura title in November.

Leon finished third during the Apertura regular season before routing America 5-1 over two legs in the decider.

Now Leon can become the first Mexican side to retain their championship since 2004, when rivals Pumas UNAM won both the Clausura and Apertura under head coach Hugo Sanchez.

And they will be full of confidence after disposing of top-two seeds Cruz Azul and Toluca en route to the Clausura final.

Leon, who finished eighth to scrape into the Clausura finals, edged Cruz Azul on away …

Darren Fletcher is confident Saido Berahino has the character to bounce back from his weekend penalty nightmare when West Brom visit faltering Arsenal on Thursday.

West Brom slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Watford at The Hawthorns, with Tony Pulis men left to rue two Heurelho Gomes saves from Berahino penalties in the second half.

The result represented a third loss in four Premier League matches for West Brom  a run that leaves them 14th in the table.

Pulis backed Berahino to recover quickly from his personal disappointment after the match, and Fletcher echoed those sentiments ahead of a trip to Emirates Stadium.

He ll be down because it s a lot of responsibility but he showed great courage taking the second one, Fletcher told The Express and Star.…

Chelsea new boy Jose Bosingwa may be forced out of their pre-season tour after picking up an injury in his debut match, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said on Thursday.

The Portugal defender is being assessed after walking off with a thigh problem just 20 minutes into the 4-0 win over Guangzhou Pharmaceutical on Wednesday.

We discussed whether he can stay with us until we get back to London or if it s better if leaves tomorrow, Scolari said. The doctor said he s still trying to see what s best.

Bosingwa, 25, is one of Scolari s first signings along with Deco, whom he also coached for Portugal.

Newly married midfielder Michael Ballack, given extra leave after Euro 2008, was set to join the tour on Friday but was one million percent certain to miss the fri…

Under scrutiny France manager Raymond Domenech told the country s footballing authorities on Tuesday that he will never be a yes man, warning that he did not intend to change his methods.

Domenech narrowly survived the sack despite France s poor showing at Euro 2008 and a very public gaffe made on TV after the team s defeat against Italy.

But in order to keep his job and prepare the national squad for 2010 World Cup qualifiers in September, Domenech had strict working conditions imposed on him by the French Football Federation (FFF).

Despite these new conditions, which limit Domenech s role to on-pitch activities and reports that he is to be assisted by former international midfielder Alain Boghossian, the 56-year-old insisted he would not be gagged.

…

Best odds: 1/4

Bookmaker:

Bayern Munich welcome Eintracht Frankfurt in the last round of the 2018/19 Bundesliga season, in a game which will see the Bavarians lift the title for the seventh consecutive time if they don t lose.

Bayern Munich

The season started rather shakily for the defending champions with poor performances and results leading to dressing room problems and spats between the players and manager Niko Kovač, but as the campaign progressed they found their feet and started going down the right track again. For a long time it seemed they might yet be pipped to the title this time by Borussia Dortmund, but they overtook their practically only rivals in style by beating them 5-0 in early April. They will, however, be regretting their Champions League…

Former Real Madrid and AC Milan attacker Kaka scored twice as Ecuadorian side Barcelona defeated Peru s Sport Boys 6-2 in an exhibition match.

Kaka retired from football in December after leaving MLS outfit Orlando City as the curtain came down on a decorated career for the Brazilian star.

However, Kaka put on the boots again, the 35-year-old a special guest for Noche Amarilla – Yellow Night in Spanish – as Barcelona presented their squad in Guayaquil on Saturday.

And more than 60,000 fans packed into Estadio Monumental to watch Kaka net a brace.

Que noche inolvidable!!! Muchísimas gracias y a todos los hinchas Barcelonistas. 

— Kaka (@KAKA)

Former Uruguay international Diego Forlan was a guest in 2017, while Ronaldinho featured …

Chelsea youngster Ulises Davila is confident he can impress club scouts enough to earn a spot in the Blues first team while on loan.

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-AU
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The Mexican forward is plying his trade at Sabadell in the Spanish Segunda
division, but revealed Stamford Bridge personnel are monitoring his progress
closely and regularly attending his games.

There s a Chelsea rep who comes every 15 days to watch my home
games, Davila told Goal.com.

Three weeks ago, the head scout came to watch the match against Barcelona
B. They re paying attention, watching my matches and tell me when they observe
something in my game.

They let me know when they thin…