Mauricio Pochettino believes Kylian Mbappe’s uncertain future will be clarified soon following reports linking the superstar striker with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain.

France international Mbappe lit up the Camp Nou with a devastating hat-trick to crush Barcelona in PSG’s 4-1 Champions League last-16 win on Tuesday.

Following his starring performance, the 22-year-old said: It would be stupid to decide my future on a single match, sparking speculation about his long-term plans with his hometown club.

Mbappe’s contract expires in June 2022 and some of Europe’s biggest club are rumoured to be circling if the French champions cannot not lock down the World Cup winner to a new deal.

Last year’s losing Champions League finallists, PSG, are c…

Marco Giampaolo has become the latest AC Milan head coach to see his time at San Siro cut unceremoniously short.

Appointed in June on an initial two-year contract, the 52-year-old oversaw just seven Serie A matches before becoming the seventh Rossoneri boss to be sacked since Massimiliano Allegri left in January 2014.

Four defeats and only six goals scored in those seven league games underlines the difficult start to the season Milan have made, even if they did battle to a decent win over Genoa on Saturday.

Still, sacking a coach so soon in a season is remarkably impatient and short-sighted, surely? Well, Opta data paints something of a different picture

1  This is the first team a Milan head coach has been sacked after the first seven matchdays of a Serie…

World Cup winner and former AC Milan defender Cristian Zaccardo is determined to find a club and he is using LinkedIn to do so.

Zaccardo was part of the Italy team who lifted the World Cup trophy aloft in 2006 but the 35-year-old is currently without a team.

The Italian veteran played for Vicenza last season but he was unable to prevent relegation from Serie B.

And Zaccardo has now turned to LinkedIn – a professional networking service that allows job seekers to post their CVs online – as he looks to prolong his career.

I cancelled the contract that tied me to the Vicenza until June 2018 I m currently a free soccer player, Zaccardo wrote in English and Italian on the social media site.

I m still good physically I could play two more years at…

Feyenoord striker Robin van Persie is set to retire at the end of the season.

Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Van Persie rejoined boyhood club Feyenoord in January and has enjoyed his return, but he is not planning on staying beyond the 2018-19 campaign.

The 35-year-old played his role in his side s KNVB Cup triumph last term and will not prolong his career solely in pursuit of the Eredivisie title, insisting his second stint with Feyenoord is already a success as he has rediscovered his enjoyment of the game. 

When should I stop? That is normally at the end of this season. That s the approach, Van Persie said ahead of Sunday s Klassieker against Ajax.

I will be 36 years old and will have been a professional for 18 years. From the age of f…

Verdict: Draw at HT, Chelsea at FT yes

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Chelsea and AS Roma will collide this Wednesday at Stamford Bridge. An authentic battle of giants will meet two attacking-minded teams, and there is a lot at stake. Whoever wins this game will move closer to clinching a berth in the tournament s next round. Kick-off is scheduled at 19:45 BST, and Damir Skomina will be the referee.

Chelsea

Chelsea have looked like two different teams if we compare their form in the UEFA Champions League and the English Premier League. In the continental stage they have won their two matches against Qarabag and Atletico Madrid, but their domestic run has been quite poor. They actually lost two games at home already against Burnley and Manchester City and have …

Prediction: Botev Plovdiv to win 1-0

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

Botev Plovdiv and APOEL will face each other in the first leg of the second qualifying round of the UEFA Europa Conference League this week. The match will be held at the Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski in Sofia and is scheduled to kick off at 6pm UK time on Wednesday.

Botev Plovdiv

Botev Plovdiv finished third in the regular 2021–22 First Professional Football League table with 46 points from 26 matches. They then ended up third again in the Championship round table with 53 points from 31 games and entered the UEFA Europa Conference League playoff round.

The Canaries have won the Bulgarian league title twice in their history so far. The first time was in 1929, and the second was …

By his own stratospheric standards, a return of 25 LaLiga goals is somewhat underwhelming for Cristiano Ronaldo.

It marks the first time since the Portugal superstar s first campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 2009-10 season that he has failed to score 30-plus league goals – on three occasions he has netted 40 or more.

Many observers believe Ronaldo to be a player who, while still technically brilliant, is in physical decline, the frightening bursts of speed and ability to effortlessly glide past helpless defenders perhaps diminishing.

But anyone who doubts his worth to this batch of Galacticos need only look at Ronaldo s incredible run-in that fired Madrid to a 33rd LaLiga title – sealed with a 2-0 win at Malaga on Sunday – and a third Champions Lea…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 4/5 @

In what could prove to be an enjoyable affair from Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon, Watford will welcome Southampton to town.

Starting with the hosts, while Watford might have opened the 2023/24 campaign at the heart of a real Championship struggle, the Hornets do appear to have turned a recent corner. Although Valerien Ismael’s men might face a real uphill battle in their bid to claim a play-off ticket this season, the former West Brom boss should find the mood in his camp at a real high. Last seen putting in another stellar display as they secured a 2-1 win away at Hull, Watford have won three of their previous four second-tier showdowns on either side of November’s international break. With their recent purple p…

Gareth Southgate described the England manager job as the greatest privilege of his life and said he wanted to make sure he was fresh and hungry before committing to remain in the role after the Three Lions World Cup exit.

A year-and-a-half on from reaching the Euro 2020 final on home turf, England were edged out 2-1 in the quarter-finals of Qatar 2022 by France.

The tournament nevertheless marked a turnaround in form for the Three Lions after a dismal Nations League campaign, underlining Southgate s record in his role.

But the former Middlesbrough boss acknowledged he needed time to ensure he made the right call in choosing to remain on board.

I never want to be in a position where my presence is affecting the team in a negative way, he told BBC Sport.<…

Gylfi Sigurdsson s long-awaited move from Swansea City to Everton for a reported £45million ranks as one of the biggest deals in history between two Premier League clubs.

As teams in England s top flight, awash with vast riches from television money, increasingly operate in a different financial sphere to the most of Europe, such blockbusting switches domestic have become more common.

But where does Sigurdsson rank alongside the other occasions when Premier League sides have kept their ample wealth within the division?

ROMELU LUKAKU – Everton to Manchester United £75m

The man whose transfer provided at least some of the funds to lure Sigurdsson from south Wales, Lukaku set a new Premier League record with his move from Everton to Manchest…