Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

The Saudi Pro League is ready to offload Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo for 43m, but Manchester United are not interested in bringing the 41-year-old to the club for a third time as it stands. (The i paper - subscription required) , external Chelsea are set to rival Tottenham for Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 26, who is out of contract at Juventus at the end of the season. (Football Insider),

When Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping recently, reporters said the British prime minister was shocked at his Chinese counterpart calling Crystal Palace Palace, liking Manchester City and Arsenal and supporting Manchester United. The reasons can be guessed. Fan Zhiyi was popular at Selhurst Park in the late 1990s, Sun Jihai was a cult hero at Maine Road and Manchester United had Dong Fangzhuo. The president of the world's second most populous country and second biggest economy didn't, however, mention Everton.

Obviously, football is a massive sport and people have an opinion, which is natural. People expect you to move on quite quickly, and I don't think that's the case,

The best thing that can be said about James Rodríguez signing with Minnesota United is that it's a low-risk deal for both sides. That speaks volumes about both the positives and the negatives of what is clearly a marriage of convenience. Rodríguez, 34, has signed a six-month contract with the Loons, with a club option to finish the 2026 season in the Twin Cities. Both sides appear to be getting what they need.

Among the 15:00 kick-offs on Saturday, Dundee United welcome Spartans. Despite being out of form, it seems unthinkable that the top-tier club would lose at home to the fourth-tier leaders. However, United boss Jim Goodwin reminded BBC Scotland of his rough record against lower-league sides following a late 3-2 defeat at Hibernian on Wednesday. "I don't think there's any manager in the country that needs to be warned about teams from the lower leagues more than myself," he said. "I go to bed thinking about it every night."

He's already back with the group. But a player like him, who is preparing for important goals, needs to be in good shape to return. He is fully dedicated so that, when he steps onto the pitch again, he can perform as everyone expects him to. He wants the World Cup. He needs to train, to fight one-on-one in training ... He's a human being. We're not going to rush him. I'm the first one who needs him, his teammates, too. But we want him to be well. When he's well, he makes an important difference like no one else can,

Eighteen Senegalese football fans detained in Morocco over hooliganism during last month's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final have begun a hunger strike pending their trial. Lawyer Patrick Kabou said his clients told him they have been waiting to learn the charges against them since January 18, the day they were arrested after a heated AFCON final in which Senegal beat Morocco in Rabat.

When Botafogo subsequently transferred Almada to Atlético Madrid last July, it had yet to pay Atlanta either of two $3 million installments, or subsequent interest on the original transfer. Atlanta took the case to FIFA, which ordered Botafogo to pay the fee in full. Botafogo and owner John Textor later appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which ultimately upheld FIFA's ruling. When payment was still not made, FIFA imposed a three-window transfer ban on Botafogo in December 2025.

I think the club has been very agile and very intelligent in its search for many players and in taking advantage of opportunities, such as the case of Dayne St. Clair, who was a free agent, and Facundo Mura, players who perhaps in another situation would have cost us much more money, and we wouldn't have been able to bring them in. The club looked for opportunities, and I think that by being so agile in that search, they were able to find solutions.

Injuries and a loan of Josip Stanišić saw Laimer not used as frequently in his preferred central midfield, but more at right-back. In 44 games that season, Laimer started 28 games. He also played 18 games at right-back, which would be sign of things to come. Toward the end of that 2023/24 campaign he was used almost exclusive in the central midfield, but it was clear that was more than adequate as a right-back.

PSG are without flying full-back Achraf Hakimi as the Morocco star is suspended so midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery will deputise once more. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is another big loss as the Georgian recovers from injury. Marseille are without a clutch of players but could hand debuts to new signings Himad Abdelli and Tochukwu Nnadi. Midfielders Matt O'Riley and Angel Gomes departed on deadline day for the Premier League.

According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea are among several top-flight sides showing a strong interest' in the 23-year-old, viewing him as a player with the potential to develop into one of the very best in his position. Chelsea's admiration is said to be genuine and long-standing. The Blues believe Rogers possesses the physical power and technical quality required to thrive at the highest level.

At just 18, Smilla Holmberg found herself at the European Championships, scoring against Germany and then standing over a decisive penalty with Sweden's tournament on the line. She missed, and Sweden were out. For many young players, that would linger. Instead, the Hammarby academy graduate continued shining at club level - something that ultimately earned her a move to Arsenal in January 2026.

Boey makes a return to the club that Bayern purchased his from back in January of 2024 back when Thomas Tuchel was still manager of the club. At that time, Bayern was going through a bit of an injury crisis and Tuchel had to bring in defensive reinforcements to try to better the club's form and Boey was identified as being a potential solution, though his tenure at Bayern thus far has not exactly been covered in glory.

And it got even worse for the Baggies on Tuesday night as Blackburn's 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday meant Albion dropped into the Championship's bottom three for the first time since November 2022. For a club of this size, relegation to League One almost certainly fits the cliche of "they are too big to go down". This is a club that has only ever been relegated to the third tier once before.

West Ham United crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Chelsea in the Premier League and manager Nuno Espirito Santo has now admitted that the approach did not work out. West Ham employed a high-pressing style of football against Chelsea and did reasonably well until the hour mark. However, fatigue crept in during the second half, and West Ham eventually lost their spark.

Gianluca Scamacca's first-half penalty was followed by goals from second-half substitutes Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mario Pasalic as Atalanta will now face Bologna or Lazio in the final four of the competition. Francisco Conceicao squandered two golden opportunities, first seeing a close-range effort saved by Marco Carnesecchi before hitting the crossbar with a curling strike, and it proved costly when Scamacca scored from the penalty spot soon after in the 27th minute.