CRISTIANO RONALDO reportedly wants an emotional return to his former club Sporting in Portugal once his Juventus contract expires.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the Lisbon club at just 17 years old to join Manchester United in 2003.
Meanwhile reports from Spain claim Erling Haaland will stay at Dortmund next season before joining Real Madrid next summer.
And Lionel Messi could offered a TEN YEAR deal with Barcelona.
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LATEST NEWS
Keep up to date with all the latest goings on with our live transfer blog.
SARRI TO SEE YOU LEAVE
Maurizio Sarri is nearing a managerial return – and a bumper payday.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus will have to pay £2.1million to the coach at the end of this month to enact a break clause in his contract.
That is because the Italian, sacked last summer, had an automatic renewal in his deal worth £6m.
And Roma are reportedly in the final stages of signing him up for next season.
A two-year, £7m contract is being negotiated for Sarri to replace Paulo Fonseca – whose departure has just been confirmed.
More talks are said to be planned for the coming days.
SQUAD BOOST
Euro 2020 teams have been given the green light to call up a 26-man squad to this summer’s tournament.
Each matchday will still only be allowed to feature a bench of ten outfield players and two goalkeepers.
Teams have until June 1 to submit their selection with injured stars able to be swapped out until the first game.
And Uefa have confirmed that players and close contacts catching coronavirus on the eve of the tournament can be replaced.
ROM GLORY
Romelu Lukaku has heaped praise on Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte after the club’s Serie A title win.
And the striker revealed the techniques he has been undertaking to develop his technique.
Lukaku told La Tribune: “I have improved thanks to a machine that sends me balls at 30-40kph.
“Before I always arrived a moment late, now I beat the defender by two seconds.I play a bit like Shaquille O’Neal.
“I had a mental epiphany at 27-28 years old: now or never. You can score 500 goals in a career, but if you don’t win a title it’s useless.”
TONE IT UP
Ivan Toney will attract huge interest from the Premier League if Brentford fail to win promotion this year.
Neal Maupay and Ollie Watkins have both left West London to enjoy success in the top-flight.
And the play-off club could have to field offers from Leicester, Everton and more if they cannot reach the summit this summer, according to The Athletic.
SANCH SWOOP
Chelsea have reportedly joined Manchester United in the chase for Jadon Sancho.
The chase for the England winger is beginning to hot up since Borussia Dortmund admitted they have a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to sell him this summer.
Manchester United have held a long-term interest in the 21-year-old star with Liverpool also keen.
According to Bild in Germany, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is plotting a raid on his old Bundesliga club to swoop for the attacker, who they claim could be available for £78m.
It has already been reported that Dortmund may drop their valuation of Sancho to around £85m – having previously demanded £108m.
Credit: AFP WOJ AND A HARD PLACE
Borussia Dortmund have reportedly rejected the chance to sign Wojciech Szczesny.
Reports in Italy suggest the Polish goalkeeper is available if Juventus can sign Gianluigi Donnarumma from AC Milan when his contract expires in the summer.
But German club Dortmund turned down the chance due to the high costs involved.
LEW BEAUTY
Robert Lewandowski could look to leave Bayern Munich this summer, according to reports.
The Pole’s current contract in Germany runs until 2023.
But his agent Pini Zahavi is reportedly looking to secure a pay rise for his prolific client.
Bayern do not want to entertain any offers for their star striker.
According to Bild, however, Zahavi will prepare a ‘summer push’ to drum up interest in Lewandowski – who would cost over £50million.
The desired destination would be the Premier League, with clubs in England most able to offer Bayern’s No9 a considerable pay rise.
Credit: Reuters U-HAAL
Liverpool are reportedly not keen on signing Erling Haaland this summer.
The much-fancied Borussia Dortmund star has admirers at Anfield but his high price tag is said to have put the club off.
According to Football Insider, Manchester City and Chelsea are best-placed to pull off the mega deal.
ERLI RISER
Erling Haaland is STAYING at Borussia Dortmund, the club have claimed.
Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City are all said to be pushing hard to sign the star striker.
But the Bundesliga side’s director Sebastian Kehl has asserted that Haaland is ‘in agreement’ about playing another year in Germany.
He said: “Erling is staying for another year.
“He is in total agreement.
“I see him every day and I can say that he identifies completely with the club.”
Credit: EPA KAM AND GET IT
Former Arsenal youth star Glen Kamara is on the club’s radar for a summer switch.
According to Football Insider, the Rangers star will be offered a five-year contract at Emirates Stadium if a deal can be done.
Kamara has two years left on his contract with the Scottish champions, who are keen to tie him down further.
BALE BE BACK?
Tottenham’s next manager will be given the chance to keep Gareth Bale for the 2020-21 season, according to reports.
Bale, 31, arrived back at White Hart Lane on a season-long loan under Jose Mourinho last summer.
It was expected he would return to Real Madrid at the end of the campaign where his deal has one year left.
But according to the Daily Mail, Spurs have first refusal on agreeing another loan switch this summer.
GOING NOWHERE
The Glazer family are described as intent on seeing out their ‘long-term plan’ at Manchester United despite Sunday’s protests.
A report in the Guardian outlines their mega-money ambition.
With the club currently worth just over £3billion, the Americans are said to want to grow it into a £7.2billion ($10bn) empire.
GOOD MORNING FOOTY FANS
It was a busy day yesterday as West Ham kept their Champions League dream alive with a 2-1 win at Burnley.
West Brom’s survival hopes also took a huge knock as they could only draw 1-1 at home with Wolves.
Elsewhere, the Premier League and FA have vowed to crush the Super League plotters if they attempt another breakaway.
In a move to reassure fans the threat has been killed off for good, the FA launched an inquiry by demanding full and frank answers from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester giants.
And the Premier League promised it will change its rulebook to dismiss any possibility of the rebels coming back for a second attempt.
A Prem statement read: “The Premier League has prepared a series of measures to enshrine the core principles of the professional game an open pyramid, progression through sporting merit and the highest standards of sporting integrity.
“These measures are designed to stop the threat of breakaway leagues in future.”
The Big Six are facing disrepute charges for their parts in the attempted coup. FA top brass are understood to feel heavy fines are more likely, rather than punishments that would hit the fans such as points deductions.
At Arsenal Spotify CEO Daniel Ek will reportedly submit a formal bid in the region of £1.8billion to Gunners owner Stan Kroenke by the end of the week.
The Swedish billionaire is poised to test the American’s resolve by turning his interest into a concrete offer.
Ek, 38, is so desperate to take control of his beloved side, he has teamed up with Invincibles Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp.
At Man Utd, the Manchester United Supports Trust published an open letter to United co-owner Joel Glazer yesterday.
In the letter, the trust say: “No-one wants what happened at Old Trafford Sunday to be a regular event.
“We are football fans and we want to support our team. We don’t want to spend our days off work protesting outside our football ground.
“But what happened was the culmination of sixteen years in which your family’s ownership of the club has driven us into debt and decline, and we have felt ever more sidelined and ignored.
“After sixteen years not one member of the Glazer family has ever had so much as a conversation with us, the club’s Supporters Trust. Yesterday, that frustration reached boiling point.”
United also released a statement rejecting reports suggesting Sunday’s protesters were allowed into the stadium by club staff.
BREAKAWAY BAN
The Premier League and FA have vowed to crush the Super League plotters if they attempt another breakaway.
In a move to reassure fans the threat has been killed off for good, the FA launched an inquiry by demanding full and frank answers from Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs and the two Manchester giants.
And the Premier League promised it will change its rulebook to dismiss any possibility of the rebels coming back for a second attempt.
A Prem statement read: “The Premier League has prepared a series of measures to enshrine the core principles of the professional game an open pyramid, progression through sporting merit and the highest standards of sporting integrity.
“These measures are designed to stop the threat of breakaway leagues in future.”
The Big Six are facing disrepute charges for their parts in the attempted coup. FA top brass are understood to feel heavy fines are more likely, rather than punishments that would hit the fans such as points deductions.
TA CARRA
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has defended Manchester United fans from ‘lazy’ criticism over Sunday’s Old Trafford protest.
The majority of pundits appeared to lend their backing to the angry group of protestors as the game was eventually postponed. But ex-Red Graeme Souness wasn’t too positive, saying: “I think (the anger) is out of United not being top dogs as much as what happened (with the ESL) last week.”
However, fellow Sky Sports pundit Carragher has dismissed Souness’ comments as ‘lazy’, claiming United fans had every right to be angry and protest. He responded on Monday Night Football: “I really want to get this message across. This is not the European Super League for me.
“The supporters who really felt this more and marched on stadiums (after Super League) are Manchester United and Arsenal – that’s because they had a huge problem with their owners before this.
“I’ve listened to a lot this morning and I watched other things. I’ve got no problem with people having a different point of view or a different opinion from me, because it’s nuanced what happened yesterday. But get the facts. Please. When you are going to talk about this, know what’s going on.
“So let’s not accuse Manchester United fans of just throwing the toys out the pram because they’re not competing with [Manchester] City or in the Champions League, whatever it may be. That is absolute nonsense.”
FULL-TIME!
Burnley 1 – 2 West Ham
West Ham’s Champions League dream is still alive!
Chris Wood gave the Clarets the lead with a penalty but a Michail Antonio brace completed the comeback before half-time.
The Hammers had about 7.5million chances in the second-half but could not make it a more comfortable finish against a woeful Burnley.
The Hammers up to fifth and Sean Dyche’s side stay 16th but nine points clear of the relegation zone.
G NEV WANTS FOOTBALL TO SUPPORT PROTEST
Gary Neville believes all football fans should support the United protesters.
Speaking yesterday, the former United defender said: “Look, I’ve never thought they were brilliant owners but I have seen in football that there are worse owners than the Glazer family.
“However, I think all football fans should unite today behind what Manchester United fans have done because honestly, what they [the owners] did two weeks ago was really dangerous for English football, we must not forget that.
“They tried to create a famine two weeks ago in English football, in Dutch football, in German football, in French football, all over Europe.
“Those 15 clubs would have walked away from their leagues with their money and basically destroyed the ethos of the pyramid of relegation and promotion in English football, so that’s number one.”
THEY THOUGHT IT WAS PAUL OVER
Paul Gascoigne last night revealed he cheated death when a helicopter door burst open — and he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
The former Newcastle, Spurs, Lazio and England star, 53, was being flown from a hospital visit back to an island for the Italian version of I’m A Celebrity.
He said: “I’m scared of flying at the best of times and always say a little prayer before take off. But I was chatting to the pilot as we were taking off so I must have forgotten my seat belt.
“We are over the sea when he pulls to the right and the door flies open and I lurch towards it. I’ve never been so frightened. My career and family flashed in front of my eyes — but I managed to hold on and slide the door closed.
“I told the pilot what happened and we just exchanged glances as if to say, ‘F* hell, that was close’. I thought if I fell out into the sea I might survive the drop but I was scared there might be sharks.
“I could see the headlines. Fat bloke who was good at football falls out of a helicopter and is eaten by a shark.”
CROSSED THE LINE – EXCLUSIVE
By Sarah Ridley and Daniel Hammond
A protester who ran across the Old Trafford pitch with a Manchester United corner flag was later filmed sniffing a suspicious white powder off it.
In scenes that will do nothing for his cause, he was shown outside the ground emptying the substance on the bottom of the pole. After appearing to snort it, he holds up the flag — bearing the club’s crest — and shouts “United” while laughing into the camera.
The video was shared on Snapchat with a laughing emoji and a caption reading: “Striped off the flag.”
Sunday’s demo saw 1,000 fans gather outside the stadium to protest at the club owners, the US-based Glazer family, in the wake of the failed European Super League proposals.
Around 100 stormed the pitch. Others massed at the hotel where United players were staying. The match against Liverpool was postponed. Police said six officers were hurt, including one who suffered a fractured eye socket and another whose face was slashed.
RED LIGHT – EXCLUSIVE
Manchester United and Liverpool stars are frantically ramping up security following yesterday’s incident at Old Trafford.
Players at the Premier League giants had already been reviewing safety arrangements due to concerns about some fans’ reaction to the European Super League proposals.
But Sun Online understands those plans have now escalated with one security expert – who specialises in protecting football players – urging stars to take extra precautions.
Paul Davies, who runs Manchester-based firm Benchmark Security, said: “I’d strongly recommend players use live monitoring of their homes with CCTV and also consider putting in place security with K9 dog units.”
On the scale of the risk now posed to players another source said: “There is a real anger from a small minority of fanatical fans who follow the big six clubs and the fear is this has put players at increased risk.
“Many players are worried about being targeted to and from training as well as on matchdays. As a result many are now stepping up security in and around their homes to protect them – and their families. There is also a huge amount of venom being spewed on social media towards some.”
GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLLL – ANTONIO!
Burnley 1 – 2 West Ham
29. What a turnaround!
Said Benrahma whips in an almost un-defendable in-swinging cross from the left-hand side.
And Antonio ghosts in to glance it past Pope with his right foot from six yards out.
The Hammers’ Champions League hopes are still alive!
GOOOOOAAAAL – ANTONIO!
Burnley 1 – 1 West Ham
21. Well that didn’t last long.
Fantastic response from West Ham.
Ball played out to Coufal wide on the right, he teases a ball in at the back post and Antonio bullies Lowton to reach the ball first and power a header home from close range.
GOOOOOAAAAL – WOOD!
Burnley 1 – 0 West Ham
19. Soucek brings down Wood in the box after some sloppy defending from Diop and Anthony Taylor points to the spot.
The New Zealander gets up and slams it in the bottom left corner.
WILLY WORRY
Wolves star Willy Boly has been ordered to rest after being struck by heart palpitations as a result of long covid.
Defender Boly contracted coronavirus at the start of last month, but though he has recovered from the initial infection the long term damage has caused problems.
The 30-year-old missed the Black Country derby draw with Wolves and boss Nuno Espirito Santos said: “He’s not in a good place. He is in a tough moment.
“He had the infection and now he is not able to train, his heart rate increases very, very fast. So we have to look.
“His energy is not there, he feels tired, the heart rate increases very fast, and he’s not able to sustain the level of training that we want. He is doing exams, analysis to see if there is another issue – I hope not.
“But it’s a study case that everybody has to realise after COVID, how the players – it’s not the first week, the first day but over a longer period of time, which effects did Covid-19 have on Boly. Many other players must be aware of this.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
