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Speaking to the Daily Express, David Seaman said: "The loanees have a future because they should come back as better players because they're playing more. "Now this season they've got a chance to play somewhere else. Just look at the William Saliba situation and how it helped him. "Nicolas Pepe, who came in with a massive £72 million price tag and didn't get firing on all cylinders. You can see that there is a great player in there. "Arsenal need him to be a bit more consistent. For the others it's a chance of getting game time, more experience and more confidence. "They should use the loan spells as a purpose for getting back to their main club with more power to demand that they get in the first team." Pepe joined Ligue 1 side Nice on a season-long loan in the summer transfer window after falling out of Mikel Arteta's favour at the Emirates. The Gunners will be hoping that the Ivorian benefits from playing in France just like Saliba d...

PSG have made a new contract offer to Lionel Messi in an attempt to prolong his stay at the club, claims La Ser journalist Manu Carreno. The Ligue 1 club have tabled a new 1+1 contract which could see him stay at the Parc des Princes until 2025 – if he agrees to it. PSG are offering him €30m in wages per year, which is the same amount he is currently receiving at the club. The French side might’ve been spooked by Barca's vice-president claiming that the club can bring Messi back. Leo is currently fully focused on winning the upcoming Qatar World Cup with Argentina, and is likely to discuss his future only after that. Source: ElLarguero @Twitter

Fede Valverde is on fire after starting the season amazingly well for Real Madrid and Uruguay. The midfielder won the La Liga Player of the Month award for his heroics in September and is a man on form. Valverde nearly scored a goal of the year contender during Uruguay’s match against Canada recently. Unluckily, the ball rattles the bar – almost breaking it in the process – before going out. If that had gone into, Valverde might’ve been a favourite for the Puskas Award next year. Fans are bamboozled at what they saw from the Real Madrid star, as they reacted on Twitter. KonsistentKing: “Valverde has the deepest shot in football rn.” OntheHeadFootball: “Valverde has mad shot power.” WolfRMFC: “Valverde should be 99 shot power on Fifa.” Davissasuke: “Valverde finna hurt someone badly with that shot.” Source: It_is_mawuyon @Twitter

Jurgen Klopp has provided injury updates on a number of players in the Liverpool squad. Here's what he's said about them in his press conference: "Some are still out, Robbo, Curtis, Oxlade and Naby, those four are out." "Luis Diaz only landed yesterday morning. I didn't see him yet. I heard he's good. "Darwin, precaution after intense period. Same for Diogo. Calvin is training but not ready to play." "Kelleher looks good in training. I think he'll play this weekend for the U21s. Ibou needs training as well. If he's back for the weekend, depends how he trains today." Source: Liverpool FC

Graham Potter held his pre-Palace press conference this afternoon and the boss has largely positive injury updates on the squad. “They're fine in terms of coming through the rehab stages and Kante has been on the grass. Maybe next week for him. Bit of illness for Marc Cucurella.” Hopefully we'll get to see Kante get some minutes against tomorrow's opponents as he makes his way back to full fitness.

Harry Maguire has been relegated to the bench by Erik ten Hag following the disastrous start to the 2022/23 season. However, a recent study by Midnite shows that the Manchester United skipper remains as good statistically as Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. Van Dijk has made 206 tackles in his 206 Premier League appearances with a 69% success rate. Maguire, meanwhile, has 254 tackles in four more games with success rate of 67%. Interceptions-wise, the Englishman has a record of 326 at 1.58 interceptions per game. The Dutchman's numbers stand at 1.59 per game. Moreover, Van Dijk has won 74% of his aerial duels in the top flight compared to 72% for Maguire. Source: Midnite

Barcelona have decided that they want to extend Ousmane Dembele’s contract, which currently expires in 2024, as per Mundo Deportivo. The Blaugrana want to extend his stay at the club until at least 2026 after being impressed with his performances this season. Dembele’s new contract negotiations are considered as a priority, as he’s deemed as one of the key players in the squad. The Frenchman’s current deal is until 2024 after he re-signed with the club earlier this summer. The 25-year-old has scored 2 goals and registered 2 assists in 6 La Liga games this season, developing a strong chemistry with Robert Lewandowski. Source: Mundo Deportivo

Real Madrid are now preparing the final documents that will be needed to be signed by Eder Militao to finalize his new contract, as per Fabrizio Romano. Los Blancos have already verbally agreed a new 6-year contract that will be valid until June 2028. Madrid will also insert a €1bn release clause into the contract to ensure nobody can pray him away from them. The club are expected to officially confirm the new contract soon, with the Brazilian centre-back already having said yes to a long-term deal in July. Madrid want Militao to be a major part of their backline for many years to come after watching his impressive performances last season, where he stepped up and helped them win the La Liga and Champions League titles. Source: FabrizioRomano @Twitter

Barcelona prepare huge January offers for Endrick or Vitor Roque, reports Jorge Nicola. Deco is in charge of the negotiations. The former Barca star massively contributed to the Raphinha signing last summer. Endrick is a 16-year-old wonderkid with a crazy goalscoring record for Palmeiras' youth teams – it stood at 165 goals in 169 games in January. The teenager already plays for Palmeiras' U20 side despite being very young. Vitor Roque is called 'the future Ronaldo Nazario' by some fans. He is a bit less prolific than Endrick but still a great talent at 17 years of age. It seems like Blaugrana are actively looking for a very talented striker for the future, hoping that Endrick or Roque become the new legends of the game one day. Source: Jorge Nicola

Real Madrid still have plans to sign Erling Haaland in the future after deciding against getting him this summer, claims AS’s Thomas Roncero. Los Blancos view the Norwegian goal machine as a successor to Karim Benzema and plan to sign him as the Frenchman’s replacement. Florentino Perez has a plan set to sign Haaland in 2024 – when he believes the 22-year-old will be ‘fully prepared’ to take over from Benzema. Madrid are aware that they can sign the Norwegian striker for a massive €180m – his release clause at Man City. Haaland’s father recently claimed that Madrid was ‘no.3’ in his club preference this summer before he moved to Manchester. The 22-year-old has had a brilliant start to his career in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in appearances. Source: AS

Mateu Alemany has made major changes to Barcelona ever since taking over as the sporting director. As per Relevo, he was shocked by the state of Barca’s finances after coming aboard and how players received a ‘participation bonus’ at the club. This was an unnecessary added bonus being paid to players, especially those who spent long spells on the sideline with injuries. Alemany changed this by tweaking the rule for the participation bonus. He ensured that if a player played a game and missed the next nine matches through injury, his participation ratio would only be 10% - as compared to 100% before. Basically, this meant that players had to regularly play to get this bonus and those who were constantly injured, like Samuel Umtiti or Philippe Coutinho, found it more difficult to get this bonus. Alemany’s method of negotiations The Spaniard is known to be a cunning negotiator as well. He prefers the meetings with players or agents to be shorter the better. Alemany doesn’t get close to th...

Speaking to 888sport, Wes Brown said: "I didn't know Christian Eriksen ran as much, but he does. And he's the player Manchester United have missed a little bit and that's not hammering Fred or Scott McTominay. "He's always on the half-turn and ready to receive the ball. He's different to Bruno Fernandes despite many saying they're similar. Bruno will go for that magician ball but in those deeper positions there is more of a flow with Eriksen's one-twos. "Eriksen knows when to turn and when to place it first time. We've missed that and he's sort of steadied the ship in that sense. When he has time he picks out the right pass as well. He's definitely opened up different areas of play for us." Eriksen is slowly starting to look like the signing of the season after joining Man United on a free transfer from Brentford in the summer window. The 30-year-old is starring in the deep-lying playmaker role under Erik ten Hag with Bruno cu...

When asked about how different it feels to play for Arsenal as compared to Man City, Gabriel Jesus told ESPN: “The thing was the way [Guardiola] understands football and what he wanted. “Then it was up to you to accept it or not. If you don't accept it, 'thank you' and let's go for another challenge. I accepted it for a while, but there came a moment when I said: 'I want another thing for myself.' I thanked him, 'thanks for everything,' he understood, and we moved on. “It is different here at Arsenal. The football is different -- different players, different ways to play. At City, it was different. The striker didn't touch the ball that much, you see this by watching the games. “And, when it was time to touch the ball, it was not the striker, because [Guardiola] ended up putting a midfielder to come closer. OK, fine. So, I decided to change. I talked a lot with Arteta about Arsenal's style. “He knows me, I know him, I understood what he wanted fr...

This year Jorginho and Italy are sitting out another World Cup having failed to qualify in 2018 as well. When asked about the nation he'll be rooting for in Qatar he revealed: "I wish I could be there, but unfortunately, we are not going to be there. "So, of course, Brazil," he added. "I’ll be cheering for them, and let’s see what’s going to happen." Jorginho was born in Brazil and moved to Italy at the age of 15. He is of Italian descent but could have opted to play for Brazil. Back in 2017 he revealed that Brazil only made an attempt to call him up after Italy saw his potential. He stuck by his guns though and does not regret it: "Having a choice like that, which is so important for your life and career, is not easy. "Up until a month ago, I had no hope of getting a Brazil call and wasn’t even considering it. "Then they rang and said they were observing me, so it was impossible to just ignore that. It’s still Brazil and it’s still where I w...

A leaked screenshot showing the 2022 Ballon d'Or results has made its way to Twitter. And the reported winner is... Karim Benzema! Vinicius Junior (4th), Luka Modric (8th) and Thibaut Courtois (10th) are also in the top 10. The only suspicious thing here is the number of points gained by the players. The winner normally has more than 500 points; even if we scrap the journalists who won't participate in the vote this time, it still can't be 27. As a reminder, only the best player of the 2021/22 season will receive the award this time. The Ballon d'Or ceremony will take place on October 17. Source: Twitter

Federico Valverde is not just Real Madrid's Player of the Month – he is La Liga's best player in September too! The player won the competition from Robert Lewandowski, Nico Williams, Dani Parejo, Samu Castillejo, Luiz Felipe and Brais Mendez. The Uruguayan scored 2 goals and provided one assist in La Liga this month. His goal against Atletico Madrid was the match winner. Overall, the 24-year-old has already registered 6 goal contributions in just 9 matches for Real Madrid this season. Source: LaLiga

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro has slammed Portugal fans for criticizing her brother after their 1-0 loss to Spain in the Nations League. She wrote on Instagram: “He has his family and those who love him by his side. They will always be by his side, no matter what. “But the current times don’t surprise me at all. The Portuguese spit on the plate they eat [from], it has always been that way. That’s why when someone appears from the ashes and changes mentalities, it bothers… With you always, my king. Calm down “It is necessary to give a hand to those who have always given theirs to Portugal. But the Portuguese are sick, petty, soulless, stupid, ungrateful and forever ungrateful. This guy who’s sitting, he’s on his knees… There’s no one to give him a hand.” Ronaldo was slammed by fans for his poor performance in the loss to Spain, which meant that Portugal wouldn’t be able to move into the final four of the Nations League. Cristiano has only scored one goal in all competitions fo...

Ruben Neves 'has shown little desire' to negotiate with Liverpool and Manchester United in the summer, reports Diario Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz. The Portuguese stayed at Wolverhampton, hoping that Barcelona would bid for him in 2023. His priority is to play for the Catalans. The 25-year-old is on Barca's list of potential Sergio Busquets successors. However, Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi is said to be the priority signing. The defensive midfielder has scored 25 goals and provided 12 assists in 220 appearances for Wolves. Source: Diario Sport

Granit Xhaka has had an impressive start to the season with Arsenal. He’s registered 3 assists and scored a goal in 7 appearances, despite playing in midfield. As per The Athletic, the Swiss midfielder has made a better attacking impact for the Gunners this season. Xhaka has registered 0.14 goals and 0.43 assists per 90 this season in seven appearances, as compared to 0.04 goals and 0.07 assists last season. He’s also had 3.58 touches in the penalty area per game, as compared to 0.32 in the last campaign. The midfielder is playing in a more attacking role for the Gunners this season, playing with Martin Odegaard as a no.8. He’s become a pivotal part of Mikel Arteta’s side and if the stats prove anything, Xhaka should continue playing in this role this season. Source: The Athletic

Speaking about his decision to join Juventus and leave Man United in the summer, Paul Pogba told GQ Magazine: “I can promise that I will work hard to get back on the pitch as soon as possible to help the team gain the victories we deserve. I like to face challenges with a smile in life and football. “My love for this sport motivates me to give my best every day. I am accustomed to handling rumours, having begun my career early. My heart made a choice, it was the right moment to return [Juventus]. The last three years in Manchester did not go as I wanted. “This is no secret. I was affected by injuries. A return to Juventus was a great challenge for the club and me. I learned a lot at Manchester United and now I am a different player. I must take more responsibility. “During my first spell, there were many experienced players here, [Andrea] Pirlo, [Gianluigi] Buffon, [Giorgio] Chiellini. Now I’ve become like them and it’s up to me to achieve the same results for Juventus.” Pogba is yet t...

"On our list, I think Man City is the best team [for Erling Haaland to join]. [Bayern] Munich is number two. We have Real Madrid as number three, Paris Saint-Germain as number four... " Erling Haaland's father, Alf-Inge, said via The Big Decision documentary in spring of 2022. "We also have some English teams other than Man City who are quite good; Liverpool and Chelsea. Also, there is Barcelona. They are sort of in the same row... " he also said back then. Interestingly, reports claimed the Norwegian was picking between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the time. There was little talk about Haaland's potential move to Bayern Munich. Also in that documentary, Alfie Haaland revealed that his son didn't join Real Madrid because 'they had Benzema'. Erling Haaland joined Manchester City for €60m plus hefty variables in the summer. The 22-year-old striker has bagged 14 goals in 10 games since then. Source: The Times

According to The Times, not all Premier League stakeholders found Todd Boehly's idea to hold an All-Star game ridiculous. The Chelsea co-owner suggested holding such a game between the teams made from the players representing the clubs from the North and the South. However, the idea is now set to be revived in a different shape. It's claimed that the Premier League XI might take on the All-Star teams from other big leagues, like Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A. An advantage of such a format would be the ability to hold those games around the world - which would mean an increased global audience. Source: The Times

UEFA Nations League Prize Money – Distribution & Breakdown 2022/2023 Do you wish to know the prize money of UEFA Nations League, as well as its distribution and break down? If this is what you've been searching for, then you are on the right page. The UEFA nations league is the latest tournament where European countries competes with each other for the Gold prize. However, some claim that the tournament is not upstanding when it comes to finances - and its launching came with piles of criticism; which is not our bone of contention here. But, how much do teams collect for winning groups and advancing? Let's proceed and see for ourselves. About the UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is a fairly new competition that is contested by a total of 55 European nations. These countries are divided into four groups; whose group selection is based on a country's FIFA rankings. Teams with higher points will rank at the top while countries faring poorly will rank a...

Liverpool announced on Thursday they have signed a new sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola. The deal will reportedly fetch around £30m per season for the Reds. A club statement reads: “We understand the vital importance of teaming up with a like-minded brand and using our combined reach in positive ways. “Liverpool FC and Coca-Cola are two iconic global brands working together to bring magical experiences and unique money-can’t-buy moments to fans.  “The ambition with all of our partnerships is to work with the most inspiring and innovative brands in the world and Coca-Cola fits this ambition in every way.” Earlier in 2022, Liverpool renewed their deal with Standard Chartered which guarantees the Reds £50m per season. With the new sponsors coming on board, fans at Anfield will get Coca-Cola branded drinks, while Liverpool players, coaches and the club logo will be used in advertising the soft drink. Source: Liverpool FC

Speaking to Arsenal's official website, Per Mertesacker said: "I have to say how much it trickled down. I've seen videos of the under-9, under-10 squads cheering Ethan Nwaneri on at Hale End when he came on. "Players that would start the same journey as he did, in the grassroots academy, were cheering him on. So all of a sudden he has been escalated to be a role model and a positive influence for young players. "It's just brilliant to see, that's what we are proud of, we can show progress, we can show pathways. It was a very proud moment, for himself and his family. It's a reflection as well of what this club is about, what the academy is about." Nwaneri became the youngest-ever player to feature in the Premier League after making his Arsenal debut in the 3–0 win against Brentford earlier this month. Mertesacker, who has been working at the club's academy since retiring from football in 2018, clearly had a word with Mikel Arteta about the 15-...

Earlier in the week, Jordan Henderson recovered from injury to play for England. Fabio Carvalho has also recovered and is training with Liverpool. Here's the latest update surrounding the injured Liverpool players ahead of the game against Brighton. Ibrahima Konate. According to The Athletic, Ibou is back in training after missing two months of action with a muscle injury. However, he's not ready to be involved in the matchday squad. Andy Robertson. The left-back is still nursing a knee injury and has not trained with the group. He may return next week. Naby Keita. The Guinean is still out with a muscle injury till late October. Curtis Jones. The midfielder is still suffering a muscular injury and is not expected back until early November. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Englishman may yet play this season. But it's unlikely to be this year. Calvin Ramsay. The defender is closer to a full recovery after being spotted in training. He's yet to make his debut after signing fo...

According to Transfermarkt, Eden Hazard’s market value continues to drop. The Belgian is currently valued at €12 million - one of the lowest values since the beginning of his professional career. The Belgian reached his highest point in 2018, being one the best Premier League players at that time - €150 million. Apparently, he has lost 92% of that value. Surprisingly, Toni Kroos has also made the list of players with a significant 75% decrease in market value (€20m instead of €80m back in 2018). Dani Carvajal (€18m instead of €60m) has lost 70% of his market value in a 4-years' time. It's also Mariano Diaz and Alvaro Odriozola who are in the same boat as their team-mates. In the case of the Spanish-Dominican striker, his current value is €4 million, having reached €22 million in his prime with Lyon. For Odriozola, the drop has been 66%, with the amount currently standing at €10m while his highest peak was €30 million, also in 2018. Source: Transfermarkt

Chelsea are prepared to spend as much as £300m to completely revamp their midfield, per The Telegraph. Top of the Blues wishlist are Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Christopher Nkunku. Signing Bellingham alone could easily gulp £130m - the price Dortmund has slapped on the swashbuckling midfielder. West Ham have also insisted they will not accept a fee less than £100m for Rice. As for Nkunku, he recently signed a new contract at Leipzig and could cost up to £70m given that Real Madrid and PSG are said to be interested in the goalscoring midfielder. Chelsea spent nearly £300m this summer as the new owners announced their arrival at Stamford Brigde with 8 new signings. Source: The Telegraph

Harry Redknapp admits he was left kicking himself by not reading the 'finer print' in his Tottenham contract, which he claims ended up costing him the England job in 2012. Redknapp, then 65, was the overwhelming favourite to become the next Three Lions boss after Fabio Capello walked out as manager just before the 2012 Euros, given how he had guided Spurs to the Champions League for the first time in their history. He looked to be a shoo-in for the job but the FA decided to appoint Roy Hodgson as England manager instead, leaving fans confused as to why Redknapp didn't get the nod. And a decade on, Redknapp believes that it was his 'crazy' £15million buy-out clause in his Spurs deal that put the FA off from even giving him an interview. 'I had this crazy clause in my contract which meant that if another club came after me – or in this case the FA – they would have to pay £5million back to Portsmouth, the last club I was at before Spurs, plus all my wages for my t...

Xavi is in contact with Ansu Fati almost every day, reports Mundo Deportivo's Roger Torello. The Barca boss spurs the player and reminds him that he is just 19 years old and his best career moments are still ahead. Xavi often tells Ansu that it is very important for him to be at 100 per cent physically in order to avoid any risks. Earlier, it was revealed that Ansu Fati is still worried about all the injuries he has suffered in his career and the long-term consequences they may carry. The player has even hired a personal psychologist to help himself overcome the struggles. The youngster has made just one appearance in the starting eleven so far this season. He scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists across all competitions this term. Source: Mundo Deportivo

“That’s football nowadays – it’s absolutely crazy," Everton's Antony Gordon was quoted by Metro. "Personally, I don’t think any player is worth that amount of money but I’m also not going to talk myself down. "Because the place [Everton] is so good, it’s not a place where I’m devastated because I have to stay. "That’s never been the case. I was never desperate to leave Everton. It was definitely not the case." Chelsea made a bid worth £60m for Gordon this summer but Everton rejected it after Frank Lampard insisted the player was absolutely vital to his team. The Englishman is considered one of the most talented forwards in the country. However, he's highly rated for his intense work rate. Source: Metro Sports

The international break ended yesterday after two weeks of intense action by various national teams across the world. Liverpool expects no fewer than 10 players to report to their training camp from Thursday, September 29th ahead of Premier League action this weekend. Here's a list of Reds returning to training: Goalkeeper: Alisson (Brazil) Defenders: Van Dijk (Netherlands), Alexander-Arnold (England) Midfielders: Fabinho (Brazil), Harvey Elliott (England U-21). Forwards: Roberto Firmino (Brazil), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Diogo Jota (Portugal), Luis Diaz (Colombia), Darwin Nunez (Uruguay). The good news is that no Liverpool player is returning to Anfield with an injury. Liverpool will face Brighton on Saturday.

Speaking to ViaPlay, Alan Shearer said: "My top three for the 2022/23 Premier League season is Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham. "I think I might say Arsenal will finish fourth. My prediction has slightly changed from the beginning of the season. "But on the evidence I have seen from Manchester United and Chelsea, then I think Arsenal might sneak in there as well." Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table with 18 points from seven games, suffering just one defeat so far (3–1 loss away at Man United). The next two league games will be crucial to the Gunners' Champions League hopes with Mikel Arteta's men taking on Spurs and Liverpool at the Emirates. Source: ViaPlay

Barcelona vice president Eduard Romeu has addressed several topics, including club's winter transfer window and possible Lionel Messi's return. "Signings in January? There is room for it, but we have made a very big effort this summer. We have to study it", Romeu told Catalunya Radio. It is more likely that there'll more outs in winter than ins as Barca will try to offload some more players. We, however, might sign Ruben Neves - the player has been closely linked with a move to Barca as of late. The VP also claimed that Barca 'will be economically healthy in 5 years', which is quite a good thing to hear. Another topic Romeu brought up was Lionel Messi's potential arrival at Camp Nou next summer. "Is it possible? I'm sure it is. Because if he returned, it would be for free. But it's a decision which has to be made by the coaching staff and the player". To recap, Joan Laporta opened the door for Leo's come back a couple of months ag...

According to The Sun, Marcus Rashford is 'winning the fitness battle' to recover in time for the Manchester City clash on Sunday. The 24-year-old missed out on being included in the England squad after picking up a hamstring injury in the 3–1 win against Arsenal earlier this month. However, it looks like the forward will be available for selection for the Manchester derby as the Red Devils look to extend their four-game winning run in the Premier League. The Old Trafford clash is of vital importance importance to Man United and new manager Erik ten Hag with the Dutchman aiming to send a message to the rest of the league in his first-ever Manchester derby. Source: The Sun

A report by international insurance brokers Howden has shown that Premier League teams suffered the highest injury count last season compared to any of Europe's top five leagues. In total, there were 1,231 injuries recorded by teams in the Premier League. However, it was Chelsea who were the most impacted by injuries. The Blues suffered a staggering 97 injuries last season. Premier League teams with the highest injury count in 2021/22 - top 3: 1. Chelsea - 97 2. Manchester United - 81 3. Liverpool - 80 Premier League teams spent an outrageous £184.57m on injured players. Frequent injuries to players have been blamed on Herculean fixture schedules, with players expected to play high-intensity games nearly once every three days. Source: Howden (h/t Sports Mail)

Chelsea are planning further talks with Tim Steidten about becoming the club's new sporting director, according to the Guardian. The Bayer Leverkusen man has emerged as the frontrunner for the job with the Blues also approaching Michael Edwards, Luis Campos and Christoph Freund. New owner Todd Boehly wants the club's sporting director to focus more on 'data and recruitment', a profile that Steidten, who previously worked as Bayer's squad planner, fits perfectly. Should the 43-year-old get the job in the near future, he will be working closely with recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay who moved to Stamford Bridge from Brighton alongside new manager Graham Potter. Source: Guardian

"The activation of Barca's levers is not fair. I'm not sure if it's legal", claimed PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. "UEFA have to do something about Barca and their levers. If UEFA allow it, other teams will do the same. UEFA have their regulations, they are going to analyse the situation". How ironic to hear this exactly from a club president who spends insane amounts of money on buying new players almost every season and somehow manages not to break the Financial Fair Play rules.

"As it [re-signing Leo Messi] would be on a free, so surely it is something that we can do. But it would be a technical decision anyways," Barcelona's economic vice-president Eduard Romeu has told the media, via Fabrizio Romano. "There is a salary margin, we made an effort this summer on salaries," he added. By saying this, Romeu means that Leo Messi will have to adapt to the new salary limits set by Joan Laporta. Starting from 2022, no player is expected to make more than €10m net per year. If a player's salary is higher than that, the pay cut will be negotiated – as it is going to happen to Frenkie de Jong. Barcelona reportedly dream of Messi's comeback as a free agent next summer. The player is said to have decided that this will be his final season with Paris Saint-Germain. Source: Fabrizio Romano

According to The Telegraph, Chelsea are prepared to enter the race for Jude Bellingham in earnest. Todd Boehly believes the Blues have time to make a serious play for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, despite the fact that Liverpool and Real Madrid have been working on the deal for months and are understood to be the frontrunners. Dortmund are expected to make Bellingham available for £130 million, which would make the 19-year-old the third-most expensive player ever after Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. The Blues' new owners have already spent almost £300 million during their first transfer window in charge. However, Chelsea seriously intend to splash cash on midfield in 2023, with the uncertainty over the future of Jorginho and N'Golo Kante who might see their deals expire next summer. Source: The Telegraph

Kieran Tierney is expected to be available for Arsenal in the game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, claims Football London. The left-back only missed Scotland’s recent game against Ukraine as a precaution, after picking up a head injury in the win over the Republic of Ireland. Tierney has not suffered anything major in terms of his head injury and should be ready to feature for the Gunners. However, it remains to be seen if he can play ahead of Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is also reportedly set to be fit for the game. Mikel Arteta can, of course, opt to play both of them together – which would mean playing Zinchenko in a midfield role. Source: Football London

The final international break ahead of the World Cup is over. Let's see what Barca players were the most and the least impressive during that period. Best Sergio Busquets The Barca veteran has once again shown that he is basically irreplaceable. Busquets was brilliant at both playmaking and defending as Spain faced Switzerland and Portugal in the Nations League. Gavi The 18-year-old continues to impress this season. The youngster was almost faultless at passing, provided 3 key passes in 2 matches for Luis Enrique's side and won 6 fouls in total. Exceptional. Raphinha The Brazilian was unstoppable against Tunisia on Tuesday, scoring 2 stunning goals and providing one assist in just 45 minutes. Robert Lewandowski The Pole scored no goals against the Netherlands or Wales but was very active at playmaking and recorded a fabulous assist. 3 key passes in 2 games to his name. Marc-Andre ter Stegen The German conceded 4 goals in just 2 games while replacing the Covid-hit Manuel Neuer, ...

Luka Modric has picked up an injury, reports credible Jose Luis Sanchez. The Croatian will miss around 10 days. He is expected to be fit for El Clasico on October 16. The 37-year-old is likely to miss 3 matches: against Osasuna (October 2), Shakhtar Donetsk (October 5) and Getafe (October 8). He will be a doubt for the Shakhtar encounter on October 11. Source: Jose Luis Sanchez

Harry Maguire has endured a difficult year at Manchester United. The Englishman has fallen out of favour with Erik ten Hag, starting just twice in the Premier League this season. But in only 190 minutes so far, the 29-year-old has been cautioned thrice. Put in context, he has been booked in almost every hour on the pitch. Maguire isn't alone though. Teammates Diogo Dalot and Scott McTominay have received three yellow cards also. However, the pair have played for over 1,000 minutes between them. Fulham's Joao Palhinha is the most booked player in the division - 5. United return to action against Manchester City on Sunday. Source: Premier League

Ibrahima Konate has returned to full training with Liverpool, The Athletic's James Pearce reports. The French centre-back was sidelined for two months with a muscle injury. He is yet to feature for the Reds in an official game this season. The 23-year-old has completed his rehab programme during the international break, but the decision is yet to be made whether he's fit enough to face Brighton on Saturday. With Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez all fit, there's no immediate pressure to get Konate involved before he's fully prepared to return to the pitch. In any case, Liverpool will play nine games in October which means that Konate will undoubtedly play his role in the team in the weeks to come. Source: The Athletic

Speaking about William Saliba’s role at Arsenal, ex-Gooner William Gallas told Genting Casino: “William Saliba has the same style as Rio Ferdinand. “When you see Saliba and how he plays, and when you compare with Rio when he was young, I think they are similar. But it’s always the same problem, who is going to be next to you to learn? “He’s still young and at this age you need to learn and you need to have the right players next to you. That’s why I said it’s very important when you play centre-back, you need to have experienced players you can learn from. “At the moment Saliba doesn’t have anyone. When I talk about experienced players, I’m talking about top-class defenders. That’s why I’m a little bit worried for him. “If he wants to go to another level he needs to be next to top class defenders. If we speak about John Terry, who was next to him? Marcel Desailly. Rio Ferdinand? He was next to Vidic, or I’m not sure who before that. “All the defenders, they learned from someone. Nesta,...

Speaking about how they failed to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Man United in the summer, Al-Hilal president Fahad ben Nafel said: “Yes, we negotiated with Ronaldo. The problem was not in the money or the principle.  “Al-Hilal is able to bring in the stars of the world, but it was in the decision of the Sports Arbitration Center that prevented us from registering the players. “We did not stop negotiating with the players despite the decision to ban, but we were delaying entering the final stage of the negotiations until the ban was lifted.” Ronaldo reportedly received a mega-offer and a multi-year contract from the Saudi club, which involved them offering wages of £105m per year. If we’re to believe Al-Hilal’s president, the deal didn’t happen due to their transfer ban.. The Portuguese forward has had a poor start to the new season with Man United, only scoring one goal in 8 games so far. Source: Thanmanya @Youtube

Paris Saint-Germain owner Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani has ordered the club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi to negotiate the purchase of Espanyol, according to Foot en Espagne. Al-Khelaifi could be the main man behind the idea. The PSG chief would probably like to 'hurt' Barcelona after they partly recovered from their financial crisis through activating economic levers. If the purchase is completed, the Qataris will focus on making Espanyol one of the best, if not the only best, clubs in Spain. Espanyol are Barcelona's domestic rivals from the same city, so Al-Khelaifi's reported choice is quite clear. Anyway, the news is given by quite a questionable source, so we would recommend you to take it with a pinch of salt. Source: Foot en Espagne via El Nacional