Barcelona director Ariedo Braida expects Rafinha to remain at the Spanish club after Inter opted against making his loan move permanent.

Rafinha, like his brother Thiago Alcantara, came through the youth system at Barca and was highly rated as a youngster, catching the eye while on loan at Celta Vigo in 2013-14.

He became a squad player in Barca s first-team on the back of that campaign, but injuries disrupted his progress and he was allowed to join Inter on loan for the second half of the 2017-18 season – the Serie A club securing a purchase option as part of the deal.

While Rafinha went on to feature 17 times in the league for Inter, they did not trigger the purchase clause set at €35million, plus €3m in variables, and now Braida – who is head of Ba…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Juventus central midfielder Adrien Rabiot, according to . It has been reported by the Italian news outlet that the Premier League club have come up for the France international midfielder, and that Italian giants Juventus are keen on selling him as soon as possible.

English club Newcastle plan to make a move for Rabiot in the January transfer window, according to the report. The 26-year-old joined Juventus on a free transfer in the summer of 2019, but things have not turned out well for the France international.

Rabiot is a very good central midfielder who was a regular for Paris Saint-Germain before he made the switch to Juventus. The 26-year-old will get better in the coming years, and his experience and winning mentality wil…

Lille have confirmed the signing of former Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes, who will spend the 2020-21 season on loan at Boavista.

The talented 19-year-old opted to move elsewhere rather than continue his career at United, having come through the academy system at the Premier League club.

Gomes made his first-team debut back in May 2017 but has found first-team opportunities limited; his only three starts in the 2019-20 campaign all came in the Europa League.

While United were keen to sign the England youth international to a new deal, he instead allowed his contract to run down.

In an Instagram post in midweek, Gomes wrote a farewell message thanking all those at the club who had helped him through the years.

Sadly the time has come to …

Riyad Mahrez never had doubts over his ability to fit in at Manchester City and has no plans to leave the Premier League champions.

Mahrez had not started for Pep Guardiola s side in the league since April 3, but was included in City s starting XI against Brighton and Hove Albion in Sunday s title-sealing 4-1 rout.

The former Leicester City star – who led the Foxes charge to the title in 2015-16 – repaid Guardiola s faith, providing the assist for Aymeric Laporte to head City in front after Sergio Aguero had cancelled out Glenn Murray s opener, before hammering in a third midway through the second half.

And despite struggling to assert himself as a regular starter, Mahrez insisted he always believed in his own quality.

It s not easy to come to a team…

Best odds: 8/13

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Napoli are set to host Lazio at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Friday, opening the 25th round of the 2022/23 season in the Serie A. The game bears separate motivation levels for the two teams, but with plenty of rest at their disposal both ahead and after this clash, neither side are likely to hold anything back.

Napoli

Napoli are, of course, enjoying the season the likes of which most of their players or supporters won t have dreamed of before the start of the campaign. With 24 rounds played, they lead the way in the Serie A table ahead of second-place Inter Milan (and AC Milan in third) by no less than 17 points.

The Champions League campaign is going very well too for Luciano Spalletti s men. Having won their group wi…

Thierry Henry has turned down the chance to become the next coach of France following Corinne Diacre s dismissal, FFF committee member Jean-Michel Aulas confirmed.

The former striker, widely considered one of the country s all-time greatest players, has been out of a coaching job since the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where he was an assistant with Belgium.

Following Diacre s exit amid a player boycott for the women s team however, the FFF are seeking to find a successor ahead of the Women s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year.

It will not be Henry however, with the former Montreal Impact boss declining the chance to take the reins heading into the tournament.

He considered it, Thierry, Aulas told Le Figaro. I personally asked him …

Diego Maradona dragged Argentina to World Cup glory, triumphed in Italy and Europe with Napoli and won countless individual honours.

Along the way, the footballing great – who died at the age of 60 on November 25, 2020 – scored some of the greatest goals the game has ever seen.

No matter the occasion, or indeed the opponent, Maradona was often unplayable – as can be seen from our selection of his five greatest ever goals.

Argentina v England (June 22, 1986)

Hailed by many as the greatest goal of all time, Maradona picked up the ball inside his own half and dribbled past four England players before calmly rounding Peter Shilton.

The moment of magic arrived four minutes after the notorious Hand of God goal and helped Argentina into…

A Premier League player will face no action over one of three alleged incidents of rape that have been under investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

The player, who is in his late twenties, cannot be named for legal reasons.

He was arrested on July 4 on suspicion of raping a woman in her twenties in June this year.

The Metropolitan Police announced a day later that, while in custody, the man had been further arrested on suspicion of two incidents of rape that were alleged to have been committed in April and June of 2021.

He was subsequently released on bail, and that has now been extended to a date in early October.

It has now been confirmed there will be no further action relating to the alleged offence in June 2021, but investigations are co…

Verdict: Under 2.5 goals 

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Two nations who are looking to secure a route out of Group D, Morocco will face off against Ivory Coast in Cairo on Friday evening.

Morocco

Starting with Morocco, although the Atlas Lions did manage to get their African Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start last weekend, they were far from convincing and needed an 89th-minute own goal to come past Namibia. Despite many believing that Hervé Renard s side had made some needed improvements after slumping to the bottom of Group B at last summers World Cup finals, their form heading into this year s African finals has been highly worrying for fans around Marrakech. Losing three of their last four appearances across all competitions and desperate…

Veteran coach Guus Hiddink has confirmed he is in talks over a return to Chelsea to replace Jose Mourinho, who departed the club by mutual consent on Thursday.

Mourinho s second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge came to an end after the Premier League champions shocking season continued with a 2-1 loss at Leicester City on Monday, a result that leaves them just a point above the relegation zone.

Speculation soon gathered pace that Chelsea would turn to Hiddink at least until the end of the season.

The 69-year-old previously enjoyed a short spell in charge of the London club in 2009, when he led Chelsea to a third-placed finish and FA Cup glory.

Discussion over a possible return have started, but he has dismissed any talk of being on the bench when Chelse…