AC Milan are facing a mounting injury crisis after Adrien Rabiot was ruled out for at least a month with a calf lesion sustained on France duty. Christian Pulisic has also been sidelined with a hamstring tear he sustained in a friendly for the United States, leaving Milan short-handed ahead of a crucial run of Serie A fixtures for Massimiliano Allegri's title hopefuls.
Paul Pogba may be preparing for his football comeback but he is clearly diversifying his interests after launching a new clothing brand in what could be seen as a major career switch. The former Manchester United and Juventus midfielder is currently on the books at Monaco but has not yet made his debut for the Ligue 1 club.
Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso provided a key update on Kylian Mbappe's fitness ahead of the club's La Liga fixture against Getafe this weekend. The star forward picked up an injury while on international duty with France. He limped off the pitch late on during Les Bleus' clash with Azerbaijan and missed their World Cup qualifier against Iceland after being released from the French squad.
Olivier Giroud has revealed his plans to emulate iconic striker Cristiano Ronaldo. Giroud returned to France over the summer following a year in America with MLS side LAFC. The experienced striker has made a solid start to life back in his homeland with Lille having scored two goals in his opening six Ligue 1 appearances and has no plans to stop playing anytime soon.
Luca Zidane has received his first-ever Algeria call-up at 27 years old, marking a new chapter in his career. The Granada goalkeeper, son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, switched his international allegiance from France and says he’s “ready to give everything” with the Fennecs already sure of a place at the 2026 World Cup.
"La France, c'est vous." Translated as 'France, is you', that was what French president Charles de Gaulle told footballer Rachid Mekhloufi in 1968. Mekhloufi had just led his Saint-Etienne side to the double, and the reward was an audience with the most powerful man in the country. For Mekhloufi, this sentence brought things full circle. Now he was both Algerian and French; 10 years earlier, he had - in a sense - been neither.
Didier Deschamps' men were held to a 2-2 draw by a brave Iceland side in Reykjavik, as an experimental XI floundered under the pressure of their bold opponents, who belied their pre-match underdogs tag. France did score twice, coming from behind in the process, but a lack of concentration allowed the hosts to take a well-deserved point from a breathless encounter.