Opinion

There were just a few minutes to go in the first half of Brazil's friendly with France last week when Raphinha began to experience what Carlo Ancelotti called "mild discomfort" in his right thigh. However, the mere fact that he failed to re-emerge for the second period at the Gillette Stadium immediately put Barcelona's medical team on red alert and they promptly reached out to the winger, desperately hoping to receive reassurance that he hadn't aggravated an issue that had already sidelined him twice this season.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was one of just a number of Italy players reduced to tears by Tuesday's World Cup play-off loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina - but the penalty shootout defeat in Zenica hit the goalkeeper harder than most. This wasn't the first time he'd been involved in a failed attempt to qualify - it was the third. Despite his devastation, though, Donnarumma remained defiant.

There was always a chance that Liverpool would announce a high-profile departure during the international break and, just three days after their latest Premier League setback at Brighton, the Reds confirmed that Mohamed Salah would be leaving at the end of the current campaign. The timing of the announcement surprised some, but Salah had successfully pushed for the news to be made public more than two months before the end of the season in what felt like an obvious attempt to control the narrative surrounding his painful and unexpectedly early exit.

The road to the 2026 World Cup is almost over for England. The next time the Three Lions convene, they will do so for two pre-tournament friendlies in the United States, against Costa Rica and New Zealand, before kicking-off their tournament against Croatia on June 17. They will do so as one of the favourites to go all the way, with the pressure on Thomas Tuchel and his players to finally end 60 years of hurt.

The Nerazzurri were held up in Florence too: Milan have closed the gap from 10 points to 6, while Napoli have narrowed the gap from 14 points to 7.

So here we are again, Tottenham Hotspur. Seven games into the Igor Tudor reign that was supposed to save Spurs from relegation, they look more doomed than ever before. They are one point outside the Premier League's bottom three and are the only side without a win in the top-flight in 2026. Every time they seem to have turned a corner, a new disaster is waiting for them just ahead.

You cannot fault Thomas Tuchel when it comes to honesty. This is a coach who said on national radio that his mother finds star player Jude Bellingham "repulsive", who told England fans at Wembley off for being "silent" in a friendly against Wales and said Bukayo Saka's goal tally for the Three Lions, the highest of any Arsenal player in history, was not good enough.

Three-and-a-half years ago, Lionel Messi 'completed football' by leading Argentina to glory at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It was a joy for every neutral to see the Barcelona legend finally lift the one trophy that had eluded him for so long, capping an amazing career that will almost certainly never be emulated.

The letter to Exor shareholders sets out the guidelines for Juventus in the near future

Let’s take a look at each of the run-offs Gattuso will face between now and Tuesday

The Azzurri have reached the World Cup decider, but their performance against Northern Ireland won’t be enough in Zenica.

An analysis of the match played by the Azzurri.

Paris Saint-Germain are the best side in European football. They are the current holders of the Champions League for good reason, boasting top-line talent that fights for one another as a proper team and not like their faux-Galacticos of the past. In the dugout, they are led by one of football's brightest minds and most-respected man-managers. But the legitimacy of their title defence is now being rightly called into question.

Thoughts on the summer transfer window

Neymar found himself back in headlines across Europe last week after he was brought up as a topic of debate on The Overlap. Gary Neville introduced a new 'Unpopular Opinions' segment, and kicked it off with the following statement: "No Premier League player in history is better than a prime Neymar."

After the mini-montage of memorable Mohamed Salah moments, the man himself entered the frame and took a seat in front of his colossal trophy cabinet. After a brief pause, and a deep breath that turned into a sigh, he began to speak, "Hello, everyone, unfortunately, the day has come." And there can't have been a single football fan across the world that didn't know what that meant: Salah was leaving Liverpool.

GOAL attempts the impossible by ranking the finest footballers to grace the English top flight since 2000

During an interview with Sky Sports in October 2024, Trent Alexander-Arnold was asked about his remaining career goals and whether he would rather win another Champions League, become Liverpool captain, lift a trophy with England or win the Ballon d'Or. The right-back went with the latter, the most unrealistic - and unimportant - option.

Locatelli’s mistake against Sassuolo still stings: a different decision could have been made. And as for the Dutchman...

Sandro Sabatini's analysis following Juventus's home draw against Sassuolo.

Sandro Sabatini's analysis of Milan's victory over Torino.

The change in strategy: less opportunity for young players, making way for those accustomed to winning

Will he manage to stay true to himself without getting caught up in the role? An in-depth analysis by Massimo Callegari.

The Liverpool striker hasn't played for Italy since Euro 2024; his call-up is a real asset for Gattuso.

Despite the painfully protracted league phase running through the first five months of the season and the play-off round providing some drama, for many the Champions League doesn't truly begin until the last 16 gets underway. If you are one of those fans, then you likely loved the past week or so of European action.

Michael Carrick instantly solved one of Manchester United's biggest problems from the Ruben Amorim era by simply playing Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot in their natural positions. The full-backs have started all nine games under the former Red Devils midfielder, playing their part in the coach's astonishing run of seven victories, one draw and one defeat thus far.

The history of Chelsea Football Club can be split into three separate eras. You have everything that happened before Roman Abramovich's takeover in 2003, everything that happened under the Russian oligarch's control, and everything after he was forced to pass over the keys to the club to the BlueCo-Clearlake consortium in 2022.

Although the 2026 Winter Olympics are now concluded, watching Bruno Fernandes pull the strings for Manchester United brings to mind the most iconic film ever made about the event, and more specifically, a stirring motivational speech from the late John Candy.