Gill Clark

Paris Saint-Germain and France star Ousmane Dembele is heading to the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday night in a custom-made tuxedo. The 28-year-old attacker is the red-hot favourite to land the prestigious prize after a stellar season that brought four trophies for his club side but faces competition from Barcelona and Spain teenager Lamine Yamal.

Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham has undergone a dramatic body transformation after undergoing surgery to cure a troublesome shoulder problem. The England international has been asked to slim down and reduce muscle mass by the Spanish giants in a bid to become sharper, quicker and more agile in the new La Liga season with Xabi Alonso’s side.

La Liga giants Real Madrid are expected to boycott the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday for the second year in a row. Los Blancos famously failed to attend in 2024 after learning that star man Vinicius Jr had been pipped to the prestigious Golden Ball by Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri. Tensions between Real Madrid and UEFA still linger in the wake of the snub as the club feel they have been unfairly treated.

Former Manchester United star Christian Eriksen believes that public criticism from club legends such as Gary Neville and Roy Keane is not helping the Red Devils. Ruben Amorim's side have endured another tough start to the Premier League season and the Denmark international feels more realistic expectations are needed from pundits and former players.

Forest Green Rovers manager Robbie Savage has made waves after making a quadruple substitution in the first minute of his team's match against Wolverhampton Wanderers' Under-21s on Tuesday in the National League Cup. The ex-Premier League star took advantage of an obscure loophole to make wholesale changes to his team straight after kick-off and saw Forest Green go on to win 3-2 at the New Lawn stadium.

Manchester United have been told that former midfielder Michael Carrick has more “common sense” than under-fire coach Ruben Amorim. Former Red Devils assistant Rene Meulensteen thinks Carrick could be a good option if the club do decide to part ways with their Portuguese manager after a poor start to the 2025-26 Premier League season.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has given a brutally honest verdict on the partnership between new signing Xavi Simons and Djed Spence after seeing Spurs beat Villarreal 1-0 in their opening Champions League match of the 2025-26 campaign. An early own goal from Yellow Submarine goalkeeper Luiz Junior ensured Tottenham took all three points in a narrow win in north London.

Tottenham are calling for a major Premier League transfer rule to change after being left 'fuming' in the wake of the summer window. Spurs had hoped to send Manor Solomon on loan to Crystal Palace but saw a deadline-day move collapse after the Eagles pulled out at the last minute, despite signing a deal sheet to allow them extra time to complete the transfer.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have enjoyed a long-running rivalry after dominating world football for two decades. Both superstars are now entering the twilight of their careers, with former Manchester United assistant Rene Meulensteen claiming the 40-year-old Portugal international is now in better physical condition than Inter Miami's World Cup winner.

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry has admitted he forgot all about one particular goalscorer at the club when discussing the strength in depth at Mikel Arteta’s side. The Gunners splashed out in the summer transfer window and brought exciting attackers Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze to the club in a bid to boost their hopes of winning silverware.

Manchester United minority owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is expected to put Ligue 1 club Nice up for sale at a price of around €200 million (£174m/$237m). An official announcement is expected from INEOS shortly, as Ratcliffe is said to finally be ready to give up his stake with the French team that he originally acquired back in 2019 for approximately £89 million (€100 million).

Kylian Mbappe scored twice for Real Madrid against Marseille in the Champions League on Tuesday to take his tally to 50 goals in 64 matches for Los Blancos. The France international has now become the fastest player to reach a half-century of goals for Real Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo hit the landmark in 2010 by hitting his 51st goal in just 54 appearances.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has claimed that he knew that Gabriel Martinelli would turn out to be the match-winner against Athletic Club on Tuesday. The Gunners boss sent on the Brazilian in the second half and saw him break the deadlock just 36 seconds after coming off the bench as the Gunners started their Champions League campaign with a 2-0 victory at San Mames.

Newcastle United have officially confirmed to the Premier League that the capacity of St James' Park has been expanded, but only by a very small number of seats since the start of last season. The underwhelming news has caused more frustration for fans and led to questions about the club’s progress on plans to increase capacity to 65,000 either through renovation or a new stadium.

Everton's summer signing Jack Grealish has been accused of "overplaying" for the Toffees since moving to the club on a season-long loan from Manchester City. The midfielder was named the Premier League's Player of the Month for August but has been warned that manager David Moyes may want a word with him about his performances.

Manchester United have reportedly come up with a shortlist of five potential successors to replace under-pressure boss Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford. USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino has emerged as a candidate for the job, along with Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner, former England coach Gareth Southgate, Fulham's Marco Silva and Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth.

The Football Association has confirmed in a statement that Chelsea have been hit with 74 charges for alleged rule breaches.

Arsenal defender Ben White played alongside Viktor Gyokeres at Brighton and expects the striker to be a big hit with Mikel Arteta's side.