Lists

Luka Modric has named Jose Mourinho as the toughest manager of his illustrious career, claiming the legendary boss is so intense that he once made Cristiano Ronaldo cry in the Real Madrid dressing room. The Croatia and AC Milan midfielder has worked under several world-class coaches during his sparkling spell in football, but he has labelled the Portuguese as the strictest of them all.

Como Women's star Alisha Lehmann showed off her impressive skills by recreating an iconic Ronaldinho advert to celebrate her partnership with Fanvue. Lehmann moved to Como over the summer after just one year with Juventus, during which time she scored two goals in 16 appearances. The Swiss star had spent three years with Aston Villa before securing a switch to Italy.

According to Antonio Cassano, Thiago Silva’s proposed return to AC Milan was blocked, despite the full backing of club adviser Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with head coach Massimiliano Allegri reportedly stepping in to veto the move. The revelation sheds new light on a transfer that almost reunited one of Milan’s most decorated modern defenders with the San Siro faithful.

Luis de la Fuente says he has a "clear conscience" on Lamine Yamal after a long-running club vs country row. The Spain boss has previously been at loggerheads with Barcelona over his use of the 18-year-old, who was diagnosed with pubalgia after the first international break of the season in September. The teenager was forced to miss a number of games due to the chronic injury and has only played for Spain twice since the summer.

Rasmus Hojlund will not be returning to parent side Manchester United at the end of the season, according to a Napoli director. The young Danish striker completed a deadline day loan move to the Serie A giants in the summer after Ruben Amorim brought in Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to bolster his frontline. A fresh start in Italy has brought the best out of Hojlund, who is now scoring regularly under Antonio Conte.

Kylian Mbappe is set for a spell on the sidelines after being diagnosed with a knee injury, which is a major blow to Real Madrid ahead of their return from the winter break. His absence will be keenly felt at Valdebebas. Since the start of the campaign, Real Madrid’s number 10 has featured in almost every fixture, scoring 27 goals across La Liga and Champions League competition.

Ex-Manchester City star Joao Cancelo is edging towards another mid-season transfer, with reports indicating the full-back is preparing to leave Al-Hilal when the January window opens. A return to Barcelona has emerged as a realistic possibility, with interest also coming from Italy as Europe’s elite look to bolster their squads.

Barcelona presidential candidate Marc Ciria is "sure that Lionel Messi wants to return" to the La Liga giants. Ciria will challenge current club president Joan Laporta in the 2026 elections and has admitted that he'd do everything in his power to bring the Argentine star back to Spotify Camp Nou. Messi tearfully left Barcelona at the end of his contract in 2021 before joining Paris Saint-Germain, and now plies his trade in MLS with Inter Miami.

Andoni Iraola has made it clear that Antoine Semenyo is still an "important player" for Bournemouth despite his reportedly imminent move to Manchester City, insisting he will feature against Arsenal this weekend. Speculation around Semenyo’s future has intensified as the winter window approaches, with City increasingly confident of triggering the winger’s £65 million ($86m) release clause. Yet Iraola has no intention of sidelining his most influential attacker while the Cherries fight to arrest a worrying slide in form.

Former Liverpool star Jamie Carragher has delivered a blunt assessment of Arsenal’s misfiring frontman Viktor Gyokeres, arguing that either Gabriel Jesus or Kai Havertz should now be trusted as the club’s starting striker. The Swede arrived at the Emirates in the summer amid considerable fanfare, with Arsenal investing around £64 million ($86m) to secure a forward many believed could finally elevate them from contenders to champions. However, he has found the transition to English football more punishing than expected.

Former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has launched an explosive takedown of Ruben Amorim following Tuesday's 1-1 draw with rock-bottom Wolves, questioning his decision to substitute goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee at half-time. United failed to build upon their Boxing Day 1-0 win over Newcastle as they were forced to share the spoils with the down-and-out Midlands side, handing Rob Edwards' side only their third point of the season.

Emiliano Martínez was left seething over taunts from Arsenal supporters after Aston Villa suffered a 4-1 defeat at Emirates Stadium. Villa’s 11-match winning streak was emphatically ended by the Gunners, who ran out comfortable winners in Tuesday night's Premier League clash. While the result itself was damaging enough, the ugly scenes that followed in the tunnel compounded Villa's misery.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney and wife Coleen have swapped the bitter British weather for Barbados for New Year's. The ex-England international and his family were spotted on the idyllic island with Rooney's former United team-mates Michael Carrick, Jonny Evans and Darron Gibson as the quartet and their families jetted abroad for some much-needed Vitamin D.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck a note of defiance after Al-Nassr were forced to settle for a pulsating 2-2 draw against Al-Ettifaq, a result that brought their 10-match winning streak in the Saudi Pro League to an abrupt halt. Ronaldo was again among the goals, extending his astonishing career tally to 957, but it was former Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum who ultimately shaped the contest, producing a superb brace to deny the league leaders maximum points.

Unai Emery has explained why he did not shake Mikel Arteta's hand following Aston Villa's 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Arsenal on Tuesday night. Villa made the trip to the Emirates on an 11-game winning run following their 2-1 victory at Chelsea on Saturday evening as the Villans sought to go level with the Gunners at the top of the Premier League table, but ended up being blown away by the hosts.

Manchester City are reportedly in talks over the £30 million ($40m) loan-to-buy sale of Oscar Bobb as Pep Guardiola gears up to welcome Antoine Semenyo to the Etihad. City and Bournemouth have held constructive negotiations over the structure of Semenyo’s £65m transfer, with all sides confident that the framework of the deal is now in place. The Ghana international has already given verbal approval to the switch, with formal steps set to begin once the January window opens on New Year’s Day.

Victor Osimhen has sent his condolences to heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua after he was involved in a car crash that killed two people in Nigeria this week. Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, friends and trainers of Joshua, both tragically lost their lives in the accident after the car struck a stationary vehicle.

January is often described as the grimmest month of the year, but it can also be a time of renewal, a moment to make a fresh start. And for football clubs, the opening of the January transfer window provides an opportunity for clubs to breathe new life into their disappointing campaigns and invest for the future.

Liverpool host Leeds United on Thursday, less than a month since their last meeting at Elland Road. An awful lot has changed in the interim, though. Back on December 6, it appeared as if the wheels had well and truly come off Liverpool's season, with Mohamed Salah sensationally accusing Arne Slot of throwing him under the boss by once again benching him for a 3-3 draw that saw the Reds twice throw away the lead with more woeful defending from Ibrahima Konate & Co.

Ruben Amorim admitted that Manchester United played with a different kind of energy during their dreadful 1-1 draw at home to Wolves. The visitors arrived at Old Trafford having lost their last 12 matches and without picking up a point since early October but they were well worth the point they left with and would have taken all three had it not been for a great save by Senne Lammens.

Fulham have seen an initial $33 million (£26 million) bid for United States international striker Ricardo Pepi rejected by PSV Eindhoven, according to The Athletic. The Premier League club is expected to return with an improved offer as it looks to bolster its attack during the January transfer window, though competition remains for the 22-year-old’s signature.

Enzo Maresca was conspicuous by his absence from Chelsea's post-match press conference after Tuesday's 2-2 Premier League draw against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Assistant manager Willy Caballero took over media duties after the game against Andoni Iraola's side and explained why Maresca was not available while also reflecting on another disappointing result for the Blues.

Fans labelled Danny Welbeck as 'embarrassing' on social media after the former Arsenal and Manchester United forward's Panenka penalty hit the crossbar during Brighton's trip to West Ham on Tuesday. Welbeck failed to complete his brace in a span of three minutes in the first half as the Seagulls were held to a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium.

GOAL takes a look at which players should stay or go in this winter transfer window

Gabriel Magalhaes breathed fresh life into Arsenal's Premier League title challenge by opening the scoring in an emphatic win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. The defender's goal at the start of the second half sparked the Gunners into life, with Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus also on target to hand Unai Emery's side a first defeat since November 1st.

Manchester United became just the third team to fail to beat Wolves this season as they could only draw 1-1 at home to one of the worst teams in Premier League history. Ruben Amorim paid the price for an ill-advised return to a back three, stripping his team of all the excitement and unpredictability which had helped them beat Newcastle in their previous game.

Argentina forward Lucas Ocampos has been left paralysed in the face after suffering from a virus. Before the illness, the ex-Sevilla star had suffered a freak skateboarding injury. The 31-year-old attacker left Sevilla after five years in 2024 to head to Mexico and join Liga MX giants Monterrey. Ocampos has dealt with multiple injuries throughout his 14-year-long professional career.

Chelsea's disappointing recent run of results continued on Tuesday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth in the Premier League. All four goals came during a madcap opening half-hour, with Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez on target for the Blues as they were made to pay for their failure to deal with the Cherries' long throws.

Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has come in for criticism after picking up his fifth booking of the season just minutes into Tuesday's Premier League encounter with Bournemouth. The yellow card brings an automatic one-match ban, ruling Caicedo out of Chelsea's next game against title-chasing Manchester City and leaving Blues fans frustrated with their midfield star.