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Former Juventus defender Gianluca Frabotta has explained why Cristiano Ronaldo bizarrely took to smelling and chewing grass while in Turin. It was during the reign of Maurizio Sarri that the Portuguese icon indulged in some questionable behaviour, with the tactical demands of an enigmatic coach leaving the five-time Ballon d'Or winner feeling "annoyed".

Jamie Redknapp hailed Bukayo Saka after the winger inspired Arsenal to a gritty 1-0 win over Fulham that took them back to the top of the Premier League. On a day when Mikel Arteta's men struggled for fluency, Saka's leadership and composure shone through, underlining once again why the England star is so crucial to the Gunners' title ambitions.

David Beckham may be given the chance to help turn collective fortunes around at Manchester United, with it being reported that the Red Devils legend has been approached by a consortium from the United Arab Emirates to front a takeover bid. The ex-England captain would, if the buy out proved to be successful, be offered the chance to own a stake in the Premier League heavyweights.

Neymar is seeing his contract run down at Santos, meaning that another new challenge early in 2026 is being speculated on. With next summer's World Cup to think about, and Brazil hoping to secure a first global crown since 2002, Neymar is seeing a return to European football discussed. Italian giants Inter have, however, distanced themselves from the Samba superstar.

Barcelona have recorded a net loss of €17million (£14.7m/$19.8m) for the 2024-25 season, despite bringing in a huge €994m (£862m/$1.16billion) in revenue across the campaign. The mouth-watering figures signal a slight downturn from 2023-24, where both Barca's income and expenditure were under €900m and they recorded a marginal net profit of €5m (£4.3m/$5.8m) overall.

Barcelona treasurer Ferran Olive has conceded that the club are "late" in rebuilding Camp Nou, admitting that the long-overdue renovation should have been started long ago. His comments came as Barca president Joan Laporta hailed the Spotify Camp Nou project as the "collective dream" of the club's fans, calling it a legacy that future generations will inherit.

Harry Kane has warned domestic and international rivals that there is "more to come" from him after reaching 400 goals at club level. The prolific Bayern Munich and England striker hit that notable milestone when netting in a Klassiker clash with Borussia Dortmund. He has shared his pride at achieving a quadruple century, with there no sign of the 32-year-old slowing down any time soon.

Ange Postecoglou was sacked by Nottingham Forest just 39 days into his tenure - the shortest reign for any permanent manager in Premier League history - following a 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea. Yet, in a moment that stunned supporters, the Australian smiled for selfies with fans outside the City Ground, showing remarkable grace despite his abrupt dismissal.

Liverpool's Premier League rivals have been warned, by Danny Murphy in an exclusive interview with GOAL, that it is "just a matter of time" before Alexander Isak hits top form. The Sweden international striker became the most expensive player in British football when completing a £125 million ($168m) transfer to Anfield, but has registered just one goal for the Reds.

Praise continues to flood in for Manchester City phenomenon Erling Haaland, who surpassed 10 Premier League goals in the first eight games of a season for the third time in his career with both goals in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Everton at Etihad Stadium. The 25-year-old has already scored an astonishing 23 goals in 13 matches for club and country this season.

Vincent Kompany was full of praise for Harry Kane after the Bayern Munich forward netted his 400th career goal to seal a 2-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Klassiker. The England captain's clinical header helped Bayern maintain their perfect start to the season, with Kompany hailing his striker's "complete" display in another statement Bundesliga win.

Sean Dyche is reportedly now the front-runner to be named Nottingham Forest's new manager in the coming days, as owner Evangelos Marinakis looks to move quickly to bring in a replacement for Ange Postecoglou. The greek-Australian was sacked on Saturday just 18 minutes after Forest lost 3-0 at home to Chelsea, and this may have opened the door for Dyche to make a return to the Premier League.

Cristiano Ronaldo marked another historic milestone in style, scoring a spectacular long-range goal as Al-Nassr demolished Al-Fateh 5-1 in the Saudi Pro League. The 40-year-old reached an unprecedented 800 club career goals before delivering a trademark post-match message that reiterated his belief that hard work is central to everything that he has ever achieved.

Ruben Amorim has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes will continue as Manchester United's first-choice penalty taker, despite costly recent misses against Fulham and Brentford in the Premier League. The Portuguese has scored just one of three from the spot so far this season, the decider at home to Burnley, but Amorim maintains full faith in his club captain ahead of the Red Devils trip to face Liverpool on Sunday.

Ruben Amorim has poured cold water on speculation that Kobbie Mainoo and Joshua Zirkzee could leave Manchester United in January. The Portuguese boss acknowledged both players' frustration over limited game time but made it clear that they remain "our players" and will not be allowed to depart midway through the season as he seeks stability at Old Trafford.

Lionel Messi has claimed Major League Soccer’s Golden Boot, finishing the season with 29 goals to outpace Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge and LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, who each scored 24. It’s the Argentine’s first MLS Golden Boot, after narrowly missing out last year to D.C. United’s Christian Benteke by three goals.

Lionel Messi’s hat-trick powered Inter Miami to a 5-2 road win over Nashville SC to close out the MLS regular season in style, securing third place in the Eastern Conference. The Argentine star now sits on 29 goals, strengthening his case for a second straight MVP. The two sides will meet again in the first round of the playoffs.

Lionel Messi closed the regular season in style, solidifying his grip on the Golden Boot with 29 goals - not that there was ever much doubt. Still, the Inter Miami star wasn’t content to coast. In what might have been his best performance of 2025, Messi put Nashville to the sword in a 5-2 win, sending a clear message to the rest of MLS ahead of the playoffs: look out.

Arsenal edged out a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday evening. Leandro Trossard scored the only goal of the game on the hour mark after Gabriel Magalhaes knocked a Bukayo Saka corner into the path of the Belgian to tuck past Bernd Leno. However, the result means striker Viktor Gyokeres has failed to score since netting in the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest last month.

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Tyler Morton opened up on the shock phone call he received from current Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso, while being on a golf course. Alonso, who was managing Bayer Leverkusen last season, had shown interest in the Reds' youth star and wanted to bring him to Germany. Morton further revealed that he idolised the Spaniard while growing up.

Marseille capitalised on PSG's draw to move to the top of Ligue 1. Defending champions PSG were held to a 3-3 draw with Strasbourg in the capital on Friday night as they came from 3-1 down to rescue a point courtesy of second half strikes from Goncalo Ramos and Senny Mayulu. And L'OM will end the weekend top of the table after securing a fifth successive league win.

Antonio Conte revealed why he left out star players Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay from Napoli's matchday squad against Torino in Serie A on Saturday. The reigning Italian champions felt the absence of the former Manchester United duo as they went down 1-0 away from home, with Giovanni Simeone scoring the winning goal in the first half for the hosts.

Bukayo Saka launched a scathing self-criticism following Arsenal's 1-0 win at Fulham on Saturday evening. Leandro Trossard's goal on the hour mark was the difference between the two sides at Craven Cottage as the Gunners moved three points clear at the top of the table. However, Saka was critical of one aspect in particular as Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to five matches.

After scoring for the U.S. men's national team during the international break, Folarin Balogun built on that momentum on the club level, scoring his side's only goal in Monaco's 1-1 draw with Angers. The strike is his second of the season, with the first coming back on Aug. 31. Les Monégasques now sit fifth in Ligue 1.

Al-Nassr made light work of Al-Fateh on home turf on Saturday night as they eased to a 5-1 win. Victory saw Al-Nassr extend their lead at the top of the Saudi Pro League to four points as they extended their winning start to the season to five matches. It was a match of mixed emotions for Cristiano Ronaldo, however, who experienced an extreme high and low in a matter of moments in the second half.

Cristiano Ronaldo made amends for a penalty miss by scoring a stunning goal in the second half, while Joao Felix stole the limelight with a sublime hat-trick to help Al-Nassr pick up a thumping 5-1 win over Al Fateh on Saturday in the Saudi Pro League. Jorge Jesus' side maintained their 100 per cent record in the league, as they remained at the top of the table with 15 points from their first five games.

Salford's game against Oldham on Saturday was disrupted by pitch invaders carrying England flags as a protest against Gary Neville. Neville criticised the "negative" use of the flag earlier this month as people in some communities hang Union Jack and St. George's cross flags from lampposts. The Sky Sports pundit believes the intent of those flying the flag is to sow division.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick explained his controversial celebration after being sent off against Girona, as the German coach will miss the season's first El Clasico next weekend. Flick received his marching orders for an angry protest as the Catalan giants moved above their fierce rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga thanks to defender Ronald Araujo’s late winner.

Arsenal kept up the pressure on their Premier League title rivals with a hard fought 1-0 win at Fulham courtesy of Leandro Trossard's second-half goal. The Gunners never looked like dropping points and relied on their prowess from set-pieces to get the job done, with Bukayo Saka, who caused the hosts all sorts of problems during the 90 minutes, creating the winning goal with a delicious corner.