Ritabrata Banerjee

FC Porto and Atletico Madrid paid tribute to late Liverpool star Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva before the start of their pre-season friendly on Sunday. Jota and Silva tragically passed away one month ago in a car accident in Spain. Since their deaths, tributes have poured in across the football world and Liverpool have retired Jota's No.20 jersey.

Former Chelsea and Brazil star David Luiz has made a shock return to European football with Champions League club Pafos FC in Cyprus. The defender left Europe in 2021 after spending two years at Arsenal. He took in spells with Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Fortaleza, but is now back in Europe at the age of 38.

Former Barcelona president Joan Gaspart has boldly claimed that Marcus Rashford is a better player than Nico Williams, in response to criticism of the club from the Athletic Club winger's brother Inaki. Williams snubbed a move to Barca in favour of signing a new long-term deal with Athletic Club, which paved the way for Rashford to join the Catalan side on loan from Manchester United.

Tottenham have identified Rodrygo as the perfect replacement for Son Heung-min. The club captain has confirmed he will leave the club this summer after helping them win their first trophy in 17 years in the form of the Europa League, and is set to join MLS side Los Angeles FC. With Son leaving, Spurs are now aiming to lure Rodrygo away from Real Madrid.

Ruben Amorim has admitted that he knew Manchester United would "struggle" in certain matches during the 2024-25 campaign. Amorim oversaw 27 matches after replacing Erik ten Hag as manager and won only seven times. United finished 15th in the Premier League, their worst league position since the 1989-90 campaign and also lost the Europa League final to Tottenham.

Alexander Isak, who has been the subject of a rejected bid from Liverpool, is due to return to the UK and resume training with Newcastle, having been in Spain amid uncertainty over his future.

Scottish champions Celtic have joined Fulham and Atalanta in the race to sign out-of-favour Liverpool star Federico Chiesa. The Italian winger has been linked with a move away from the Anfield this summer in order to get more game time. Celtic are monitoring the situation of Chiesa at the Reds and could place a loan bid for the Italy international.

Marcus Rashford is enjoying his time at Barcelona as he was spotted scoring a goal during a training session courtesy of a Lamine Yamal assist. The new Blaugrana No.10 set up a perfect ball for the United loanee with an outstanding Trivela as Rashford comfortably found the back of the net. The winger has appeared in both of Barcelona's pre-season friendlies since joining the club on loan this summer.

Switzerland star Alisha Lehmann scored a brace in Juventus' 9-1 demolition of FC Zurich in a pre-season friendly on Friday. One of the two goals scored by Lehmann was a top-corner banger from the edge of the box, while the forward also performed her famous fishing celebration. The 26-year-old rejoined the Juventus women's squad earlier this week after taking part in Euro 2025.

Former Manchester United team-mates Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard were reunited in South Korea as Barcelona faced FC Seoul during the Asia tour of the pre-season preparations. After the match, the two former colleagues caught up and shared a photograph on Instagram and under the comment section, Paul Pogba sent an emotional message, while Nemanja Matic cracked a joke.

Tom Brady has joked that he will take a screenshot of the current Championship table that shows Birmingham at the top, while Wrexham, due to alphabetical order, are bottom. The two teams were promoted from League One at the end of the 2024-25 season and have formed a light-hearted rivalry, given their links to the USA via their high-profile owners.

Florian Wirtz scored his first goal for Liverpool since completing a £116 million ($156m) British record transfer from Bayer Leverkusen this summer. He opened the scoring for the Reds in a comfortable 3-1 victory over J1 League side Yokohama F Marinos in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday. Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha were the other scorers for the English side.

Federico Chiesa is all set to leave Liverpool this summer as he eyes a move back to Italy. The winger has reportedly rejected an offer from Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce because he wants to return to his homeland. Two Italian clubs are keen on signing Chiesa this summer, although they are yet to submit a formal proposal to the Reds.

Former Chelsea player and manager Roberto Di Matteo has compared Cole Palmer to Eden Hazard, while claiming the England international could win the Ballon d'Or in the future. The 23-year-old recently starred with a brace in the Club World Cup final as Chelsea beat Paris Saint-Germain to win the title.

England will face Women's Asian Cup winners China in a meeting of continental champions at Wembley in November. The friendly match will serve as a perfect rehearsal for Sarina Wiegman's side ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup qualifiers, which begin in February. The Lionesses won the 2025 European Championship by beating Spain on penalties in the final.

Aston Villa icon Gabriel Agbonlahor has threatened to "move countries" if Manchester United sign Ollie Watkins. The Villans are reportedly eyeing a move for Dominic Calvert-Lewin in case Watkins leaves the club. The 28-year-old striker is currently a free agent after leaving Everton at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

Luke Shaw has credited Ruben Amorim for fixing the "toxic atmosphere" in the Manchester United dressing room. The English left-back, who has played under six different coaches at Old Trafford in the last 11 years, felt that things were extremely negative before the arrival of the ex-Sporting CP manager, but the situation has now vastly improved.

Liverpool star Luis Diaz has joined Bayern Munich on a four-year deal. The Premier League champions earned a hefty transfer fee of £65.5 million (€75m/$88m) for the 29-year-old Colombia international, who spent four-and-a-half seasons at Anfield and won multiple titles, including an FA Cup and the Premier League.