Kalidou Koulibaly says it is a real shame Senegal team-mate Edouard Mendy is not in the running to win this year s Ballon d Or after an impressive first year at Chelsea.

Mendy joined Chelsea from Rennes last September and did not take long to oust Kepa Arrizabalaga as first choice between the sticks at Stamford Bridge.

He played a key part in the Blues 2020-21 Champions League triumph, the 29-year-old s nine clean sheets the most by a goalkeeper in their debut campaign in the competition.

That includes a clean sheet in the 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final as Mendy became the first African goalkeeper to lift the famous trophy.

Mendy s 19 shutouts in all competitions this calendar year, meanwhile, has been bettered only by Manchester City s Ederso…

Manchester United striker Federico Macheda admits that he would like to remain at Stuttgart after his loan deal ends.

The Italian forward joined the Swabians on loan in the January transfer window, and has since mostly been restricted to substitute appearances.

Macheda, nevertheless, believes he has a future at Stuttgart and reveals he is not too keen on returning to Old Trafford.

In winter, a loan was the only option, but I knew that I might also have the chance to stay here , the Italian said to Bild.

And if Stuttgart want to take me on a contract, I’d be very happy. I think that I can develop here, because here you get to work with young players.

Macheda, 21, was handed his Manchester United debut during the 2008/2009 season, but his care…

Erik ten Hag insists he has never regretted taking the job as Manchester United manager.

United finished third, reached the FA Cup final, and ended their six-year wait for a trophy by winning the EFL Cup in Ten Hag’s first season in charge.

The Dutchman’s second season has not lived up to the first, as United sit in eighth, with a European place slipping away from them.

With a year still left on his contract, Ten Hag is under increasing pressure following a poor run of results, including a humbling 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Monday.

I don t regret being here for one second, said Ten Hag.

This is a massive club. You don t know the challenges you have to face until you are in it. But I wanted this challenge.

Focus = locked on Sun…

Jurgen Klinsmann will opt for a similar United States line-up to the win over Iceland when they take on neighbours Canada at the StubHub Center in Carson, California on Friday.

The US boss named a strong starting XI as his side twice battled back from behind to win 3-2 on Sunday courtesy of substitute Steven Birnbaum s late winner.

Birnbaum was one of a host of relatively inexperienced players introduced off the bench at the weekend, in the first of two friendly tests following a training camp that featured both Under-23 internationals and more senior members of the national set-up.

While the Under-23s face a play-off against Colombia in March for a spot at the Rio Olympics in 2016, Klinsmann s side resume World Cup qualification in March before hosting the Cop…

Yaya Toure s agent Dimitri Seluk has hit out at departing Bayern Munich coach and former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, claiming even his own grandfather would win the Bundesliga and La Liga.

Guardiola will leave Bayern at the end of the season, with the Spaniard having already agreed to replace Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City in 2016-17 according to widespread reports.

The 44-year-old, who guided Barca to three La Liga titles and two Champions League crows prior to arriving in Bavaria in 2013, is poised to leave Germany as a three-time Bundesliga winner, with Bayern eight points clear atop the summit.

But Seluk has questioned Guardiola s managerial ability after he sold Toure to City in 2010 when he was in charge at Camp Nou, instead heaping praise on fo…

Stoke City have released veteran pair Glen Johnson and Stephen Ireland following their relegation from the Premier League.

Johnson and Ireland made nine and four league appearances respectively in 2017-18 as the Potters dropped into the Championship after a 10-year stay in the top flight, with neither player offered a new contract.

Former England international Johnson joined Stoke on a free transfer from Liverpool in 2015, and played 57 times for the club in the Premier League.

Ireland struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular, having signed from Aston Villa in 2014, with injury problems hindering the midfielder.

Stoke have offered back-up goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard a new deal, with speculation over Jack Butland s future persisting.

…

Mexican football authorities have offered national team captain Rafael Marquez support after he was sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury for his alleged support of a drug trafficking organisation (DTO).

Former Barcelona player Marquez, who led Mexico to this year s Confederations Cup final, was named among 22 people identified as part of an organisation led by Raul Flores Hernandez, but denies any involvement and has pledged to clear his name.

US authorities claimed Marquez and popular musician Julion Alvarez were individuals who have longstanding relationships with Flores Hernandez, and have acted as front persons for him and his DTO and held assets on their behalf .

But Marquez s character was given a glowing reference by the Mexican Footb…

Mathias Pogba said everyone knows that Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba could use Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane amid continued links to the LaLiga giants.

Paul Pogba reportedly remains a target for Madrid, who are keen to bring the United star to the Santiago Bernabeu before the European transfer window shuts on September 2.

United are believed to want close to the world-record €222million fee Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Neymar in 2017.

Mathias Pogba – Paul s older brother who plays in the fourth tier of Spanish football – was asked about the French World Cup winner s future.

My ancestors and my parents suffered for my generation to be free today, to work, to take the bus, to play football. Racist insults are ignorance and can on…

Quarterback Dak Prescott has been franchise tagged by the Dallas Cowboys.

Prescott, who usurped Tony Romo as the Cowboys starter after being drafted in the fourth round in 2016, was given the exclusive tag on Monday as the NFL s legal tampering period for free agents got under way.

He will earn the average of the top five salaries at his position in a one-year pact, with the tag expected to be worth $33million.

With his services secured for 2020
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, the team and player will continue negotiations over a long-term deal, which as yet have not ended in an agreement.

After an offseason of speculation, the development means Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper will hit free agency.

The have placed the franchise tag on Dak Prescott.

Break…

Manchester United have exposed the stark levels of abuse aimed at their players ahead of a four-day social media boycott.

Football clubs and players all over England will be joined in the action, which runs from 1500 BST on Friday until 2359 BST on Monday, by UEFA and major bodies across cricket, rugby union, tennis, rugby league and other sports.

The move follows an increase in online abuse aimed at sportspeople, with United s research offering a glimpse at how bad the problem is.

United revealed a 350 per cent increase in abuse directed towards their players since September 2019, with 86 per cent of 3,300 abusive posts categorised as being racist in nature.

A further eight per cent were deemed homophobic or transphobic.

Since September …