Antoine Griezmann is hoping to see out the remainder of his career with Atletico Madrid after conceding that his spell with Barcelona did not pan out as he had hoped.

The France international re-joined Atletico in August on an initial loan with an obligation to buy after spending just two years at Camp Nou.

Barcelona spent €120million to sign Griezmann from LaLiga rivals Atleti in 2019, but the 30-year-old never managed to recapture his best form in Catalonia. 

He made 102 appearances for Barca in all competitions – six more than any other player during his time at the club – and was directly involved in 51 goals.

Only Lionel Messi (106), who himself departed for Paris Saint-Germain in the last transfer window, scored and assisted more goals for B…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is unconcerned over where the Champions League final will take place amid fresh doubts over whether the showpiece will take place in Istanbul.

City beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 in midweek to close out a 4-1 aggregate triumph and book their place in a maiden Champions League final.

Chelsea ensured it would be an all-English affair as they overcame Real Madrid by the same scoreline on Wednesday at Stamford Bridge to prevail 3-1 on aggregate.

The make-up of the final already led to speculation over whether the match might be moved, given Turkey is currently under lockdown due to spiking COVID-19 rates as the UK loosens restrictions thanks in part to a successful vaccine roll out.

UEFA insisted it was committed to the gam…

Chelsea and Lionesses star Fran Kirby will say goodbye to Chelsea at the end of the season.

The forward has enjoyed a nine-year spell at the club, scoring 115 goals in 209 appearances.

Kirby will leave Chelsea as their all-time leading goalscorer over a period where she contributed to 15 trophies, including six Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups.

Chelsea will now be looking at a period of transition as manager Emma Hayes will also leave for the United States and the Blues will welcome Sonia Bompastor, who will embark on a new era at Stamford Bridge.

Kirby told the club website: To leave with the trophies that I have won, with the team-mates I ve played with – some of the world s best players – it has been one of the bigg…

Everton are interested in signing Conor Coady from Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer transfer window, according to . The Toffees want to strengthen their central defence for next season and beyond, and have identified England international Coady as a potential target.

Coady came through the Liverpool youth system, but failed to establish himself in the first team of Everton’s bitter Merseyside rivals. The 29-year-old has been on the books of Wolves since 2015 and has been superb for the Wanderers over the years. The defender has also become a regular in the England squad.

Everton are 17th in the Premier League table at the moment with 25 points from 28 matches, three points above third-from-bottom Watford, who have played 30 games. Meanwhile,…

Barcelona s on- and off-field woes cannot be seen as a positive for bitter rivals Real Madrid, according to the Spanish champions former president Ramon Calderon.

The Catalan club are dealing with the fallout from a trophyless 2019-20 campaign that culminated in a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Quique Setien has already been replaced as head coach by Ronald Koeman, and Ramon Planes was promoted to take over from Eric Abidal as first-team technical secretary.

Barca were then rocked on Tuesday after all-time leading scorer and club icon Lionel Messi informed them of his intention to leave, with a number of others also expected to move on.

However, Calderon insists the turmoil at Camp Nou could negatively impa…

Prediction: Match to end in draw

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Fiorentina and Torino will face each other in Serie A this weekend. The match between I Viola and I Granata will take place at Stadio Artemio Franchi and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Saturday.

Fiorentina

Fiorentina are one of the biggest clubs in Serie A who always tend to finish in the top 10 and compete for the European places in the table. The Florence-based outfit ended up as high as seventh in the Serie A table last season following 13th and 10th-placed finished in the table in 2020-21 and 2019-20 respectively.

Vincenzo Italiano s side are 10th in the Serie A table at the moment with 23 points from 18 matches. Fiorentina are as many as 14 points behind former Italia…

Daniele Bonera felt Milan showed their team spirit is strong even without Zlatan Ibrahimovic after their Europa League draw with Lille on Thursday.

The Rossoneri took the lead in France through Samu Castillejo but were pegged back through a goal from Jonathan Bamba 19 minutes later.

The Serie A leaders, beaten 3-0 by Lille in the previous Group H game, restricted the hosts to just 42 per cent of the ball only to concede from their only shot on target of the second half.

Similarly, Milan found the net with their one effort on goal in the 90 minutes, as the absence of the injured Ibrahimovic appeared to take its toll.

The 39-year-old, who sustained a hamstring injury after scoring a double in the 3-1 win at Napoli, has scored 12 goals in as many games in a…

Arne Slot is confident Mohamed Salah will always score goals if he is in the Liverpool team, after the Egyptian s star turn against Bologna.

Having teed up Alexis Mac Allister s opener at Anfield, Salah scored Liverpool s second to seal a 2-0 win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

In the process, Salah became the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive home games in the European Cup/Champions League.

He is only the third player to score in five consecutive Champions League home games for a Premier League side, after Thierry Henry with Arsenal (seven) and Ruud van Nistelrooy with Manchester United (six).

Before [last week s EFL Cup win over West Ham], Mo played three games without scoring a goal, said Slot.

So it is in football, it…

What the papers say

Manchester United have ended their interest in signing Harry Kane from Tottenham, The Guardian reports. The Spurs’ asking price for the 29-year-old was unrealistic, the Red Devils felt, despite Erik ten Hag making the England striker his primary summer target.

Also in the Guardian is talk that Arsenal have emerged as strong contenders to sign Kai Havertz from Chelsea. The 24-year-old has also been identified as a target for Real Madrid. The forward’s contract expires in 2025 but he has told the club of his desire to leave this summer.

Newcastle United are pushing hard to complete a deal to sign Inter Milan’s midfielder Nicolo Barella in a deal thought to be worth around £50 million, the Daily Telegraph says. The 26-year-old and Leicester City�…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Lewis Hall from Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Newcastle are trying to get a deal done with Chelsea for the 18-year-old left-back.

The Magpies have been trying to sign Hall all summer and have seen a number of approaches for the left-back turned down. However, Newcastle remain keen on the 18-year-old. Chelsea would prefer to send the teenager out on loan this summer, but they will want as much as £35 million in transfer fees for the England Under-21 international.

Hall has been on the books of Chelsea since 2012. The teenager has made nine appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. According to The Athletic, Hall grew up a Newcastle fan. Ben …