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The 22-year-old is among the most sought-after talents in South American football at present. Barcelona were reported to have an agreement in place at one stage, but nothing has been pushed through. RUMOURS: Barca face Mina competition That has kept the door ajar for rivals to make their move, with Real Madrid and Manchester City said to be among those ready to pounce. Mina, though, is in no hurry to head for Europe, according to his representative....

Bale continues to be linked with a move away from Madrid as Premier League giants Manchester United reportedly circle. The 28-year-old’s future has been placed in doubt amid Madrid’s pursuit of Monaco star Kylian Mbappe but Bale does not want to leave the LaLiga and Champions League titleholders. “I have not thought of leaving Madrid,” Bale told Marca. “The truth is I don’t read any of that [the rumours]....

The Welshman was an unused substitute during Real’s 3-0 Champions League win over Juventus on Tuesday, but comes in against Diego Simeone’s men. Bale is one of four changes from that victory with Mateo Kovacic, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio also coming into the side. Atleti, meanwhile, have handed just a third league start to Vitolo since his arrival from Sevilla last summer. Victory for Zinedine Zidane’s side will see them cut the gap to their second-placed city rivals to just one point....

Not only did he deserve a straight red card for his cowardly rake down the back of Samuel Umtiti’s right leg just before the break, he also could not have complained had he been withdrawn at the interval after an atrocious opening 45 minutes. Indeed, had it not been for his dreadful foul on the Barcelona defender, one would have been forgiven for forgetting that Bale was playing. So, when it emerged that Marco Asensio was coming on for the second half, it was thought that the winger would be replacing the Welshman....

The award, whose gala will hold on the 3rd of December will be presented to the most impressive superstar during the year by France Football and the hosts have taken a huge step towards the event by releasing a list of 30 contenders recently - with a lot of regular names resurfacing on it. While the focus is currently fixed on the battle between the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe in the race for the prestigious accolade, it should not be forgotten that there are still a couple of fantastic superstars out there who also enjoyed a spectacular year for club and country....

Why did Henry flop at Juventus? The Italian scored only once in the Premier League while at Liverpool under the now Celtic boss, amid widespread reports that they had a breakdown in their relationship. Both have moved on, but the wounds don’t appear to have healed. On Tuesday, the Celtic boss had a joke at the Nice forward’s expense during his side’s Player of the Year awards evening. Asked who was the best player he has coached, Rodgers responded: “Mario Balotelli… he was a fantastic player....

“We can’t provide any comment regarding the validity of the threat as there is an ongoing investigation in progress,” a representative from the company commented. “We can say that all our employees are safe and that we will be doing everything in our power to safeguard the well being of our employees.” RELATED: Bomb Threat Reported at Call of Duty Dev Infinity Ward With the threat still under investigation, it’s unknown whether or not it was a hoax or a valid threat....

Needing five off the final delivery, Karthik smashed Bangladeshi bowler Soumya Sarkar over extra-cover for a six, helping India pull off an incredible chase in the Nidhas T20 Tri-series final on March 18 in Sri Lanka. Police said that Adel Shikder, 25, had shot the video with the help of a makeup artist and two others, bdnews24.com reported. In the video, three people were seen slitting the throat of Shikder in a room....

The Leader of the Free World apparently put on a show during an Easter Sunday pickup game with a few NBA athletes following the White House Easter Egg Roll. MORE: Hawks sign leukemia patient | Noah wants the Cavs in the playoffs | Ray Allen’s Jordan collection We already kind of knew Barack’s jumper was a bit wonky, but trash talk? That’s what’s up. I guess it’s good that he’s clutch....

Blaugrana officials Raul Sanllehi, Oscar Grau and Javier Bordas left Spain today to begin talks with Borussia Dortmund regarding a move for France international Dembele, as reported by Kicker and Mundo Deportivo. Coutinho to join Barca by September 1 at 6/4 The Camp Nou outfit are hopeful a deal can be done for Dembele, though the sale of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain has left them in a difficult situation....

In the Premier League, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool dominate the headlines with Chelsea and Manchester City hot on their heels. Italian giants Juventus, Inter and AC Milan remain hugely popular while over in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund dominate, and that’s not forgetting Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid. Now you get your chance to decide - vote in our poll below and tell us your favourite top club....

During the pair’s first meeting of the campaign, goals from Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suárez gave the hosts a two-goal cushion at the break. Julen Lopetegui made changes at the interval, including a formation switch as Real were struggling to cope with Barca’s high-pressing tactic and gave away possession too easily. This had precisely the desired effect - Real Madrid were more adventurous in attack, threatened with regularity and came close on a number of occasions after Marcelo reduced the arrears in a goalmouth scramble in the 50th minute....

A similar situation had occurred in the women’s Champions League when Barcelona were forced to play with their away kit at home against Twente since the Dutch side only had red and blue kits. This is not the first time the men’s team is wearing the gold kit at home. Strangely enough, it was the first official match of Pep Guardiola as Barcelona manager and it was against Polish opposition, Wisla Krakow....

The loan will end on June 30, 2018, however, Inter will have the option to purchase the midfielder for €35 million with another €3m in incentives. Inter will need to confirm their intent to buy before the end of the loan and have taken on all of Rafinha’s salary for the remainder of the season. “I’m really happy, it’s a great feeling to be here,” Rafinha told Inter TV....

Neymar was handed the punishment for sarcastically applauding the fourth official after being shown a second yellow card in the 2-0 defeat at Malaga earlier this month. Arsenal win race to sign Kolasinac The Brazilian forward’s show of dissent earned him an additional two-match suspension on top of the one-game ban that came as a result of the red card at La Rosaleda, ruling him out of the clash with Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu this weekend and the meeting with Osasuna next week....

The Wales star was dropped for the 3-2 win over Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu last week and has once more been omitted from the 19-man group for the trip to Anoeta. The decision comes at the end of a week in which Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett admitted a transfer would be possible if a sizeable offer were made at the end of the season. Barnett also suggested Bale would be content to stay at the club even if he were not in the plans of head coach Zinedine Zidane, who has reportedly spoken with the forward in private about his chances of regular football next season....

Ireland host Wales in a crucial World Cup qualifying match on Friday, with Bale needing three goals to become his country’s all-time record goalscorer. The 27-year-old is Wales’ star man, but Giles - who represented his own country for 20 years between 1959 and 1979 – does not think he is at the highest level in the world game. Bale’s absences a Real problem Giles feels Bale needs to get away from Madrid team-mate Ronaldo to become a great and make his own mark, with his Wales form an example of what is possible....

The Wales winger starred in European football’s showpiece clash in May as his decisive brace gave Real Madrid a 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kiev. His first came in staggering style, lashing home an athletic overhead kick from Marcelo’s left-sided cross in a match-turning moment of brilliance. Bale, who after the game confirmed he would weigh up his club future, spoke of being annoyed by his omission from Zinedine Zidane’s starting XI, having netted four goals in his previous three appearances....

Germany’s defence of the trophy they won in Brazil four years ago ended with a whimper, with Low overseeing the nation’s first opening-round exit since 1938. However, the German Football Association (DFB) opted to stick with Low, a decision that caught former captain Ballack – who won 98 caps for his country – off guard. “I was surprised as well as many other people that he kept his job,” Ballack told Deutsche Welle....