Juan Mata may miss the remainder of the season after undergoing groin surgery.

Manchester United are still chasing the Europa League title as well as a top-4 spot in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League.

Mata has been a key part of Jose Mourinho's side this season.

France, Spain, Italy and Portugal will be invited to play in the 2019 Copa America held in Brazil.

There is a growing desire among Conmebol chiefs to include the four “Latin” European countries.

The Copa and Euros will begin to run in parallel from 2020, which would make the 2019 tournament the last time it could feasibly happen.

There are as many as seven clubs that are believed to have interest in signing James Rodriguez from Real Madrid this summer.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain.

Liverpool are considered the team with the strongest degree of interest in James.

PSG made a push to sign James last summer but they are unlikely to do so again now that they signed Julian Draxler.

Chelsea figures to get into the bidding if Real Madrid buys Eden Hazard from them.

Monchi and Sevilla have parted ways after 29 years.

Monchi had emerged as one of the game's most highly regarded sporting directors during his time with Sevilla.

Monchi confirmed a report that he had met with Roma president James Pallotta.

He told reporters: "It's true that I listened to their project, but that was all. I have not signed anything with anyone.

"It's true that Roma is one of the clubs that has shown the most interest in me, but I have other offers."

Sevilla president Pepe Castro had hoped to keep Monchi and offered him a lucrative deal to remain.

"We've done the possible and the impossible for Monchi to remain with us," he said. "We made an offer to him that was beyond our limits.

"But in the end, we've had to consider the man before the professional. He had made it very clear that he wanted to leave."

The Liverpool city council have approved Everton's plan to build and finance a £300 million stadium on Bramley Moore dock.

Under the agreement the council will provide security for Everton’s loans and receive £4.4 million a year from the Premier League club as a security fee.

The proposed new stadium would form part of Liverpool’s bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“We are not funding a billionaire. We are doing a great deal for Liverpool city council,” Anderson said. “I have met Farhad Moshiri several times and he will invest in the football side of things but he wants the club to stand on its own two feet.

“It is a win-win for us as a council. It is a great deal for the council regarding funding but it is important to recognise that it’s going to be a driver for the regeneration of north Liverpool. It’s great for Everton as an institution but for Liverpool city council it brings in £4.4m a year, probably a bit more, and hopefully kick starts the regeneration of north Liverpool.

“We are using our financial strength to securitise the deal and we have securitised ourselves against all eventualities. We are serious about a Commonwealth Games bid and want Everton in their design to look at that and they are doing. We are truly well securitised. I don’t believe Everton will be relegated in the near future but, even if they were, we have the security of season ticket revenue, the TV deal, the value of players and the value of the club.”

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that Mahmoud Dahoud will join the club in the summer from Borussia Mönchengladbach. 

Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Juventus had also registered an interest in signing Dahoud.

Dortmund were always confident that he would choose them having held negotiations since the turn of the year and their sporting director, Michael Zorc, confirmed on Thursday that Dahoud will move to the Westfalenstadion on a five-year deal.

The fee will be approximately €12 million.

Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out ever managing Barcelona due to his history with their crosstown rivals Espanyol. 

Pochettino was linked to Barcelona's upcoming managerial vacancy when Luis Enrique announced his departure.

Pochettino was spotted in a bar in Barcelona with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, which reignited links to the job.

“It was a coincidence in a bar in Barcelona last Tuesday,” Pochettino said. “I know him [Bartomeu] for a long time – before he became chairman of Barcelona. Our children went to the same school in Barcelona. We spent five minutes together. That was the reality. After that, you know the rumour is impossible to stop.

“But I am an Espanyol supporter. I think I don’t think I need to speak too much. It’s like if one day, [the Tottenham chairman] Daniel Levy sacked me – in a few years it would be impossible for me to manage Arsenal.

“In football, I know it is so difficult to keep your values and to be loyal – with your heart, with your emotion. But, for me, before being a manager, before being a player, being loyal is more important. I am an Espanyol fan.

“I love Espanyol. It’s like Tottenham for me now. It will be impossible, one day, to move to Arsenal. It will be impossible.”

Jose Mourinho has dismissed a transfer for Neymar as absurd.

Neymar has been linked in the media to a transfer from Barcelona to Manchester United.

Neymar signed an improved contract with Barcelona in October that raised his buyout clause to €200 million in Year 1 before escalating.

"It's speculation. I always try to be objective and pragmatic with clubs and to ask them what they can give me. To ask for Neymar is absurd," Mourinho said.

"A club like Barcelona can not and will not lose Neymar. Although Messi is still a young player with years ahead of him, he's almost 30, and Neymar will be the great player of Barcelona post-Messi. So much that I think it [trying to sign Neymar] is like trying to break into a safe, impossible."

The Premier League has launched an initiative to stop illegal online streaming.

The streaming of live football through the internet, bypassing companies such as Sky who have paid for the broadcast rights, has long been a problem for the game’s governing bodies. 

As official TV audiences decline, the Premier League has begun to fight back, engaging with police forces across the UK and abroad and collaborating with internet service providers (ISPs) as it seeks to protect its lucrative intellectual property before bidding begins next year on a new broadcast deal.

The consumption of video content has never been easier and certainly never more prevalent. 

Brazil will return to the top slot in FIFA's World Ranking for hte first time in six years.

Tite has led Brazil to nine consecutive wins since taking over as coach, scoring 25 goals and conceding just two. 

Brazil will take the place of Argentina.

Colombia move up two places to fifth in the table after beating Bolivia and Ecuador, which means four of the top five spots are now held by South American nations.

New Rankings
1. Brazil
2. Argentina
3. Germany
4. Chile
5. Colombia
6. France
7. Belgium
8. Portugal
9. Switzerland
10. Spain
11. Poland
12. Italy
13. Wales
14. England
15. Uruguay
16. Mexico
17. Peru
18. Croatia
19. Egypt
20. Costa Rica