Paris Saint-Germain have interest in signing Lassana Diarra.

Diarra has been of interest to the Ligue 1 leaders as a successor to holding midfielder Thiago Motta since he was spell at Marseille from 2015-17.

According to the source close to the player, PSG and Diarra were close to agreeing terms when former sporting director Olivier Letang and ex-director of football Patrick Kluivert were handling transfers in Paris. However, since Antero Henrique's arrival as the former's replacement, Diarra's profile is one that has been revisited.

UAE Arabian Gulf League side Al Jazira confirmed on Christmas Eve that Diarra's contract had been cancelled by "mutual consent."

Paris Saint-Germain will play Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Kylian Mbappe was linked to Real Madrid before leaving Monaco for PSG.

"There were a lot of transfer rumors, it's true that we spoke, but I think that is now in the past for me and for Real Madrid. Now I play at PSG and I'm going to defend these colours 100 percent.

"I chose PSG because it's the team of my city, it's like if a madrileno [Madrid born] boy of [Real] Madrid has the opportunity to play for his team and goes elsewhere, to another country. I wanted to play for PSG and I'm very happy with how things are going."

Mbappe believes his team can overtake Real and become "the best team in the world."

He said: "I'm very young. There's time but as I say, I want to play in the best team in the world in the future and I believe PSG has everything to achieve that. If this team grows with me, there is no reason to leave."

Mbappe says he won't be intimated to play at the Bernabeu. 

"I've played in many big venues, but never at the Bernabeu," he said. "It will be my first time and the truth is that I want to take a good look the day before the game and prepare well.

"Cristiano was my idol when I was young and it was great to meet him when I went to [Real's training ground] Valdebebas. I adored him when I was young but that ended. He's a great player but we also have them [great players] here. I have Neymar here who I believe is very similar and is practically at the same level as Cristiano. I'm learning, too, from Cavani, who is a goal scorer.

"But I'm a competitor and what I want is to win. I don't care who I have in front of me."

Lionel Messi has reclaimed the top spot from Cristiano Ronaldo on The Guardian's Top 100 list.

Real Madrid and Barcelona combine to have 23 players on the list as Madrid have 13 to Barca's 10. Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have eight players apiece.

The Premier League remains the competition with the most players with 33, four more than La Liga, with Serie A (14), Bundesliga (13) and Ligue 1 (11) also featuring.

No players from any other leagues made the list, which is a first since The Guardian began publishing its annual list.

There are 17 Spanish players on the list, followed by France with 12 and Brazil with 10.

Top 100
1. Lionel Messi, Barcelona
2. Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
3. Neymar, PSG
4. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
5. Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur
6. Luka Modric, Real Madrid
7. Robert Lewandowski, Bayern
8. Kylian Mbappe, PSG
9. Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
10. Eden Hazard, Chelsea
11. Sergio Ramos, Real Madrid
12. Isco, Real Madrid
13. Edinson Cavani, PSG
14. Paulo Dybala, Juventus
15. Luis Suarez, Barcelona
16. Gianluigi Buffon, Jventus
17. N'Golo Kante, Chelsea
18. Antoine Griezmann, Atletico
19. Marcelo, Real Madrid
20. Sergio Aguero, Manchester City
21. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Dortmund
22. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool
23. David De Gea, Manchester United
24. Philippe Coutinho, Liverpool
25. Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspur
26. Dani Alves, PSG
27. Dries Mertens, Napoli
28. Casemiro, Real Madrid
29. Andres Iniesta, Barcelona
30. Paul Pogba, Manchester United
31. Dele Alli, Tottenham Hotspur
32. Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal
33. Mauro Icardi, Inter Milan
34. Gonzalo Higuain, Juventus
35. Jan Oblak, Atletico
36. Sadio Mane, Liverpool
37. Romelu Lukaku, Manchester United
38. David Silva, Manchester City
39. Gabriel Jesus, Manchester City
40. Manuel Neuer, Bayern
41. Radamel Falcao, Monaco
42. Marco Asensio, Real Madrid
43. Edin Dzeko, Roma
44. Lorenzo Insigne, Napoli
45. Leonardo Bonucci, AC Milan
46. Sergio Busquets, Barcelona
47. Alvaro Morata, Chelsea
48. Marco Verratti, PSG
49. Thiago Alcantara, Bayern
50. Gareth Bale, Real Madrid
51. Karim Benzema, Real Madrid
52. Cesar Azpilicueta, Chelsea
53. Naby Keita, RB Leipzig
54. Timo Werner, RB Leipzig
55. Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Barcelona
56. Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus
57. Ivan Rakitic, Barcelona
58. Gerard Pique, Barcelona
59. Ousmane Dembele, Barcelona
60. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Manchester United
61. Leroy Sane, Manchester City
62. Raheem Sterling, Manchester City
63. Diego Godin, Atletico
64. Joshua Kimmich, Bayern
65. Thibaut Courtois, Chelsea
66. Arturo Vidal, Bayern
67. Mesut Ozil, Arsenal
68. Diego Costa, Atletico
69. Emil Forsberg, RB Leipzig
70. Mats Hummels, Bayern
71. Ciro Immobile, Lazio
72. Radja Nainggolan, Roma
73. Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona
74. Nemanja Matic, Manchester United
75. Marcus Rashford, Manchester United
76. Thiago Silva, PSG
77. Christian Pulisic, Dortmund
78. Keylor Navas, Real Madrid
79. Arjen Robben, Bayern
80. Saul Niguez, Atletico
81. Hugo Lloris, Tottenham Hotspur
82. Toby Alderweireld, Tottenham Hotspur
83. David Luiz, Chelsea
84. Bernardo Silva, Manchester City
85. Miralem Pjanic, Juventus
86. Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid
87. Thomas Lemar, Monaco
88. Koke, Atletico
89. Jordi Alba, Barcelona
90. Alex Sandro, Juventus
91. Fabinho, Monaco
92. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United
93. Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea
94. David Alabama, Bayern
95. Raphael Varane, Real Madrid
96. Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
97. Benjamin Mendy, Manchester City
98. Mario Mandzukic, Juventus
99. Adrien Rabiot, PSG
100. Angel Di Maria, PSG

Diego Simeone says Antoine Griezmann will be allowed to leave Atletico Madrid if the right offer is made either during the January or summer transfer windows.

Griezmann nearly left Atleti for Manchester United in the summer. Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain also have interest in Griezmann.

“Of course he can leave at some point, like Diego Costa and Arda Turan did in their day,” Simeone told L’Equipe. “I love watching my players grow, and if one of them tells me that they have the unique opportunity of playing for a certain team, after they did everything they could for me, like Griezmann has done, I’ll say it’s not a problem. I know that he needs to grow.”

Griezmann is under contract until 2022 but he's believed to have a release clause of around €100 million.

Angel di Maria admitted his level of happiness is not as high with Paris Saint-Germain this season as it was a year ago.

PSG signed both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar this past summer and he's been strongly linked with a transfer.

"In Paris, yes. This season, not as much," said Di Maria when asked if he's happy with PSG. "I would like to play more. However, I am making the most of the minutes that I get to show that I deserve to be a starter."

He added: "It was an important match for us [against Strasbourg]. We had lost in the league. We knew that it would be difficult and that we had to give 100 percent."

Di Maria is in his third season with PSG after one difficult season with Manchester United.

Gianluigi Donnarumma could be free to negotiate a contract with any club starting on January 1st.

Agent Mino Raiola has reportedly identified several legal loopholes in which he can nullify the agreement that was signed. Raiola has informed AC Milan that Donnarumma was under duress when he signed his extension with the club.

Donnarumma's deal pays €11 million per year.

Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly ahead of Real Madrid in pursuing Donnarumma.

Six of the best nine clubs in the world have been drawn against each other in the Round of 16 stage of the Champions League, according to ESPN's Soccer Power Index.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Juventus, Chelsea vs. Barcelona and Real Madrid vs. Paris Saint-Germain are three matchups we typically see in the quarterfinals or semifinals.

SPI ranks Barcelona as the best team in the world while Chelsea ranks ninth.

Before Real Madrid and PSG drew each other, the two teams combined for a 30 percent chance of winning the Champions League.

The matchups of the Round of 16 stage of the Champions League have been set with Real Madrid versus Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea versus Barcelona highlighting the ties.

Four first legs will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday 13/14 February, and the remainder the following week.

Juventus v Tottenham

Basel v Manchester City

Porto v Liverpool

Sevilla v Manchester United

Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain

Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma

Chelsea v Barcelona

Bayern Munich v Besiktas

The Round of 16 for the 17-18 Champions League is now set following the final matches of the group stage.

Group A: Manchester United (winners), FC Basel (runners up)

Group B: PSG (winners), Bayern Munich (runners up)

Group C: Roma (winners), Chelsea (runners up)

Group D: Barcelona (winners), Juventus (runners up)

Group E: Liverpool (winners), Seville (runners up)

Group F: Manchester City (winners), Shakhtar (runners up)

Group G: Besiktas (winners), Porto (runners up)

Group H: Tottenham (winners), Real Madrid (runners up)

The next round will begin in February while the Round of 16 draw will take place on December 11th.

Teams cannot face a team they played in the group stage.

Pot 1 (club coefficient ranking): Manchester United (14), Paris Saint-Germain (6), Roma (30), Barcelona (3), Liverpool (32), Manchester City (8), Besiktas (28), Tottenham Hotspur (21).

Pot 2: Basel (20), Bayern Munich (4), Chelsea (15), Juventus (5), Seville (7), Shakhtar Donetsk (16), Porto (12), Real Madrid (1).