Antoine Griezmann is a man in high demand, and he has been heavily linked with a move to Premier League giants Manchester United since last summer. This week however Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho has decided to pull out of the race to acquire the French international s services, according to , leaving Catalan super club the favourites to sign him.

The versatile forward has established himself as one of Europe s top players, finishing third in the 2016 Ballon d Or rankings. Griezmann has missed out on the biggest prizes at both club and international level, reaching the finals of both the Champions League and European Championship, only to fall short at the final hurdle.

A move to Barcelona would be one sure fire way for the Frenchman to win some silverware, but his …

Uruguay icon Diego Forlan has finally found a new club after a long wait as he signed a contract with Hong Kong champions Kitchee SC.

The club announced on Wednesday that they had agreed a deal with the 38-year-old footballer, who will be officially presented later today after passing a medical.

Forlan becomes the club’s marquee signings as they prepare for their first ever participation in the Asian Champions League.

The well-traveled striker has been without a club since leaving Indian side Mumbai City at the end of 2016.

Forlan had previously represented Independiente, Man Utd, Villarreal, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Cerezo Osaka and Penarol, while scoring 36 goals in 112 Uruguay caps.

…

Galatasaray midfielder Wesley Sneijder continues to be linked with a January exit with his official representative slamming coach Cesare Prandelli for leaving his client on the bench.

The Netherlands star came on as a second-half substitute in the weekend s 3-0 loss to Trabzonspor and it is perfectly clear he was angry not to have started the game.

Sneijder s agent criticised the club and coach for the poor treatment of his client and even suggested the 30-year-old could leave the Turk Telekom Arena outfit in January.

I do not know why he was sitting on the bench, agent Guido Albers told Bugun TV.

We ll have talks with the board on Wednesday in Brussels. We re going to speak about Wesley and we ll discuss this important event.

I really do not …

Former Real Madrid captain Fernando Hierro leapt to the defence of Zinedine Zidane, urging the club to be sensible as pressure builds on the under-fire head coach amid their struggles.

Madrid soared to new heights in 2016-17, winning LaLiga and becoming the first team to successfully defend their Champions League crown last season.

However, Madrid have been less than convincing this term despite winning the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Supercopa de Espana – already 16 points behind runaway leaders and bitter rivals Barcelona in LaLiga.

Madrid also stumbled into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey following a disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Numancia on Wednesday but Hierro has called for calm in the Spanish capital.

We have to be sensible, Hi…

Adelaide United coach John Kosmina has refused to be drawn on his future at the club, with talks set to begin next month on a new deal.

Following the departure of former coach Rini Coolen in December 2011, Kosmina has guided Adelaide to second on the A-League table this season despite a rocky start to his second stint in charge of the Reds.

Kosmina, who was installed as coach on a one-season deal following a handshake agreement with the club, is after a long-term deal.

Chairman Greg Griffin said contract talks would be put off until the board meets in February, although he loosely reassured Kosmina that the club was not chasing another coach to replace him.

I can guarantee you that we are not speaking to any other coach that should be of great comfort t…

Malaga have reached an agreement to sign PSG defender Diego Lugano on loan until the end of the season, .

The Uruguayan was keen to leave Parc des Princes in search of regular playing time and he has accepted an offer from the La Liga side.

AS understands that the deal does not include an option to purchase the player’s contract at the end of the season.

Lugano arrives at La Rosaleda to provide competition for starting centre-back pairing of Martin Demichelis and Weligton.

The 32-year-old will attempt to get his career back on track after what was a very disappointing spell at Parc des Princes.

Lugano joined the club from Fenerbahce in the summer of 2011, but has since made just 12 Ligue 1 appearances for the Saints.

He has been complet…

Christophe Galtier praised Paris Saint-Germain s desire  after they won the Trophee des Champions with a resounding 4-0 victory over Nantes on Sunday.

Lionel Messi opened the scoring at Bloomfield Stadium in Tel Aviv, before Neymar doubled their advantage with a fine free-kick.

Sergio Ramos added a third, with Neymar grabbing his second from the penalty spot late on after an incident that saw Jean-Charles Castelletto dismissed.

PSG reclaimed the Trophee des Champions after their streak of eight consecutive wins was ended by Lille last season, and Galtier was delighted with his side s application in his first competitive game at the helm.

— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)

We played a very serious match and I like the fact th…

Is Erling Haaland s future close to being resolved?

Borussia Dortmund, up until now, have been unwilling to part with their top asset.

But Chelsea are reportedly making progress to bring Haaland to London.

TOP STORY – CHELSEA CLOSING IN ON HAALAND?

Chelsea have agreed personal terms with Erling Haaland and now just need to agree a fee with Borussia Dortmund, according to the Transfer Window Podcast.

Haaland is a player in demand, linked with Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Juventus.

But Chelsea have reportedly made a breakthrough in their pursuit to prise the Norway forward to Stamford Bridge.

• Barcelona move for Bernardo
• M…

A draw against Burkina Faso will be enough for Congo to progress from the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1992.

Claude Le Roy will send his Congo side out to attack Burkina Faso in Sunday s crunch Africa Cup of Nations Group A clash at Nuevo Estadio de Ebebiyin.

Congo need just a point to qualify for the knockout stages for the first time since in 23 years, while only a victory will do for 2013 finalists Burkina Faso in the final group match.

Prince Oniangue scored the solitary goal against Gabon on Wednesday to send Congo top of the group and on the brink of progressing to the quarter-finals.

It has been 15 years since Congo the 1972 champions qualified for the AFCON and the experienced Le Roy is determined to…

Vicente del Bosque remained tight-lipped over his future as Spain head coach following the country s early FIFA World Cup exit.

The 63-year-old guided the side to World Cup glory in South Africa four years ago, as well as winning the UEFA European Championship in 2012.

However, Spain crashed out of this year s finals at the first hurdle after a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Netherlands was followed up by a 2-0 reverse to Chile at the Maracana on Wednesday.

That defeat left some observers to question whether this current crop of players have reached the end of an era, with speculation mounting over whether Del Bosque would stay on beyond the tournament.

In a press conference on Friday, Del Bosque gave little away regarding his future and was candid in his …