Messi not among Ballon d´Or nominees, favourite Benzema included

Atletico Madrid striker Luciano Vietto is making the move to Sporting CP, the LaLiga club confirmed on Tuesday.

Vietto, 25, has spent this season on loan at Fulham, but will join the Portuguese giants in a reported €7.5million move.

The Argentinian joined Atletico from Villarreal in 2015 before spending time on loan at Sevilla, Valencia and Fulham.

Atletico de Madrid has reached an agreement with Sporting CP over the transfer of Luciano Vietto, the club said in a statement.

The striker, who is currently on loan at Fulham, arrived at our club ahead of the 2015-16 season and will now continue his career in Portugal.

Vietto made 38 appearances in all competitions for Atletico and will join a Sporting side certain to finish third behind Benfica a…

Brazilian forward Alexandre Pato could be on his way back to AC Milan in January.

The major Italian media outlets – Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport – are claiming that Rossoneri are working to make a reunion with Pato happen this winter as their efforts to bring back Zlatan Ibrahimovic are getting unrealistic.

Alexandre Pato was never shy of his wish to return to AC Milan but the finances could be the biggest stumbling block in any deal with Tianjin Quanjian.

Pato’s release clause is standing at whopping €25 million which is more than AC Milan would be willing to pay, while Pato’s yearly wage of €9 million would also be a major issue.

The Brazilian could be willing to cut his season earnings to move back to Europe even if only o…

Florin Andone s first goal for Brighton and Hove Albion secured a come-from-behind 2-1 win at 10-man Huddersfield Town.

The pre-season arrival from Deportivo La Coruna produced a fine diving header to complete the turnaround after Mathias Jorgensen s opener, the fastest Premier League goal this season, was cancelled out by Shane Duffy.

Jorgensen struck after just 55 seconds but David Wagner s side conceded on the brink of half-time following Steve Mounie s red card for a foul on Yves Bissouma.

And Andone came up with the winner on his first start as the visitors numerical advantage told, bringing a halt to the Terriers recent revival and giving Chris Hughton s men their first win since October. 

69: GOOOOOOAAAAALLL! The pressure pays off! GET IN THERE!

Didier Deschamps believes Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann are developing a useful understanding in France s attack at Euro 2020.

The world champions will seal top spot in Group F on Wednesday if they are able to beat Portugal, their conquerors in the last 16 of Euro 2016.

An already enviable array of talent at Deschamps disposal was bolstered by Benzema s return from a near six-year international exile ahead of the tournament, allowing the head coach to field a dream forward line of Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe alongside the Real Madrid striker.

The returns so far have been occasionally promising, if not prolific, with Mats Hummels own goal the difference in a 1-0 opening win over Germany before Griezmann salvaged a 1-1 draw against group outsiders Hungary �…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes he and Manchester United counterpart Jose Mourinho are twins when it comes to their thirst for success.

A spiky and tempestuous rivalry sparked between the two men when they led Barcelona and Real Madrid on either side of El Clasico s divide in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

Their appointments at City and United last year meant renewed hostilities between two brilliant and contrasting tacticians; Guardiola the romantic cast against Mourinho the arch pragmatist once more.

City won at Old Trafford last season – they remain the last Premier League team to do so – and the sides shared a goalless draw at the Etihad Stadium in April.

United knocked their neighbours out of the EFL Cup in between those fixtures. Mourinho w…

Competition: Premier League

Market: Tottenham to beat Everton

Odds:

The Premier League continues this weekend with another round of games that should provide no end to the excitement and intrigue of England s top division. With the competition simmering away nicely, every side will want to pick up all three points for their cause, and with this in mind, Tottenham host Everton on Saturday.

Tottenham have been in fairly good form of late and they are looking to take a Champions League spot for next season. After 22 games they have won 12, drawn five and lost five, while they have scored 42 goals and conceded 21 times. In their last five they have won three, drawn once and lost once, which has helped the London side onto 41 points for the season s…

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 33rd birthday on Monday with just one significant prize still eluding him the World Cup.

A three-time Premier League and two-time LaLiga winner with Manchester United and Real Madrid respectively, Ronaldo has triumphed in the Champions League on four occasions and been duly rewarded with five Ballons d Or, a joint record alongside great rival Lionel Messi.

At Euro 2016, Ronaldo finally tasted the international success he craved with Portugal, although injury forced him off in the first half of the final against France in Paris.

One last summit remains unconquered and it just happens to be the biggest of them all.

The World Cup final in Moscow on July 15 is surely an occasion Ronaldo has circled on his calendar, but the odd…

Juventus defender Andrea Barzagli is eager to make home advantage count against Bayern Munich on Tuesday stating their Champions League opponents are among the three best teams in the world.

Both sides have a rich European pedigree, with two-time winners Juve making the final last season while Bayern beat the Italian giants en route to their fifth continental success in 2012-13.

Leaders of their respective domestic leagues, both endured struggles at the weekend with an off-the-pace Bayern coming from behind to beat Darmstadt while Juve s 15-match winning run in the league ended with a 0-0 draw at Bologna.

But Bayern are the only foreign team to have beaten Juve on Italian soil in the past decade picking up wins in 2009 and 2013 and Barzagli maintains the Bundesli…

Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal to bring Marcos Llorente to the Wanda Metropolitano in a reported €40million move from Real Madrid.

Llorente made just seven LaLiga appearances last season and will hope for more opportunities with Atleti, where he appears set to replace Manchester City target Rodri.

Incredibly, Llorente is following in the footsteps of his father, Paco, and his grandfather, Ramon Grosso, who also represented both of the capital s biggest clubs.

They are not the only players to turn out for the two teams, though. Here are six of the best players to have featured for Atleti and Madrid

Agreement over the transfer of , pending medical tests.

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish)

Thibaut Courtois

Courtois e…

Jordan Henderson wants to see Liverpool emulate Manchester City and start winning multiple trophies every season.

Liverpool face Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday looking to secure their first piece of silverware since 2012.

City claimed a domestic treble this season, including the Premier League, a campaign after winning two trophies.

Henderson, whose side were beaten in last season s Champions League final, is eager to see Jurgen Klopp s men become similarly successful.

City have won three trophies this year, and that s where we want to be, the Liverpool captain told UK newspapers, via The Guardian.

We don t want to be going for just one cup or title, we want to be winning more and more each year.

If you lo…