HEADLINES
Tottenham smash Arsenal to ignite top-four race
Madrid dominant in six-goal win over Levante
Levante give Real guard of honour after Atletico snub
Lewandowski set to leave Bayern Munich
Guardiola: Man City extension must be last-minute
Conte: Mikel Arteta complains a lot!
Arteta: Refs destroyed our beautiful game!
Spurs hand Arsenal biggest derby defeat in 39 years
Nketiah’s display: Zero key passes and zero goals
Klopp: Good chance Fabinho returns this season
Ronaldo wins April Premier League Player of the Month
Edwin van der Sar pays tribute to ‘weird man’ Erik ten Hag
Burnley’s Mike Jackson wins April Premier League Manager of the Month
Kovacic expected back in Chelsea training before FA Cup final
Osimhen hopeful of Napoli stay amid Man Utd & Newcastle interest
Sterling ready to push for Barcelona transfer – other clubs interested
Klopp expects Fabinho to be fit for Champions League final
Erik ten Hag makes Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong a Man United target
SPANISH PAPERS
Carlo Ancelotti: “I am living a very happy moment in my professional career and I hope it continues for a long time.
Vinicius Jr: “It’s a tremendous joy, my first hat-trick, here at the Bernabéu, with Madrid. I’ll keep the ball in a very special place.”
Karim Benzema presented his La Liga Player of the Month award for April to the Santiago Bernabéu.
Kylian Mbappé and his family are under enormous pressure to stay in Paris — getting calls from President of France, Emmanuel Macron, from Qatar and even the French Football Federation.
Real Madrid are preparing a Historical presentation for Kylian Mbappé, according to Mario Cortegana
Jurgen Klopp confirms Fabinho will miss the FA Cup final but remains optimistic he could return before the end of the season.
Kylian Mbappé will play for Real Madrid next season and will sign a 6-year contract. There is absolutely no Doubt about that among the Real Madrid hierarchy, according to Le Parisien.
Ancelotti: “We will play the 4-3-3 in the UCL final but it can be switched to a 4-4-2. The idea won’t change, it depends on the rival and on how we want to press.”
Gerard Piqué will officially retire from Barcelona after next season
Piqué: “Sir Alex Ferguson was like a father to me. When you needed something, he was always there for you.”
Piqué: “Mourinho got into the heads of the Real Madrid players. Jose used to tell them: ‘These guys [Barça players] hate you’, and they believed him… Once I went with the Spanish National Team in the Mourinho’s Era, I told Casillas: ‘Hey Iker, what’s up?’ And he did not talk to me.”
Piqué: “I cried when Messi left Barcelona. I cried for him. For the career he had at Barça, it would have been great if he had stayed until the end of his career at the club.”
Ter Stegen is expected to be one of the Barcelona’s captains once Piqué retires after next season.
Atletico Madrid are seriously contemplating not keeping Antoine Griezmann on loan for a second year. They have already told the player and his sister.
Mateu Alemany met with Atletico Madrid’s CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marín to discuss Alvaro Morata’s future. Xavi wants to bring the player, as Luis Enrique recommended his signing for Barcelona.
FRENCH PAPERS
Real Madrid are informing people internally & externally that Kylian Mbappé is joining them, according to Le Parisien.
Forbes Top 10 highest-paid athletes
1: Lionel Messi – £107m
3: Cristiano Ronaldo – £94m
4: Neymar – £78m
6: Kevin Durant – £74.8m
7: Roger Federer – £74.4m
8: Canelo Alvarez – £73.7m
9: Tom Brady – £68.7m
10: Giannis Antetokounmpo – £66.3m
GERMAN PAPERS
Robert Lewandowski has informed Bayern Munich he won’t sign a new contract and wants to leave at the end of the season, reports @BILD_Bayern
Erling Haaland have a clause in his Manchester City contract that would allow him to leave in two years for €150m.
Sébastien Haller is the favourite to replace Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund and would cost around €35m.
Axel Witsel will not extend his contract at Borussia Dortmund and will leave as a free agent this June. Witsel will choose his new club in the coming weeks.
Christopher Nkunku is the first player to win FOUR Bundesliga Player of the Month awards in a season. He has 20 goals and 14 assists in 2021-22.
ITALIAN PAPERS
Massimiliano Allegri receives one-match touchline ban, €10,000 fine.
Stefano Pioli currently has the second best points per match average (1.96) in Milan history, second only to Fabio Capello (2.03).
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen to Radio Kiss Kiss: “I want to assure fans that we will fight for the Scudetto again next season.”
Allegri expected to stay on as Juve boss despite a trophyless season, while Sarri and Pirlo were shown the door after winning silverware.
AC Milan will hold talks with Roma for the permanent transfer of Alessandro Florenzi. The Rossoneri will sign the Italian on a permanent basis this summer.
AC Milan’s owners Elliot have received an ultimatum from Investcorp regarding the takeover deal. The ultimatum notice period is believed to be short.
Juventus believe they are frontrunners to sign Paul Pogba with ‘€10m-a-year offer’.
BRITISH PRESS
FOOTBALL LONDON
Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has hit out at Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta for ‘complaining a lot & must focus on Arsenal’s performances’ after Spurs beat their North London rivals.
Mikel Arteta speaking to Sky Sports: “If I say what I think I will be suspended for six months.”
Mateo Kovacic’s injury isn’t as bad as first feared. He is set to train today and has a chance of being involved for Chelsea in the FA Cup final vs Liverpool.
Chelsea are targeting a move for Kalidou Koulibaly as a potential replacement for the outgoing Antonio Rüdiger and Andreas Christensen.
MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS
Erik ten Hag held a meeting with Manchester United football director John Murtough and his prospective new coaching team on Thursday in Amsterdam.
Steve McClaren is definitely joining Manchester United’s coaching staff. Erik ten Hag made it clear that he wanted him during the meeting.
Erik ten Hag has a budget of £120m this summer, plus money raised from sales.
Manchester United stars have arrived back in training as they prepare for their final game of the season against Crystal Palace.
Marcus Rashford wants to sit down with Erik Ten Hag to discuss his Manchester United future. He wants to play on a regular basis and wants guarantees on his game-time. He’s desperate to make the England squad for the World Cup.
LONDON EVENING STANDARD
Sergio Aguero will attend unveiling of his statue outside the Etihad Stadium today as Manchester City honour their greatest goalscorer, days after finally securing Erling Haaland as his replacement.
DAILY MIRROR
Aston Villa have completed the permanent signing of Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona for around €20M. The Brazilian playmaker has signed a contract until 2026.
Barcelona signed Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool for €181M in 2018. While on loan at Bayern in 2020, he scored twice against them in their 8-2 defeat, and won the Champions League. Now they have sold him to Aston Villa for a €20M.
Ajax have appointed Alfred Schreuder as Erik Ten Hag’s replacement. He joins on a contract until 2024.
DAILY MAIL
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has hailed striker Karim Benzema and said that Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure in 2018 has helped the Frenchman become a more ‘complete player’.
Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling is reportedly set to wait until after England’s Nations League fixtures in June before making a decision on his future.
Erik Ten Hag wants to sign both Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs De Ligt for Manchester United this summer.
LIVERPOOL ECHO
UEFA have delivered a firm warning to fans looking to attend the final of their major European competitions, insisting that tickets on the secondary market may not grant them access to the stadium.
Jürgen Klopp says ‘there’s a good chance’ Fabinho could return for the Champions League final.
Mo Salah and Robert Lewandowski are two players on the PSG shortlist in the event of Kylian Mbappé leaving for Real Madrid.
