Legend and leader – Man Utd team-mates and more hail departing Rooney

Dimitar Berbatov is eyeing a Premier League return after he was released by Monaco.

Berbatov is a free agent after Ligue 1 side Monaco opted against extending the Bulgarian striker s contract during the week.

The 34-year-old is no stranger to England, having enjoyed successful spells with Tottenham and Manchester United, prior to joining Fulham, where he left for Monaco in 2014.

It d be a pleasure [to return to England], said the Bulgarian.

I spent a long time in England and I keep very good memories. Everyone is watching the English championship the Premier League, and I ll be delighted to return.

I feel good and I think I still have a lot to give to football.

Berbatov, who scored 13 goals in 38 Ligue 1 appearances, won two Premier Le…

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez thinks Kylian Mbappe will already be regretting staying at Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe was widely expected to move to Madrid when his PSG contract expired in June, but agreed to a three-year extension in the French capital.

Perez previously stated the Mbappe who snubbed the LaLiga and European champions is not the same character he wanted to bring to Los Blancos.

The Madrid chief, speaking during a meeting with the club s fans, again commented on Mbappe s decision as he declared the World Cup winner will be wishing he had moved to Los Blancos.

The poor guy, Mbappe must already be sorry, Perez said when signing autographs after a fan had asked him about the France international.

Mbappe was in scintillati…

Casemiro will miss Manchester United’s trip to Sheffield United on Saturday after sustaining a “small issue” while playing for Brazil, the club have said.

The midfielder was in action for his country in World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela last Friday and then Uruguay five days later.

In an update on players on United’s official website following a session at their training ground on Thursday, the club said: “Casemiro was absent, having remained in Brazil, on the club’s advice, to recover as swiftly as possible from a small issue picked up while playing for his country.

Encouraging news from our training camp ahead of Saturday s return. ||

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

“He will be unavailable for Saturday’s game with the Bl…

Juventus are not afraid of being hit with a ban from European competition despite their Serie A points deduction.

That was the defiant message from Juve s chief football officer Francesco Calvo, who was appointed in January just days after the Bianconeri were hit with a 15-point punishment.

Those charges for the Turin side followed investigations into financial violations from past transfer dealings, with former Juve president Andrea Agnelli and ex-sporting director Fabio Paratici handed bans.

While Massimiliano Allegri s side aim to battle back on the pitch, there are suggestions a second investigation by UEFA could result in Juve being banned from playing in Europe.

But Calvo insisted Juve have no reason for concern with European football s governing bo…

Writing a diary has convinced Joey Barton he has a future in the Premier League.

The troublesome England midfielder, who has played for Manchester City, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers in England s top-tier, has not played a Premier League game since Queens Park Rangers were relegated at the end of the 2014-15 season.

But the 33-year-old midfielder, now at Burnley after a loan stint in France with Marseille, believes he has found new ways to rid himself of the pent-up frustrations that have often distracted him and caused unsavoury episodes on and off the park.

He spent two months in prison in 2008 after attacking a man in Liverpool in a particularly low moment of his career, but Barton said writing a diary with his innermost thoughts had allowed him to…

Just days after their League Cup final, Liverpool and Manchester City meet again, this time in the Premier League showdown at Anfield. Reds will be keen on getting one back to the Citizens, but Manuel Pellegrini’s men are on the slightly improved run of form and will be tough to break.

Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp’s charges were awarded with the opportunity to exact instant revenge to Manchester City at Anfield as they look to bounce back from their loss in the League Cup final. The penalty shootout denied Jurgen Klopp his first piece of silverware at Liverpool since replacing Brendan Rodgers in October. Liverpool will be hoping to repeat the 4-1 hammering at the Etihad Stadium in November and the German tactician has already promised a strong reaction from his squad. R…

Real Madrid defender Pepe has dismissed suggestions he is a violent player and has pointed out Barcelona forward Neymar has been booked more this campaign.

Pepe has been involved in a number of controversial incidents throughout his career, receiving a 10-match ban in 2008-09 after stamping on Getafe s Javier Casquero, while also making the headlines for the wrong reasons in games against Barcelona on more than one occasion.

But the Portugal centre-back believes he does not deserve his reputation as a violent player and feels Madrid would already have offloaded him had he really been crazy . 

The people can say what they want, but fact remains that Neymar has been booked more often than me, Pepe told Surface.

Real Madrid are an exemplary club. I woul…

Pep Guardiola is optimistic Manchester City can seduce Eric Garcia into extending his contract at the Etihad Stadium despite previously telling the club he wants to leave.

Spanish defender Garcia made City aware back in August that he would not sign a new deal, with the 19-year-old s present contract expiring at the end of June 2021.

A return to Barcelona, whose academy Garcia was at before joining City in 2017, has been suggested as the most likely destination and Los Cules were linked with a move in the previous transfer window.

But Garcia was selected to start City s 3-1 Champions League win over Porto alongside Ruben Dias in the absence of Aymeric Laporte and Nathan Ake on Wednesday, with John Stones on the bench.

Guardiola explained his reasoning for…

Danylo Sikan’s first-half header earned Shakhtar Donetsk a memorable Champions League win after beating Barcelona 1-0 in Hamburg.

A frustrating first half saw the only real chance come from Mykola Matviyenko before Sikan gave the hosts the advantage five minutes before half-time with a looping header.

Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Oleksandr Zubkov had chances for the hosts after the break before Barca began to grow into the half following a quadruple substitution, but Shahktar held firm to see out the win.

It is a missed opportunity for Barcelona, where one point would have earned qualification with two games to spare, while victory earned Shakhtar a valuable second win in Group H.

Despite some early pressure from Robert Lewandowski, Shakhtar began to push …

Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks hopes to make his comeback in the near future after signing a long-term contract extension with the Premier League club.

The 25-year-old missed the majority of last season after he was diagnosed with stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma in October.

But the Wales international, a member of Rob Page s squad at Euro 2020 last year, was given the all-clear in May and returned to a modified training programme.

Brooks is eager to resume his career soon after putting pen to paper on a deal until at least June 2026.

We re delighted to confirm that has signed a new deal with the club

— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)

I am so pleased to have signed this deal and am looking forward to the next few years with this gre…