FFP not there to kill clubs, insists UEFA president Ceferin

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin insists he wants to help clubs comply with Financial Fair Play regulations and is not out to kill their ambitions.

There are suggestions European football s governing body could come down hard on multiple clubs ahead of next season, due to their heavy spending.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City received substantial fines and had their Champions League squads restricted after falling foul of FFP rules in 2014, while Porto accepted a settlement agreement prior to this season.

The regulations are in place to prevent clubs spending significantly more than they earn and thereby risk financial instability, although critics of the system say the rules stop Europe s elite clubs from being challenged by developing sides.

VIDEO: 15-year-old Takefusa Kubo becomes youngest scorer in J-League

Takefusa Kubo might ring a couple of bells with football fans who remember this boy being invited over to Barcelona’s La Masia in 2012, before returning to Japan in 2015.

This FC Tokyo youngster is taking the Japanese football by storm and this weekend has even become the youngest scorer in Japanese league at the age of 15, beating the previous mark held by Takayuki Morimoto who held the record as a 16-year-old.

His goal for the U-23 side against Osaka in J-League third division is a cracker!

Messi replaced as a precaution against Lille, says Pochettino

Lionel Messi was substituted at half-time against Lille as a precautionary measure and should be available for Paris Saint-Germain s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig, according to Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentina international was a doubt heading into Friday s Ligue 1 meeting with Lille and lasted just 45 minutes before being replaced by Mauro Icardi with his side 1-0 down at the time through a Jonathan David strike.

PSG went on to win 2-1 at Parc des Princes thanks to second-half goals from Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria as they returned to winning ways and stretched their lead at the summit to 10 points on Lens, who have a game in hand.

Messi s departure on the back of another below-par display was undoubtedly the big talking point of the game, but Poc…

Transfer deadline day: Five potential transfers to look out for

The Premier League transfer window closes at 17:00 BST on Thursday – and there could yet be some major deals involving England s elite.

Harry Maguire s £80m switch from Leicester City to Manchester United – making him the world s most expensive defender – is the biggest deal on English shores of this window so far.

However, there remains a chance even that figure could be surpassed on Thursday with some of the biggest names both in the Premier League and overseas still the subject of interest.

We look at five potential transfers on Premier League deadline day.

 

David Luiz (Chelsea)

Arsenal could yet make a surprise swoop for Chelsea s Brazil defender after selling Laurent Koscielny to Bordeaux.

David Luiz sat out training …

Bitesize Prediction: Leicester City vs Watford – 08/01/22

Market: Leicester City win

Odds: 1/2 @

In an all-Premier League battle on Saturday afternoon, Leicester and Watford will turn their attention to FA Cup duties when they meet at the King Power.

Starting with the hosts, while Leicester might have struggled with their consistency this season, there is no doubt that the Foxes will be boosted with the way that they signed off 2021. Despite having their New Year s Day contest get scrapped, Brendan Rodgers side were last seen on December 28th landing a 1-0 win against Liverpool on home soil. Looking to keep up that momentum when they turn their attention to FA Cup duties on Saturday afternoon, the one-time Watford boss has at least seen his side continue to impress at the King Power. Including an action-packed 4-2 win …

Morocco 1-0 Ghana: Late Boufal strike settles draw Group C opener

Sofiane Boufal s late strike gave Morocco a 1-0 victory over Ghana in a drab Africa Cup of Nations Group C opener at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo on Monday.

The Black Stars and the Atlas Lions looked to be heading for a point apiece from a match that was lacking in entertaining until Boufal popped up with an 83rd-minute winner in Yaounde.

Morocco captain Romain Saiss failed to take a good chance to open the scoring when he nodded Boufal s fizzed free-kick over the bar a few minutes before the end of a poor first half

The quality did not improve after the break, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou produced a brilliant save to tip Joseph Paintsil s measured right-foot shot around the post after 72 minutes.

Boufal then snatched the victory when he drilled in with …

Premier League Preview: Hull City v West Ham

Hull City will look to seal consecutive Premier League victories for the first time since October 2008 when they host West Ham on Saturday.

Steve Bruce s side picked up an impressive win last weekend against Newcastle United, and after victory in the League Cup over Huddersfield in midweek, they will be brimming with confidence.

And they will be hopeful of collecting their third league triumph of the season against West Ham, who have not won on their travels since March.

Sam Allardyce s team have not had the best of times away from Upton Park and have only won three of their last 20 away matches in the league.

However, Allardyce s side have won 17 of their 41 meetings with Hull and they are unbeaten in their last five meetings – winning four.

Both sides h…

Mateta ´finishing everything that comes to him´ as Palace rout Villa

Jean-Philippe Mateta is finishing everything that comes to him , according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.

Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.

They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.

Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner s first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.

He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in…

Caulker joins Cardiff City; Heldt dismisses Papadopoulos exit rumours

Cardiff City F.C. have completed the signing of England international centre-back Steven Caulker from Tottenham Hotspur in a deal reportedly worth around £8 million, understands.

Caulker, who joined Spurs youth team during the 2007/08 season, has signed a four-year deal with the Bluebirds.

The England international, 21, scored two goals in 28 appearances in all competitions for Spurs last term.

Prior to last season, Caulker had spent three consecutive seasons on loan at Yeovil Town (2009/10; League One), Bristol City (2010/11; Championship) and Swansea City (2011/12; Premier League).

Caulker, set to team-up with new arrivals Andreas Cornelius, John Brayford and Simon Moore at Cardiff City Stadium, is delighted with the move, which has mad…

Van Basten confirms Eikrem departure

Heerenveen coach Marco van Basten has confirmed that Magnus Wolff Eikrem is set to leave the club amid rumours he will join Cardiff City.

Eikrem was in the stands at St James Park on Saturday as Cardiff came from behind to beat Newcastle United 2-1 in the FA Cup third round in their first game under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The versatile 23-year-old worked with Solskjaer during his spell at Molde and was also coached by his Norwegian compatriot when the Cardiff boss was in charge of Manchester United s reserve side from 2008 to 2011.

And Van Basten revealed that Eikrem is poised to leave, with the Cardiff City Stadium his reported destination.

It s a shame he s (Eikrem) leaving because in the final period of the first half of the season he has been important for us,…