Lyon midfielder Gueida Fofana could retire from football at the age of 25, according to club president Jean-Michel Aulas.
Fofana who joined Lyon from Le Havre in 2011 has seen just 41 minutes of Ligue 1 action in the past two seasons due to serious hyaline cartilage and malleolar injuries.
He was on the bench in Lyon s 2-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in February but did not feature all season, and Aulas hinted Fofana s time as a footballer may be up.
Gueida Fofana has not played for a very long time, Aulas told OLTV.
I will have a discussion with him during the week.
We are going to ask about the rest of his career.
I can see him becoming a great trainer or educator.
…
Juventus are set to join Chelsea and Liverpool in the race to sign Real Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso, .
The 31 year old has been with the La Liga giants since he originally left Anfield in the summer of 2009, making 192 appearances in all competitions, but he is yet to feature this season having fallen down the pecking order following the arrival of £150m worth of new talent during the recently closed transfer window.
They also already had Luka Modric and Sami Khedira on board as cover, who have played in all and all but one of the clubs league games so far this season respectively.
Both Liverpool and Chelsea were linked with a move for the Spain international in the summer, and now Juventus are considering making an offer, with veteran midfielder Andrea Pi…
Manchester City match-winner Kevin De Bruyne insisted revenge was not on his mind as he brilliantly undid Premier League champions Chelsea.
Pep Guardiola s City returned to the top of the table, above rivals Manchester United on goal difference, after De Bruyne rewarded the visitors controlled dominance with a brilliant left-footed finish from 22 yards after 67 minutes at Stamford Bridge.
The 26-year-old is shining at the second attempt in English football, having left Chelsea in search of first-team football.
De Bruyne initially left on loan for Werder Bremen in 2012 before joining Wolfsburg two years later, where his form persuaded City to make him their club-record signing in August 2015.
That s the past, he told BT Sport of a Chelsea tenure that amou…
Nantes have moved to their highest spot in Ligue 1 since 2005 but head coach Michel Der Zakarian is remaining cautious.
The once great French club have hit form recently after returning to Ligue 1 earlier this year for the first time since 2009.
Nantes win away to Bordeaux on Sunday has helped prove they are a serious contender in Ligue 1 this season but Der Zarkarian was careful not to get too carried away after the victory.
Beating a Bordeaux side that hadn t lost in seven league games is good, he said.
They had no luck, we did. My players were strong in defence and always carried a threat.
Nantes have been crowned champions of France eight times and were a powerhouse club from 1965-1983 when they won six league titles.
The east French club last wo…
Former Tottenham star Rafael van der Vaart has little doubt Vincent Janssen will prove to be a shrewd signing for the Premier League club.
Janssen caught the eye by scoring 27 goals in 34 Eredivisie appearances during his solitary season at AZ last term, form that earned him international recognition with Netherlands.
The 22-year-old impressed enough for Tottenham to fork out a reported £17million for his services and the striker will provide competition for last season Premier League top scorer Harry Kane.
And Van der Vaart, who spent two years at White Hart Lane between 2010 and 2012, is backing his compatriot to make a big impact at Tottenham.
In my opinion Tottenham have signed a great striker, Van der Vaart told Tottenham s official website.
…
Freiburg have completed the transfer of Mike Frantz from Nuremberg for an undisclosed fee.
The midfielder, whose contract was set to expire next year, joined Nuremberg from Saarbrucken in 2008 and helped the club into the Bundesliga in his first season.
Frantz made 109 top-flight appearances for the now relegated Nuremberg, scoring eight goals, and Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier believes the player will be a perfect fit at the club.
We had very good discussions with Mike Frantz, where it quickly became clear that he fits very well the type and the attitude that suits us, he said. We believe that he will help our team with his quality, experience and versatility.
Frantz himself added: SC Freiburg is a club that has established itself in recent years in t…
Thibaut Courtois is set to hold talks with Chelsea over a new contract, but the goalkeeper hinted he may seek a future move to LaLiga as his heart is in Madrid .
Courtois spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid after joining Chelsea from Genk, helping the club to LaLiga glory and the Champions League final in 2013-14.
The 25-year-old subsequently established himself as the number one at Stamford Bridge but, along with Manchester United s David de Gea, has been heavily linked with Real Madrid.
And Courtois, whose Chelsea deal is due to expire at the end of next season, indicated a LaLiga return may be on the cards later in his career.
My personal situation is related to the city of Madrid, Courtois told Sport/Foot Magazine.
My two child…
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was ready to join Paris Saint-Germain back in 2012, according to France Football.
The Portugal international is currently being linked with a move to Parc des Princes, but latest reports reveal he could have moved to Paris some six years ago.
That was the time when Cristiano Ronaldo felt under-appreciated by chairman Florentino Perez and threatened to leave the club if his demands were not met.
France Football has now come into a possession of a text message that the Portuguese supposedly sent to one of his close friends.
“I want to go to Paris. There, they will really love me,” the text message read. “The French will be so happy that I play in their championship that the media will campaign in my favour for …
Presnel Kimpembe has defended team-mate Kylian Mbappe after the forward was criticised by former player Jerome Rothen for putting himself first over the team.
Mbappe failed to score or assist a goal in France s three Euro 2020 group matches, but Les Blues still advanced with draws against Hungary and Portugal after beating Germany.
The Paris Saint-Germain star s eight attempts are the most of any France player in the tournament, but he found the target from just three of those.
Only three players – Gerard Moreno (nine), Burak Yilmaz and Martin Braithwaite (both 10) – had more attempts in the group phase without scoring.
Mbappe is four games without a goal overall, meanwhile, and ex-PSG winger Rothen has suggested the 22-year-old s ego is hindering his…
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has announced he will retire at the end of the season.
The 36-year-old has lost his starting place to Bernd Leno at the Emirates Stadium this season and, after a 20-year playing career, has opted to quit.
In a statement on Twitter, he wrote: This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season.
Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life hold…