Ronaldo out of Manchester City v Real Madrid

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is open to returning to Ajax as a director, bullishly claiming he would do a better job than anyone holding such positions at the Eredivisie club.

Ibrahimovic spent three seasons at Ajax from 2001 to 2004, winning two Eredivisie titles and the KNVB Beker before leaving for Juventus.

A player set to take a similar route is Matthijs de Ligt, who is reportedly on the verge of securing a big-money switch to the Serie A champions, as Ajax undergo another squad overhaul following their spectacular run in the Champions League last term.

De Ligt s imminent departure comes on the back of Frenkie de Jong leaving for Barcelona, while Hakim Ziyech and David Neres are two other stars who have been linked with moves away from the club.

My favourite…

Trent Alexander-Arnold s mentality is absolutely spot on and there is little fear of ego hindering his progress, according to Liverpool team-mate James Milner.

Right-back Alexander-Arnold has been a key member of Jurgen Klopp s Liverpool team in recent campaigns, starring in last season s Champions League triumph and this term s charge to the top of the Premier League table.

The England international particularly stood out in the Boxing Day demolition of second-placed Leicester City, scoring one goal and providing two assists in a 4-0 success.

Milner, who tucked away a penalty won following a cross from Alexander-Arnold for the third, is confident the 21-year-old can continue to improve, aided by the tutorship of Klopp and his Liverpool colleagues.

The…

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) is negotiating to pay up to 2.47 million US dollars to entice Manchester United for a one-off game next year, with AC Milan also on its radar.

This is a huge amount of money but we can arrange it. We can get money from tickets, advertising and broadcasting rights and so on, VFF chairman Nguyen Trong Hy was quoted as saying by the Asean Football Federation.

But negotiations with United are far from over.

According to VFF, the Red Devils have insisted on strict conditions for the game, whose date has yet to be set.

These include no advertising at the stadium while Vietnamese players must wear jerseys sporting only their names and national flag, with logos banned.

United last played in Asia in 2007, with st…

A Georgios Samaras double was not enough for Celtic to get 2009 off to a winning start as they shared the points with Dundee United in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Parkhead.

With Rangers not playing until Sunday Gordon Strachan s men knew they had they had a chance to pile the pressure on their rivals and Greek international Samaras put them two ahead with goals either side of half-time.

But an excellent Paul Dixon free-kick followed by substitute Warren Feeney s equaliser gave United a deserved share of the points for their superb second-half showing much to the frustration of the Celtic support.

The draw sees Celtic go eight points clear at the top of the table with Rangers taking on Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Sunday.

Celtic carved out the best opp…

Barcelona will hope for a more favourable result against Athletic Bilbao at the third time of asking, while Rafael Benitez takes control of Real Madrid competitively for the first time as the two great rivals start the latest battle for La Liga supremacy this weekend.

Luis Enrique s Barca swept aside all comers en route to a stunning La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League treble last season, with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez scoring a scarcely believable record 122 goals in all competitions.

However, the Catalan club may travel to San Mames with some trepidation having lost 5-1 on aggregate to Bilbao in the Supercopa de Espana.

That included a 4-0 loss at Athletic just five days ago, while the return leg saw Gerard Pique sent off for insulting …

Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam has declared himself happy with his team s start to the new Premier League season.

The 27-year-old delivered an impressive display on Saturday as Stoke enjoyed the better of a goalless draw with 2011-12 champions Manchester City at the Britannia Stadium, taking their points tally to seven points from four games.

Adam, who scored three goals in 27 league appearances last season, believes things are clicking well under new manager Mark Hughes and is eager to press on.

It is easier when you are enjoying it and the team is playing well, he said.

That is the important thing. Hopefully we can continue that and finish as high as we can, do ourselves proud and better what we did last year (a 13th-placed finish under Tony Pulis).

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