Paris St-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has again been cleared of a
criminal charge in the Swiss courts.
The Qatari, who is also chairman of the influential European Club Association
and a member of UEFA's ruling executive committee, had originally been acquitted
on a charge of inciting aggravated criminal mismanagement in October 2020.
Swiss prosecutors appealed against that verdict, and had demanded a 28-month
prison sentence for Al-Khelaifi during the appeal hearing in March this year.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also the chairman of the beIN Media Group, was accused of
having entered into a corrupt agreement with FIFA's former secretary general
Jerome Valcke over the use of a villa in Sardinia in 2013, at a time when Al-Khelaifi's company was seeking to extend World Cup media rights in the Middle
East and North Africa for the 2026 and 2030 finals.
Lukaku set for Inter - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Shapesphere: Lukaku lacks the ability and the attitude to be a top striker at a top club in the Premier League. What a waste of a lot of money. He'll do well in Italy again though.
'Barca make first offer for Lewandowski'
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
ESPN is reporting Barcelona have made a first offer to Bayern Munich for Robert Lewandowski and would also like to sign Sevilla's Jules Kounde to bolster their defence.
Lewandowski, 33, is out of contract in 2023 but the German club's public stance is still that he will see out the final year of his contract.
According to the report, Chelsea also maintain an interest in Kounde having failed to prise him away from Spain last summer.
Bournemouth's preparations for life back in the Premier League are continuing. Joe Rothwell started his career at Manchester United and has represented England at youth level. He has been at Blackburn since 2018.
Gary Neville has been having his say on Manchester United. And he's not holding back...
Proud day for Chelsea boss Hayes
Chelsea
PA MediaCopyright: PA Media
It's been a day to remember for Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, who received her OBE from Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, at Buckingham Palace earlier.
Hayes was named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to football.
She has led Chelsea to five Women's Super League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.
Lukaku set for Inter - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Yves: Sorry Beau888 (11:20) but Lukaku is not a "simple tap in" striker. You obviously haven't seen any of his goals at Inter, or Belgium, or you're just repeating the same old myths from other people commenting on Lukaku who don't have opinions based on reality. Lukaku's strength is in getting deliveries quickly on the turn, so that he can bully his way to the box. The problem with Chelsea has been the mindless slow passing and slow turn to attack.
Man Utd power struggle
Manchester United
ReutersCopyright: Reuters
Manchester United and Ralf Rangnick agreed to cut ties at the end of the season in part because of Erik ten Hag's reluctance to work with the German in his proposed consultancy role, ESPN is reporting.
Rangnick spent the second half of last season as interim manager at Old Trafford and was due to take up a two-year consultancy position starting this summer.
But just a week after the end of the campaign, United announced Rangnick would make a clean break from the club and focus fully on his role as manager of the Austria national team.
#bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)
SMS Message: I said when he signed that Ronaldo wouldn't play as much as he thought he should and would be off in a huff after a year. Does anybody really care? from David in Worcestershire
I said when he signed that Ronaldo wouldn't play as much as he thought he should and would be off in a huff after a year. Does anybody really care?
Live Reporting
Neil Johnston
All times stated are UK
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Latest PostGoodbye
Time to bring this to a close and head off into the weekend.
We'll be back on Monday with all the latest transfer news and gossip.
Thanks for your company. Until next time...
'I'm a die-hard Leeds fan'
England v Netherlands (20:00 BST)
Timber staying at Ajax?
Inter set to sign Lukaku - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Chelsea
MH: Not the first expensive Chelsea striker who didn't live up to the hype. Maybe the new owners won't treat the club like a hobby.
Newcastle sign Pope - your reaction
#bbcfootball
WiedwaldsLurpakGloves: Clever super cheap signing by Newcastle - people sleep on Pope because of Burnley but he's a quality keeper.
From Championship to Champions League
Huddersfield Town defender Pipa has joined Greek Super League champions Olympiakos for an undisclosed fee.
"He was very interested in taking the opportunity to move to Olympiakos," said Huddersfield's head of football operations Leigh Bromby.
"That's understandable, as this presents him with the chance to play in the Champions League."
Read more here.
PSG president cleared
Paris St-Germain
Paris St-Germain
Paris St-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has again been cleared of a criminal charge in the Swiss courts.
The Qatari, who is also chairman of the influential European Club Association and a member of UEFA's ruling executive committee, had originally been acquitted on a charge of inciting aggravated criminal mismanagement in October 2020.
Swiss prosecutors appealed against that verdict, and had demanded a 28-month prison sentence for Al-Khelaifi during the appeal hearing in March this year.
Al-Khelaifi, who is also the chairman of the beIN Media Group, was accused of having entered into a corrupt agreement with FIFA's former secretary general Jerome Valcke over the use of a villa in Sardinia in 2013, at a time when Al-Khelaifi's company was seeking to extend World Cup media rights in the Middle East and North Africa for the 2026 and 2030 finals.
Lukaku set for Inter - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Shapesphere: Lukaku lacks the ability and the attitude to be a top striker at a top club in the Premier League. What a waste of a lot of money. He'll do well in Italy again though.
'Barca make first offer for Lewandowski'
ESPN is reporting Barcelona have made a first offer to Bayern Munich for Robert Lewandowski and would also like to sign Sevilla's Jules Kounde to bolster their defence.
Lewandowski, 33, is out of contract in 2023 but the German club's public stance is still that he will see out the final year of his contract.
According to the report, Chelsea also maintain an interest in Kounde having failed to prise him away from Spain last summer.
Read more here.
Dewsbury-Hall: 'Hard to describe how happy I am'
Leicester City
Bournemouth set to sign Rothwell
Bournemouth
Bournemouth's preparations for life back in the Premier League are continuing. Joe Rothwell started his career at Manchester United and has represented England at youth level. He has been at Blackburn since 2018.
Ronaldo to leave Man Utd? - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Martin: CR7 leave Man Utd. Go somewhere else. You are bigger than them.
Armando: Who'll want to play for a Europa League team? A good excuse to quit, nice one Ronaldo.
Neville: Man Utd 'graveyard for players'
Post update
Manchester United
Gary Neville has been having his say on Manchester United. And he's not holding back...
Proud day for Chelsea boss Hayes
Chelsea
It's been a day to remember for Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, who received her OBE from Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, at Buckingham Palace earlier.
Hayes was named in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for services to football.
She has led Chelsea to five Women's Super League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups.
Lukaku set for Inter - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Yves: Sorry Beau888 (11:20) but Lukaku is not a "simple tap in" striker. You obviously haven't seen any of his goals at Inter, or Belgium, or you're just repeating the same old myths from other people commenting on Lukaku who don't have opinions based on reality. Lukaku's strength is in getting deliveries quickly on the turn, so that he can bully his way to the box. The problem with Chelsea has been the mindless slow passing and slow turn to attack.
Man Utd power struggle
Manchester United
Manchester United and Ralf Rangnick agreed to cut ties at the end of the season in part because of Erik ten Hag's reluctance to work with the German in his proposed consultancy role, ESPN is reporting.
Rangnick spent the second half of last season as interim manager at Old Trafford and was due to take up a two-year consultancy position starting this summer.
But just a week after the end of the campaign, United announced Rangnick would make a clean break from the club and focus fully on his role as manager of the Austria national team.
Read more here.
Newcastle sign Pope - your reaction
#bbcfootball
Johnny99: Excellent signing for Newcastle United. Hope and ambition is all Newcastle fans wanted and now it's happening.
'Thanks for everything' - Pope's message to Burnley
Ronaldo to leave Man Utd? - your reaction
#bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only, standard message rates apply)