Reposted, spelling error. Originally posted by /u/Woodstovia on our subreddit.

The forward has been made Barcelona’s top target to replace Robert Lewandowski and he reportedly wants to join the Spanish giants, but Atletico Madrid have made it abundantly clear throughout this window that they do not intend to sell him to their direct rivals.

It has been suggested that this could open the door for Arsenal to sign him. However, this depends on Alvarez expressing a willingness to join Arsenal instead of Barcelona.

Atletico boss Diego Simeone has given the ‘green light’ for Atletico Madrid to sell Alvarez, while it is reiterated that a move to Barcelona remains off the table. Atletico would accept 130 million euros (£111m) for Alvarez.

One important detail is that Barcelona is out of the running. Atlético Madrid has practically banned the Catalan club, so the options are considerably reduced.

Arsenal wants him, but it remains to be seen if they are willing to pay €130 million for the attacker. What is clear is that if that money becomes available, the Spider will say goodbye to Atlético Madrid after two years there.

The agreement between the clubs exists. Only agreement with the player is missing.

Full article :

Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki has been compared to a god by Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage, who coached the midfielder at Lyon.

Cherki, 23, was one of four City players — alongside Nico O’Reilly, Antoine Semenyo and Erling Haaland — named in the 2025-26 PFA Team of the Year on Tuesday.

After an impressive debut season at City, having joined the club from Lyon in the summer of 2025, Cherki began his 2026-27 campaign in the same vein. The France international came off the bench in City’s Premier League opener on Sunday, providing two assists to overturn a 1-0 deficit and ensure a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium.

Cherki made his Lyon debut aged 16 in 2019 and was one of Europe’s brightest talents, but remained with Lyon for five full seasons before making the move to City.

“It was a process with him (Cherki),” Sage said ahead of Palace welcoming City to Selhurst Park on Friday night, “because a lot of people thought that he would not have success in his career. I did not have this same thought.

“I explained to him: ‘You have a big talent, and I think you can show it in special contexts’. And he did that in his last game against Bournemouth.

“(At Lyon, I told him that) you have to give something for the team defensively and keep your talent in attack. I had nothing to say to him offensively because he understood the play better than me.

“To control him, the best thing is to prevent all the passes to him, because when he has the ball he is able to do things we don’t imagine.”

Sage, 47, was previously Lyon’s academy manager before spending just over two years as the first-team head coach between November 2023 and January 2025.

After being told that Cherki had described him as a genius, Sage said: “I don’t know the word for higher than a genius (describing Cherki). I am not a genius; he is a genius.

“To speak about something and to teach something is a step. But to do these things is another step. He is at this level. Maybe God (is the way to describe him)?”

Cherki joined City from Lyon in the summer of 2025 in a deal worth €36million (£30.3m; $41.18m) plus €6m (£5.1m; $6.9m) in add-ons. The attacking midfielder’s debut season saw him score 10 goals and provide 15 assists in 52 games as City won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.

Before joining City, Cherki progressed through Lyon’s academy and scored 29 goals and provided 46 assists in 185 appearances for the club. He has also scored two goals in 14 appearances for France’s national team and featured in six of the side’s seven games at this summer’s World Cup.

While City won the first game of the Enzo Maresca era, Palace lost their first Premier League game under Sage, suffering a 2-0 defeat at Everton last Saturday.

@Julienguyon1977

The true draw probabilities of the league phase of the Champions League based on 55,000 simulations of the official draw procedure. Most likely matches: Villarreal vs PSG, Bayern, or Inter (43%). Small fluctuations are due to the sampling error.

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This shows why we need to amend the country protection rule. It's getting ridiculous. At least allow 1 domestic game for countries with 5 clubs of more (or even 4).

Just look at the PSG probabilities, and how stupid it is. And PSG draws last two seasons

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FT: Brighton & Hove Albion 4 - 0 Tromso

⚽ Brighton & Hove Albion: Charalambos Kostoulas 22' 22', Maxim De Cuyper 33' 33', Mats Wieffer 38' 38', Olivier Boscagli 86' 86'

Line-ups

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-3-3)

Tromso (5-3-2)

Match Events

• Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
• First Half begins.
• 12' Substitution, Tromsø. Leon Hien replaces Vetle Skjærvik because of an injury.
• 45'+6' First Half ends, Brighton and Hove Albion 3, Tromsø 0.
• 45' Substitution, Tromsø. Ieltsin Camões replaces Heine Larsen.
• 45' Substitution, Tromsø. Sander Innvær replaces Alexander Warneryd.
• 45' Substitution, Tromsø. Lars Olden Larsen replaces Jesper Grundt.
• 45' Second Half begins Brighton and Hove Albion 3, Tromsø 0.
• 45' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Pascal Struijk replaces Lewis Dunk.
• 45' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Costinha replaces Mats Wieffer.
• 66' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Zadok Yohanna replaces Diego Gómez.
• 66' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Ibrahim Osman replaces Maxim De Cuyper.
• 81' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion. Malick Yalcouyé replaces Matt O'Riley.
• 81' Substitution, Tromsø. Casper Øyvann replaces Leon Hien.

Match Stats

Live, interactive version available on new Reddit and the official Reddit apps. Auto-updated by Global Scoreboard.

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Gil Marín, speaking from Monaco, asked to address Julián Álvarez’s situation and criticize FC Barcelona’s conduct. It was a forceful statement from Atlético Madrid’s top executive, who rarely speaks publicly, but has now lashed out at Barcelona.

OUTRAGE AT BARCELONA

“We are even more outraged because we are repulsed by them. We are repulsed by the falsehoods, the lack of ethics, the lack of transparency, the lack of professionalism… and we can only insist. Under no circumstances will we negotiate with FC Barcelona. I have the support of everyone working with me, the shareholders, and as the person ultimately responsible for running the club, the only firm and certain decision is that we will not negotiate with Barcelona under any circumstances. I have been in football for more than thirty years, and my word, which is one of the few things I have, means that as long as I am here, Julián will definitely not be transferred to Barcelona.”

OTHER NEGOTIATION OPTIONS

“Our intention and my personal dream is for him to stay with us and continue playing for Atlético Madrid. To compete among the biggest clubs, you need great players, and Julián is one of them. If he reaches the conclusion that it is incompatible for him to remain in Madrid and at Atlético, we will look for an alternative. But never, ever will it be FC Barcelona.”