FA Cup wrap: Chelmsford, Coventry progress

FIFA President Gianni Infantino says HRH Queen Elizabeth II is a huge loss to football following her death aged 96 on Thursday.

The monarch, Britain s longest-serving sovereign with a seven-decade reign, passed away at her home in Balmoral, with her son succeeding her as King Charles III.

Throughout her life, the Queen was closely associated with the nation s favourite sport, and presented England captain Bobby Moore with the Jules Rimet Trophy upon the Three Lions 1966 World Cup win at Wembley.

Now, Infantino has paid tribute to the late Queen, calling her a global leader and offering his condolences to her family following the news.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II s passing is a huge loss to football, to our society, and to the world, he stated. 

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Real Madrid would not have bid for Kylian Mbappe if they did not know he wanted to move, according to Leonardo, but that does not mean Paris Saint-Germain will sell.

Widespread reports on Tuesday revealed a €160million offer from Madrid for Mbappe, considered to be their top target.

A bid was confirmed by PSG sporting director Leonardo on Wednesday – although he would not detail the exact amount – and has been rejected by the Ligue 1 giants.

Leonardo discussed the potential transfer at length with the media, outlining his anger at Madrid s approach for a player who has scored 133 goals and provided 58 assists across 174 games over four years at PSG.

The club would clearly like to keep Mbappe, whose 191 goal involvements since his debut rank third am…

The French Football Federation (FFF) on Saturday backed coach Raymond Domenech, shoring up the position of a man decried by many fans after the squad only just crept into the World Cup finals.

Thank you to Domenech, here present, as in June we would have been in a dreadful state had we not been there (at the World Cup), said Fernand Duchaussoy, chairman of the amateur league (LFA), at a general assembly meeting.

FFF chairman Jean-Pierre Escalettes insinuated that Domenech had been unfairly targeted after France nudged Ireland out in the play-offs following Thierry Henry s handball exploits in setting up William Gallas winner.

They slaughtered Thierry Henry and the federation but their target was in fact someone else (Domenech), asserted Escalettes.

But…

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano has challenged his side to put their Supercoppa Italiana disappointment behind them by giving Inter Milan plenty to think about when they return to Serie A action.

I Viola were beaten 3-0 by Napoli in the semi-finals of the new four-team tournament held in Saudi Arabia last week, which Inter went on to win.

Italiano feels his squad can regroup to kick-start their domestic campaign as they look to maintain a challenge to finish in the top four.

Full time. 3 – 0 | 90 + 5

— ACF Fiorentina English (@ACFFiorentinaEN)

“We won’t hide the fact that we’re disappointed by what we could have achieved, even if the team did what they had to do, apart from the unrepresentative result,” Italiano said.

“No…

Juventus Paul Pogba would cost any potential suitors €100 million, says the player s agent Mino Raiola.

Paul Pogba s agent Mino Raiola claims it would cost €100 million to prise the midfielder him away from Juventus.

Pogba moved to the Serie A champions from Manchester United in 2012 and quickly established himself as a first-team regular.

In October, the France international extended his deal at the club until 2019, but that has not stopped speculation in the media about a possible move, with Real Madrid touted as potential suitors.

If Real Madrid want him, then they can call me, Raiola told Marca.

Madrid is a dangerous club, as the pressure can burn players, but Pogba is ready.

He is very focused on his life and career. Nothing …

Fenerbahce have dismissed suggestions Simon Kjaer is set to leave the club for Chelsea.

Kjaer has developed into a key figure at Fenerbahce since joining the club from Lille in June 2015 and his performances have reportedly caught the attention of the Premier League leaders.

Nevertheless, the Istanbul side have made it clear they have not received any offers and have no intention of selling the centre-back.

A number of recent reports have falsely claimed that Chelsea have made an offer for our Danish player Simon Kjaer, a report on the club s official website reads.

Fenerbahce have not received any offers whatsoever for Kjaer and any claims suggesting a transfer could take place are wrong. Kjaer is a happy and successful member of our team.

We …

Ronald Koeman implored his Barcelona side to focus on the football after admitting the events of the past couple of days are not good for the club s image .

On Monday, Los Mossos d Esquadra carried out several searches of the club s premises, prompting Barca to say have offered up their full collaboration to the legal and police authorities to help make clear facts which are subject to investigation.

According to Spanish news agency EFE, former Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu was taken into custody as part of the probe carried out by the economic crimes department of the Catalan police. EFE said on Tuesday Bartomeu has been provisionally released under charges of unfair administration and corruption of business.

The investigation is thought to centre aroun…

Southampton boss Ruben Selles does not know what the future holds after a 4-3 defeat at Nottingham Forest left them on the brink of Premier League relegation.

Saints were on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller at the City Ground and they will lose their top-tier status at the weekend if they fail to beat Fulham or results go against them elsewhere.

In contrast, Forest climbed out of the bottom three with a vital win which came courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi’s brace, Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty and Danilo’s brilliant team goal to give realistic hope that they can avoid the drop in their first season back in the top tier for 23 years.

Carlos Alcaraz, Lyanco and James Ward-Prowse goals ensured the Saints were always in the game, but they are now staring the dr…

Sergio Aguero is determined to prove he deserves to be rated alongside the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester City s Argentinian forward has contributed 65 goals in 107 appearances following his arrival from Atletico Madrid in July 2011.

His form this season recently prompted City boss Manuel Pellegrini to suggest only Messi and Ronaldo are operating at a higher level than Aguero.

It s really high praise, said Aguero in quotes reported by the Daily Telegraph.

To be mentioned in the same breath as those two guys is great. It s an extra incentive for me to prove every time I play that I can be compared to those guys.

You re always very happy when you hear your manager speak highly of you, but now it’s down to me to back that up every ti…

Real Madrid have a considerable interest in signing Borussia Dortmund s Ilkay Gundogan, according to the midfielder s agent and father.

Gundogan has yet to renew his contract with Dortmund, which expires in June 2015.

And the 23-year-old s father Irfan who also acts as his representative revealed that Real are eager to take the Germany international to the Bernabeu, although he stressed that negotiations will not take place until the midfielder has recovered from a back injury that has kept Gundogan out of action since August.

Madrid s interest in my son is considerable and they want to negotiate for him, Irfan Gundogan told AS.

But at the moment we can t do anything until Ilkay has completely recovered from his back injury.

When he is playing regular footb…