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Needing slip-ups from either Liverpool or Manchester City on the final day of the season to have any chance of a top-four finish, Arsenal took an eighth-minute lead through Hector Bellerin. They did suffer a setback when Laurent Koscielny was sent off for a late lunge on Enner Valencia in the 14th minute, ruling him out of the FA Cup final, but doubled their lead through Alexis Sanchez in the 27th minute. Everton, who started with Ross Barkley on the bench, pulled a goal back through Romelu Lukaku's penalty after Rob Holding handled in the penalty area. But the Gunners, who lost Alexis Sanchez to injury in the 68th minute, secured victory thanks to Aaron Ramsey's injury-time strike. Arsenal's victory was in vain though in terms of Champions League qualification as Liverpool cruised to a 3-0 victory at home to relegated Middlesbrough, while Manchester City hammered Watford 5-0. It means a first finish outside the top four for Arsenal during Arsene Wenger's tenure at...

Xabi Alonso played his last game in Bayern Munich's 4-1 win over Freiburg, a game in which he provided an assist to Roben for Bayern's first goal. Xabi Alonso got a standing ovation from Bayern Munich's fans when he was replaced by Frank Ribery in 82 minutes of the game. What a legend he is, and will be missed by football lovers for his ability to deliver long  range passes accurately. Alonso played an amazing 815 games with 17 trophies including one world cup and two Euro with Spain.

               Ancelotti knows Ronaldo       very well and had given his opinion    on who is a  better partner to him up front. Former Real Madrid manager and current Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti has analysed Real Madrid and Juventus ahead of the Champions League final in a candid interview with Corriere della Sera. One of his major comments explained why Alvaro Morata was getting such little game time – “Morata plays so little under Zidane because Benzema is the best striker to play with Cristiano." Karim Benzema has come under fire this season (until his heroics against Atletico Madrid, at least) for having lacklustre form in front of goal, and more importantly, for blocking the path into the first team for Alvaro Morata – who has been sensational when given a chance.

James Rodriguez's summer move to Manchester United will be confirmed following the Champions League final next month. The Real Madrid forward has struggled to fulfil his potential after joining the Spanish giants following a stellar World Cup 2014 with Colombia. reported on Tuesday morning that contrary to speculation in Colombia, the 25-year-old's transfer will not be confirmed following Real's final La Liga game on Sunday. Instead, Real will wait until they play Juventus in the Champions League final on June 3 to confirm the departure of the playmaker. Marca suggest the Champions League finalists have slapped the price tag on their wantaway forward as they look to recoup the £60m they paid for him in 2014. The Colombia international, 25, clapped all four sides of the stadium after being substituted in the 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday, prompting suggestions that he could be on his way out of Madrid. And that could be seen as a farewell should his potential move to t...

Monaco are reported to have rejected the first concrete offer for Kylian Mbappe. The much-lauded France striker, 18, has won an army of admirers this season following his breakthrough into the Monaco side, and has been linked with moves to Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United. However, French radio station RMC Sports claims the opening bid for the striker has actually come in from Manchester City, against whom Mbappe starred during their Champions League campaign. The station claims City’s opening bid was for £68million, which would represent a world-record fee for a teenager. With the transfer window not yet open until July 1, it was likely a very easy decision for Monaco to reject the alleged approach, with the player expected to fetch up to €110m if and when he does leave. Reports in Spain have suggested Real Madrid are weighing up a move for Mbappe, while the player admits he will decide upon his future at the end of the season.

David Silva believes the improvements Manchester City have made under Pep Guardiola will provide a platform for major success next season. Guardiola took charge at the Etihad last summer after his contract at Bayern Munich came to an end and although City will end the season trophyless, Silva feels there have been significant enhancements that stand them in good stead ahead of the new campaign. The Spaniard says Guardiola is in the process of altering the mentality of the players - as well as the style the team plays - and believes next season will see City challenge for multiple trophies. “For me, it's been a good season, but when you don't win trophies, you feel a little bit disappointed,” he said. “We are here to win trophies. It's Pep Guardiola's first season, he is changing some ideas of football and the way of play, it suits us well. “We are doing something for the near future and I think we are achieving it little by little. “We had good games at home again...

Chelsea have won the Premier League title after defeating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 at the Hawthorns. A late goal from substitute Michy Batshuayi gave the Blues three points, which mean they hold an unassailable 10-point advantage over Tottenham. It is the sixth time that the Stamford Bridge side have won England’s top flight and the fourth time since 2004-05 that they have claimed the Premier League title. Their campaign has been one of virtual unabated excellence since a sticky period in September, when they lost successive matches against Liverpool and Arsenal saw them drop as far as eighth. Manager Antonio Conte, who arrived in the summer to guide the team after a disappointing 2015-16 season, thereafter altered his side to play with three at the back, and that proved the catalyst for a 13-match winning streak that proved to be the decisive run as they claimed the crown. The Blues subsequently lost London derbies against Spurs and Crystal Palace, while they also went down ...

The gamble paid off. Manchester United are where Jose Mourinho thought they would be: one game from the Champions League and a second trophy this season. But what a scare they got. An 85th goal minute goal from Facundo Roncaglia set up a finish full of tension, on the pitch as well as of it. It was tight. Dreadfully, unexpectedly tight. Celta were so much better than last week and had enough chances to win. When the fourth official signalled six minutes of injury tme there was genuine trepidation. It is done now, though. Ajax will be the opposition in Stockholm a week on Wednesday and Mourinho, not to mention the majority inside Old Trafford last night would have taken that when the season began. With better finishing, Celta Vigo could even have won – and with over 75 minutes gone they were running at 67 per cent possession, to United’s 33. Had they shot, not crossed, in the last seconds of the game they may have pulled off a stunning fightback.

The man in black – Diego Simeone – was outdone by 11 men in black as Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid to reach the Champions League final. Cristiano Ronaldo's first-leg hat-trick had left Atletico Madrid with too much to do, for a while it seemed they would manage it but an Isco goal woke them from their dream on an emotional final European night at the Vicente Calderon. Madrid came into the game on a run of 60 games scoring and were just two short of their 400th Champions League goal. Atletico Madrid don't have the same numbers – it was statistics against sentiment and sentiment went 2-0 up in just 16 minutes. On 12 minutes Navas was beaten as Saul powered a header past him from Koke's corner for Atletico's first goal. Now the home side only needed two goals to draw level. Four minutes later they needed just one. Torres was brought down by Raphael Varane and Griezmann slammed in the penalty despite Navas getting a hand to it. The Frenchman had slipped as he took...

Diego Maradona believes Lionel Messi should have been banned for longer after allegedly insulting a linesman, as he referred to the Barcelona star as a 'teddy bear'. Messi was initially handed a four-game suspension after the incident in a World Cup qualifier against Chile, but after sitting out just one match he has already been cleared to play again. Maradona believes Argentina's star man has received preferential treatment, although he admits it is good for the team that he can feature again. He told Radio La Red: 'It makes absolutely no sense, but Leo deserved [to be sanctioned] for one more match and I say that with my heart in my hand. 'They reduced the ban for the same reason they always do with star players and veteran players. 'Messi is not the type of player to insult anyone. I managed him for one year and he is more like a teddy bear than a football player.' Argentina lost 2-0 to Bolivia in the one game Messi missed, and they will clearly be...

Everyone though the last time was my last final, I admit I did too. It goes to show if you work hard your dreams can come true.

Juventus, four goals up on aggregate and already thinking about their date with destiny on June 3, switched off for one moment and Kylian Mbappe nipped in to score what was nothing other than a consolation but, to Allegri, it appeared as though the world had ended. In a spell between the 22nd and 44th minute, Juventus had eight clear chances to score and had it not been for an inspired performance from Danijel Subasic in Monaco’s goal, what turned out to be a drubbing could have become a rout. Gonzalo Higuain had a shot cleared off the line; Mandzukic was thwarted, as was Claudio Marchisio; Paulo Dybala, the architect of the victory over Barcelona in the quarter finals, could scarcely believe he fluffed his lines when sent clean through. Ultimately, though, the misses never mattered. Mandzukic killed off any last lingering hopes Monaco were clinging to when, at the second attempt, he made sure a magnificent cross from Dani Alves got the finish it deserved, stabbing his shot int...

Real Madrid are closing in on the signature of striker Vinicius Jr and the 16-year-old even took a medical examination for the club on Monday. The tests were planned by Vinicius' current side Flamengo, although the results were also sent on to Los Blancos as per their request. Globoesporte say that the player went to Samaritano Hospital in Barra da Tijuca, near Rio de Janeiro, for the medical, with the LaLiga giants reported by MARCA to be now on the verge of completing a deal.

David De Gea is the only Premier League player good enough to force his way into the current Real Madrid side. That is the verdict of former Manchester United and England man Phil Neville, who has criticised the overall standard of the Premier League. Zinedine Zidane’s Real have enjoyed another fine campaign and remain on course to win both La Liga and the Champions League. And having watched the Spanish outfit beat rivals Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final clash, Neville believes only one Premier League player would make it into the Real starting XI. ‘I was in the Bernabeu, watching Real play Atletico in the Champions League and I saw Real play to a level that I don’t think anyone in the Premier League can get anywhere near,’ the 40-year-old said on Match of the Day. ‘It’s no surprise that we don’t have any teams in the semi-finals of the Champions League. ‘I looked at the Real Madrid team and I thought, how many players from the Premier L...

There has been a tense atmosphere in the Barcelona dressing room over the last few days, after a training ground bust up between Juan Carlos Unzue and Neymar in which the assistant coach compared the Brazilian's attitude to that of his contemporary, Ronaldinho. The incident apparently occurred after Unzue reproached the player for the way in which he was applying himself in training. "If you continue this way, you'll end up just like Ronaldinho," he said to Neymar, a comment that was clearly not to the liking of a player who can count the former Barcelona No.10 amongst his close friends. Incredibly angry for the rest of the session, the comment, which was probably meant to try and motivate Neymar, looked to have had the opposite effect. The episode further complicates the possibility that Unzue will inherit the squad from Luis Enrique at the end of the season, because Neymar is not the only one who has had a falling out with the Navarrese. Lucho's assistant is ...

Real Madrid's signing of Theo Hernandez moved a step closer on Monday as the left-back completed an extensive and exhaustive medical, one which he passed without problem. Currently on loan with Deportivo Alaves, the Atletico Madrid defender is determined to join Los Blancos despite Los Colchoneros' preference to sell him to Barcelona. Now, having come through his medical at Madrid's La Moraleja Sanitas Clinic, the 19-year-old is set to move to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu when Real Madrid deposit his release clause of 24 million euros with the Spanish league and put an end to the long-standing non-aggression pact between the capital city clubs. Real Madrid's intention is to officially announce his signing following Alaves' Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on May 27.

Real Madrid and Granada clashed in the week 36 of LaLiga. Zidane decided to rest his star players for the Madrid Derby and featured his "B" team. The Real Madrid "B" team were 4 goals up before halftime. We think with a performance like this they can win the premier league.

The 16-year-old Brazilian phenom Vinicius is expected to make a move to Spain sooner rather than later, and Real Madrid will have been impressed with his two goal and two assist display for Flamengo's U20 side. The increased scrutiny didn't seem to effect him one bit, as the talented trickster puut the team on his back vs. Fluminense's U20. With performances such as this one, it won't be long until he makes his move to Europe and follows in the footsteps of those other talented Brazilians that have made the jump and succeeded in making a name for themselves.

Over years of winning trophies, titles and personnel accolades, Lionel Messi has undoubtedly taken a podium place in terms of being one of the greatest to have ever played the game of football but without the aid of his club, however, Charly Rexach believes that such achievements may not have been possible. The former Barcelona chief was one of the men that was instrumental in bringing the Argentine star to Camp Nou many moons ago, and shared his opinions with a local radio station in Santa Fe about the whole process. "I was not the man who discovered Messi," Rexach told SuperDeportivo. "Messi discovered himself, because he is a player that was doing abnormal things from a young age. " Whether the Argentina international would have been as big of a success without the help of La Masia and his teammates over the years, however, is a different kettle of fish altogether.   "I believe that Messi, if he hadn't come to Barcelona, wouldn't have be...

And it was. A 1-0 win, same as last year; that dealt a savage blow to Tottenham's title ambitions, same as last year. The change was the location. All year, West Ham fans have complained that their new home isn't like Upton Park. Well, this time it was. A night game, a boisterous atmosphere, and a result that proved West Ham can still be inspired in these unfamiliar surrounds. They were the better team over 90 minutes. In fact, they could have won by more, had Jonathan Calleri and Ashley Fletcher taken late chances. Tottenham's travellers admitted as much by scurrying into the night. The pursuit has proved too much for them, again. All eyes were on leaders Chelsea but, in reality, it is the chasing team that cannot afford even one misstep. To be fair, the warning sign was there at Selhurst Park two weeks ago. Tottenham were ordinary that night but were saved by a great goal from Christian Eriksen. That wasn't going to happen again. They couldn't be rescued by a...

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach 100 million followers on photo-sharing site Instagram. The Real Madrid star has made almost 1,800 posts on Instagram since joining and also has over 51 million followers on Twitter and more than 120 million "likes" on Facebook. By comparison, Barcelona's Neymar is followed by 74 million people on Instagram, while team-mate Lionel Messi has almost 71 million followers. In February last year, analytics site Hookit (h/t Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen) reported the 32-year-old had become the first athlete to surpass 200 million followers across the three social media platforms combined. In September, Ronaldo had a total of 238 million followers, putting him behind only pop star Taylor Swift as the most followed person on the planet, according to Apple Tree Communications (h/t ESPNFC). The Portugal international has since overtaken Swift, who has a combined total of 259.5 million followers compared to Ronaldo's ...