Serie A club Inter Milan have signed forward Alexis Sanchez on a permanent three-year deal from Manchester United, both clubs confirmed on Thursday. British media reported that United had cut their losses and terminated the Chilean s contract to get him off their books. Sanchez had signed with Inter on loan at the start of the 2019-20 season following a disappointing spell at United where he scored only five goals in 45 matches. "Everyone at Manchester United wishes Alexis Sanchez all the best in his future career as he joins Inter Milan on a permanent transfer," United said in a statement. United had been looking to offload the 31-year-old who earns around 390,000 pounds ($513,552) a week according to British media, with Inter agreeing to pay less than half his wages when they signed him on loan. United had signed the Chile international in January 2018 after he netted 80 goals in 3-1/2 years at Arsenal, but he failed to reach those heights at Old Trafford under both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Barcelona man had said last year that he had no regrets about joining United but wished he had played more minutes, even as fans were left frustrated by his performances and lack of goals. While he did not return to his prolific best at Inter, scoring only four Serie A goals this season, he did turn provider to top the club s charts with eight assists as they finished runners-up behind Juventus. United are already working towards signing Sanchez s replacement, with the club being linked with Borussia Dortmund s promising 20-year-old forward Jadon Sancho who could cost the Premier League side around 100 million pounds.

After much debate over whether it s viable to resume the Egyptian Premier League, the domestic competition comes back to life on Thursday following a five-month hiatus because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league has been suspended since mid-March with just half the matches played, leaving many clubs puzzled as to how the season could be completed without disrupting the next edition, which normally starts in October at the latest. The current season will now last until October at least but the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said it will make sure no further disruptions will occur in the following season. "The coming season must end by 30 June because Egypt will take part in the Olympics," the head of the EFA s competitions committee Hossam El-Zanati said, referring to the 2020 Tokyo Games that was delayed to next year because of the pandemic. "I hope the Egyptian national team would not have any commitments during FIFA s international match calendar in October, so that we can finish the league in time." Despite the initial opposition of a handful of clubs, including Cairo s popular club Zamalek, who went as far as threatening to withdraw from the competition, the EFA insisted that restarting the league was a "state decision." But the governing body said the health and safety of players and staff was a priority, introducing a raft of precautionary measures and warning clubs that any failure to comply would have dire consequences. Every club have run several rounds of PCR tests before the league s resumption, with more than three dozen cases detected. Further tests will be carried out before the start of every round. Although all of those who tested positive only had mild symptoms, one case was particulary alarming. At a single club, El-Entag El-Harby, 19 coronavirus cases were detected, prompting the EFA to postpone their opening game against FC Masr and issue a stern warning to other clubs. "We cannot expect any similar outbreaks at other clubs because El-Entag s case has its own circumstances and was dealt with in this context," the EFA said in a statement. "However, the discovery of such a big number of infections at one club is considered medical negligence … responsibility lies on every club to implement all precautionary measures to ensure the safety of everyone. "Otherwise, clubs could be subject to severe sanctions, like what happened in other countries that witnessed similar outbreaks." On the pitch, runaway leaders Ahly are destined to win a fifth straight title. The Red Devils sit top of the table on 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who played a game more. For Ahly s perennial rivals Zamalek, the priority would be finishing second and earning an African Champions League spot. They lie fourth with 31 points, two behind Arab Contractors, who played two matches more. The league will restart with a rescheduled match between Zamalek and Masry on Thursday. The game will be played behind closed doors.

Nearly 10 years after Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool, owner John W. Henry said that he could not be prouder of the club after they won their first top flight league title for 30 years. Liverpool claimed the Premier League title in June with seven games to spare after the season resumed following a three-month suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Juergen Klopp, the Anfield club had won their sixth Champions League crown last season but Henry said getting their hands on the league title for a 19th time was the icing on the cake. "It was a long time coming," Henry told the club website here "I just want to say (to the supporters) that you ve waited a long time for this ... this really feels sort of like the gift that keeps on giving. “Every day I get up, it’s front and centre that we won (in) England finally. “So, that’s my wish for you, that every morning you get up for the next, as long as you can accomplish it, think about what we accomplished this year in Europe, England and I hope you feel as proud as I do.” Henry, whose Fenway Sports Group took over Liverpool in October 2010, also praised Klopp for his role in the club’s success. “I could go on and on about Juergen and how his heart is larger than his frame, how his enthusiasm affects all of us positively every day,” the 70-year-old American businessman said. “But I think what’s important is he is determined every day to do the right thing, whether it’s with regard to what happens on the pitch, whether it’s regard to nutrition for the club... and that rubs off.”

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Monday the final dates and venues of both the semis and final of the Confederation Cup and Champions League after being approved by the CAF Emergency Committee. The CAF revealed that the African Confederation Cup semi-final matches will be played as previously determined on 22 September, while the final will be on 27 of the same month and all games will be behind closed doors. On 29 July, the African football governing body announced that the Confederation Cup semis will be held in a one-leg format; unlike the Champions League semifinals that will be played in the original two-leg format. According to CAF’s statement on Monday, the first match of the Confederation Cup between Egypt’s Pyramids FC and Guinea’s Horoya will be played at Mohammed V Complex stadium, Casablanca. The second match between Morocco’s RS Berkane and Morocco’s HUSA will be at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat. The prestigious tournament final will be played at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium; however, all matches will be played behind closed doors. The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) previously asked the CAF to apply the same format of the final stages to both the Champions League and Confederations Cup to ensure fair play. The CAF Champions League semifinals include two teams from Egypt and two teams from Morocco, as Ahly faces Wydad Casablanca while Zamalek will play against Rajaa Casablanca. Regarding the Champions League, no changes were made to the dates and Venues announced by the CAF on 29 July. The first leg matches will be played in Morocco on 25 and 26 September, and the second leg matches will be hosted by Cairo on 2 and 3 October. The final match of the continental club tournament will take place on 16 or 17 October, but under certain conditions determined by the CAF. If Ahly and Zamalek win their semifinal games, the final will be held in Cairo, and if Wydad and Rajaa defeat the Cairo giants, then the final will be held in Morocco. If the final includes a team from each country, the game will be hosted by a neutral venue. The CAF started receiving bids from the countries who want to host the African Champions League final starting Wednesday until 7 August. All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May.

Manchester City struggle to prevent the best teams from scoring against them and their central defenders could be targeted in Friday s Champions League clash against Spanish champions Real Madrid, former England skipper Wayne Rooney said. Pep Guardiola s City lead Real after they won the away leg of their last-16 tie 2-1 in March, before Europe s elite club competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rooney, who won the competition with Manchester United in 2008, said City have their best opportunity yet to lift the trophy for the first time. "City may never have a better chance to win the Champions League," Rooney wrote in his column for the Sunday Times. "Sergio Ramos is suspended which is a huge loss to the Real defence and I think City will score. Whether they are solid enough at the back themselves is my only question. "Real will target their centre halves and it s a worry that this season every other (Premier League) Big Six club beat City... This shows Guardiola s team can struggle to keep the best sides out." Rooney said he expected Real to allow City to dominate possession and then aim to hit them on the counter. "I saw Zinedine Zidane do it in his first spell as Real coach when he played against Guardiola-style teams in big games, and it brought him successes," Rooney added. "Yet my money is still on City. They don t have to chase the game. They don t have to score. They can even afford to lose 1-0 and go through, and in the first leg they surprised Madrid by sitting in themselves. "It was the first time I ve seen Guardiola play like that and I ve a feeling he ll do the same at the Etihad. It could be a game of cat-and-mouse."

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said on Thursday that the Italian club s Champions League last 16, second leg game against Barcelona should be moved from Spain where there is a new wave of coronavirus cases. "I hear a lot of perplexity and fear coming from Spain and they acting as if nothing is wrong. What does it take to say, Don t go to Barcelona but rather go to Portugal, Germany or Geneva ?" De Laurentiis told journalists. Barcelona are due to host Napoli on August 8 in the Camp Nou with both sides 1-1 after the first leg in Naples in February, with the winner going on to the quarter-finals in Lisbon, Portugal. "It they have decided that the Champions League is in Portugal and the Europa League in Germany, I think we can go to Portugal or Germany for the round of 16, I don t understand why we should stay in a city that presents major problems."

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Wednesday that the African Champions League semifinals will be played in the original two-leg format instead of the one-leg format that had previously been approved by the CAF, while the Confederation Cup will be held in the one-leg format. The CAF Champions League semifinals include two teams from Egypt and two teams from Morocco, as Ahly faces Wydad Casablanca while Zamalek will play against Rajaa Casablanca. The CAF decided that the first leg matches will be played in Morocco on 25 and 26 September, and the second leg matches will be hosted by Cairo on 2 and 3 October. The final match of the continental club tournament will take place on 16 or 17 October, but under certain conditions determined by the CAF. If Ahly and Zamalek win their semifinal games, the final will be held in Cairo, and if Wydad and Rajaa defeat the Cairo giants, then the final will be held in Morocco. If the final includes a team from each country, the game will be hosted by a neutral venue. The CAF announced that they will start receiving bids from the countries who want to host the African Champions League final starting Wednesday until 7 August. Confederation Cup Meanwhile, the Confederation Cup will be hosted by Morocco after the CAF announced that the semifinals will be held on 22 September, while the final will take place at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on 27 September. The CAF has decided that the semifinals will be played in the one-leg format as Egypt’s Pyramids FC will face Guinea’s Horoya at Mohamed V Stadium, while the two Moroccan sides Nahdat Berkane and Hassania Agadir will meet each other at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May.

Manchester United must get a better goalkeeper than David de Gea if they want to challenge for the Premier League title, former captain Roy Keane has said. Calls for De Gea to be dropped have grown since his mistakes in the FA Cup semi-final saw United beaten by Chelsea, and he spilled the ball again during Sunday’s 2-0 victory at Leicester City but recovered to deny Jamie Vardy. Keane said he had “never been a big fan” of the Spaniard. “He makes far too many mistakes, big mistakes that cost United big points,” Keane told Sky Sports. “... If United want to challenge for league titles, they need a better goalkeeper. They need a change, they’ve done it before. I don’t know what the big song and dance is about a goalkeeper, United have been doing it for years. “Strikers are dropped or sold, same with midfielders, but for some reason with goalkeepers they think we have to stick with the goalkeeper for a bit longer than others because of something they did two or three years ago.” Keane pointed to how champions Liverpool had loaned German shotstopper Loris Karius to Besiktas and paid a then world-record fee for Brazilian Alisson. “We’ve seen Liverpool get onto another level when they’ve improved the goalkeeper,” Keane added. “What’s the big deal? If he (De Gea) isn’t doing it, he’s making mistakes, then make a change. “There are good goalkeepers out there.”

Zamalek’s football supervisor Amir Mortada Mansour has expressed confidence in his team’s ability to claim the CAF Champions League title under any circumstance. The Cairo giants will face a vital African Champions League semi-final clash against Raja Casablanca of Morocco in September. "Zamalek are ready to win the Champions League title. We don t pay attention to the pitch advantage or the competition s system, all that doesn t cause a problem for the team," Mansour was quoted as saying on the club s official website on Monday. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced last week that the Champions League semi-final will return to its two-leg format instead of the one-leg format recently approved by the CAF. "We are ready to win the title under any circumstance, as our main target is to claim the trophy under any format," he added. "The Confederation of the African Football are the only ones responsible for the tournament s format, while Zamalek is ready for any circumstance, since all we work towards is winning the title," the Zamalek football supervisor said. All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May. Prior to the CAF competitions’ postponement, Egypt’s big names Ahly and Zamalek had been set to play the Champions League semi-finals against Moroccan sides Wydad de Casablanca and Raja de Casablanca respectively.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu repeated on Sunday that he had "no doubt" that Lionel Messi would sign a new contract adding that he can only see Neymar returning in a player exchange. "Messi has said many times that he wants to retire here and I have no doubt that he will re-sign," said Bartomeu in an interview published by Barcelona s sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo. Messi s contract expires in June of 2021 and local radio station Cadena Ser reported at the start of July that the Argentine had broken off talks with the club. Messi has had regular disagreements with the club s board. He reacted publicly when sporting director Eric Abidal appeared to blame the players for the sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde in January. He also led the fightback from the Barcelona players over a dispute with the board in March regarding pay cuts during the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona collapsed after La Liga resumed to drop to second as Real Madrid took the title and the 33-year-old Messi was one of those criticised. In discussing plans for next season and financial constraints on the club, Bartomeu addressed another long-running issue: the possibility that Neymar would return from Paris Saint-Germain. "Now we are making decisions and the players, if they do not come as part of a player exchange players, it is very difficult for them to come," Bartomeu said. Bartomeu said another priority was persuading German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, whose contract expires in 2022, to sign a new deal "not only for his quality as a goalkeeper but for his personality". "He s a pillar of the dressing room and of the future," said Bartomeu. "At 28 he s one of the three best in the world." He said he was less concerned about Uruguayan Luis Suarez, who is a free agent next year because "depending on the number of games he plays, the contract automatically renews for the 2021-22 season". Bartomeu also said talks with Inter Milan over Argentinian striker Lautaro Martinez were "at a standstill".

Egyptian Football Association (EFA) board member Mohamed Fadl underlined Thursday that there is no room to postpone any game in the Egyptian Premier League, due to restart 6 August after a five-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. EFA released Wednesday the fixture list for August. "We intended to announce the full schedule of the league, but we started with the current schedule and will release the date of the remaining matches after determining the date of Confederation of African Football (CAF) games," Fadl told a television programme. “There is no time to postpone any game for even an hour, and we hope all games will be played as scheduled,” he added. On Tuesday, 18 coronavirus cases were detected at Egyptian Premier League club El-Entag El-Harby after they held a training camp in the Red Sea city of Sharm El-Sheikh. "Our role in EFA is to resolve the problem and we hope they (the 18 cases) all will recover soon as there is no intention to postpone games,” Fadl said. A rescheduled match between Zamalek and Masry will mark the league s return on 6 August, while the Cairo derby between Ahly and Zamalek will take place at Cairo Stadium 22 August. Ahly are leading the league table with 49 points from 17 games, while perennial rivals Zamalek lie fourth with 31 points from 16 games.

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith praised his side’s courage and heart after they moved out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 1-0 win over Arsenal on Tuesday. Villa were given a boost when Watford were thrashed 4-0 by Manchester City earlier, but still needed to beat Arsenal to take advantage and move above Watford and out of the bottom three by virtue of goal difference. Trezeguet’s first-half goal proved enough and Villa will go into the final game of the season away at West Ham United knowing victory will keep them up, as long as Watford do not win at Arsenal by a two-goal larger margin. It will be a tortuous Sunday for Smith and his team but having been in the bottom three since February, they now have a golden chance to seal a second successive top-flight season. “It was a great performance but an even better result. We knew we had to show a lot of courage, heart and workrate and we did that. I can’t remember our keeper making saves,” he said. “It’s a big boost, that’s for sure. We knew we had to win to catch Watford up. Now we’ve got the season in our own hands and that’s all you can ask for. “Watford can go and win at Arsenal so we have to make sure we win at West Ham.” Villa have struggled to hold on to leads this season, dropping 21 points from winning positions, while Arsenal had earned 18 points from losing positions. So there was real tension in the air at Villa Park, although Villa defended with calm authority to limit Arsenal’s attack. “We’ve been much better defensively over these eight games (since the restart),” Smith said. “We wanted to be better and the players were engaged with the video sessions we did. “It was a real team performance today. We defended the box very well, I don’t remember Pepe Reina making a save.”

Over a three-minute span of the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Juventus would not lose to Lazio for a third time this season. Ronaldo s double strike in a 2-1 win on Monday meant Juventus could clinch a ninth straight Serie A title this week. With four rounds remaining, Juventus moved eight points clear of Inter Milan, nine ahead of Atalanta, and 11 in front of Lazio, which trailed the Bianconeri by just one point before the break for the coronavirus pandemic. Juventus earned a measure of revenge after losing twice to Lazio in December -- in Serie A and the Italian Super Cup. Ronaldo converted a penalty after the VAR determined a handball, then finished off a counterattack following a generous pass from Paulo Dybala. Ciro Immobile pulled one back for Lazio with a penalty in the 83rd. Ronaldo and Immobile are level atop the Italian league scoring chart with 30 each. Also, Ronaldo became the first player to score at least 50 goals in the Premier League, the Spanish Liga and Serie A. His 51 in Italy go with his 84 in the Premier League, and 311 in La Liga ``Records are always important, but the most important thing is that the team wins,`` Ronaldo said. ``We are a phenomenal team and we showed that again today, although we always want to improve and raise the bar. Both sides hit the post in the first half; a headed volley from Juve s Alex Sandro, and a long-range effort from Immobile. Ronaldo also headed off the crossbar after being set up again by Dybala.

Arsenal will still be able to attract top players to the club even if they do not secure European football next season, manager Mikel Arteta has said. Arsenal are 10th in the Premier League and in danger of missing out on a spot in Europe for the first time since the 1995-96 season. They can qualify for next season’s Europa League by defeating Chelsea in the FA Cup final but Arteta said the club’s history and values should be enough to persuade players to sign. “I don’t think we should bring players that need a lot of convincing,” he added. “The feeling I get when I talk to a lot of people is that the players still want to come to the club because of the history, the way we do things, our values, the fans we have, our stadium. “That’s a really attractive thing, that’s my feeling.”

Egypt s Zamalek returned to action after a four-month hiatus with a 5-0 friendly victory over Alexandria-based club Smouha on Sunday, with coach Patrice Carteron saying he treated it as if it s a competitive game. Zamalek are gearing up for the Egyptian Premier League resumption next month as well as a vital African Champions League semi-final clash against Morocco s Raja in September. Their realistic hopes in the domestic competition lies in finishing second and earning a spot in next season s Champions League, with perennial rivals Ahly looking poised to win a fifth straight league title. Zamalek s primary target for the season, which also saw them win the Egyptian and African Super Cups, would be winning the Champions League for the first time in 18 years. They looked in perfect shape against Smouha despite the lengthy stoppage, with a hat-trick from forward Youssef Obama Ibrahim and goals from winger Ahmed Zizo and striker Mostafa Mohamed giving them a comprehensive win. Both sides are also scheduled to meet in the last 16 of the Egypt Cup. "I played with the same formation that I normally field in competitive games," French boss Carteron was quoted as saying by local media after the game. "We are taking those games very seriously to hit top gear in the shortest possible time." Zamalek will play further friendly games against Talae El-Geish and Pyramids before the league resumes on 6 August.

Spain s health minister has expressed doubt about the prospect of spectators returning to soccer matches in September due to the threat of a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. The government s department for sport and organising body La Liga had hoped to let fans back into stadiums at a reduced capacity when the new season starts in September, increasing to 50% in November before full capacity returned in January. Yet a spike in infections since Spain lifted a national state of emergency in June has led some regions to impose localised lockdowns and limit activities, threatening the return to normality. "To be honest, I don t see it, given the reality we are in," health minister Santiago Illa told radio station Cadena Ser on Thursday. "We have seen some clusters of infections and although we have fortunately been able to control them, I still don t see (fans returning). "We re going to take our time and provide information so the sports department can make the decision when necessary. We have to step carefully with the virus, and concentrating large numbers of people at this time is not advisable at all." Illa also criticised large-scale celebrations in Vitoria to mark Baskonia winning the basketball championship and after Cadiz won promotion, urging Real Madrid fans to show restraint if they win the La Liga title on Thursday. "I understand what it means to win a title or win promotion but the situation we have in Spain is of a controlled epidemic but with a virus that is still circulating," he added. "In the last few days we ve seen images that put people s health at risk. We are advising people to celebrate sporting triumphs at home and in no circumstances to go out to the streets and concentrate in large numbers."

The current number of foreign players in Egyptian Premier League clubs won t change in the new season; every club will be allowed to register four players, according to the head of the Egyptian Football Association s (EFA) normalisation committee, Amr El-Ganainy. A quota of four foreign players per Premier League club was established this season, besides allowing one of Palestinian, Syrian or North African origin to be registered as domestic players. “All the current exceptional measures will also be in force in the new season,” El-Ganainy told OnTime Sports TV channel Wednesday. EFA said in a statement in July that it will reduce the numbers of foreign players in Premier League squads, starting from the 2020/21 season. But no changes will be made to the current system, according to El-Ganainy. “The foreign players number in every squad would remain at four maximum for every team, and the number of the whole squad would remain 30 players,” the EFA official explained. “Syrian and North African players will be treated like Egyptians for another season due to the current exceptional circumstances,” added El-Ganainy, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. Sports activities in Egypt have been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, but EFA announced last week that the Premier League would resume 6 August after almost five months in suspension. Most of the big guns, like Ahly, Zamalek and Pyramids FC. have been relying on their financial muscle to lure overseas talent to compete on the local and continental levels in recent seasons. EFA was repeatedly asked to reduce foreign players numbers to allow more homegrown players to play at a top level domestically, and also to avoid affecting the national team negatively.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos criticised his side for falling into the trap of complacency in Monday’s 2-1 win at Granada in La Liga as they were left desperate for the final whistle after strolling into a two-goal lead in the opening 16 minutes. Zinedine Zidane’s side relaxed after goals from Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema had got them off to a dream start and they nearly paid for it as Granada peppered their area in the second half after Darwin Machis pulled a goal back. “Without realising it, we made the mistake of letting our guard down after getting a scoreline which we would have been very happy with,” Ramos said. “But it wasn’t good enough and today you can’t beat anyone unless you are fully focused for 90 minutes. We won the first half and lost the second and although we got the victory we did things we should never do, like conceding a cheap goal.” Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had to make a brilliant save late on to preserve Real’s lead while Ramos blocked a shot on the goal-line, but his side recorded a ninth consecutive win to move within range of securing the title. Real will land their first La Liga crown since 2017 with victory at home to Villarreal on Thursday before they visit Leganes on the final day of the season next Sunday. “Winning the league would mean a lot to us, it would be the reward for the consistency we have shown and for how hard we have worked throughout the year,” added Ramos, whose side were two points behind Barcelona when the season was halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The lockdown served us well and proved to be a turning point as we worked on preparing to return to action and set ourselves the objective of winning the title. “Now we are in the title fight and I hope that on Thursday we can celebrate it properly.”

Egypt Football Association (EFA) reportedly will discuss to file a request with the Confederation of the African Football (CAF) to host the remaining games of Champions League. Cameroon have declined to host the remaining games of the CAF Champions League after they were the closest candidate for the event. Reports in the Egyptian media confirmed that Egypt will request to host the games especially after their success in hosting the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations as well as the continental tournaments in a senior level. All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May. The CAF executive committee held a meeting last month and decided that the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup will resume in September in a final four format. The semi-finals will be played in a single match. Prior to the CAF competitions postponement, Egypt s big names, Ahly and Zamalek, had been set to play Champions League semi-finals against Moroccan sides Wydad de Casablanca and Raja de Casablanca respectively. The Confederation Cup mini-tournament will be played in Morocco while the venue of the Champions League is yet to be decided.

Manchester City s Abu-Dhabi project and the future of UEFA s financial fair play (FFP) rules face a pivotal day on Monday when the Court of Arbitration for Sport delivers its verdict on City s appeal against a two-season ban from European competitions. The stakes could not be higher for the English side, who have always strongly denied any wrongdoing over allegations they deliberately inflated the value of income from sponsors with links to the Abu Dhabi United Group, also owned by City owner Sheikh Mansour, to avoid falling foul of FFP regulations between 2012 and 2016. In February, UEFA imposed a fine of 30 million euros ($32 million, £25 million) on City as well as suspending them from European competitions for the next two seasons. Since Sheikh Mansour s takeover 12 years ago, City s fortunes have been transformed from perennially living in the shadow of local rivals Manchester United to winning four Premier League titles in the past eight years among 11 major trophies. Yet the prize that has eluded them is the one the Abu Dhabi project most desires - the Champions League. - Guardiola s last shot? - No matter the outcome on Monday, City will have the chance to do so in August as they resume their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid from the first leg of their last 16 tie. That could be the last chance for some of City s biggest names to win the Champions League for the club as a two-year ban would have severe consequences for the club s finances. Manager Pep Guardiola s contract runs until the end of the 2020/21 season and the Catalan is unlikely to still be in charge in two years time. Star players such as Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling are also unlikely to want to waste two of their peak years without Champions League football. "Two years would be long. One year is something I might be able to cope with," De Bruyne told Het Laatste Nieuws in June. It would still take huge fees from rival clubs to tempt City to sell, but they may be forced to downsize to gain re-entry to the Champions League even after any ban is over. City made 93 million euros from UEFA prize money and TV rights from last season s Champions League, with gate receipts and extra sponsorship revenue from Europe s premier club competition added to that tally. It would be almost impossible for the club to lose that level of revenue for two years and remain FFP-compliant without cutting costs on transfer fees and wages, or selling players. - Man Utd to benefit? - Even more painfully for City, Manchester United could be one of the major beneficiaries of their exclusion. City are comfortably second in the Premier League table, but if they are banned, fifth will be good enough to qualify for the Champions League. United are currently in fifth with Chelsea or Leicester the other sides likely to profit. The likes of Arsenal and Tottenham could also look to benefit next season if City s ban is upheld in full. Losing such a high-profile case would also cause major embarrassment to the legacy of the City project. It is no secret that one of the major motivations behind the billions invested is to promote a positive image of Abu Dhabi around the world. That image will for some be forever tarnished if City are found not only to have flouted FFP, but deliberately misled UEFA in doing so. But the stakes are also high for European football s governing body. Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain have already successfully won an appeal at CAS against UEFA reopening a FFP investigation into the French champions. The system which limits clubs to not losing more than 30 million euros with exceptions for some costs such as youth development and women s teams over a three-year period has helped cut debt across European football. But its detractors point to the fact it maintains the status quo with traditional giants like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich always enjoying bigger budgets thanks to their large global fanbases. Should UEFA lose another case, questions will be asked over how effectively FFP can ever be enforced at the highest level of the game.

Four months on from the last match in this season s Champions League, the draw for the final eight will be held on Friday amid ongoing uncertainty about how safe it will be to play out the competition in Lisbon as planned, and with four last-16 ties still to be completed. It was on March 11 that Paris Saint-Germain beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 behind closed doors to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time in four years and their players celebrated wildly with jubilant supporters who had gathered outside the Parc des Princes. The same night, holders Liverpool were knocked out by Atletico Madrid in front of 52,000 fans at Anfield, a mass gathering which British scientists later said had aided the acceleration of the coronavirus pandemic. Within days football across Europe was suspended and it was only in mid-June that UEFA was able to unveil a way of finishing its flagship tournament, the main economic driver for European football s governing body -- before the pandemic, it estimated gross commercial revenue from its competitions this season would be 3.25 billion euros ($3.69bn). And so the plan is to go to the Portuguese capital for a unique "final eight" straight knockout tournament from the quarter-finals onwards, starting on August 12 and finishing with the final at Benfica s Estadio da Luz on August 23. It will share the quarter-final and semi-final matches with the Estadio Jose Alvalade, Sporting s home just along Lisbon s Segunda Circular ring road. - Games behind closed doors? - Benfica s home staged the Champions League final in 2014 when Real Madrid beat Atletico. Then it was filled to its 65,000 capacity, but this time it is expected all matches will be played behind closed doors due to fears an influx of supporters from around Europe could spark a new wave of COVID-19. Indeed, the biggest concern right now is Lisbon itself. Last week lockdown restrictions were reimposed on 19 neighbourhoods across the northern periphery of Lisbon, worryingly close to both venues. The restrictions concern some 700,000 people and will remain in place for at least a fortnight. Portugal, a country of 10 million, is currently registering over 300 cases of coronavirus a day. Three-quarters of the 443 new cases registered on Wednesday came in the Lisbon area. - No Plan B - That raises questions about whether the final eight will happen as planned, although UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has remained outwardly bullish. "I am confident that with the continued and constant collaboration between all stakeholders, we will conclude the season in a positive way in Lisbon. There is no need for a Plan B," Ceferin said last week. UEFA plans to complete the Europa League with an identical format, a final eight in Germany, with the final due to go ahead in Cologne on August 21. The draws for the quarter-finals and semi-finals of both competitions will be held on Friday, from 1000 GMT. However, before getting that far in either competition, there are a host of last-16 ties to be completed. In the Europa League last 16, only six of the eight first-leg matches were played in March. In the Champions League, Atalanta and RB Leipzig are through to the last eight along with PSG and Atletico. The remaining last 16, second legs will see Juventus face Lyon, Manchester City take on Madrid, Bayern Munich face Chelsea and Barcelona meet Napoli. UEFA has kept open the idea of also moving those games to Portugal if necessary, to the northern cities of Porto and Guimaraes. While some of the continent s behemoths still hope to book their spots in Portugal, Atletico and PSG might see the unique format as an ideal opportunity for European glory. "We are capable of winning this competition, just like the other seven teams will be. I am convinced that we will be a strong proposition," said the PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. Underdogs Atalanta, from the northern Italian city of Bergamo devastated by the pandemic, are dreaming of going all the way. The same can be said of RB Leipzig, although they will have to do without star striker Timo Werner after he was sold to Chelsea.