Dutch Eredivisie giants AFC Ajax Amsterdam have rubbished reports suggesting that they have agreed a deal to sell Denmark international midfielder Christian Eriksen to Liverpool this summer, .

Eriksen, 21, is considered to be one of the brightest talents in European football.

The 21-year-old playmaker, who has scored 12 goals for Ajax in 2012-13, will address his long-term at the end of the season after rejecting the chance to extend his current contract at the Amsterdam Arena, which expires in the summer of 2014.

Christian has informed us that he won t be signing a new deal with us at this time, Ajax technical directors Marc Overmars told Voetbal International. I think that he and his agent will want to see what options are available in the summer.

Parma coach Roberto Donadoni has released an official statement confirming he will remain with the club despite interest from elsewhere.

The 49-year-old has been linked with a switch to either Roma or Milan, with Parma recently confirming that the former had enquired about the possibility of securing his services.
However, Donadoni wants to stay at Parma in order to continue building on his side s 10th-placed Serie A finish last term, and has taken the step of releasing a statement on the club s official website to quell media speculation surrounding his future.
It read: I confirm once more so as to avoid any misunderstandings that I am staying at Parma.
I am happy here and fully in sync with president Tommaso Ghirardi and director Pietro Leonardi, while I have a contract for a…

Czech Republic international Frantisek Rajtoral has committed suicide at the age of 31, the country s football association has confirmed.

Midfielder Rajtoral made 19 appearances for the Super Lig side after completing a switch from Viktoria Plzen, where he won four Czech First League titles in eight seasons.

He made 14 appearances for the Czech Republic and was a member of their squad for Euro 2012, during which he played twice.

The Czech Republic Football Association confirmed the news in a statement in which it expressed its deepest condolences to all relatives .

Gaziantepspor president Levent Kizil was quoted by Sporx: Unfortunately I can confirm that the news of suicide is true. 

Saddened to hear of the death of Czech international Franti…

Real Madrid cannot afford a slip up in their trip to La Rosaleda to face Malaga on Sunday, with the distance to La Liga leaders Barcelona in danger of becoming insurmountable.

Barca extended their lead at the summit to six points with a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon on Wednesday, a game delayed due to their participation in the Club World Cup in December.

Madrid are seven points adrift of the defending champions in third position, but the gap could reach double figures with the Catalan giants taking on Las Palmas on Saturday.

Subsequently, Zinedine Zidane s side need to take maximum points regardless of the result achieved by Luis Enrique s team   in order to boost their chances of denting Barca s bid for a second successive title.

History is on Madrid s …

Hatem Ben Arfa and Grzegorz Krychowiak are facing a close season full of uncertainty at Paris Saint-Germain after being left out of the matchday squad for the dethroned Ligue 1 champions final game at the Parc des Princes.

The former France winger and Poland midfielder have played bit-part roles at PSG in 2016-17 despite it being their first seasons at the club.

Ben Arfa has made 32 appearances in all competitions, the majority off the bench, 13 more than Krychowiak, who was a key player under Emery at Sevilla last term.

Both have been linked with a move at season s end and Emery has done little to quell the speculation ahead of Sunday s game with Caen with Ben Arfa left out and Krychowiak sent to play for the reserves.

He told reporters: Ben Arfa is not …

Lionel Messi does not need to win a World Cup to be classed as one of football s greatest players, according to Gaizka Mendieta.

The Barcelona superstar is viewed as one of the most iconic players to have graced the game but international honours have so far eluded him.

Messi has secured nine LaLiga titles, lifted the Copa del Rey on six occasions and is a four-time Champions League winner since making his Barca debut in 2004.

However, with Argentina the 30-year-old has a string of runners-up medals from major tournaments  including four years ago at the 2014 World Cup.

Some critics have said Messi cannot be held in the same esteem as legendary names Pele and Diego Maradona until he tastes success with his country, but Mendieta disagrees.

Speak…

Manchester United have triggered an extension clause in Eric Bailly s contract to keep the defender at the club until the end of the 2021-22 season.

Bailly, who signed for United from Villarreal in 2016 for a reported £30million fee, has made 50 Premier League appearances across three-and-a-half injury-hit campaigns.

The centre-back is yet to appear at all for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side this season due to a knee injury, though he is nearing a comeback after featuring for United s Under-23s on January 10.

Omnisport now understands United have taken up the option to extend the 25-year-old s deal, which had been set to expire at the end of the campaign.

While Bailly will be staying put, United have allowed Ashley Young – who has been replaced by Harry Ma…

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Hornets are locking horns with Seagulls at Vicarage Road on Saturday, looking to get their season off to a flying start and send an early message of intent to doubters and critics who believe Watford are destined for a drop.

Watford

Watford are preparing for what’s become their fourth consecutive campaign in the top flight of English football. Expectations are high within the camp as Watford head into the new season with the same manager who ended the last one. Javi Garcia is a rare anomaly at Watford who munched a great number of different tacticians since their return to the Premier League in 2015.

Garcia is hoping to bring further stability and consistency despite enduring a diffi…

Market: Fulham half-time/full-time

Odds: 7/4 @

Hoping to extend their buffer at the top of the Championship table this weekend, Fulham will welcome Blackpool to Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Fulham might have endured a tricky run of form when drawing a close to 2021, the Cottagers have really bounced back since opening the New Year. Putting in an action-packed display last weekend as they grabbed a 3-2 win away at Stoke, Marco Silva has been filled with praise for his side s recent performances. Tipped as a landslide pick to book an immediate Premier League return this season, the one-time Everton boss finds his side enjoying a five-match winning run across all formats. In fact, including back-to-back 6-2 victories against …

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez dreams of seeing the club s basketball team playing in the NBA.

Madrid are one of the dominant forces in European basketball, winning a record 10 EuroLeague titles. Their most recent success was in the 2017-2018 season, while they were losing semi-finalists earlier this year.

They have also won the Spanish league four years out of the last five, with Perez suggesting Madrid s players deserve to test themselves against the best by joining the Eastern Conference.

In basketball we play many insignificant games, Perez said. It s better to play less, but better.

We have explored the option of a European League and I have the dream of seeing Madrid in the NBA.

I have asked us to be included in the Eastern Con…