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Zinedine Zidane has just won La Liga and has a contract with Real Madrid until 2022 but acknowledged his future at the club could quickly have a different outlook.

In his first full season back at the helm, Zidane has led Madrid to success in the Supercopa de Espana and La Liga to take his trophy haul across two spells in the dugout to 11 – three shy of equalling Miguel Munoz's club record.

With the league wrapped up, the Spanish champions can focus on the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Manchester City. They trail 2-1 ahead of the return game at the Etihad Stadium on August 7.

Zidane guided Madrid to the Champions League trophy, which is considered the main objective every season at the Santiago Bernabeu, in three straight seasons during his first stint as coach.

Despite only winning the league on Thursday, Zidane was asked if he could guarantee that he will be at the helm next season.

He replied: "Nobody knows what's going to happen in the future. I never talk about next season or the following year. I've got a contract and I'm happy. You never know what will happen in the future.

"Things can change overnight in the world of football and I have no idea what the future holds."

Zidane urged his team to maintain their intensity in their final Liga game of the season on Sunday against Leganes, who will be hoping to get a positive result and retain their top-flight status.

"We have to find that motivation. It's a league game. When we put on the Real Madrid shirt, we want to win all the games," he said.

"That's the DNA at Real Madrid. It's a league game, not a friendly, and we want to play well. I don't think we've got anything to prove. We just want to maintain this positive momentum. We want to keep winning.

"We have another big game. We said there were 11 finals. There were 10 and we won the league, but we want to finish in the best way possible.

"We want to keep pushing and testing ourselves until the very end of the season. There will be a few days' rest after the game against Leganes, but the season continues. We will be back training and preparing for City after the game against Leganes."

Karim Benzema struck both of Madrid's goals in their 2-1 victory over Villarreal last time out, moving him onto 21 in La Liga for the season – two fewer than league-leading Barcelona captain Lionel Messi.

While Zidane would take great pride in Benzema winning the Pichichi Award for La Liga's highest scoring player, he was not willing to give any hints about his team selection for trip to Butarque.

"I'd love for Benzema to get the Pichichi," said Zidane. "But I'm not going to say who's going to play. He's a player whose done a great job and deserves to end the season as the top goalscorer, but it's going to go down to the final game of the season. Let's see what happens on Sunday."

Lionel Messi is growing “angry” at Barcelona because he is “only human” and lacks the support required to deliver on expectation, says Dani Alves.

The mercurial Argentine has taken to airing his frustration on a regular basis in what has been a testing campaign for all concerned at Camp Nou in 2019-20.

Arch-rivals Real Madrid have snatched the Liga title away from Barca, with Champions League glory all that the Blaugrana have left to aim at.

Messi fears that further heartache will be endured there unless collective improvement is overseen in Catalunya, with alarming regression endured since the turn of the year.

Concerns regarding on and off the field activity has sparked talk of a talismanic figure seeking a move elsewhere, with contract talks said to have been shelved by Barca’s superstar skipper.

Alves can appreciate why such speculation has surfaced, with it clear that a “natural winner” is not happy with the backing he is getting from those around him as he seeks to maintain the standards that have delivered him six Ballons d’Or and countless major honours.

Brazil international Alves, who spent eight years at Camp Nou between 2008 and 2016, told Catalunya Radio’s ‘Tot Gira’: “Leo is a natural winner. He doesn't like losing.

“When the team loses, it’s normal he gets angry, he always wants to win. Just like me. We always want to win.

“He's been doing what he does for so long, he knows when a team gives one thing and when it gives another. That's why he says what works and what doesn't because he knows.

“He's spent so many years at Barca, experienced so many things, and he knows exactly what the team needs to win.

“He sees, what I feel, a lack of support.

“I'll always say that Messi is the main course and we were the perfect ingredients for that plate. Now I have the feeling that he's doing everything, all the time, and we must remember he's only human.”

Barca took the decision to part with Ernesto Valverde in January, a coach who had delivered back-to-back title triumphs, and replace him with Quique Setien.

That call is considered to have backfired, with Alves admitting that the Blaugrana appear to lack direction and leadership at present.

He added: “What this Barca lacks is the identity it has always had, like Ronaldinho's Barca, our Barca.

“The identity of a team that dominates for 90 minutes, 100 minutes, or 150 minutes. Barca are there for people to enjoy.

“Now what I see, from the outside, is that Barca are just another team. They used to have an understanding throughout the team and made things look easy.”

Anthony Martial can become a “killer” striker at Manchester United with the help of Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes, says Louis Saha.

A France international has been freed to occupy a central attacking berth at Old Trafford this season.

Much of his senior career to date has been spent occupying a role on the flanks, with his pace and direct running allowing him to thrive out wide.

United did, however, take the decision to part with Romelu Lukaku in the summer of 2019 and needed somebody to fill their No.9 shirt while becoming a focal point in the final third of the field.

Martial has taken on that responsibility and rewarded a sizeable show of faith with a career-best return of 22 goals.

At 24 years of age, there is still plenty of potential to unlock in his game and Saha believes a fellow countryman can benefit from having talented playmakers providing him with ammunition.

The former United frontman told the club’s official website of Martial: “It’s fair to say Anthony is in the form of his life, for me.

“He’s definitely a player that excites me as a fan and an ex-player. I have been in that position where Anthony is, in that No.9 shirt, and I understand the pressure behind it.

“But I like his reaction; his desire to hurt defenders in many ways.

“He has the quality as well to score 25+ goals and, when you see the goals he’s scoring, not everybody can do that.

“I am just a massive fan of his and just wish him to have that consistently, to believe he can reach even higher heights because he’s got too much potential to stop there.

“People may assume this is his top form but I’m not sure because, when you look at his quality, he has definitely improved his positioning and his killer instinct.

“He is really getting there. We can always look for improvement and it’s more about switching on sometimes, as I like to think of it. I was the same.

"If it’s something he can address, it will make him more of a killer player because you now have players like Bruno Fernandes, who is going to challenge Paul Pogba in terms of creativity in midfield.

“Imagine how much you have to be on your toes as a striker because, if the ball comes from Fernandes, one touch, the ball could come to you.

“It’s the same with Pogba, so you have to find a way to get really busy and appreciate the fact that you need to create space all the time.

“This is the only thing I can see he will need to improve – not because the player can’t but because the players now around him are so adept at passing the ball.”

Martial’s efforts have helped to fire United into contention for a top-four finish in the Premier League, while their attention is about to shift to the pursuit of major silverware and an FA Cup semi-final date with Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.

Manchester City playmaker David Silva is set to depart the club at the end of the season, and the Premier League will lose an absolute gentleman on the field, according to former England goalkeeper Rob Green.

While the Spanish star has won the acclaim of manager Pep Guardiola, as well as a host of others in the game, Green reminisced about an incident that showed the great humility of the man.

Playing for relegation-fighting QPR at the Etihad Stadium, the shot-stopper’s side were heading for a thumping defeat, as he explained to BBC Radio 5.

“He’s beautiful to watch. He brings joy - even to play against!” Green said. “I played against him for QPR. We had to go to the Etihad and win to stay in the Premier League but got beaten 6-0. 

“There was about half an hour to go and I turned around and I said to myself: ‘You know what, I’m not going to concede 10. That’s all I’ve got. That’s my plan. Just keep it to single figures. 

“I started shouting to David Silva, saying: ‘Please, stop. You’ve won the game, just stop!’ And he turned round to me with about 20 minutes to go and said: ‘My friend, I’m sorry, you have no chance.’

“I couldn’t help but smile. You’ve got this guy who’s an absolute genius on the pitch and is so magnanimous and kind at the same time. He had empathy in everything about him.”

Silva, who has played 36 times for City this season, scoring six goals and laying on 11 more, joined the club from Valencia in 2010 and over the subsequent decade established himself as one of their all-time greats.

The 34-year-old has won four Premier League titles, five EFL Cups and two FA Cups – the first of which in 2011 ended City's 35-year trophy drought.

Before the start of the current campaign, Silva stated 2019-20 would be his final season in England, and while it has ended in disappointment in terms of losing the title to Liverpool, City can still salvage glory via the FA Cup.

On Saturday, they will face Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in the semi-final, while they still have league matches against Watford and Norwich to follow before returning to the Champions League with a clash against Real Madrid.

Coach Pitso Mosimane believes the return of Rhulani Mokwena was important to Mamelodi Sundowns. 

Mokwena rejoined the Brazilians after three years of coaching elsewhere - two-and-a-half years at Orlando Pirates before being loaned to Chippa United for the remainder of his contract with the Soweto club. 

He was not offered a contract extension to finish the season by the Chilli Boys and Sundowns decided to bring him back to Chloorkop. 

"The return of coach Rhulani is important to the club; that's why we thank the club and the board for bringing Rhulani to the team," said Mosimane in an interview with YOU FM.   

Mosimane said Sundowns wouldn't have brought back Mokwena if he wasn't going to add any value, adding that his appointment shouldn't be seen as empowerment but professional.

He is also happy that everybody, including the supporters, has warmly welcomed the 35-year-old mentor.  

The Kagiso-born coach said he always knew that there was a possibility that Mokwena would one day return to Sundowns, and he's pleased that it finally happened when he became available at the start of July. 

"We like Rhulani, we want Rhulani. He'd not be here if he wasn't bringing any value. This is not empowerment employment. This is a professional situation the way I also knew that Rhulani's return was possible and thank God it happened," he continued.

"He's not a new person. He's a person we all know. I can just say he was well accepted by the players and the technical team. Even the supporters have accepted him. So, all is good."

Mokwena is working hand-in-hand with both Mosimane and Manqoba Mangqithi, the same coaches he worked with prior to his departure to the Sea Robbers in 2017. 

In 2016, the trio delivered the Caf Champions League to Chloorkop and added the Caf Super Cup a few months later. 

When Mokwena left the Brazilians, he wasn't replaced as Mosimane opted to keep Mngqithi as his only assistant. 

Mosimane and Mngqithi won two league titles and last year's Telkom Knockout Cup. 

Now, with Mokwena back in the technical team setup, Sundowns will be targetting their second Caf Champions League title in the next few years as mandated by club president Patrice Motsepe.   

 Joe Aribo has stated he feels no different playing for either the Nigeria national team or his Scottish Premiership club Rangers.

The midfielder was handed a call-up to the Super Eagles in October following his eye-catching performances for Steven Gerrard’s men.  

The 23-year-old made his debut for the West Africans against Ukraine in a friendly and has now featured four times for the three-time African champions.

Aribo joined the Ibrox Stadium outfit last summer from English side Charlton Athletic and was a key component of the Gers’ team that finished as runner-up behind Celtic in the 2019-20 season.

The midfielder scored eight goals and provided eight assists in 43 appearances across all competitions for the Ibrox Stadium outfit last campaign.

Aribo explained that just like there are pressures to win games for the Super Eagles, a similar expectation exists at Rangers.

“I'd say playing in front of the big crowds, and we've got 50,000 over at Rangers, so it’s like no different and there’s an expectation at Rangers to win, where also that’s like Nigeria, expected to win”, Aribo told Rangers TV.

“So, I mean, that’s helped me bring that to the international stage. Literally, it is no different to Rangers.

"I mean, we are expected to win every game so it is just like okay, it is the norm now, it's literally become the norm for me so it's no different to being at Rangers."

Aribo started his career with Kinetic Academy before joining Staines Town youth setup and won the club’s academy player of the year award in 2014.

His impressive performances earned him a promotion to the first team and he made 22 league appearances for the side before joining Charlton in 2015.

Aribo spent four years with the Valley outfit and played 81 times, scoring 14 goals before leaving to team up with Rangers.  

The midfielder will hope to continue his consistent performances for the Gers during their pre-season games ahead of 2020-21 campaign.

Cape Town City midfielder Ayanda Patosi’s future is yet to be decided as he continues to ply his trade on loan with Iranian side Foolad Khuzestan FC.

According to Cape Town City chairman John Comitis, they have received an offer from Foolad for another loan stint, but the Bafana Bafana international wants an outright deal.

The Khayelitsha-born player was initially loaned out to Esteghlal FC in January last year but was shipped out to FC Baniyas in the United Arab Emirates six months later.

He was also dispatched to the Persian Gulf Pro League in January this year.

"He [Patosi] is there [Iran] now completing the season for two months. Thereafter, we will see what offers he has for a permanent deal,” Comitis told Goal.

“Yes, we have received an offer for a continued loan but Patosi wants an outright deal."

Although media reports suggest that the former Africa Soccer Development (ASD) academy midfielder could stay put, the Citizens owner explained that the 27-year-old’s future will be decided at the end of the current campaign.

For Baniyas in the UAE Arabian Gulf League, ‘Pato’ featured in nine league matches, finding the back of the net once whilst chipping in with a single assist before securing a loan deal to Iran.

Taking a look at his contribution in the Persian Gulf League, the former KSC Lokeren midfielder has played four matches and netted twice in the league so far.

Meanwhile, Patosi recently revealed his ambition to stay put with Foolad where he has been enjoying his football in the Asian country.

As the Persian Gulf Pro League remains suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, Foolad are placed sixth on the standings and will hope to finish on a high once the season resumes.

Patosi is a two-time Belgian Cup winner, in 2012 and 2014 with Lokeren, while boasting of an MTN8 trophy he lifted with the Mother City outfit under former coach Benni McCarthy in the 2018/19 campaign.

The attacking midfielder has earned 12 international caps for Bafana, scoring three times and will hope to find clarity on his future sooner rather than later.

The 2020 MSL season kicked off when Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) welcomed Kedah in the brand new Sultan Ibrahim Stadium in a match that also doubled up as the Charity Shield. A solitary Mauricio dos Santos header was enough to give JDT the cup as well as three valuable points. 

But just as the season was heating up, trouble hit when the Covid-19 pandemic began to enveloped the world. Malaysia started seeing signs of the virus spreading fast and wide in the country with Malaysian Footbal League (MFL) ordering the fourth round of the matches to be played behind closed doors even before the Movement Control Order (MCO) was announced by the Malaysian government.

It was on March 16 that Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) ordered all football activities in the country to be stopped and that included the Super League.

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When will the Malaysia Super League (MSL) return 

Good news for Malaysian football fans after MFL announced on Jul 17 that the domestic competition will return in August with the first full set of matches to be played on Aug 26. The league was stopped after only four rounds of matches back in March with teams allowed to return for individual training back on Jun 15 with contact training allowed beginning of Jul 15.

MFL has also put out directive for the teams to plan for friendly matches only beginning Aug 2, a full two weeks after the first contact training.

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Malaysia Super League (MSL) 2020 format 

Due to the loss of four months without any matches, the resumption of MSL will see a shortened version of it with only 11 rounds of matches to be completed instead of the usual 22 rounds of matches to be played among the 12 teams in the division - precisely seeing the season cut into half.

A decision that MFL also made because of the desire not to impinge onto the 2021 season as well as the need to fulfill one of the cup competitions, which is the Malaysia Cup after the FA Cup has been cancelled. The national team taking precendence from November onwards is also another reason why the remainder of the season will stay within the confines of the original calendar.

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Malaysia Super League fixtures

While the full set of fixtures will only be played on Aug 26, the first match of the return will actually be the postponed match between PJ City FC and Terengganu FC that was the only MD4 match that was not played because of a lack of venue.

There hasn't been any confirmation yet on the rest of the fixtures but assuming MFL intends to continue with MD5, then the first set of full fixtures are likely to be as follows;

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Malaysia Super League results

In the earlier rounds as expected JDT quickly racked up a couple of wins before being held to their first ever draw at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium by a plucky Felda United side. Meanwhile Perak started with a bang by claiming an impressive 3-1 away win over Terengganu and have stayed unbeaten in the four matches they have played thus far.

As for Pahang, they had a rocky start to the season with two successive draws but has since improved to pick up successive wins over Sabah and Melaka. Meanwhile Super League newcomers Sabah were in a decent run of form, picking up five points from their first four matches, most impressively holding Perak to a 2-2 draw at Likas Stadium.

Here's the full results of matches played thus far.

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Malaysia Super League table

When the games came to a halt, it is no surprise that reigning champions JDT are leading the way with 10 points, two better than their nearest challenger Perak, both of whom are the only two remaining unbeaten teams in the division. Pahang's revival has seen them climbed up to third, partly helped by Melaka being docked points for salary arrears issue.

Down at the bottom, it is looking like PDRM will be the standout candidate for one of the relegation spot. Despite having secured a point from their first four matches, they are on -2 in terms of points because like Melaka, they were also docked points for salary arrears problem.

*Melaka and PDRM have been docked points because of salary arrears.

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Malaysia Super League top scorers

Terengganu FC's new striker Dominique da Sylva is leading the charge for the Golden Boot after four rounds of matches played with four goals scored thus far although all four of those have come in a single match, in that incredible 4-3 come from behind win over Kedah at Darul Aman Stadium.

Behind the Mauritanian is a quartet of players in Kpah Sherman, Ivan Carlos, Shahrel Fikri and Ifedayo Olusegun. Incredibly, Shahrel is the only local player there, revelling in a new role given to him by Mehmet Durakoviv alongside Guilherme de Paula.

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Former Bafana Bafana and Kaizer Chiefs defender Lucas Radebe has expressed delight at the return of Leeds United to the Premier League. 

Radebe's former employers needed a point to seal their promotion to the Premier League but they did it in style, beating Barnsley 1-0 to secure all three points on Thursday night. 

Leeds needed a 28th-minute own goal from Michael Sollbauer's to cement their place at the top of the log with two games still to play in the season.    

And Radebe took to Twitter to congratulate his former club which still holds him in high regard. 

Radebe spent 11 years with Leeds between 1994 and 2005 and even after his retirement, he still remains loyal to the club - this time as a fan and an icon. 

He made over 250 official appearances for the Elland Road-based outfit during that time - and he was also instrumental in Leeds reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2000-01 season. 

When Leeds got relegated from the Premier League, Radebe was still on their books, although and a year later, he hung up his boots. 

Unlike many South African footballers who returned from Europe to finish their careers in the PSL, a knee injury forced Radebe to end his career. 

But he had no regrets as he was already in his mid-30s. After three years in the Championship division, Leeds were relegated to League One in 2007. 

It took them three years to return to the Championship and a decade to be where they are after years of trying to reclaim their place among the top English teams.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa has also been hailed for the great job he did in transforming Leeds into one of the best teams in the Championship. 

Bielsa has been the Leeds boss since 2018, and it took the 64-year-year-old mentor just two seasons to get them back to the elite league. 

Young Africans (Yanga SC) Gnamien Yikpe has revealed why he has struggled to hit form and score goals for the giants in the Mainland Premier League.

The towering Ivorian striker signed for the Jangwani Street-based side from Kenyan champions Gor Mahia and has only managed to score two goals since the move.

In fact, his second goal came on Monday when Yanga beat Singida United 3-1 and his first goal had come way back on January 26 during the FA Cup competition.

Yikpe has now stated playing under pressure from inside and outside the club has affected his performances since signing for the club but he was glad to have returned to the scoresheet.

“I have been going through a lot of pressure and I know to stay for that long without scoring a goal for a big club like Yanga is very worrying,” Yikpe is quoted by Sokaletu.

“For a striker like me, it was not good at all, but I have been faced with pressure from within and outside the club and it really affected my display and it made me lose my form, and getting it back took much time.

“However, I am very happy to have grabbed another goal after that long dry spell, and I cannot explain myself how I feel after notching that goal, I am very sure the goal will boost my confidence and I will be back in the goals regularly.”

In a previous interview with Goal, Eymael warned the striker he only has the remaining three matches in the top-flight to save his career at the club.

Eymael told Goal he was impressed with Yikpe after coming on in the match but warned him he has to show the same spirit in the remaining three matches to be assured of keeping his place in the team.

“It is true I put in Yikpe because we needed speed upfront, I also introduced Ditram [Nchimbi] and some players also got the chance and some took it and some did not take it and I hope the game will motivate [Yikpe] for the three remaining games," Eymael told Goal on Friday.

"That will be three finals for Yikpe, very important for him if he wants to stay at the club."

Yanga will face Mwadui FC on Saturday.

Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has hit back at Paris Saint-Germain counterpart Leonardo, who claimed that Bundesliga sides are raiding Ligue 1 clubs for talented young players.

The Parisians saw academy products Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig) and Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen) leave Parc des Princes last summer for Germany’s top flight, while Bayern Munich tempted Tanguy Kouassi across the border after he failed to agree fresh terms with the Champions League quarter-finalists.

But PSG are not the only club who have suffered losses to the big German sides, with Leonardo hitting out in an interview with Le Parisien.

“German clubs, especially Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund, are increasingly dredging young players from France. They are a danger to the youth academies in France and that is a big problem,” he complained.

“They call parents, friends, family members or the player themselves. At 15 or 16 years old, the young talents get their heads turned. Maybe the rules should be changed to protect the French clubs.”

Zorc, whose side counts 21-year-old Dan-Axel Zagadou, who left PSG’s reserve ranks to sign for BVB in 2017, among their ranks, says that the 1994 World Cup winner has it all wrong.

“It is usually the other way around than he depicts it. We are actively addressed by the families and agents from France because they often see a better chance of first-team football and a higher development potential of the talented young players,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, Markus Kroesche, the sporting director at RB Leipzig, offered a more circumspect view.

“France are the reigning world champions and, like Germany, is a big football nation. It would therefore be negligent not to keep an eye on the market,” he said.

Relations have been spikey between Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain since a Champions League meeting between the clubs in the spring.

After winning the first leg in Germany, Dortmund were perceived to have mocked the Ligue 1 club, who responded on the field by claiming a 2-0 success at Parc des Princes, sending them through to the quarter-finals of the competition.

Zambian Super League side Forest Rangers have confirmed 28 of their staff members have tested positive for the coronavirus ahead of their tie against Zanaco FC.

The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) had made it mandatory for players and other essential team officials to undergo Covid-19 tests.

In a statement obtained by Goal, the league leaders have confirmed 28 people within their ranks have tested positive.

“In accordance with the health guidelines that have been put in place by the Ministry of Health and FAZ for football teams to take Covid-19 tests before the league resumes, Forest Rangers players and staff took the tests earlier this week,” the statement said.

“A total number of 58 took the test from which 30 were negative as earlier reported and 28 positive cases. The club is in touch with the District Health team for necessary precautions 

“The club has since communicated to the Football Association of Zambia about this development.”

FAZ categorically stated the tests were to be undertaken by all teams before the league resumption set for July 18.

“FAZ wishes to send a final call to its members to strictly adhere to the Ministry of Health providing Covid-19 guidelines,” the federation said in a statement.

“FAZ has noted with concern that there has been a lax in the adherence of the provided guidelines by some clubs.

“We are greatly concerned that some clubs have relaxed their adherence to the Covid-19 guidelines. We should never forget that the league resumption can always be halted if clubs do not adhere to the set guidelines,” FAZ General Secretary Adrian Kashala noted.

“The Ministry of Health has been keeping an eye on the preparations and have raised the whistle on us in the manner some clubs are neglecting to observe the set guidelines.

“Clubs will face stiff penalties for breaching Covid-19 guidelines that could even extend to losing points or matches being cancelled.”

Kitwe United are set to face Police College at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in an early kick-off before Forest Rangers, who are on top of the table, face Zanaco in the second match according to the resumption programme.

After the Zesco United vs Kansanshi Dynamos tie on July 19, Buildcon FC will tackle Power Dynamos at the Ndola Stadium as well.

All the matches will be honoured without the attendance of fans as a measure to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Tottenham Hotspur full-back Serge Aurier has returned to France to be with his mother following the death of his brother and promised not to seek revenge.  

Christopher was shot in the stomach outside a nightclub in Toulouse on Monday morning and was confirmed dead at the hospital according to Europe 1.

The 26-year-old was a professional footballer and started his career at French club Lens along with his brother in 2009.

Spurs defender Aurier featured in his side’s 3-1 victory over Newcastle United in Wednesday’s Premier League game, his first match since the death of his brother.

The full-back has now returned to France and posted the picture of himself on social media consoling his mother.

Serge Aurier, who moved to England in 2017 to join Tottenham also praised his late brother for taking care of the family during his time away from France and promised to trust the country’s justice system.

"He took care of everyone here while I was away. He took care of my mother, my nephews and nieces,” Aurier told La Depeche.

“He took care of all material things with pleasure. I really appreciated knowing that he was there for my mother. It set the mood at home.

"I have no feeling of hatred or revenge. I work in a profession where you have to be calm. I'm calm. I have faith in justice. I am saddened, I am in regret. I continue to mourn the death of my brother."

The 27-year-old Ivory Coast international will miss his side's Premier League home game against Leicester City on Sunday. 

Aurier has made 56 league appearances since joining Spurs and this season he has featured in 40 games across all competitions for Jose Mourinho’s men.

The defender has 62 caps for Ivory Coast and was part of the team that won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker says the delay in the restart of the 2019/20 Premier Soccer League (PSL) season has become “frustrating” and has made “some players forget their love for the game.”

An impasse between the PSL and Safa have seen no substantive dates being agreed upon for the resumption of football which has been on a pause in South Africa since March.

After the government gave the go-ahead for contact sports to continue under strict health and safety protocols, the league governing body set July 18 for the restart, while Safa insists their referees will only be available to officiate matches starting in the first week of August.

“When it [the break] happened, we didn’t know how long it would take. The longer it went the more frustrating it became,” Barker was quoted by Phakaaathi as having told the South African Football Journalists Association.

“Some players forget their love [for the game] and why they play the game… if you play week in and week out, you tend to forget. A lot of them have come back refreshed, happy to see the ball, happy to be playing football again. This game provides for us and we should appreciate it.

“We are ready to fulfil our fixtures. We have to be ready for any eventuality – whatever date we have to start, whatever the fixture list will throw at us … even if we are to play every second day.

“It is not ideal [crammed fixtures], but we also want to get back to playing football. It is our livelihood. We want to be active again and complete the season.”

Disagreements between Safa and the PSL have been dominating headlines in the media especially this week as PSL teams continue with their preparations for the season restart. But Barker is refusing to have the “noise” and uncertainty” distract them.

“It is our job to finish this league we still have to complete and stay in this league which was our objective from day one. We still have work to do. We just have to block off all the noise around us and not let the uncertainty bother us. We have to worry about our next training session and not look too far ahead, and wait for the direction [from PSL],” said Barker.

The return of league action will see 11th-placed Stellenbosch continue with their bid to stay safe from relegation.

They are seven points better than basement side Black Leopards while at the other end of the log, leaders Kaizer Chiefs are four points clear of second-placed Mamelodi Sundowns who have a game in hand.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hit back at claims Manchester United have been lucky this season with the number of VAR decisions that have gone in their favour.

Seven goals that had originally awarded against United have been overturned, the joint highest in the division, and it has led to claims referees are favouring Solskjaer’s side.

Frank Lampard admitted he has concerns that United are getting a run of VAR decisions ahead of the FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley on Sunday, but Solskjaer refuted any suggestion his side were being favoured and named three examples of decisions which could have cost them.

“I can sit here for hours now and try to talk about this.” Solskjaer said. “It looks like there's a narrative, it looks like people want to influence whoever's making the decisions. I hear people talking about luck, that we've been lucky more than unlucky. 

“If you look at the factual decisions, I don't want to sound like a certain manager talking about facts, but if you're offside, you're offside. That's clear. Talking about lucky, the penalty we got against Tottenham in the last minute that was taken away from us, that might be two points for us.

“Talking about the red card Romeu should have had against us when he almost got Mason Greenwood crippled, that should've been a red card, maybe that would've helped us. 

“Talking about Mark Noble when he should have been sent off against us when we lost at West Ham, talking about the actual decision that is made that is against Man Utd but is overturned and corrected.

“So it's actually me that should be complaining that we get decisions against us on the pitch by the on-pitch referee.”

The United manager admitted he also wasn’t concerned that Mike Dean and Michael Oliver, referee and VAR controller on Sunday, repsectively, could be influenced by the comments made about his side this week.

“There's a narrative there but we have to focus on our games. We let other people talk about that, I don't want to go too much into it because I might be in trouble,” Solskjaer said. 

“I hope I'm not now! I'm pretty relaxed on these and refs are going to be making objective decisions and are not going to be influenced by any emotion in any way, so I don't think they'll read [what Lampard said].”

Solskjaer confirmed Luke Shaw is set to miss the Wembley clash with an ankle injury he picked up in the 2-2 draw against Southampton, while Brandon Williams could return after missing the win against Crystal Palace with an eye injury.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has taunted former Orlando Pirates coach Milutin Sredojevic’s “one game at a time” mantra during their two sides confrontation for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) crown in recent seasons.

While Mosimane opted not to mince his words and boldly declared Sundowns’ title intentions, Sredojevic chose a diplomatic stance of not clearly spelling his ambitions.

Amid his openness, Mosimane first romped to a five-point PSL title win at the end of the 2017/18 season, before his side edged the Buccaneers by two points last season.

“That is why I like the rivalry with ‘Micho’ [Sredojevic] and I played on it when they said they did not want to win the league,” said Mosimane as per Times Live.

“Do you remember? They [Pirates] said it for two years. Pirates said‚ ‘We take it one game at a time’‚ you know the usual story. ‘One game at a time‚ we follow the process and the outcome will sort itself out.’ It’s a good talk and I like that.

“But I prefer to put my body on the line and I say it: ‘I want to win the league’. The fact is they also want to win the league.”

Mosimane went on to talk about how Pirates attacking midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch once gave away his team’s dreams.

“At one stage Lorch was at a press conference‚ I don’t know if you were there‚ and he admitted that they were gunning for it. I said‚ ‘Here’s the young man now telling us the truth’. My belief is if you want to win the league‚ you must say it,” Mosimane said.

“If I say to the players‚ ‘One step at a time‚ one game at a time … to where? To where? There must be an objective‚ there must be something we are looking at‚ the trophy.

“How do we arrive at the trophy? Yes‚ of course, it is one step at a time‚ but the trophy is the goal. And once I lose it you know what I always say.

“I will go back and fetch it because I know where it is. So it puts more pressure on me‚ it puts more pressure on the players‚ but I live on pressure. I must enjoy the ride‚ otherwise what’s in it for me?”

However, Mosimane recently refused to point at his side as one of the contenders to be crowned champions.

Sundowns are four points behind log leaders Kaizer Chiefs but enjoy a game in hand which could make this season’s title race very close if football resumes in South Africa.

Napoli’s Diego Demme has underlined how hard it is to contain Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

The pair came face-to-face in the spring, when the clubs played the first leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter, a match that finished 1-1 in Naples.

August 8 is the date scheduled for the return leg, and while Barca are rocking after ceding the Primera Division title to eternal rivals Real Madrid, Demme is focused on the prospect of tackling Messi, who was publicly critical of his side after a shock 2-1 loss to Osasuna in midweek.

“Messi is a really crazy player,” he explained to Bild. “It's amazing what he does with the ball. Before I had only seen him on TV and I thought: ‘It can't be that difficult to take the ball from him.’ 

“In the game itself, I was sure in two or three situations that I had the ball. And then whack, he made such fast movements that I ran into nothing!”

Demme believes the tie is evenly balanced ahead of the return leg in Spain, a match in which Barca will be shorn of the suspended Arturo Vidal after he was sent off in the closing stages of the opening clash.

“The 1-1 draw in the first leg showed that we can keep up with them,” he pointed out. “We’ve not been that bad in the last few weeks and in the second leg the odds are 50-50, even without spectators.”

The defensive midfielder also admitted that Napoli’s Coppa Italia success was tainted by the fact it was played without fans in the stadium.

“It’s still a very strange feeling,” he confessed. “And it’s somehow sad.

“We won the cup – and we had to celebrate in an empty stadium. I hope that normalcy returns soon.

“It was a mega moment. Honestly, in addition to the Bundesliga promotion with RB Leipzig, that was my absolute highlight. And, at last, I was allowed to hold such a trophy in my hands. 

“The fans were waiting for us, all of Naples honked and celebrated. I couldn't fall asleep after the game.”

Young Africans (Yanga SC) custodian Farouk Shikalo will miss their Mainland Premier League match against Mwadui FC after he picked an injury in training on Friday.

According to Yanga coach Luc Eymael, the Kenyan keeper who signed for Yanga from Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Bandari FC, twisted his hand wrist while in training and will miss the clash on Saturday.

Eymael further revealed Shikalo could also miss their league match against Mtibwa Sugar set for next Wednesday.

“Shikalo is out injured and will not face Mwadui,” Eymael told Goal on Saturday. “He twisted his hand wrist but it is not broken so we will not have him in the squad and could also miss Wednesday match.

“I am very upset for the player because he had started coming up well in the matches he played for us especially the league match against Kagera Sugar where he kept us in the game with two good saves and we won 1-0.

“I hope it won’t be a long term thing, he has worked hard to claim the starting role but the injury will now keep him out for a few days.”

On whether winger Bernard Morrison will be available to face Mwadui, Eymael explained: “I don’t have any news about Morrison, I don’t have anything to say…no news for now.”

The Ghanaian player, who signed for Yanga from Orlando Pirates of South Africa, has not reported to training since the team was hammered 4-1 by rivals Simba SC in the FA Cup semi-final clash five days ago.

In fact, during the match against Simba, Morrison walked straight to the tunnel after being substituted for Patrick Sibomana and the club has openly stated they are discussing what disciplinary action to take against the player, who has also been linked with a transfer move to Simba.

On the match against Mwadui, Eymael said: “We want to finish second, our main aim is to finish behind Simba and so it means we must beat Mwadui, we have to fight and get maximum points.

“I have a few players coming back from suspension but I will see what to do in terms of rotating the squad, we need to win because Azam FC are also keen to finish second, so it is a huge battle that we must accomplish.”

Yanga are currently sitting second on the 20-team table while Azam are third.

Ante Rebic has lifted the lid on Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s influence on Milan, explaining that the veteran Swede is a “leader” in the dressing room and on the pitch.

The 38-year-old striker returned to San Siro in January after eight years away and his return has coincided with an upturn in the club’s success. 

Ibrahimovic, who has enjoyed a storied career at the likes of Ajax, Juve, Inter, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, has played 13 Serie A matches in 2020, scoring five goals and laying on another three as Stefano Pioli’s side have climbed from 11th to seventh off the back of a fine run of results.

Among the players to benefit most from Ibrahimovic’s presence has been Croatia international Rebic, who hadn’t found the net at all in the league before then. Since, he has netted 10 times in 15 league outings.

Speaking to Sportweek, he explained the sense of confidence that Ibrahimovic brings the side, pinpointing the recent 4-2 success over Juventus as a particular example.

“We need him. Ibra is a leader. Before the Juve match he said to us: ‘I will show Juventus players how to play football.’ It was his way of firing us up,” he said.

“He has brought so much to everyone. When he says something, most of the players are silent but if I don’t hold the same opinion as him, I tell him,” Rebic added before citing two further January additions as key influences.

“Asmir Begovic and Simon Kjaer, too ... They are mature players who know how to calm you down or encourage you.”

While Ibrahimovic’s future at San Siro remains in the balance, the Rossoneri captured Kjaer on a two-year deal from Sevilla earlier this week, ensuring that the Denmark captain will remain with the club after a loan deal was initially struck in January.

Milan are seeking to ensure European football for next season, with the next leg of their quest coming at home to Bologna on Saturday.

There are five matches of the Serie A campaign remaining, with Pioli’s side lying seventh in the standings on 53 points.