Pogba: I want to be Messi, Ronaldo, Zidane and Vieira all in one

Wilfried Zaha has declared his happiness at returning to Crystal Palace permanently after a frustrating spell at Manchester United.

Crystal Palace appear to have finalised the permanent re-signing of winger Wilfied Zaha from Manchester United, much to the player s delight.

The 22-year-old twice-capped England international is thought to have agreed a five-and-a-half year contract with the London club.

Zaha moved from Selhurst Park to Old Trafford in 2013 but his career with the then Premier League champions failed to ignite as he made just four appearances in all competitions before joining Cardiff City on loan last January.

An initial return to Palace on loan in August and, following 19 outings and one goal this term, manager Alan Pardew has moved to ma…

World football s ruling body FIFA on Thursday fined the Croatian Football Federation 30,000 Swiss francs after Croat fans racially abused England striker Emile Heskey during a World Cup qualifier.

FIFA warned that further infringements would lead to more severe sanctions .

En route to an eventual 4-1 victory for England earlier this month, Heskey was taunted with monkey chants from a section of the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb when he was booked for fouling Niko Kovac.

England s Football Association then took the case to FIFA.

It is not the first time Croatia s fans have been sanctioned for racist abuse.

Croatia had to pay a small fine during Euro 2008 for racist abuse from their fans during their game against Turkey.

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Russia coach Guus Hiddink insisted his team will keep learning from their 2-1 defeat to Germany as they prepare for their next World Cup qualifier against Finland on Wednesday.

Goals by Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack and Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski put Germany 2-0 ahead at half-time here Saturday before Russian play-maker Andrei Arshavin scored a second-half goal for the guests.

The win puts Germany top of Group Four on seven points, while Russia are fourth in the table ahead of their showdown with Finland in Moscow.

Hiddink praised his side for their response having come close to forcing an equaliser and almost taking a valuable point from Germany.

In the break, I told them they had dropped back into their old ways and were sitting back…

Marcus Rashford labelled Ole Gunnar Solskjaer comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo as nice , but the Manchester United forward said he still had a way to go to reach those heights.

Rashford was compared to Ronaldo by his manager after starring in United s 2-1 Premier League win over Manchester City last week.

But while happy with such talk, the 22-year-old said he needed to improve to match the five-time Ballon d Or winner and United great.

The Ronaldo thing was nice, definitely a compliment, Rashford told BBC Sport.

But I understand how far I ve got left to go to reach the heights he reached so I am very clear-minded and focused on myself.

Morning, Reds

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Rashford came through the academy at Unite…

He was not angry, but he was more than just disappointed. 

Romelu Lukaku had just helped Manchester United beat old club Chelsea, ending his wait for a goal against major opposition in the process, when he was asked if he felt criticism of his big-game mettle was unfair.

I ve been in the game for so long, said the striker, having scored his first goal for the club against a top-eight team in 13 attempts. I started playing when I was 16. Year in, year out, people expect 20 goals from me. I ve been doing it for 10 years straight so I think I ve proved myself.

You expect a bit more respect but it s the situation we re in. I don t listen to it [the criticism]. I just want to improve and show the people what I can do on the pitch.

Looking just at Lukaku s …

Paris Saint-Germain have turned down an approach for manager Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid, according to the club s president.

The Spanish giants are on the lookout for a new coach with Jose Mourinho s impending departure likely to see him end up at former club Chelsea.
A host of names have been linked with the position at Real Madrid, including Rafael Benitez and Juergen Klopp, but PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi confirmed that they had asked for permission to speak to Ancelotti.
Al-Khelaifi said that Real Madrid general manager Jose Angel Sanchez had thought Ancelotti was out of contract at season s end, while he also stated his desire for the Italian to remain in the French capital.
If Carlo Ancelotti left Paris, it would be a problem, he told L Equipe.
A few days ago,…

Alan Hutton was the unlikely match-winner as Aston Villa earned a 1-0 win at neighbours Walsall on Tuesday.

The Scotland full-back has not made a first-team appearance for Villa since Paul Lambert was appointed as manager in June 2012.

However, following loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Mallorca and Bolton Wanderers, Hutton has been given a chance to impress ahead of the 2014-15 campaign and did his cause no harm with the only goal at the Bescot Stadium his first in a Villa shirt.

A victory for Lambert s men, albeit against modest opponents who fielded an experimental side and made wholesale changes at the interval with their League One opener at Port Vale just four days away, provides a welcome confidence boost.

Villa had been beaten in each of their pr…

Market: Genoa win

Odds: 2/3 @

Looking to extend on their rampant run of form this weekend, Genoa will welcome Reggina to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, although Genoa might have lost their Serie A status last season, it appears that the Griffins are breezing their way towards an immediate top-flight return in 2023. Only continuing on a stellar purple patch since opening the New Year, Alberto Gilardino’s men open this weekend’s fixtures holding a five-point buffer from slipping out of the automatic promotion places. Last seen putting in another rampant display as they claimed a 3-0 victory away at Brescia before heading into the international break, Genoa have now won each of their last three Serie B showdowns by an aggreg…

FC Luzern, FC Basel, Young Boys Bern and Sion are the four teams that make an appearance in the semi finals of the Swiss Cup.

Quarter final action started on March 4th, when Young Boys bern easily defeated Grasshopper 3-0 at their own stadium, which was also a host venue of Euro 2008.

Sion secured their ticket to the semi finals thanks to a 1-2 win at Sankt Gallen on Tuesday. Luzern beat Concordia Basel 0-2 and FC Basel were just a bit too strong for FC Zürich, 0-1.

If Basel were to win the tournament, it would be their third consecutive Cup trophy. Of the four semi-finalists, Young Boys have to go furthest back to their most recent victory, which was achieved in 1987.

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Jose Mourinho expects Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris could be available for selection in February.

The France captain was ruled out for the rest of 2019 when he sustained a dislocated elbow and ligament damage in a fall during a Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion in early October.

Paulo Gazzaniga has proven an able deputy for Lloris, with Mourinho describing the goalkeeper as having magic hands after a key late stop in Spurs 2-1 win at Wolves last weekend.

But Lloris is on the comeback trail and, speaking ahead of Sunday s home league game against old club Chelsea, Mourinho offered an update on the 32-year-old.

He s a champion. Not just a champion of the world but also a champion as a professional, Mourinho said of Lloris.