Naughton extends Spurs stay

Pep Guardiola joked he took Erling Haaland off against Burnley to preserve a Lionel Messi record.

The Norway international scored his sixth hat-trick of the season in Saturday s FA Cup quarter-final at Etihad Stadium, four days after his five-goal haul in the Champions League demolition of RB Leipzig.

Manchester City boss Guardiola was criticised by some after substituting Haaland in that match, denying the striker the chance to break the record for the most goals scored in a Champions League clash.

Haaland now shares that record with Paris Saint-Germain forward Messi, and Guardiola could not resist a quip when facing the media after the 6-0 win against Burnley.

I didn t want him to break the record for Messi. I try to punish my players – it is my inte…

Real Madrid and Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo can continue playing at the highest level for as long as he wants, insists countryman Manuel Fernandes.

Ronaldo celebrated his 33rd birthday in February but the five-time Ballon d Or winner is still going strong for club and country.

He has scored 14 LaLiga goals and 28 across all competitions for Madrid in a relatively modest season by his own exceptional standards, but netted twice in Madrid s 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie last month.

The former Manchester United forward will look to help Madrid complete the job at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday as Madrid seek to win the competition for the third season in a row.

And Lokomotiv Moscow star Fernandes …

Tigres have dismissed suggestions that Andre-Pierre Gignac is set to leave the club for Barcelona.

The Camp Nou side are thought to be keen to add some fresh blood to their attack ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, but have so far failed in their search.

They were previously linked with Nolito, Luciano Vietto and Kevin Gameiro, but are said to have turned their attention to Gignac after missing out on the aforementioned trio.

Nevertheless, Tigres are adamant Barcelona have not made a formal approach for the France international.

Para siempre será motivo de orgullo que un club de talla internacional se interese por uno de nuestros jugadores

— CLUB TIGRES OFICIAL (@TigresOficial)

pero, hasta ahora, no existe ninguna comunicación formal…

Italian giants Juventus have confirmed their interest in Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente amid reports that the Spain international has refused to sign a new contract with Los Leones, .

We are negotiating to bring Llorente here, but it s not an easy process because Athletic don t want to sell him, Juve director general Giuseppe Beppe  Marotta told Tuttosport.

El Rey León bagged 30 goals and four assists in 61 appearances (47 starts) for club and country last season.

Llorente has one year remaining on his current deal, which means that he could leave the Estadio San Mamés on a free transfer next season.

Now then, according to Athletic Bilbao club president Josu Urrutia, Llorente has informed him that he will not sign a contract e…

Liverpool will take a 1-0 lead to Anfield after a patchy display in the first leg of their Europa League qualifier with Hearts on Thursday.

Brendan Rogers start to life as Liverpool manager did not take any great strides despite the result, with the side s passing game undone by Hearts in a hectic first half.

Midfielders Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam were crowded out whenever they got the ball while Italian signing Fabio Borini started up front for the Reds, who left Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez at home.

He combined with 17-year-old winger Raheem Sterling just before half-time but inexplicably smashed his shot into the post.

Liverpool appeared to have run out of ideas when Martin Kelly delivered the crucial cross for Borini, who again scuffed his cha…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola expects Mikel Arteta s future to be decided quickly after he held talks with Arsenal.

Arteta, currently an assistant to Guardiola, is a strong favourite to replace Unai Emery as Gunners head coach.

The City boss is eager for the matter to be resolved in the near future as he prepares for an EFL Cup quarter-final against Oxford United on Wednesday.

Asked if he wants a decision to be made soon, Guardiola said on Tuesday: Yes, I think so. It s going to happen quick. I don t know [if it will happen before the end of the week].

Tomorrow we travel to Oxford, so I don t know.

PEP Mikel is travelling to Oxford with us tomorrow.

We were so smart to pick him up and the other clubs missed it. He’s an incredi…

Marcus Rashford scored his fourth goal in five games as Manchester United netted three times in 10 second-half minutes to beat Colchester United 3-0 in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.

After Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s men put the Old Trafford faithful through a drab first half in which they failed to make 80 per cent of the possession count, Rashford broke the deadlock six minutes into the second period with a fine solo effort.

Rashford would have had a second five minutes later had Colchester s Ryan Jackson not put through his own net, and the in-form forward then provided an assist for Anthony Martial to score his seventh goal of the season in all competitions.

The flurry of goals was no less than the Red Devils deserved for a fluid second-half display, with Colches…

Rangers defender David Bates will leave for Hamburg at the end of the campaign after signing a four-year deal with the Bundesliga outfit.

Bates has inked a pre-contract agreement in Germany to confirm the end of his two-season stay in Glasgow.

The 21-year-old originally joined Rangers on loan in August 2016 and has gone on to make 19 league appearances for the club.

He is currently sidelined by an ankle injury sustained in the 3-2 loss to Celtic last month.

David brings a mixture of size, speed, mentality and responsibility which is key at the back and will do Hamburg the world of good, said Hamburg head of recruitment Johannes Spors.

He s a down-to-earth guy who wants to develop and will work hard to do so.

Done Deal! 

Our fir…

Crystal Palace recruit Christian Benteke insists his time at Liverpool was not a failure despite spending just one season at the club. 

Benteke was a £32.5million purchase from Aston Villa in July 2015 under former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers. 

The 25-year-old started the first six league games of the season before Rodgers was sacked in October, with Jurgen Klopp taking the Northern Irishman s place at Anfield.

While he scored in his first two games under Klopp, Benteke was used predominately off the bench under the German for the rest of the season, preferring to play Firmino and Divock Origi up front. 

But Benteke believes his time at Liverpool was not an unsuccessful one, however, he conceded he could have done more to keep his place in the s…

Pirlo drops MLS hint

Juventus star Andrea Pirlo admits he could move to Major League Soccer after the current season comes to an end.

The veteran midfielder is set to lead the Bianconeri in the Champions League final against Barcelona, where the Serie A side are .

Pirlo appears to be considering his options at the moment and he admits he could be moving to MLS in the summer transfer window.

If we win it I might move abroad because Juventus will be my last team in Italy, Pirlo told the Times of India.

MLS could be an idea, but for the moment I don t have any thoughts about it; Juve is the only thing on my mind.

But I won t stop playing, I ll go on as long as I have the same great desire to keep training every day.

The 36-year-o…