Manchester United interested in Aston Villa’s John McGinn

Pep Guardiola believes making more history is extra motivation for Manchester City as they prepare for the FA Cup final against Manchester United on Saturday.

City became the first side to win the English top-flight in four successive seasons after edging Arsenal to the title on the final day by two points.

On Saturday, they have the chance to win an unprecedented back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles against United if they win the FA Cup.

Guardiola says making history is a benefit for his side, but they should already have all the motivation they need to win at Wembley.

If history gives us a chance to do something not done before, try it, Guardiola said.

Maybe [it will be] extra motivation for players. I didn t speak about this specifically to…

Luka Modric opting to retire from international duty would be a pity for all football fans, according to Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic, who hopes the midfielder will continue with his team.

Modric won the Ballon d Or after leading Croatia to the World Cup final in Russia four years ago, and the Real Madrid star enjoyed another fine tournament as Dalic s men reached the final four in Qatar.

However, the 37-year-old was unable to inspire his team to a semi-final victory over Argentina on Tuesday, leading to suggestions he may call time on his international career.

Modric refused to give anything away regarding his future after Tuesday s defeat, but Dalic hopes his captain will still be available after Saturday s bronze medal match.

He was very disappointed y…

USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann has appointed former Germany boss Berti Vogts as a special advisor to assist him at the FIFA World Cup.

The experienced Vogts will stay on as Azerbaijan boss a role he has been in since April 2008 while he undertakes duties such as helping with the development of training plans and scouting the USA s opponents for the tournament in Brazil.

Klinsmann knows all about the 67-year-old s ability to mastermind success at international level, having played in Vogts Germany side that won the UEFA European Championship in 1996.

Klinsmann said: We are absolutely thrilled to have Berti join us as an advisor. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, both as a player and a coach, and he knows what it takes to succeed at the highest level.

He …

Resignation never entered Hansi Flick s thoughts following Germany s early World Cup exit, as the coach lamented unacceptable mistakes.

A premature departure from Qatar means four-time champions Germany have suffered back-to-back group-stage exits at the World Cup, having also been eliminated early in Russia four years ago.

A 2-1 defeat to Japan in their opening match was followed by a 1-1 draw against Spain, while a 4-2 win over Costa Rica in their final Group E game was not enough.

Despite those shortcomings, Flick s focus remained on his post and he says the idea of leaving was never considered.

No. It was never an issue for me to resign, he told SID.

I am absolutely convinced. And the communication and cooperation with Bernd Neuendorf and [H…

Sarina Wiegman rued England s sloppyness from set-pieces, as the Lionesses Euro 2025 qualifying hopes were dented by a 2-1 defeat to France.

England suffered their first home defeat in a qualifying match since October 2002 with Les Bleues ironically the last nation to inflict such a loss coming from behind to prevail at St James Park.

The reigning European champions had the opportunity to leapfrog France to the Group A3 summit and, despite losing goalkeeper Mary Earps to injury early on, the hosts appeared on course to do just that when Beth Mead opened the scoring after half an hour.

However, they were undone by set-pieces in both halves, as goals from Elisa De Almeida and Marie-Antoinette Katoto completed the turnaround in the visitors favour.

The Lione…

France head coach Didier Deschamps labelled Kurt Zouma s behaviour shocking and intolerable after a video emerged of the West Ham defender abusing his cat.

The 27-year-old s actions were condemned by his club – who fined him a reported £250,000 and donated it to charity – along with the RSPCA, who took Zouma s cats into care, and several other animal welfare organisations.

Adidas also cancelled their contract with the centre-back after seeing the footage.

However, Zouma was still selected by Hammers manager David Moyes for the 1-0 Premier League win over Watford on Tuesday after the player said he was deeply sorry for his actions.

Deschamps also strongly criticised Zouma but refused to rule out selecting him for international duty.

I was ve…

Former France international Christophe Dugarry is sceptical over whether Mario Balotelli can rediscover his best form at Nice.

Ex-Inter, Manchester City and AC Milan striker Balotelli ended a nightmare spell at Liverpool by securing a free transfer to the Ligue 1 side on transfer deadline day.

Dugarry, a 1998 World Cup winner who was also something of a mercurial talent, does not expect to see Balotelli back at the level of form he showed in helping City to the 2011-12 Premier League title and Italy into the final of Euro 2012 – comparing him unfavourably with Hatem Ben Afra.

Ben Arfa arrived at Nice last season dogged by a reputation of being difficult off the field, but shone to secure a move to French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Balotelli? Next …

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is considering a shock move for Inter Milan veteran Javier Zanetti,.

The former Argentina international, who is his nation’s all time record appearance holder with 145 caps, turns 41 in the summer but could be offered a one year playing deal by the Blues boss who he worked with for three years at Inter Milan.

Together they won two league titles, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League, with three of those trophies coming in the 2009/10 season.

Zanetti moved to the San Siro in 1995, and has made over eight-hundred and fifty appearances in all competitions for the Serie A giants.

His contract is due to expire at the end of this season, and while he is keen to remain in Italy Mourinho is keen to bring in the defender, …

Atalanta president Antonio Percassi has hit back at claims that he sold midfielder Giacomo Bonaventura to Milan on the cheap.

Bonaventura moved to San Siro ahead of last week s transfer deadline for fee reported to be worth around €7million.

Percassi has come in for criticism for being unable to command a bigger sum but the Atalanta supremo is adamant that it was a good piece of business.

He told Bergamo TV: I ve been accused of selling him on the cheap.

That s almost offensive to me seeing as I have made my fair share of business deals in the past.

The truth is that player values have fallen because co-ownership deals no longer exist. These deals in the past made it easier to cover up mistakes.

At the end of the day, we have to make …

Prediction: Real Madrid to win and both teams to score

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Zinedine Zidane s Real Madrid will look to rectify their poor away record in La Liga on Sunday as they do battle with Real Betis at the Estadio Benito Villamarín.

The current La Liga champions currently sit fourth in the Spanish top-flight and will hope to get their pursuit of league leaders, Barcelona back on track.

Real Betis

With the visit of Los Blancos coming, Betis have so far been enjoying a positive campaign in 2017/18. The Andalusian outfit currently sit eighth in the league standings with 33 points from 23 games. Quique Setién s troops are only four points behind fifth-placed, Villareal, so a victory in Sunday s fixture could go a long way in securing Europea…