Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm will retire from football at the end of the 2016-17 Bundesliga campaign.

Under contract until 2018, Lahm announced his plan to quit ahead of schedule in the wake of Tuesday’s 1-0 DFB-Pokal win over Wolfsburg, having celebrated his 500th club appearance against Schalke on Saturday.

I will retire at the end of the season, the 33-year-old confirmed when asked about his future.

More than a year ago I started checking and questioning myself from day to day and week to week. I m certain I ll maintain peak form through to the end of the season. I can manage that until the end of the campaign, but not beyond it.

Bayern were keen to name Lahm as the club s new sporting director ahead of next season, but the right-back has op…

Bayern Munich defender Mats Hummels says he understands Philipp Lahm s surprise decision to retire at the end of the season.

Lahm s contract was due to run until 2018, but the Bayern captain announced after Tuesday s DFB-Pokal 1-0 win over Wolfsburg that he is bringing his glittering career to a close.

Hummels would have preferred to continue to play with Lahm, but backed his decision to quit at the age of 33.

I hadn t known, I only just found out, Hummels said in a DFB interview. I would have really liked to have seen him carry on playing but on the other hand, I can also understand him.

He timed it well with his retirement from the national team after winning the World Cup in 2014 in Brazil. I m certain he s thought hard about it and considered everyt…

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (via ), Juventus are considering the possibility of signing Marco Asensio and Antoine Griezmann next summer.

The Serie A giants apparently seek to continue the trend of bringing in experienced players to help the younger ones grow, which was represented this year by their moves for Paul Pogba and Angel Di Maria, both on free transfers. CEO Maurizio Arrivabene is thought to consider Griezmann and Asensio, as well as the likes of Alejandro Grimaldo and Christian Pulisic, as players who could contribute to the team becoming successful again in the short-to-medium term.

Marca, however, believe a deal for Asensio wouldn t be easy to do despite the fact that his current deal at Real Madrid expires at the end of the season. Unlike other sou…

Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez says he has had to learn to adapt to life in the Premier League after a difficult start, adding: I needed to calm my nerves .

The Uruguay international was the flagship signing of the Reds transfer window and netted in his first two appearances for the club in a blaze of early potential.

But a red card for an altercation with Crystal Palace s Joachim Andersen shortly afterwards handed him a three-match ban that has left him struggling to acclimatise since.

Nunez arguably delivered his best performance since the opening weeks in Tuesday s 2-0 home win over Rangers in the Champions League, and now feels he is making steps forward once more.

The truth is that it was a little difficult to adapt, but I believe that, as training …

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Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will face each other at Camp Nou this coming Saturday. The La Liga match is slated to kick off at 3:15pm UK time and promises to be a cracking game of football, one that could prove to decide the title.

Barcelona

Barcelona are third in the La Liga table at the moment with 74 points from 34 matches. Ronald Koeman’s side are level on points with second-placed and defending champions Real Madrid and only two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid. The Blaugrana were fighting for a place in the top four in the table in the opening months of the season, but now with just four rounds of games remaining, they could actually end the coming weekend on top of the standing…

Gianluigi Donnarumma is changing perceptions around goalkeeping, according to AC Milan coach Vincenzo Montella.

Donnarumma has quickly established himself as number one at San Siro after displacing Diego Lopez in 2015, the latter subsequently allowed to leave the Rossoneri.

The 18-year-old has gone on to make 65 appearances for Milan in all competitions, keeping 22 clean sheets in the process.

His form has also seen him earn an international call-up for Italy, with Donnarumma widely touted as Gianluigi Buffon s heir apparent.

Montella has consistently selected the youngster since he replaced Sinisa Mihajlovic and says Donnarumma is breaking new ground for players in his position.

Gigio is changing the way of being a goalkeeper, he told Milan TV. …

The Mirror understands that David De Gea is set to be given a fresh chance at Manchester United, even if he decides against signing a new contract with the club.

The Spain international was strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid during the recently closed transfer window though a deal failed to materialise.

Louis van Gaal has left the goalkeeper out of each of the clubs six games so far this season, with the United manager opting for summer signing Sergio Romero in his starting line-up and twenty-two year old Sam Johnstone on the bench.

However, with the window now shut all parties are looking forward and De Gea, who has been included in United’s Champions League squad alongside Romero and Johnstone, could feature against Liverpool a week on Saturday.

PSG to cash in on Cavani

that Paris Saint-Germain may be ready to consider selling star striker Edinson Cavani in January.

The Uruguayan has been frustrated by Laurent Blanc s decision to use him on the wing and he has been looking to leave the Saints for a while now.

Cavani was linked with a summer move to English Premier League, but eventually remained at Parc des Princes as the transfer window closed.

Nevertheless, PSG do not appear too keen on keeping the unsettled striker at the club and could offload him in the winter transfer window.

It is no secret that both Manchester United and Arsenal are in the market for high-quality centre forwards and they could make a move on the Uruguayan in January.

Paris Saint-Germain quickly climbed …

Market: Mohamed Bamba to score anytime

Odds: 11/4 @

Two sides who find themselves battling it out at the foot of the Ligue 1 table, Lorient will welcome Nantes to the Stade du Moustoir on Saturday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, while Lorient might still find themselves at the heart of a Ligue 1 relegation scrap in 2024, Les Merlus have certainly turned a recent corner. Finding a route out of the drop zone, Regis Le Bris’ men will be smelling another golden opportunity here. Last seen putting in another eye-catching performance as they secured a stellar 3-1 romp away at Strasbourg, the Brittany-based outfit have won all of their previous three top-flight appearances on the spin. With their recent purple patch underlined by a 2-0 victory against Reims earli…

Vincent Kompany says his goal in Manchester City s 3-0 Premier League win at Southampton makes him feel like he is giving back to the fans following an injury-ravaged spell.

The City captain headed in the opener at St Mary s Stadium on Saturday, marking his first league goal since August 2015, though he has only played 17 games in the competition during that time.

Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero added to that effort to secure the points, moving City into third place above Liverpool and seven points clear of Everton and Manchester United, who have two games in hand.

And speaking to BT Sport after the game, Kompany said: I don t really care too much about the goal, I m happy it s helped my team.

We re happy with the clean sheet and the performance. It s a t…