AC Milan are signing Lille goalkeeper Mike Maignan for €15 million, paving the way for Gianluigi Donnarumma to leave the Rossoneri on a free transfer this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano and Gianluca Di Marzio of Sky Sport Italia.
Maignan, whose 21 clean sheets helped Lille win the Ligue 1 title, reportedly landed in Milan on Sunday to sign a five-year contract.
Milan are no longer expected to re-sign Donnarumma, whose contract expires on June 30. Juventus are widely considered the most likely destination for the 22-year-old ‘keeper.
The Rossoneri offered Donnarumma more than €7 million per season before moving ahead with Maignan, according to Sky Sport Italia.
The player’s agent, Mino Raiola, is asking for as much as €20 million in commission to finalize a new agreement, sources told La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Carlo Laudisa.
It’s unclear if Juventus – or any other European giant – are able to give Donnarumma and Raiola the lucrative package they’re looking for. Paris Saint-Germain, who’ve been linked with Donnarumma over the last few seasons, re-signed goalkeeper Keylor Navas to a new deal in April, and Juventus still have Wojciech Szczesny under contract for three more years. The Polish shot-stopper reportedly earns €7 million per season.
Juventus are also facing a financial reckoning due to the coronavirus pandemic. The club reported losses of €113.7 million from July 2020 to December 2020 and said it could sell players to offset those losses.
Donnarumma has spent his entire professional career at Milan, making his debut as a 16-year-old in October 2015. He helped the team reach the Champions League for the first time in seven years with a clean sheet in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Atalanta and has made 251 appearances in all competitions.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski cruised to the European Golden Shoe after a record-breaking season in the Bundesliga.
The Polish marksman fired 41 goals in Germany’s top flight, surpassing Gerd Muller’s record of 40 strikes in a single Bundesliga campaign, which stood since 1972. The next top scorer hailing from one of Europe’s elite divisions was Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, with 30 goals.
Lewandowski’s tally marks the highest number of goals scored by a Golden Shoe winner since Cristiano Ronaldo found the net 48 times for Real Madrid in the 2014-15 La Liga season.
Messi boasts the most prolific season over the award’s 53-year history, notching 50 goals for Barcelona during the 2011-12 La Liga campaign.
In addition to finishing as the Bundesliga’s top scorer for the fourth consecutive season, Lewandowski scored five goals in six Champions League outings, two goals in the Club World Cup, and a further nine goals while on international duty this term.
Top scorer from each of Europe’s top five leagues:
We made it. Europe’s top five leagues will wrap up their respective seasons this weekend, and there’s still plenty to be decided across the board. Below, we run down what’s left to play for ahead of a dramatic two days.
Premier League
All matches to be played Sunday at 11:00 a.m. ET.
All eyes on the top four
It’s smooth sailing in Manchester – for both champions City and second-place United – but just beneath the top two, a fascinating season-long battle will be decided on Sunday. Three into two simply doesn’t work: One of Chelsea, Liverpool, or Leicester City will end up just missing out on the top four and thus a place in next season’s Champions League.
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
3
Chelsea
67
+23
4
Liverpool
66
+24
5
Leicester City
66
+20
The respective fixtures are as follows:
Chelsea: Away against Aston Villa
Liverpool: Home against Crystal Palace
Leicester City: Home against Tottenham Hotspur
Chelsea’s equation is the simplest of the bunch: Win and you’re in. Any victory over Villa will secure third place for Thomas Tuchel’s side. Should the Blues fall out of the top four, they could still reach next season’s Champions League by beating Manchester City in this year’s final on May 29.
Glyn Kirk – PA Images / PA Images / Getty
After spending a huge chunk of the season on the outside looking in, Liverpool crept into the top four earlier in the week with a win over Burnley, leapfrogging Leicester by virtue of their superior goal difference; the Reds, incredibly, were eighth with 10 matches remaining, a full 10 points back of the Foxes.
If both contenders win this weekend, Leicester could finish fourth but would need to rack up the goals – and likely not concede any – to have a chance.
European dreams still flickering
Leicester winning the FA Cup earlier this month means the fifth- and sixth-place teams in England will qualify for next season’s Europa League.
West Ham United, Tottenham, and Everton are all in contention to finish sixth.
Whoever ends up in seventh will be rewarded with a spot in the playoff round of the UEFA Europa Conference League. The newly formed tournament, which begins next season, is effectively a step down from the Europa League.
Arsenal are in with a chance of grabbing that berth and keeping their 25-year streak of continental participation alive, while Leeds United have a mathematical chance but would need an improbable combination of results.
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
6
West Ham
62
+12
7
Tottenham
59
+21
8
Everton
59
+4
9
Arsenal
58
+14
10
Leeds
56
+6
The respective fixtures are as follows:
West Ham: Home against Southampton
Tottenham: Away against Leicester
Everton: Away against Manchester City
Arsenal: Home against Brighton
Leeds: Home against West Bromwich Albion
Buckle up and prepare for some drama in England.
La Liga
All matches discussed to played Saturday at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Title race goes to the wire
Spain’s top prize will end up in Madrid one way or another. City rivals Atletico and Real Madrid are the last teams standing in the battle for the La Liga title.
Atletico, sitting on 83 points, hold a two-point edge over Zinedine Zidane’s side; an away win over relegation candidates Real Valladolid will do the trick and deliver Diego Simeone and Co. their first league crown since 2014. A draw could be enough, too, but only if Real Madrid lose at home to Villarreal; Los Blancos hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Atleti and would nab the crown if both sides finish level on 84 points.
A bad midseason dip in form made things hairy for Atletico, but all signs point to the Rojiblancos just getting over the line.
NurPhoto / NurPhoto / Getty
The fight for European places
Real Sociedad, Real Betis, and the aforementioned Villarreal are in a three-way scrap to determine who reaches the Europa League and who has to settle for a spot in the Conference League playoffs.
Position
Club
Points
5
Real Sociedad
59
6
Real Betis
58
7
Villarreal
58
Sociedad and Betis both boast superior head-to-head records against Villarreal, meaning the Yellow Submarine can only jump into the top six – and thus the Europa League – with some help.
Unai Emery’s men are taking on title-chasing Real Madrid, while Sociedad visit Osasuna, and Betis face Celta Vigo.
Avoiding the drop
At the foot of the standings, only Eibar have already been relegated. Two of Valladolid, Elche, and Huesca will join them in dropping down. Huesca, currently safe in 17th place, control their own fate.
Position
Club
Points
17
Huesca
33
18
Elche
33
19
Real Valladolid
31
Huesca host Valencia on Saturday, while Elche welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Estadio Martinez Valero. A Valladolid win over Atleti, meanwhile, would potentially rock the boat at both ends of the table.
Serie A
All matches discussed to be played Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET.
A dramatic day for Juventus
Failing to retain the Scudetto is the least of Andrea Pirlo’s concerns right now.
Deposed titleholders Juventus know that Champions League qualification is out of their control. Sitting fifth ahead of their trip to Bologna, Pirlo and Co. will miss out on Europe’s premier competition for the first time in a decade unless they get a helping hand elsewhere. It’s quite the fall from grace after nine consecutive seasons atop the mountain.
Chris Ricco / Getty Images Sport / Getty
AC Milan and the red-hot Napoli are in pole position, both owning a one-point advantage and various tiebreakers over the Bianconeri.
Position
Club
Points
3
AC Milan
76
4
Napoli
76
5
Juventus
75
Milan have the trickiest test of the trio, as the Rossoneri visit Atalanta. That said, the latter are coming off a draining midweek defeat to Juve in the Coppa Italia final and already have a top-four finish locked up.
Napoli, with 10 wins in their last 14 games, have soared back up the standings; Gennaro Gattuso’s high-flying side has lost just once since the beginning of March. The Partenopei host midtable Hellas Verona.
The final European places
Lazio have already secured a Europa League berth, meaning the only other prize on offer in Italy is a place in the Conference League. That will go to one of Roma or Sassuolo. The former, who will have Jose Mourinho behind the bench next season, currently sit seventh with a two-point edge over chasing Sassuolo. Roma visit Spezia this weekend, while the Neroverdi host Lazio in their concurrent fixture.
Bundesliga
All matches to be played Saturday at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Much of the drama has already been sapped in Germany.
Bayern Munich – of course – are champions, and the top-four spots are locked in. Ditto for the Europa League berths.
That leaves the Europa Conference League, where four teams are vying for one place. Seventh position in the table currently belongs to Union Berlin, with Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart, and Freiburg in hot pursuit.
Boris Streubel / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
7
Union Berlin
47
+6
8
Monchengladbach
46
+6
9
Stuttgart
45
+3
10
Freiburg
45
+2
The respective fixtures are as follows:
Union Berlin: Home against RB Leipzig
Monchengladbach: Away against Werder Bremen
Stuttgart: Home against Arminia Bielefeld
Freiburg: Away against Eintracht Frankfurt
Who will avoid relegation?
Basement dwellers Schalke were officially sent down an eternity ago, but the remaining relegation places are still undecided. Whoever finishes 17th will automatically join the Gelsenkirchen side in the second tier. The 16th-place finisher, meanwhile, will head to the always tense relegation playoff.
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
15
Arminia Bielefeld
32
-28
16
Werder Bremen
31
-19
17
FC Koln
30
-27
The respective fixtures are as follows:
Arminia Bielefeld: Away against Stuttgart
Werder Bremen: Home against Mainz
FC Koln: Home against Schalke
Werder Bremen, Bundesliga title winners in 2004, could be in serious trouble.
Ligue 1
All matches to be played Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Will PSG retain the crown?
Unless there’s a twist on Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain will lose their ironclad grip on the Ligue 1 title. The capital-based club sits second in the table behind leaders Lille, who have kept their nerve down the stretch to maintain an advantage that most expected to disappear. Victory for Christophe Galtier’s team would clinch Les Dogues’ first Ligue 1 conquest in a decade.
PHILIPPE DESMAZES / AFP / Getty
Monaco, currently third, have a mathematical chance to claim the trophy but would need both title rivals to lose, plus a huge swing in goal difference, to become surprise champions at the 11th hour.
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
1
Lille
80
+40
2
PSG
79
+56
3
Monaco
77
+34
The respective fixtures are as follows:
Lille: Away against Angers
PSG: Away against Brest
Monaco: Away against Lens
European places to be finalized
Only the top three teams in France reach the Champions League proper, with the third-place finisher entering the qualifying stages of the competition. Lyon, sitting fourth and just a point behind Monaco, are still in contention ahead of their meeting with Nice.
Marseille and Lens occupy the Europa League and Conference League places, respectively, but things can change on Sunday with Rennes still in with a shot of reaching the nascent event.
Position
Club
Points
Goal Difference
5
Marseille
59
+7
6
Lens
56
+1
7
Rennes
55
+10
A wild relegation scrap
The two automatic relegation spots have already been decided – sorry, Dijon and Nimes – but there’s an almighty battle to avoid finishing 18th, which sends someone to the relegation playoff. Any one of five teams could end up in that unenviable position.
FIFA will conduct a “feasibility study” to determine whether it can hold the men’s and women’s World Cup every two years instead of the usual four, the organization said Friday.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation tabled the proposal during the 71st FIFA Congress, with 166 member associations voting in favor of the motion and 22 voting against it.
The men’s World Cup has been staged every four years since 1930 and the women’s since 1991.
Calls for a biennial World Cup are nothing new. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter pushed a similar proposal in 1999 amid fierce backlash. UEFA argued the European Championships, which run two years after each World Cup, would lose value, while clubs expressed fears over the additional burden on players.
FIFA has already expanded the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams, with a total of 80 games. It also has plans to launch an annual 24-team Club World Cup. The changes are the brainchild of current president Gianni Infantino, who succeeded Blatter in 2016.
On Friday, Infantino swatted away concerns that a biennial World Cup would become repetitive.
“Every year in England you have 380 games where the same teams are participating year by year, and it’s very exciting and everyone is very happy with the Premier League,” Infantino told reporters. “So I don’t think the repetitive element would be (harmful) because (the World Cup) is even more successful.”
The 51-year-old has also been accused of backing the European Super League. The breakaway project – which drew widespread condemnation from fans, players, and politicians – collapsed within 48 hours of its announcement in April.
Infantino denied colluding with clubs but admitted he consulted “some” teams about the unpopular proposal.
“To listen to some clubs and speak with some clubs, it doesn’t certainly mean that in any way FIFA was behind, was colluding, or was plotting for any Super League project. No,” the Swiss-Italian added.
