Chelsea is fighting to sign Dutch international defender Matthias de Ligt during the current period, to compensate for the absence of Antonio Rudiger, who left for Real Madrid. Chelsea is keen on signing Juventus defender Matthijs de Ligt during the current period to compensate for the absence of Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger who already moved to Spanish giants Real Madrid in the summer. Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is also on Chelsea's Mercato list and Conde remains an option, although the latter's pursuit was due to Marina Granovskaya, who has now left in place of Todd Polly. The move is complicated by Barcelona's interest in the Sevilla defender and the fact that he appears to prefer staying in Spain. Chelsea has lost two central defenders on free transfers this summer, with Antonio Rudiger joining Real Madrid and Andreas Christensen joining Barcelona.

Several reports have shed light on the future of Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar, and his approaching departure, as the Brazilian striker has been linked to moving away from PSG this summer. Neymar Junior’s future is very much up in the air. The Brazilian forward has been connected with a move away from Paris Saint-Germain this summer but Fabrizio Romano asserts that those close to the playmaker believe he’ll stay at the Parc des Princes. Neymar is said to be determined to help PSG win the Champions League, the first of their entire history. That, after all, is why the French club paid Barcelona €222m to sign him back in 2017. The only feasible way he could change clubs this summer would be through a loan deal that would see PSG cover 50% of his wages. PSG have won four of five Ligue 1 titles since Neymar landed in the French capital but they’ve failed to deliver that rabidly desired first European Cup. The closest they came was in the 2019/20 season when they lost the final in Lisbon to Bayern Munich. Next season is going to be important indeed at the Parc des Princes.

While the club's international players had their first meeting with Erik Ten Hag on Monday, the Portuguese legend's absence overshadowed events. The official explanation for his no-show was “family reasons,” which has been accepted by manager Erik ten Hag. Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to report back for pre-season training at Manchester United after telling the club he wants to leave this summer. Man United know that the Portuguese want to move to a new club in the near future but their position remains firm, as they do not want to sell him and intend to keep him in the old Trafford. According to the English newspaper, "Mirror", Ronaldo's absence from training came for family reasons, and the club accepted his apology for the absence from today's training. Cristiano returned to United last summer after more than a decade in Spain with Real Madrid and in Italy with Juventus, but things did not go as planned, as United finished sixth in the Premier League last season, and qualified for the European League. Cristiano has only been in the Champions League since he stormed to Sporting Lisbon in 2002 and that's not a record he wants to give up, and it's known that this is the main reason why he wants to leave

The Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo confirmed that Barcelona has reached a full agreement with Jaffe to renew his contract for five years, that is to say, until 2026. The young Barcelona star had agreed to renew his contract with Barca, which expires in the summer of next year. The Catalan newspaper indicated that Barcelona and Jaffe finally reached an agreement after several long meetings to renew their contract, which expires in June of 2023. The newspaper added that the agreement is completed and completed between the two parties, explaining that the new Jaffe contract will be until June 30, 2026, with a penalty clause of one billion euros, provided that the official signing will take place on July 11, after the player returns to training. The Spanish newspaper, Marca, had reported earlier that there was optimism between FC Barcelona and Gavi’s agent for the renewal, but there is no final agreement so far between the two parties. The newspaper added that the choice of Jaffe as one of the players who appeared in the announcement of the second shirt of the Catalan team indicates a state of harmony between the two sides and an indication of the continuation of the young player with Barca.

Real Madrid is still keeping an eye on Erling Haaland prior to extending Karim Benzema's talks, with the club planning the player to come in just as the Frenchman will exit Los Blancos. Real Madrid has already decided they’ll sign Haaland as Karim Benzema’s replacement in the summer of 2024, according to reports. The Norway international has only just moved to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund. But, due to a clause in his Etihad contract, there’s already chatter over when he’ll leave. Haaland was linked with Los Blancos, on the back of a stellar season at Borussia Dortmund, before opting to complete his £51m move to Manchester City last month. However, having just turned 21 in July, Haaland still has years to go, with his City contract running until 2025. His contract at the Etihad Stadium includes a penalty clause in 2024, and Real Madrid is monitoring the situation, with a focus on Benzema's future in the Spanish capital. Benzema will receive the captaincy of the club next season, after a wonderful return with 44 goals in 46 games in 2021/22, when Real Madrid won the double of Spain and Europe. Los Blancos will stick to its policy of offering one-year extensions to players over the age of 30 in talks. Benzema's contract expires in 2023, with a renewal for another 12 months, with the possibility of contracting with Haaland to succeed the French in the attacking team.

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, a Manchester United player, hits the top of the list of football players most followed on various social media during the recent period. Ronaldo has hit the 714 million follower count on social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and  Instagram, as he closes in on the number one spot currently held by Messi 0 seconds of 1 minute, 11-second volume 90% Ronaldo has passed the 714 million follower count on Instagram – becoming just the second footballer ever to hit the landmark. Ronaldo surpassed in this classification his Paris Saint-Germain's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi who came runner-up with 449 million followers, followed by the Brazilian Neymar da Silva, who has a followership of about 321 million. Sergio Ramos comes fourth with 109 million followers, followed by James Rodriguez, Al Rayyan star, fifth, with 104 million, and Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic sixth, with 101 million followers.

  Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold expressed his happiness at the extension of Mohamed Salah's contract with the club as he seeks to win more titles with Al-Masry .Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold has been speaking about the prospect of playing alongside Mohamed Salah for longer on Merseyside following his Anfield contract extension Trent Alexander-Arnold responded brilliantly to the news that Mohamed Salah has signed a new three-year deal to stay at Anfield - admitting he can't wait to win more trophies with his teammate. Following a lengthy dispute between the Reds and Salah, who is a three-time Premier League golden boot winner, the 30-year-old put pen to paper and extended his stay on Merseyside until 2025 on Friday, putting him on a £350,000-a-week salary and making him the highest-paid player in the club’s history. “Of course, of course,” Alexander-Arnold told Sky Sports when asked for his thoughts about Salah’s contract extension. “Hopefully a few more years with him to win more trophies.” Liverpool’s 2021/22 season saw them lift the FA Cup and Carabao Cup titles following a penalty shootout win over Chelsea in both finals, but they narrowly missed out on the quadruple, losing the Champions League final to Real Madrid and missing out on the Premier League title on the final day of the campaign to City.

Bayern Munich has ruled out reports of signing Cristiano Ronaldo this summer Mercato after his future at Manchester United was thrown in doubt. The German giants are not looking to bring the Portuguese superstar to Munich, according to German media reports, with rumors swirling just days after Bayern signed Sadio Mane from Liverpool. The English newspaper “The Times” had indicated in a previous report that Ronaldo submitted a request to the Manchester United management in order to agree to his departure this summer, in the event that an attractive offer arrived during the current Mercato. It is possible that a group of clubs will enter the struggle to sign Ronaldo, and Bayern has been nominated to enter this battle. However, according to Bild journalist Christian Falk, the Bundesliga champions are not considering a move for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in the coming weeks. Bayern center-forward Robert Lewandowski only has 12 months left to run on his contract at the Allianz Arena and has publicly voiced his desire to leave the club this summer. The powers-that-be in Bavaria continues to insist that Lewandowski is not for sale, in spite of the fact that the Poland international could walk away for nothing in 12 months' time."Our position is clear: Robert has a contract until the summer of 2023. We signed Sadio to increase the competition in our team. We want to strengthen the fight for spots in our team," sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic recently told reporters after securing Sadio Mane's signature."The signing of Mane will reshuffle the cards for every attacking player. We have never thought about having to let a player go when we signed Sadio." Ronaldo made 38 appearances for Man United in the 2021-22 season. He ended up with 24 goals. Ronaldo scored 18 Premier League goals and added another six in the Champions League. For the 16th successive season, he managed 20-plus goals in a season. Overall for United, he has 142 goals in 330 appearances for club. Ronaldo finished the 2021-22 season with 24 goals and three assists from 38 matches in all competitions, including 18 goals in 30 Premier League matches

Spanish press reports revealed that Dutch international Memphis Depay has been reportedly told by Barcelona manager Xavi that he is no longer needed at the club. The Dutch international arrived at the Camp Nou on a free deal from Lyon last summer and managed to score 13 goals and provided two assists for the Blaugrana in 38 games in all competitions. Twelve of Depay's scores came in 28 La Liga appearances, but he failed to become a regular starter in Xavi's squad after signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres. The 28-year-old has also struggled with hamstring injuries throughout the season, only playing the full 90 minutes in La Liga once in the second half of the season. According to Spanish news outlet Marca, the Dutchman has been told by Xavi this week that he is no longer part of the Spaniard’s plans for the upcoming season.  It has been reported that an offer in the region of £25 million would be enough for Barcelona to part ways with the 28-year-old winger. And the club will then use the fund to lure Raphinha to the Nou Camp.  Depay was linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur at one point, but Spurs paid £60m and signed Richarlison from Everton.