David Trezeguet admits Sunday s World Cup final will be difficult personally as the France World Cup winner with Argentine roots finds himself pulling for Lionel Messi.

Former Juventus star Trezeguet is torn by his loyalties to each country, but his feeling is that Messi deserves to be a World Cup winner and needs this more than Kylian Mbappe.

The Paris Saint-Germain team-mates are shaping to be the principal players in the Lusail Stadium drama that will unfold, with 35-year-old Messi seeking his first triumph at this level while 23-year-old Mbappe chases his second winner s medal.

Trezeguet was a champion with Les Bleus in 1998, having elected to play for France, where he was born, over Argentina, from where his parents hailed.

Looking at the position Me…

Stoke City have announced the signing of Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley on a free transfer.

Bardsley will officially join Stoke on July 1 when his contract expires and the 28-year-old has penned a three-year deal with the Britannia Stadium outfit.

The right-back progressed through the ranks at Manchester United, but was often sent out on loan during his time at Old Trafford.

He moved to Sunderland in 2008, though, and went on to make exactly 200 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes said that Bardsley s experience appealed to him.

I m really pleased to bring Phil in to the club, Hughes told Stoke s official website.

He s a player of great Premier League experience, who I think will bring added quality to the squad.…

AS Roma have no intention of parting ways with Tammy Abraham this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Serie A side signed the striker from Chelsea last year for a reported fee of €40 million. Since then, he s gone on to score 23 goals along with four assists in 40 appearances in all competitions for Jose Mourinho s team, showing fine form throughout the season.

As might have been expected, his quality, as well as the fact that he s still only 24 and has his best years ahead of him, has sparked speculations about his future with several top clubs said to be interested. However, Roma have no intention of listening to any offers for his services at the moment.

The deal which saw Abraham leave Stamford Bridge for the Stadio Olimpico in 2021 apparently contai…

Marseille have re-signed veteran defender Rod Fanni one year after he left the club to join Qatari side Al Arabi on a free transfer.

Fanni, who made 166 appearances for Marseille between 2011 and 2015, joined Al Arabi when his contract at the Stade Velodrome expired.

He spent half of last season in Qatar before joining Championship side Charlton Athletic on a temporary basis.

The 34-year-old has re-joined Marseille and will compete with the likes of Tomas Hubocan and Doria for a place in Franck Passi s defence.

OFFICIAL | signs for OM. Welcome home!

— Olympique Marseille (@OM_English)

A statement on the club s official website said: Franck Passi is to have a team of players with character, desperate to defend the Marseille jersey.…

Luke DeVere scored in the sixth minute of stoppage-time as 10-man Brisbane Roar salvaged a 1-1 home draw against Melbourne Victory on the opening day of the new A-League season.

The 26-year-old defender had not scored in the A-League since October 2010, but found the bottom corner with a right-footed strike with the last kick of the game after a free-kick had fallen into his path.

That brought a dramatic period of action to a close after Victory thought they had done enough to secure all three points on 83 minutes when Mitch Austin reacted quickly to fire in a low finish on his debut after the hosts failed to deal with Fahid Ben Khalfallah s cross from the right.

The visitors were sitting a goal and a man up at that stage – Roar captain Matt McKay having been s…

Portugal are missing Cristiano Ronaldo but Nani is sure the rest of the squad can step up in their Euro 2016 qualifying opener with Albania.

Real Madrid talisman Ronaldo was a surprise omission from Paulo Bento s 24-man party for the Group I clash at the Estadio Municipal de Aveiro on Sunday.

The 29-year-old forward struggled with knee and thigh injuries during Portugal s World Cup campaign but had been involved during the start of Real s season at the time Bento named his squad on August 29.

However, Bento opted to leave the former Manchester United man out of his squad, stating that he was not physically ready to play, a decision that appears vindicated as Ronaldo missed the European champions trip to Real Sociedad last Sunday with a knee complaint.

Whi…

Diego Simeone praised Lionel Messi s star quality and admitted the difficulties of repeating Atletico Madrid s impossible title win of 2013-14.

Messi guided in a superb first-half free-kick to secure a 1-0 victory over Barca s nearest title rivals on Sunday, moving the league leaders eight points clear at the top.

It was his 600th career goal and marked a major moment in the Blaugrana s bid to win LaLiga.

Simeone claimed the Camp Nou result would have been reversed had Messi been on his side.

Messi is a special player, he made the difference, the Atleti boss told reporters.

If we take Messi and put him in an Atletico shirt, we win this match 1-0.

It was an even match. I don t think we lacked application in the first half. However, we…

Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler believes the Reds recent record against Everton gives them the edge ahead of Monday s Merseyside derby.

Jurgen Klopp s men make the short trip to Goodison Park in the latest challenge in their Premier League title bid.

Liverpool have not lost to their city rivals since October 2010, when Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta scored in a 2-0 Everton win, and battered the Toffees 4-0 at Anfield in their last encounter in April.

And Fowler, who scored 183 goals in 369 appearances for the Reds, told Omnisport: I think Liverpool will be confident going into the game. Everton s run of form of late has not been brilliant.

I think Liverpool probably have a little bit of a shine over Everton in the last few years. You know the old cliche for…

Socceroos attacker Tommy Oar says he is thriving after being reunited with head coach Ange Postecoglou ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

The flying winger spent the 2009-10 season under Postecoglou at Brisbane Roar before being snapped up by FC Utrecht, where his game has gone from strength to strength.

One of the unfortunate players to be cut from Pim Verbeek s provisional World Cup squad four years ago, there is no chance of Oar meeting the same fate ahead of the tournament in Brazil, with the 22-year-old a certain starter on Australia s left flank.

I ve always enjoyed playing under him, Oar said when asked how much he had bought into Postecoglou s game-plan following Monday s 1-1 draw with South Africa in Sydney.

I feel free. I feel like I can try and take the game…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 

In what could be a lively encounter in midweek, Hartlepool will welcome Eastleigh to the Super Six Stadium on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Hartlepool may have taken a shock lead against League One outfit Oxford over the weekend, Craig Hignett s men eventually fell to a 4-1 hammering and the Pools have continued to show some glaring struggles at the back. Including being hit with another 4-1 defeat away at Harrogate on Boxing Day, they have recorded just a single National League victory since the end of November and they have mustered just a sole fifth-tier clean sheet in any of their previous 10 appearances. Also showing some worrying inconstancies at the Super Six Stadium, it should also be noted that Hartlepo…