Antoine Griezmann is proud to have been on the Ballon d Or podium but expressed his surprise at missing out on the top prize.

Griezmann won both the Europa League and World Cup in 2018, the striker inspirational in the respective triumphs of Atletico Madrid and France.

But he finished third in the voting for the Ballon d Or, with Cristiano Ronaldo in second while Luka Modric became the first Croatian to win the honour.

Griezmann has made no secret of his desire to win football s top individual honour and was left frustrated by being overlooked in favour of Ronaldo and Modric.

When I found out you didn t have to be at home with me the first two days, Griezmann joked.

No, it s a great pride to be on the podium, to be a world champion.

I …

Thierry Henry departs Monaco with great sadness but is confident they have the squad of players to remain in Ligue 1 under Leonardo Jardim s stewardship.

Henry was suspended on Thursday and his sacking was confirmed 24 hours later, the club s former striker leaving after just three months in charge having replaced Jardim and failed to inspire a turnaround to move them away from the relegation zone.

Franck Passi will take charge for the relegation six-pointer against Dijon on Saturday before Jardim reassumes control.

Henry s departure comes with the club a point and a place above the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, with the former Belgium assistant having overseen a Champions League group-stage exit and a Coupe de France humbling at the hands of second-tier Metz duri…

Championship strugglers Middlesbrough have appointed Michael Carrick as their new head coach.

The former Manchester United and England midfielder replaces Chris Wilder, who was sacked this month less than a year after taking the Boro hotseat.

Carrick worked under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Old Trafford before taking charge of United on a caretaker basis for three games late last year.

The 41-year-old stepped down as Red Devils first-team coach following the arrival of Ralf Rangnick last December and has now been given his first opportunity as a head coach.

The club is delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Carrick as Head Coach

Welcome to , Michael!

— Middlesbrough FC (@Boro)

I m really excited to be …

Italy coach Luciano Spalletti wants his side to embrace a more “modern” approach as he tries to spring some surprises ahead of Euro 2024.

The Azzurri face Venezuela in Fort Lauderdale on Thursday, before travelling to New Jersey to take on Ecuador, and Spalletti has promised a more progressive style from the defending European champions.

He is set to field a back three and trial two attacking players behind a central striker and has made it clear he is looking for a more fluid dynamic than his side have become used to.

“We need to do something modern,” he declared on the eve of the Venezuela meeting.

Miami

— Nazionale Italiana (@Azzurri)

“There is an openness now to being footballers who know how to interpret multiple syst…

Erling Haaland missed Manchester City s game at Leicester City on Saturday after the Norway international s early midweek substitution in the Champions League.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker left the action at half-time against his former club, with manager Pep Guardiola subsequently stating the striker was nursing a foot problem and a fever.

Haaland, who has scored a breathtaking 17 Premier League goals in 11 games already this term, had hoped to pass a late fitness test to feature for his side s trip to the King Power Stadium.

But with the teams in, it was revealed the 22-year-old had lost the battle to feature, with Guardiola instead favouring a front three of Julian Alvarez flanked by Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish.

TEAM NEWS

XI | Eder…

Atletico Madrid have agreed a deal worth 45 million euros for the transfer of Radamel Falcao and Ruben Micael from Porto.

Liga Sagres champions Porto announced the agreement to the Portuguese stock market on Thursday.

Both transfers are subject to the successful completion of medicals, while the players are yet to agree personal terms with La Liga club Atletico.

The transfer values Colombia striker Falcao, 25, at 40 million euros, with the fee potentially rising to 47 million based on performance-based clauses.

Real Madrid and Chelsea had both been linked with moves for Falcao, who scored 38 goals in all competitions last season as Porto won the Portuguese league championship, Portuguese cup and the Europa League.

The former River Plate forward j…

Leonardo and Kaka meet up in Paris

Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest in Real Madrid playmaker Kaka, according to Canal +.

The Brazilian is reportedly unhappy with the lack of playing time at Santiago Bernabeu and he could be open to January exit.

Jose Mourinho is not too keen on keeping the Brazilian in the squad as Mesut Ozil has been in scintillating form since his arrival from Werder Bremen.

Paris Saint-Germain are looking to take advantage of the situation and they are preparing a January bid for the highly rated midfielder.

The Saints’ sporting director Leonardo has built a very good relationship with the player during his time at Milan and he will try to persuade Kaka into joining Paris Saint-Germain.

The pair reportedly met…

Leicester City owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha says he needed convincing before gambling on Jamie Vardy but was happy to be proven wrong about the non-league journeyman turned Premier League title-winner.

The Foxes sealed a remarkable league championship triumph when Tottenham failed to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Monday.

Leicester s march to glory has been full of improbable individual success stories, but none more captivating than that of Vardy, who was signed from Fleetwood Town for £1million in 2012.

The 29-year-old was this week named Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year for 2015-16, having set a new record for scoring in 11 consecutive Premier League matches early in the remarkable campaign.

And while he may have been instru…

Coke s double enough to send the Reds crashing out / Image via zimbio.com

Sevilla have been crowned Europa League champions for the third time on the bounce after coming from behind to beat Liverpool 3-1 in the final match in Basel.

It all started so well for Liverpool who opened the scoring through Daniel Sturridge ten minutes before the break with a wonderful effort with the outside of his boot, but Liverpool failed to use the momentum and build up on the lead in the second term against the rampant Spaniards.

Sevilla levelled the score just 17 seconds after the restart as Alberto Moreno misfired a clearance to be nutmegged by Mariano in the build-up for Kevin Gameiro’s goal.

Liverpool were behind just after the hour mark as Coke pushed in a first tim…

According to reports in Italy, AC Milan are a big part of the race to sign Marseille defender Boubacar Kamara. The 19 year old has been with the French club since way back in 2005, which should be enough to showcase what a remarkable journey he’s been on. Boubacar hasn’t made all too many appearances for the senior team since debuting back in 2017, but even so, he’s done enough to convince a series of top European clubs that he could be something special in the future.

Kamara is also considered to be a primary target of Premier League clubs Chelsea and Arsenal, although Milan seem to be showing the most intent right now.

Scouts from the Italian club have even gone to the effort of going to see him play, and although January is in the rear view mirror, there’s ce…