By Rory Carroll LOS ANGELES Spain, France, Brazil and even Australia are being looked at as possible future

Wednesday's roundup of transfer rumours includes news of Liverpool rivalling Real Madrid for Kylian Mbappe, Bayern Munich's bid for Harry Kane, Man Utd rescinding a contract offer to David de Gea and more.

The Washington Commanders became the first team since 1984 to lose a game by double digits when registering nine or more sacks

Spain is just one win away from the Women's World Cup final, less than a year after more than a dozen players staged a mutiny and stepped away from the team

Real Madrid are looking at a move for Harry Kane this summer, with Carlo Ancelotti and the club's football hierarchy having discussed the English striker as one of the few players who does not represent a downgrade on Karim Benzema. The club announced the departure of the French striker on Sunday morning, with Saudi Arabia his expected destination, but the lateness of his actual decision has caused a shift in their transfer plans for this summer. Madrid plan to sign Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund for £130m, but were hoping to keep Benzema for one year before going big on either Erling Haaland or – much more likely – Kylian Mbappe. They are now insistent on a striker for this window, and have had several discussions over the last few days as Benzema's decision became clear. They do have money for a first lavish summer since 2019, having had very little net spend in the time since, and their financial isssues to be eased. Madrid have Benzema, Eden Hazard and Paris Saint Germain-bound Marco Asensio off the wage bill, with the expensive Bernabeu redevelopment also close to completion. That leaves a potential budget of over £200m, although it remains to be seen whether it will be enough to convince Tottenham Hotspur to sell or the player to join. While The Independent has been told that it has been made known to Madrid what wages Kane would want, there is still the belief that he wants to stay in England in order to break the Premier League goalscoring record. Spurs' position is weakened by the fact the 29-year-old now only has a year left on his contract but that has not changed Daniel Levy's hardline stance. The Spurs chairman absolutely will not countenance the sale of Kane to another Premier League club, and his preference is still to keep him for next season in the hope that a deal can still be agreed. Much will depend on the manager. At the same time, a sale to Madrid would at least represent a more palatable option. The Bernabeu hierarchy are hoping to play on this, even though they are acutely aware of how difficult it will be to negotiate with Levy. It is still expected the Spurs chairman would want as much as £200m, which would almost certainly exceed Madrid's budget. The club's policy is no longer to go after players above 29 due to a shift in order to compete with state-owned clubs but this is seen as an exceptional situation, due to the profile of forward required. It is also hoped it may not impinge on any new pursuit of Mbappe, as they hope to bring him in on a free and Kane could play with both the French striker and Vinicius Jr. Read More Karim Benzema confirms Real Madrid departure as he eyes big-money move Harry Kane sends message to Mauricio Pochettino after former boss joins Chelsea Premier League transfers: Mount and Kane linked with moves this summer

Arsenal concerns that record signing Declan Rice has suffered a major back injury have been described as "easing" in a welcome boost for the Gunners.

Barcelona players were chased from the pitch by angry Espanyol supporters as they celebrated their La Liga triumph on Sunday, with coach Xavi Hernandez saying it was hard to...

The Warriors are shaking up the starting lineup for Game 4 as Steve Kerr looks to combat the Lakers, but the move to do so is a shocking one.Gary Payton II played a massive role for the Golden State Warriors a year ago as they rolled through the NBA Playoffs, into the NBA Finals and hoisted the ...

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits his side failed to live up to expectations this season and has no issue with Mohamed Salah saying the team let down fans. Writing on social media after Manchester United’s win over Chelsea on Thursday night consigned Liverpool to Europa League football, the Egypt international said he was “devastated” and there was “absolutely no excuse” for not making the top four. Klopp had already resigned himself to not playing Champions League next season and admits he even thought fifth place was out of reach prior to their current 10-match unbeaten run, which includes seven victories. “It was a just a normal description of his situation, of his feeling, and in that moment directly after the game he’s right, it’s not the moment to immediately send any optimistic messages,” said Klopp. “But I saw him now in the canteen and he was smiling. I don’t know for which reason as I didn’t ask him, but he is not in a bad mood. That’s it. “We didn’t deliver what everybody wanted or expected but but we are still really united, that’s the good thing about it. “The dressing room is not in a bad mood. We have learned to deal with the situation. We didn’t get divided in one moment between manager and team, which is super helpful. “For a long time and it was clear from a specific point on it would not be a historically good season. We made mistakes, we couldn’t deliver often enough and were not consistent enough. “We didn’t point fingers at each other. That’s all good. If you don’t qualify for the Champions League, the best place you can possibly end up is fifth, so that’s what we did. “If you’d have asked me 10 games ago if that was possible, I’d have said no. That the boys did that is really good but it’s not perfect. “We didn’t end up fifth because of the last 10 games, we ended up there because of the lack of consistency before that.” We didn't deliver what everybody wanted or expected but but we are still really united, that's the good thing about it. Jurgen Klopp Failure to qualify for the Champions League is set to cost Liverpool at least £50million next season but there may be implications in the shorter term as UEFA’s second-tier competition is likely to be less attractive to leading players. The club have already pulled out of the running for primary target Jude Bellingham after the asking price for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder became prohibitive and reports this week suggested Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount’s preferred destination is Old Trafford. Klopp is keen to get his business done early and is hopeful finishing fifth will not put a spanner in the works of their planning. “I don’t think so but we will see. That is obviously possible, it’s always possible things don’t go as quick as you want. It’s not only possible, it is probably likely,” he added ahead of Sunday’s final match of the season at Southampton. “The better the players you want the lesser is the desire of the other club to let him go and that’s exactly what we are prepared for. “But it’s a long window and a long pre-season and a long break in-between so we have time. If we get in players tomorrow or in six or seven weeks it is not a game-changer for me to be honest. “In an ideal world they all sign tomorrow and I can tell them when to be and we can start giving them the plans for the summer break but that will not likely happen likely.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Cricket Ireland defends decision to rest Josh Little for England Test Marc Skinner demands Man Utd focus on their own job in WSL season finale Roberto De Zerbi preparing for busy summer building competitive Brighton squad

Lionel Messi’s third game with Inter Miami is being delayed at the start because of thunderstorms in the area

The Pittsburgh Steelers' game-winning interception against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday was a result of Minkah Fitzpatrick's sideline play-calling.

Ahead of the San Francisco 49ers Week One bout with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Steelers CB Patrick Peterson had some choice words for 49ers QB Brock Purdy.