Gary Lineker reveals Raheem Sterling request before Man City vs Real Madrid

straight to your inbox Barcelona have not given up on keeping Lionel Messi despite the player’s dramatic transfer request on Tuesday. The club’s new football director Ramon Planes – who replaced Eric Abidal last week – said that they are working long hours to try to head off the crisis and persuade Messi to stay, with Manchester City seen as favourites to land him.

straight to your inboxLionel Messi would transform Manchester City into a global brand if the Barcelona star chose to leave the Camp Nou this summer.That’s according to Gary Lineker, who believes a reunion with Pep Guardiola would be the obvious choice for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.Messi is being linked with a move away from Barcelona following a disappointing season for the Catalan giants.They finished the season without a trophy, and were dumped out of the Champions League in humiliating

straight to your inboxManchester City forward Gabriel Jesus was forced to make a number of changes to his diet following his move to England from Palmeiras in 2017.Jesus, 23, joined the Blues in January 2017, scoring his first goal for the club a month later.The Brazilian was handed City's No.9 shirt in June 2019 and remains a crucial player under Pep Guardiola, scoring in both legs during the Champions League round of 16 victory against Spanish champions Real Madrid.Jesus was interviewed by

straight to your inbox Pep Guardiola said that the team will discuss what went wrong in a hotel meeting after their Champions League crash against Lyon. The Manchester City manager was asked about Raheem Sterling ’s astonishing miss – which would have made it 2-2 – but Guardiola appeared to broaden it out into a post-mortem on the whole performance, which was littered with errors.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola refused to comment on the VAR decisions that went against Manchester City during their Champions League quarter-final defeat to Lyon.Maxwel Cornet opened the scoring for the French side in the first-half before Kevin De Bruyne finally levelled proceedings after the interval.City should have been ahead but Raheem Sterling missed an open goal from five yards out which sparked a counter-attack from Lyon.Moussa Dembele raced clear and appeared to trip Aymeric

straight to your inboxAfter producing a fantastic performance against Real Madrid in their last Champions League game, Manchester City's European campaign continues on Saturday night, as they take on Lyon in Lisbon in the quarter-final of the competition.City are very likely to be without Sergio Aguero for this game, with Gabriel Jesus once again set to start in his place.

straight to your inboxJoleon Lescott says Gabriel Jesus needs to be more selfish in attack for Manchester City.The striker scored a crucial goal to put City 2-1 up against Real Madrid in the Champions League, seizing on a mistake from Raphael Varane to produce a cool finish.It was Jesus's fifth goal since football resumed in June as he continues to fill the void left by Sergio Aguero's injury.Speaking on BT Sport, former City defender Lescott said the difference between the two players is

straight to your inboxGabriel Jesus says Manchester City have learned how to suffer – and that has him dreaming of lifting the European Cup.The Blues striker put the pain on Real Madrid by robbing Raphael Varane to tee up Raheem Sterling for the first goal and then superbly tucking away the second in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Friday night.But the 23-year-old Brazil international believes that City have taken the lessons from previous Champions League flops, and can now cope with the moments in

straight to your inboxReal Madrid defender Raphael Varane accepted full responsibility for his side's defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League.Madrid needed to come from behind after losing the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabeu following goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus.Zinedine Zidane's men were without Sergio Ramos after his red card but the Spaniard travelled with the team to watch on from the sidelines.Varane started alongside Eder Militao in central defence but a shaky

straight to your inboxGabriel Jesus believes the power of his pressing game was key to Manchester City's victory against Real Madrid in the Champions LeagueThe Brazilian netted in the reverse fixture at the Bernabeu in February and started on the wing again at the Etihad, with Phil Foden operating as the false nine.Jesus was involved from the off, putting Raphael Varane under pressure after just nine minutes and forcing the Frenchman into an early mistake that allowed Raheem Sterling to open the

straight to your inbox Injury updates on Sergio Aguero were seen as being of key importance as Manchester City prepared to take on Real Madrid. But Pep Guardiola hinted that the Blues legend might not have played even if he had recovered from a knee injury he picked up shortly after the Premier League re-start.

straight to your inboxAfter a brief break following the conclusion of the Premier League, Manchester City will have their biggest game of the season so far on Friday when they take on Real Madrid in the Champions League.City hold the advantage going into the last-16 second leg after their historic 2-1 victory at the Bernabeu back in February thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne.However, Madrid have gone from strength-to-strength since that match and have won an unlikely La Liga

straight to your inbox Manchester City are back in action on Friday night in what will be the biggest match of their season so far as they take on Real Madrid in the Champions League. The two sides will finally complete their last 16 tie at the Etihad, with the first leg being played way back in February as City came away with an historic 2-1 victory after coming from behind with goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne at the Bernabeu.

straight to your inbox Sergio Ramos will be at the Etihad on Friday for Real Madrid's Champions League match with Manchester City despite not being part of the matchday squad. Ramos is suspended for the second leg of the last-16 clash after being shown a red card for hauling down Gabriel Jesus in the final moments of the 2-1 win for Pep Guardiola's side at the Bernabeu.

straight to your inboxHere are the Manchester City evening headlines for Sunday, August 2Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney believes that Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne is one of the three best players on the planet.Rooney lined up against De Bruyne in two Machester derbies, losing one and drawing one, but lost 3-1 against City after he had joined Everton.