There is a carve-up taking place at the top of European football and you don’t need to be a conspiracy theorist to see who is behind it.

Mario Balotelli has admitted he was never happy at Liverpool and does not want to go back.

Rule one of Italian football is that whenever Italy are due to compete in a major tournament, a big scandal will break in the previous six months.

The Football Association would find it “difficult” to support Michel Platini even if he is cleared by Fifa’s ethics committee this week over the €1.8m payment he received from the world governing body.

Bosnia has been here before, and so has Miralem Pjanic.

The highlights, talking points and gaffes from the football weekend

Juventus have completed the signing of Croatia forward Mario Mandzukic from Atletico Madrid in a €19m transfer deal.

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri will not stand in Paul Pogba’s way if the French midfielder decides to leave the Turin giants this summer.

"Poor Sepp Blatter," wrote John Cleese on Twitter last Friday. "Just a couple of hundred rotten apples, and he has to carry the can".

Midfielder Yaya Toure’s future at Manchester City appears to be drawing to a close as Inter Milan vice-president Javier Zanetti claimed the Italian giants are close to completing a move for the Ivory Coast star.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has no concerns about captain Vincent Kompany’s form or state of mind.

Mario Balotelli is unlikely to return to Inter Milan in January, according to club vice-president Javier Zanetti.

Croatia coach Niko Kovac has apologised for the ugly scenes in the crowd that marred his side’s 1-1 draw with Italy in Milan yesterday.

The father of Jules Bianchi admits his son's situation is "desperate" and that it is a "miracle" he is still alive, but believes he will "not give up" his fight for life.

Roma captain Francesco Totti has thanked Manchester City for giving him extra motivation to score on Tuesday.

AC Milan insist they have not received an offer from Liverpool for their striker Mario Balotelli.

Antonio Conte has been confirmed as the new head coach of the Italy national team.

Arsenal may be the team to benefit from Italy’s early exit from the World Cup with under-fire Mario Balotelli prepared to consider a move away from AC Milan, according to his agent.

Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon will miss his side's opening World Cup Group D match against England in Manaus tonight.

Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has not ruled out the possibility of remaining at Napoli next season.

Roberto Mancini has left his post as Galatasaray manager, the Turkish club have confirmed.

Giuseppe Rossi is frustrated to miss out on a third straight major tournament with Italy after being among the final cuts made by coach Cesare Prandelli.

Italy’s football chief Giancarlo Abete has condemned the racist chants directed at Mario Balotelli during the Azzurri’s training session today.

One of the key figures in bringing the Giro d’Italia to Ireland is hopeful the race can leave a lasting and positive legacy.

“The end of a totally failed experiment,” says Germany’s main football paper Kicker and their verdict more or less sums up the European reaction to Manchester United’s decision to part company with David Moyes.

Inter Milan president Erick Thohir has confirmed the Nerazzurri are looking to bring in a top striker this summer, with Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko and Chelsea’s Fernando Torres as their main targets.

El City — No! was the headline in El Mundo Deportivo before the Champions League draw yesterday.

For most of Europe this is Champions League match day six.

Alex Ferguson’s retirement has provoked an extraordinary response right across Europe, a wave of emotion almost comparable to the day Seve Ballesteros died, exactly two years earlier.

Roberto Mancini is a man under pressure to win and win well against Wigan in Saturday’s FA Cup final.

Vampire or pistolero?

Paris St Germain director of football Leonardo insists the club have not made an offer for Cristiano Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney but said he could not rule out big buys this summer.

AC Milan striker Mario Balotelli has been handed a three-match Serie A suspension after directing a volley of abuse at a match official on Sunday.

AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng described how he was treated like “an animal” by six Pro Patria fans accused of chanting racial abuse.

The Lega Serie A will meet tomorrow to consider sanctioning Inter Milan after fans reportedly directed racial abuse at Mario Balotelli during last night’s Milan derby, it is understood.

Cycling’s prestigious Giro d’Italia will begin in Ireland next year, organisers confirmed today.

The Bundesliga came back with a bang at the weekend after its month-long hibernation.

AC Milan are in talks to take Real Madrid midfielder Kaka back to the club in the current transfer window, vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed.

Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder could agree to join Galatasaray tomorrow, according to his agent.