The stats are with Paris, according to national sports daily L’Equipe and the French have a right to be confident about their match against Chelsea tonight.

Leonardo has tendered his resignation as sporting director of Paris St-Germain and will leave the French champions at the end of August.

Leonardo has tendered his resignation as sporting director of Paris St Germain and will leave the French champions at the end of August.

Shares in Marks & Spencer surged today on speculation that the retailer is an £8bn bid target for Middle Eastern investors.

Paris St Germain manager Carlo Ancelotti insisted his team were well worth their place in the Champions League quarter-finals after they edged past Valencia.

Former France international Patrick Vieira believes striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the key to Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 title tilt this season.

Barclays handed the job of restoring its tarnished reputation to an insider today as another scandal threatened to engulf the UK bank.

Under-fire banking giant Barclays today named its retail and business banking boss Antony Jenkins as chief executive.

The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into payments made between Barclays and Middle East investors it tapped for funds at the height of the financial crisis.

Former Liverpool and Inter Milan manager Rafael Benitez has been lined up as a replacement for Paris St Germain coach Antoine Kombouare, according to Al-Jazeera.

The FTSE 100 Index pushed back above the 5,000 mark today as renewed talk of Qatari interest in Sainsbury's thrust the UK's third biggest supermarket into the takeover spotlight.

UK supermarket giant Sainsbury’s posted an 18.5% rise in profits today as its efforts to hike sales and cut costs paid off.

Less than a fifth of Barclays existing shareholders opted to buy new shares in the bank as part of a £4.5bn (€5.7bn) fund raising scheme, the company said today.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is understood to be eyeing a sale of its pension scheme in a move set to thrust the group back into the takeover spotlight, a report said today.

A £4.5bn fundraising move from Barclays lifted bank shares to drive the London market forward today.

Barclays’ £4.5bn (€5.7bn) fundraising announcement boosted the UK banking sector and helped put the London market on the front foot today.

Barclays today outlined plans for a £4.5bn (€5.7bn) cash injection from wealthy overseas investors as part of a move to boost its balance sheet.

The second attempt to buy British supermarket giant Sainsbury's in six months collapsed today.

The Qatari-backed fund circling UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s was today given less than two weeks to formalise its £10.6bn (€15.1bn) takeover interest.

Takeover talks between supermarket Sainsbury’s and its Qatari-backed suitor are said to have stalled as Middle Eastern investment fund Delta Two struggles to secure finance, a report suggested today.

The Sainsbury family will hold out against a Qatari takeover unless funding of the supermarket chain’s pension scheme is resolved, it emerged today.

Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s is this week expected to recommend a revised takeover offer from Qatari investment group Delta Two, it was reported today.

Northern Rock was once again the biggest loser on the London market today amid growing fears that it would struggle to secure a decent takeover bid.

The UK’s third biggest supermarket Sainsbury’s is today reported to be seeking a “put up or shut up” order if it does not receive a firm offer from its Qatari-backed suitors this week.

UK supermarket group Sainsbury’s has edged closer to opening its books to the Qatari-backed fund pursuing the retailer, it was reported today.

The Qatari fund circling supermarket Sainsbury’s was today under pressure to increase its takeover offer after reportedly failing to win the support of a major shareholder.

The Qatari investment fund stalking supermarket Sainsbury’s today said that Asda veteran Tony Campbell would become chairman of the chain if its potential £10.4bn (€15bn) bid succeeds.

Sainsbury’s is facing its second takeover battle in less than six months after it was disclosed today that a Middle Eastern investment fund was setting its sights on the supermarket giant.

Sainsbury’s suitor and Qatari royal family-backed investment vehicle Delta Two has been thrust into the limelight by its interest in snapping up the supermarket giant, but until now little has been known of the seemingly deep-pocketed fund.

QATAR’S €30 billion investment fund is seeking a strategic stake in Sainsbury’s and is studying exactly how much of the British retailer it wants to buy, the emirate’s foreign minister said.