Jude Bellingham is wanted by Europe's top clubs because he is "an outstanding talent" who has proved he is the real deal, according to Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.
Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who wants Bellingham to join the Reds, spoke of how Bellingham should return home to England and develop his game.
"There's still growth in him, and he can evolve, and I think staying in England until a certain age until he hits his peak years is very important for the boy now," Gerrard said on BT Sport.
While Gerrard said he would love to take Bellingham out for dinner and sell the prospect of Liverpool to him, Terzic wants the teenager to stay where he is, and considers him further advanced than a player at any developmental stage.
"I don't think there's a player that's been more speculated about in our squad right now than Jude has been in the last few weeks and months," Terzic said.
"Because he's an outstanding talent; because he is, I think, past that talent status, even though he's only 19."
England international Bellingham scored Dortmund's opener as they beat Augsburg 4-3 on Sunday, and BVB go to Mainz on Wednesday seeking another three points to nudge them deeper into the battle for Champions League places.
Bellingham is suspended for the Mainz game, with the teenager's absence a major blow.
This is his third season of being a regular in the Dortmund midfield, with his growing maturity and impact on the field all too obvious to Terzic. Bellingham has nine goals already this season, a personal best for a campaign.
"He is an extremely important player for us, who has now scored the first goal in a game for us again, who was extremely important in both attack and defence on Sunday," Terzic said.
"And of course we will miss him tomorrow. But that's the job of a good squad.
"We will now think carefully about how we can compensate this absence for tomorrow. We are sure that Jude will play a leading role again in the game in Leverkusen on Sunday. And tomorrow we will do the job without him."
Terzic said Dortmund are looking "from day to day" at how Sebastien Haller comes on, as the former Ajax man continues his comeback after treatment for testicular cancer.
The French striker came off the bench on Sunday, and Terzic said: "We are just noticing that he is getting better and better from day to day. He feels better and better, he has found his rhythm again, and we just hope that we can increase the workload bit by bit.
"To what extent that will be enough for the starting line-up, whether that will be the case tomorrow or on Sunday or next week, we will see, but we are sure that he will play an important role again tomorrow."
Van Dijk welcomes Slot arrival as Liverpool captain commits to Reds future
Virgil van Dijk insists his future remains solely with Liverpool as the Reds captain welcomed incoming Dutch compatriot Arne Slot.
Slot will replace Jurgen Klopp as Liverpool manager, with the Dutchman expected to take charge at Anfield from Saturday after sealing his switch from Feyenoord.
The soon-to-be Liverpool boss leaves the Netherlands after three highly successful seasons with Feyenoord, having led them to the league title in 2023.
Slot will be welcomed by two fellow countrymen on the red side of Merseyside, with Van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch eager to link-up with their new manager.
As Netherlands began their Euro 2024 training camp on Monday, Van Dijk told a news conference: "I still have a year left on my contract.
"I am club captain and I have made it clear I am there for the new coach and enthusiastic over the next season.
"Obviously, there will be a lot of changes but I am confident we will make a big success of it.
"I congratulated [Slot] of course and I'm really pleased for him and his family. We spoke about the team and the future but now my focus is fully on the national team."
Slot's reign ended with six straight league wins and Feyenoord did not lose any of his final 20 Eredivisie matches at the helm, their last defeat coming against PSV on December 3.
The 45-year-old oversaw exactly 150 games in charge of Feyenoord across all competitions, winning 98 of those contests (65.33 per cent).
Slot also won the KNVB Cup glory in April, overseeing a 1-0 win over NEC Nijmegen in the final of that competition, and Gravenberch believes that success has earnt his Liverpool move.
"I think he can be good for my career, he's a coach who wants to play good football," added Gravenberch.
UEFA and FIFA warned to halt Super League opposition by Spanish court
FIFA and UEFA have been told to stop their opposition against the European Super League (ESL), with a Spanish court ruling warning of anti-competitive behaviour and abuse of a dominant position.
Madrid's commercial court said on Monday the European and world governing bodies violated competition law by banning and punishing clubs from participating in a proposed new tournament.
FIFA and UEFA were told to reverse any anticompetitive actions committed in the past after A22 Sports Management, the company behind the plan to create the ESL, brought the case to Spanish court.
"It's an important step towards a truly competitive and sustainable club football landscape in Europe," A22 CEO Bernd Reichart said in a statement after the ruling.
"For too long UEFA has been allowed to control and dominate club football at European level."
Reichart added that UEFA's position on the ESL has "stifled innovation for decades", though celebrated "the era of the monopoly [as] definitively over".
The case was also brought against LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), though that pair and UEFA insisted the court ruling did not explicitly support the creation of the Super League.
"The court has not given the green light to, nor has it approved, projects like the Super League," UEFA said in a follow-up statement.
"In fact, the judge has asserted that the Super League project has long been abandoned and that she cannot be expected to rule on any abstract projects.
"In short, the judgment does not give third parties the right to develop competitions without authorisation and does not concern any future project or indeed any modified version of an existing project."
English football's so-called 'big six' – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – were founding members of the original Super League project in April 2021.
Yet those Premier League clubs quickly withdrew amid fan protests and pressure from the football authorities, with Milan, Inter and Atletico Madrid following a similar suit.
UEFA has since changed its rules around new competitions following the collapse of the ESL proposal in April 2021 and the court says those new rules are unaffected by Monday's ruling.
"The court also confirmed that the current version of UEFA's authorisation rules [as adopted in June 2022] is not affected by today's ruling," the European governing body added.
Bonmati named Women's Champions League Player of Season for second straight campaign
Aitana Bonmati secured the Women's Champions League Player of the Season for a second straight campaign after guiding Barcelona to European glory.
The Spain international scored in Saturday's 2-0 victory over Lyon in the final, helping Jonatan Giraldez's side clinch an unprecedented quadruple.
Fellow Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas produced the other goal in that victory, but Bonmati was named Player of the Match after another eye-catching performance.
With six goals and six assists, the 26-year-old managed more goal contributions than any other player in this season's Champions League, and that earned Bonmati further individual recognition.
"She influenced the game all over the pitch in and out of possession. High progressive passes, high ball recoveries and scored a great goal," UEFA's technical observer panel said in a statement.
Bonmati also scored eight goals in Barcelona's victorious Liga F campaign this season, helping the Spanish giants win the competition for a fifth consecutive time.
Having already won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's best women's player award for 2023, this UEFA award caps a fine season for the impressive Bonmati.
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