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World champion Lewis Hamilton expects to sign a new Mercedes contract this week that could be worth more than £27m a year. The 30-year-old Briton, who has been handling negotiations with team bosses himself, says talks are complete and the deal is being finalised by lawyers. Hamilton said: "It should be done this week. There is no reason it shouldn't. "Honestly, it's 99.6% done. There's no negotiating left, it's just legal stuff." BBC Sport has learned Hamilton, who joined Mercedes in 2013 after six years with McLaren, will earn about the same as he did under his first contract with the German team - a basic salary, paid in US dollars, of $31m (£20.9m) plus extensive bonuses. Depending on how many races he wins, and whether he becomes world champion, these bonuses could easily take his annual earnings well over $40m (£27m). The overall value of Hamilton's deal is fundamentally similar to F1's two other big earners a...

Liverpool will give Daniel Sturridge a chance to prove he can overcome a thigh injury and play in Saturday's Premier League match at Arsenal. The club's medical staff have looked at the problem and feel that he could play against Arsenal, sources have told ESPN FC. However, he will not be risked if manager Brendan Rodgers feels that there is a danger of aggravating the injury. Sturridge withdrew from the England squad for matches against Lithuania and Italy after tearing a hip muscle. The 25-year-old suffered the injury during Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat at home to Manchester United on March 22. He reported at England's training camp the following day to be assessed, with scans showing the seriousness of the injury. Rodgers' side go into the Arsenal game lying fifth in the Premier League, five points behind Manchester United in fourth, and six adrift of the Gunners in third. Sturridge has been beset by injuries this seas...

Chuba Akpom has joined Nottingham Forest on loan until the end of the season. The 19-year-old forward has made seven substitute appearances for Arsenal this season, winning a penalty in the 5-0 victory over Aston Villa at the start of February following an impressive performance in Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth-round tie against Brighton and Hove Albion the week before. Akpom is part of Aidy Boothroyd’s England Under-20s squad and scored a well-deserved equaliser in their penalty shootout victory over Mexico on March 25. The striker, who signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal in February, made his debut for Arsenal Under-18s at the age of 15 and has been an integral part of the youth set-up ever since. The young forward is joining the Championship side to gain further first team experience.

Oscar and Neymar scored as Brazil rallied past France 3-1 in a friendly on Thursday. Raphael Varane scored following a corner kick in the 21st minute to give France the lead, but Oscar equalised shortly before half-time by poking home after a one-two with Roberto Firmino. Brazil took full control after the break, and Neymar provided the lead in the 57th minute with a blast from the corner of the six-yard box following a counter-attack. Luis Gustavo made the lead comfortable in the 69th minute by heading in a corner kick. A fine finish from captain Neymar helped secure a come-from-behind 3-1 win for Brazil over France in a friendly in Paris on Thursday as they maintained their perfect record since the return as coach of Dunga. Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane had headed the hosts in front on a cold night at a packed Stade de France, only for Oscar to equalise late in the first half. Barcelona forward Neymar then controlled a Willian p...

Germany midfielder Sami Khedira on Wednesday said he will leave Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the season. "There is nothing more to say than what I told the sports magazine (Kicker), when there's anything more, I'll say it," the 27-year-old said after captaining Germany to a 2-2 friendly draw with Australia in Kaiserslautern. Having joined Real in 2010 from Stuttgart, Khedira won last season's Champions League with the Spanish giants and has been linked to Bundesliga side Schalke 04. "This is not a decision against Real, I just want to spice up my career and evolve," Khedira told Thursday's edition of Kicker. "There is no absolutely no agreement with anyone or a preference at the moment." Premier League sides Chelsea and Arsenal have also been linked to the Real star, who was denied a place in last year's World Cup final after suffering an injury in the pre-match warm-up having played a ke...

Nigeria goalkeeper and captain Vincent Enyeama had his 100-cap celebrations spoilt as visiting Uganda turned party-poopers with a 1-0 international friendly victory. Farouk Miya, who plays for the Vipers club in Kampala, delivered the stinging blow nine minutes from time in the southern city of Uyo with a deflected close-range shot that looped into the net. Enyeama is the second Nigerian after retired former Everton defender Joseph Yobo to make 100 appearances for the Super Eagles. And he is the fourth African shot-stopper after Egyptians Essam El-Hadary, Nader El-Sayed and Ahmed Shobair to become an international centurion. Enyeama plays for French Ligue 1 outfit Lille and the 32-year-old is widely regarded as the best current African goalkeeper. Nigeria are rebuilding after failing to qualify for the 2015 CAF Africa Cup of Nations and rarely threatened to score against the well-organised Ugandans also captained by their goalkeeper, Deni...

Manchester United striker Radamel Falcao says "calls are coming in everyday" as he looks for a club where he can play regularly. The Colombian 29-year-old has scored four goals in 22 appearances since joining on loan from Monaco. But he has not started a game since a 2-0 win over Sunderland on 28 February. "I need to find a place where I have continuity and I can play," Falcao told Colombian television station Win Sports.  "When the season finishes, I will obviously sit down and analyse things and decide what is best for me." The former Porto and Atletico Madrid striker added: "Calls are coming in every day so I need to stay calm. I stay out of it and let other people handle this situation." Falcao was one of the most sought-after strikers last summer after scoring 155 goals since moving to Europe in 2009. United beat a number of top clubs to his signature as they signed him on loan, paying him £265,000 a week. ...

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has been banned for three games by the Football Association after being found guilty of a stamp on Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea. Skrtel was charged on Monday after the incident, which happened in stoppage time at the end of Sunday's 2-1 Premier League defeat to United at Anfield. The Slovakia international, who had denied the charge, chased a through-ball as 10-man Liverpool searched for a late equaliser. De Gea slid in to get there first and the defender continued his run and stood on the goalkeeper's right shin. Neither referee Martin Atkinson nor his assistants saw the incident, meaning the FA could take retrospective action based on television footage. The FA confirmed it had charged Skrtel with violent conduct in a statement that read: "In Premier League matches, if an incident has not been seen by the match officials a three-man panel of former elite officials will be asked by the ...

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has set himself the target of winning the Ballon d'Or and hit back at criticism from Paul Scholes. Like several of his Germany teammates, Ozil has struggled with injuries since becoming a World Cup-winner in Brazil. He has featured in 14 Premier League games, with a knee ligament injury sidelining him for three months before the turn of the year. Ozil, 26, has rediscovered his form in 2015 after coming in for much criticism for his performances, and feels he can go on to emulate Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by becoming the world's best player. The former Real Madrid midfielder, currently preparing for Germany's friendly against Australia on Wednesday and the Euro 2016 qualifier in Georgia on Sunday, believes his injury troubles are over and he can improve. "Should I continue to improve myself and stay healthy, I want to get my hands on the Ballon d'Or in the upcoming years," the Germany internatio...

Daniel Sturridge has been ruled out of England's Euro 2016 qualifier with Lithuania on Friday with a hip injury. The Liverpool striker, 25, also misses the friendly against Italy in Turin on Tuesday, 31 March. Sturridge sustained the problem during Liverpool's 2-1 Premier League defeat by Manchester United on Sunday. His absence could pave the way for Tottenham's Harry Kane to make his debut at Wembley for the Group E leaders. Sturridge's Liverpool team-mate Adam Lallana is out of the England squad after suffering a groin injury against Louis van Gaal's side and has been replaced by the uncapped Ryan Mason. Sturridge had been hoping to make his first England appearance since September when he played in the 1-0 friendly victory over Norway. Since then, injury has forced him to miss all of England's Euro 2016 qualifiers - against Switzerland, San Marino, Estonia and Slovenia - as well as the friendly against Scotland. The England me...

Michel Platini was re-elected as UEFA president on Tuesday, and two critics of Sepp Blatter were chosen to join the FIFA executive committee. In his acceptance speech, Platini pledged his love for FIFA despite supporting all three candidates against Blatter in the world governing body's own presidential election. Platini ran unopposed to extend his reign, which started in 2007, and was voted in by acclamation by the leaders of UEFA's 54 member federations to serve four more years. "This means more to me than you could possible imagine," Platini said in an acceptance speech in French. Platini also retained his position as a FIFA vice president through 2019. The former France great will be joined on the FIFA executive committee by former Manchester United CEO David Gill and Germany football federation president Wolfgang Niersbach. Both previously said Blatter should leave FIFA this year. Though Platini opted not to stand against Blatter in ...

Fernando Alonso will return to racing at this weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix, if he is given the all-clear by doctors, his McLaren team say. The double world champion missed the season opener in Australia on 15 March to recover from concussion suffered in an accident in pre-season testing. McLaren said in a statement Alonso, 33, felt his steering go heavy before the crash, which is so far unexplained. The team will fit the car with an extra sensor to gather data. McLaren said the decision was made following Alonso's visit to the McLaren factory last week, when he drove the simulator and went over the data from the accident with the team's engineers. "While there was nothing evident in the extensive car telemetry data, nor anything abnormal in the subsequent reconstructions and laboratory tests, Fernando recalls a sense of 'heavy' steering prior to the accident," McLaren said. "Consequently, the team has fitted an addition...

Nigeria achieved a seventh title, beating hosts Senegal 1-0 in the final on Sunday at a packed Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar. Midfielder Bernard Bulbwa’s first half strike was all the Flying Eagles needed to confirm their status as the most successful country in the history of the biennial championship. Nigeria’s other previous titles were in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005 and 2011. The feat means Senegal will have to wait for their first major title at the continental level to match their status as one of the powerhouses of African football. Seeking to avenge the 3-1 loss in the tournament opener, it was Senegal who got off well making their intent clear as early as the tenth minute. However, Nigeria goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo proved up to the task denying El Hadji Niang in a one-on-one situation. The Flying Eagles will recover from the promising start of the hosts, cheered on by an ecstatic crowd which partially filled the 60,000 capacity Leopold Sedar Sen...

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has left Chelsea full-back Cesar Azpilicueta out of his squad for the forthcoming Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Ukraine and friendly in the Netherlands. Azpilicueta was the most notable omission from the 24-man squad, but Stamford Bridge teammates Diego Costa and Cesc Fabregas were both included. Their returns came after they controversially missed Spain games in the autumn amid rancour between Spain and the Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho. Del Bosque told a news conference Azpilicueta's omission had been down to the strength of competition for places. "We are well covered at left-back with Jordi Alba and Bernat -- we have enough players there and we preferred not to call him," the coach said. "We rate him very highly, but the same thing also happened at right-back. There are lads who could be called up, but others are blocking their way." Juventus centre-forward Alvaro Morata was rewarded for his recent g...