Thursday 7 May 2015:

Napoli vs Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 8:05pm

Sevilla v Fiorentina 8:05pm

FIFA boss Sepp Blatter says women’s football is “limping behind” the men’s game in both profile and sponsorship, BBC reports. The 79-year-old also thinks football is too “macho” and wants governing bodies around the world to employ more females in positions of influence. In 2004, Blatter, 79, was heavily criticised for suggesting female footballers play in “tighter shorts” to improve the game’s popularity. But he says he feels like “a little bit of a godfather” to women’s football. “Women’s football is still limping behind a little bit. To get new partners for women’s football is difficult because the focus is on men’s football,” said Blatter, who is seeking a fifth term as president of world football’s governing body.

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Manny Pacquiao has had surgery on the shoulder injury he blamed for his Las Vegas defeat by Floyd Mayweather. The Filipino is being sued in Nevada after he was accused of lying about the torn rotator cuff suffered pre-fight. His surgeon Dr Neal ElAttrache is “more than pleased with the results”, but the 36-year-old faces up to a year out. Pacquiao was denied a pain-killing injection two hours before the bout because the Nevada Athletics Commission (NAC) were not aware of the injury. The NAC is considering disciplinary action against Pacquiao for not disclosing the shoulder problem on a form the day before the fight. Undefeated Mayweather, 38, has reportedly told ESPN  that he is open to a Pacquiao re-match in 12 months time, although the American has previously insisted he wanted just one more fight.

Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Dutch forward Memphis Depay from PSV Eindhoven. The fee is believed to be in the region of £25-30m and the player will have a medical in Manchester next week. Subject to this being passed, the 21-year-old will join United once the transfer window opens in June. Depay scored 21 goals as PSV won the Dutch title this season and played under United manager Louis van Gaal during his time as Netherlands boss.

Barcelona 3 – 0 Bayern Munich

Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona struck three times in the final 13 minutes of the first leg to whisk their Champions League semi-final tie away from a stubborn Bayern Munich side. The hosts seemed set for a frustrating night before Messi fired a low shot home from the edge of the area. Three minutes later he skipped past Jerome Boateng and dinked home coolly. Led by ex-Barca boss Pep Guardiola, Bayern pushed for an away goal and were punished again as Neymar raced clear. Until the devastating conclusion, the Germans had produced an excellent tactical display.

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Amir Khan says he could fight Floyd Mayweather in September despite previously stating Ramadan might disrupt his training. Khan, 28, is a Muslim and is set to fast during the holy month, which lasts from mid-June to mid-July this year. Ahead of his bout with Chris Algieri on 29 May, Khan said: “Mayweather normally fights mid-September and Ramadan is a little bit earlier this year. “It gives me enough time to get the training done, so it can happen.” Khan said on Sunday that Mayweather’s manager was keen to “get a fight on” after the undisputed welterweight champion beat Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas. Mayweather, 38, took his unbeaten record to 48 fights with a one-sided points victory over Pacquiao and is expected to make his next fight his last. Khan, who takes on former light-welterweight world champion Algieri in New York, says he has also been invited to fight Pacquiao, 36. But Khan insisted his focus is purely on Algieri, who was knocked down six times by Pacquiao during a massive points defeat in November. He said: “I really can’t take this Algieri fight lightly – lose and it would ruin my dreams to fight the biggest names in boxing. “I’m not going to be fighting Mayweather until I win this fight. I’m not looking past Chris because I’ve made that mistake in the past. There are bigger fights out there for me, but this is my focus.”

The Spanish football federation says it is suspending indefinitely all end-of-season games in disputes with the government, including over TV rights, BBC reports. A federation statement said it was also unhappy with receiving only 4.55% of pools revenue, though it said it was still open to dialogue. All matches will be suspended from 16 May, including the domestic cup final. In the top division, Barcelona lead La Liga rivals Real Madrid by two points, with only three games left to play. In the statement, the RFEF federation said it had acted after three months of talks with the government had failed to resolve the dispute. It said more than 600,000 players and 30,000 matches across the country would be affected by the suspension. However, it also stressed: “At the same time, and yet again, we reiterate the offer of dialogue to the Spanish government.” The RFEF acted after the government last week approved a new law on collective bargaining for TV rights. The law – which still needs to be approved by parliament – aims to regulate the rights to broadcast matches in Spain’s first and second divisions. The government has so far made no public comment on the federation’s statement. “The initial assumption is that this move has been taken in an attempt to head off a players’ strike which had been threatened for that weekend,” said Andy West, a Spanish football expert. “Players are unhappy with some terms of the deal, including the low percentage of revenue on offer to lower league clubs. “The issue of TV rights is a long-running one with most people recognising that Barca and Real receive far too much at the moment. Realigning it is not easy though,” Mr West added.

McLaren have unveiled the first fundamentally new colour scheme on their Formula 1 car for 18 years. The team have ditched the predominantly silver livery they have sported since 1997 in favour of graphite grey, with day-glo orange highlights. It is only the second major change of colour scheme for the team since 1974. A spokesman described the new design as “a dynamic, predatory graphite-grey colouration, complemented by McLaren day-glow ‘speedmarks’ and key lines”. He added that the idea was to “optimise (the car) not only for bright sunshine but also for floodlights used in twilight and night races”. The livery will make its first appearance at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. The team hope for a step forward in performance at the Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya, following a troubled start to the season in which they have begun a new engine partnership with Honda. McLaren have failed to score any points so far and have only once managed to get a car through the first knock-out part of qualifying. The team have upgrades on both chassis and engine for this weekend’s race. Racing director Eric Boullier said: “We know that one fix or upgrade won’t provide a significant upturn in performance, so we’re united in our continued efforts to bring further gains to both chassis and power unit, in terms of both reliability and outright performance, step by step.”

Manny Pacquiao is the subject of a lawsuit in Nevada after being accused of lying over a shoulder injury sustained before his fight against Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, BBC reports. The Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) says Pacquiao did not declare he had a problem on a pre-fight questionnaire. But he says he was up front about his injury and had agreed a treatment plan. Two people in Nevada have alleged the boxer defrauded ticket buyers, television viewers and gamblers. They have opened lawsuits just hours after the NAC accused Pacquiao of being dishonest. If the Filipino, 36, is found guilty of that charge, the penalty for perjury could be a jail sentence of between one and four years, and a fine of up to $5,000 (£3,305).

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Journalists have been arrested and held in Qatar while filming a documentary on conditions facing migrant workers ahead of the World Cup in 2022. A German television crew was held for 14 hours and say their equipment was seized and their recordings wiped. Qatari officials said the arrests in March were made because the TV crew did not have permission to film in the country – not because of the content. Human rights groups have expressed concerns about conditions for workers.

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has had “successful” surgery on a hip injury in the United States. The 25-year-old England international has played just twice since he picked up the injury in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United on 22 March. “Just want to let the world know I’ve had a successful operation on my hip and I want to thank God for allowing that to be possible,” Sturridge said. “Onwards and upwards from here. Thanks for the support.”

Former South Africa international and Champions League winner Benni McCarthy has been robbed at gunpoint at a barber’s shop in South Africa, according to the AP news agency. The agent of McCarthy – who played for Blackburn and West Ham in the Premier league – said the 2004 Champions League-winner with Porto was targeted in the Johannesburg shop, where armed men stole jewellery from him. A man reportedly pointed a gun at McCarthy’s face and demanded his watch, earrings and wedding ring, but the footballer – who called time on his career in 2013 after a spell at South African club Orlando Pirates – was not hurt in the incident

It looks like AC Milan are about to be bought out, or at the very least, a large portion of the club will be acquired by a Thai businessman. Bee Taechaubol, who runs a number of companies through his investment vehicle Thai Prime, has met with the club’s controlling shareholder Silvio Berlusconi and wants to purchase a minimum 49% of the club, reports BBC Sport’s Richard Conway. “This is a sound investment, and I am looking forward to tremendous success on all fronts with AC Milan,” said Taechaubol in a statement. “Once we have concluded the deal, we will roll up our sleeves and get to work. The club is not where it should be: fighting for the Serie A title, and in the final stages of the Champions League.”

Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara will face off against his brother – Rafinha – when Bayern Munich travel to Barcelona for tonight’s Champions League semi-final. Thiago is two years older than the Barcelona full-back and their rivalry at the Nou Camp will pose an issue for their father – Mazinho – who famously performed a rocking baby celebration alongside Bebeto at the 1994 World Cup. “His heart will be divided,” Thiago says of his father. “He’ll have to get two scarves, cut them in half and sew them together.” As for facing his old club, Thiago speaks highly of Xavi Hernandez ahead of what will be his last Champions League game at Barca’s famous stadium but is also colourful on the goalscoring talents of Lionel Messi. “He’s spectacular, incredible,” adds Thiago. “He’s playing further from goal and he’s still scored 40 in the league. If he played in goal he’d score 25. There’s no comparison; he’s the best, a competitive animal.”

Thiago’s father, Mazinho (left), Bebeto (middle) and Romario (right) celebrating a goal for brazil during USA’94 World Cup.

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has publicly laid bare some of the personal issues that have disrupted his career, saying he has faced “dark moments”. The 31-year-old was granted personal leave by Tottenham in October but has managed just two goals in 17 outings this season. In a lengthy Facebook post, he outlines internal family feuding, stating: “I have kept these stories for a long time but I think today it is worth sharing some of them with you. “It’s true that family matters should be solved internally and not in public but I am doing this so that hopefully all families can learn from what happened in mine.”

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Tuesday 5 May 2015:

Juventus 2 – 1 Real Madrid

Wednesday 6 May 2015:

Barcelona 3 – 0 Bayern Munich

Sunday 3 May 2015:

Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote claims he still harbours hopes of one day buying Arsenal. The Nigerian has an estimated fortune of 15billion US dollars (£10.4billion) and is reported to have wanted to buy into the Gunners when former director Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith was selling her shares in 2010. Arsenal’s current majority shareholder is American tycoon Stan Kroenke, who remains committed to the Barclays Premier League club for the long-term. Uzbek magnate Alisher Usmanov controls around 30 per cent and has also expressed no desire to offload any of his stock. Nevertheless Dangote, whose business interests include sugar, flour and oil, remains keen to become part of the Emirates Stadium club sometime in the future. Speaking to Bloomberg, he said: ‘I still hope, one day at the right price, that I will buy the team. ‘I might buy it, not at a ridiculous price but a price that the owners won’t want to resist. I know my strategy.’ Dangote, though, added no imminent bid was in the pipeline. ‘We have 16billion dollars-worth of investments in the next few years. Right now I want to take my own business to a certain level. Once I finish on that trajectory, then maybe,’ he said. Dangote, however, suggested Arsene Wenger’s side should be achieving more. He added: ‘(Wenger) needs to change his style a bit. They need new direction.’

Just under three hours until kick-off in the first Champions League semi-final between champions of Italy Juventus and defending European champions Real Madrid in Turin. Former Real Madrid keeper Bodo Illgner believes criticism of Gareth Bale this season has been unfair. Illgner, who played when Real beat Juventus in the 1998 Champions League final, adds: “If he’s not 100% fit that’s a very big issue for him. But he made a very good impression in the last match at Seville so I think he will start tonight and will have a good performance. “He’s shown what’s capable of for Real Madrid in the cup final and the Champions League final last season.”

Former world number one Tiger Woods admits he has had a “brutal” three days following the split with girlfriend Lindsey Vonn. On Sunday the high-profile couple announced they had “mutually decided to end our relationship”. The timing was not great for Woods, coming on the ninth anniversary of the death of his father Earl, and as a result he has had trouble sleeping. “Obviously it does affect me. It’s tough. These three days have been brutal on me,” said the 39-year-old at his press conference ahead of this week’s Players Championship, his first appearance since the Masters a month ago.