Manchester City could have spent more money in their quest for success under Sheikh Mansour, according to former chief executive Garry Cook.

City s willingness to invest heavily in their playing squad has gained much attention in recent years.

However, Cook, who left the club in 2011, insists the Etihad Stadium outfit were relatively cautious with their dealings after Mansour completed his takeover in 2008.

The players and agents and football clubs all think, because you ve got all that money, you should pay it, said Cook.

There s no reason why you should, just because you have.

So we actually lost more business than we did by virtue of the fact that we wouldn t meet everyone s most ridiculous demands.

After winning the Premier League in 2012, City r…

Lyon have insisted there has been no deal struck with Newcastle United for midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

Guimaraes, who is currently on international duty with Brazil, is said to be a target for a number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal.

However, on Wednesday, The Athletic reported that it was struggling Newcastle, who are looking to make big moves in order to boost their Premier League survival bid under Eddie Howe, who had made big inroads in a deal for the 24-year-old.

The Athletic s report stated that Guimaraes would undergo a medical in South America in order for the transfer to go through.

Numerous other outlets, including BBC Sport, then reported that Newcastle were closing in on securing the transfer, though stopped short of stating a medi…

Liverpool are interested in signing Rafael Leao from AC Milan, according to . The report has claimed that former Serie A and UEFA Champions League winners Milan do not want to sell Leao and will demand as much as €150 million in transfer fees for the 24-year-old Portugal international winger.

Leao is one of the best wingers in the world and is a regular for Milan and the Portugal national football team. The 24-year-old winger has played 19 matches for Portugal so far in his career, scoring three goals in the process. Leao has scored two goals and given one assist in four Serie A matches and has played once in the UEFA Champions League so far this campaign.

Liverpool are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 13 points from five matches, two points behind…

Edinson Cavani will miss the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie between Manchester United and Atletico Madrid.

The striker is still being troubled by a groin problem, having missed the Red Devils past three Premier League matches.

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick said the Uruguay international has been unable to train for two weeks and does not feel capable of running at full capacity, meaning there is little point in including him in the squad for Wednesday s match.

No, Edi will not be able to make the trip, he told reporters on Tuesday. He didn t train and hasn t been training for the last couple of weeks.

He has problems with his groin and as long as he doesn t feel ready to fully sprint, it doesn t make sense to train him.

Cavani ha…

Aleksander Ceferin has been confirmed as the new president of UEFA after beating fellow candidate Michael van Praag in Wednesday s election.

The head of the Slovenian Football Association was the overwhelming favourite to replace disgraced former president Michel Platini during the vote at UEFA s Congress in Athens.

And the 48-year-old received 42 votes from the 55 UEFA members to easily claim the required simple majority of 28.

Dear friends, thank for your fantastic support. It s a great honour but at the same time great responsibility, Ceferin said on stage following his victory.

It means a lot to me, it means me and my family are very proud. My small and beautiful Slovenia is also very proud about it. Thank you very much.

Congratulations to …

Liverpool vice-captain Daniel Agger is confident the club can deal with the pressure of being in the Premier League title mix.

The Merseysiders head into the business end of the season very much in contention for a first top-flight crown since 1990.

Brendan Rodgers side sit second in the table, seven points behind leaders Chelsea but with a game in hand.

Liverpool narrowly missed out on winning the Premier League under the stewardship of Rafael Benitez in 2009, when they finished four points behind champions Manchester United.

The club s 2013-14 vintage travel to United on Sunday looking to complete a league double over their fierce rivals and keep in contention at the top.

And Agger, who is one of the few remaining members of the 2008-09 side that finish…

Stoke City assistant manager Mark Bowen hopes the club can continue their strong away form when they visit Sunderland in the League Cup.

Since making their Premier League debut in the 2008-09 season, Stoke have had a notoriously poor away record in the top flight.

However, Mark Hughes side have not lost any of their three away league games so far this season including a shock 1-0 victory at champions Manchester City earlier this month.

Stoke were only denied another win on the road at the weekend as Niko Krancjar s stunning 88th-minute free-kick earned QPR a 2-2 draw.

And Bowen wants the team to take their Premier League form away from home into Tuesday s League Cup tie at the Stadium of Light.

Our away form has improved however so we can take …

Alessandro Costacurta does not feel the Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter carries much weight as he does not think either side will qualify for the Champions League.

Both Milan sides have suffered severe declines in recent seasons the Rossoneri last appeared in Europe s elite club competition in the 2013-14 season, while Inter have not qualified since 2011-12.

It is a theme Costacurta – a seven-time Scudetto winner and five-time European champion with Milan – expects to continue this term.

Third-placed Milan meet Inter at San Siro on Sunday in Stefano Pioli s first game at the Nerazzurri helm, and the former defender found it difficult to separate the two.

For me, it s not an important derby in terms of the table, because, in my opini…

Andre Gray scored his first Premier League hat-trick to move Burnley nine points clear of the relegation zone and heap more misery on David Moyes with a 4-1 win over Sunderland.

Gray broke the deadlock after 30 minutes at Turf Moor, making the most of some abysmal Sunderland defending and setting the tone for another dreadful day for Moyes.

He wrapped up his hat-trick with two goals in just under three second-half minutes before Ashley Barnes 67th-minute penalty added to Sunderland s humiliation.

Jermain Defoe did restore some pride for Sunderland four minutes later, but his effort will provide little comfort for a team that lost Lamine Kone to injury 24 minutes in and saw Victor Anichebe sustain a hamstring problem.

Moyes, who went into Saturday s…

Kevin De Bruyne s gesture during the closing stages of Manchester City s Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion was one of selflessness towards a team-mate and friend, but also one that backfired.

De Bruyne ceded his penalty-taking duties after drawing a foul from Albion goalkeeper Robert Sanchez in stoppage time at a sodden Etihad Stadium, giving Raheem Sterling the chance to step up.

Unfortunately, the England international ballooned his attempt into the deserted North Stand, leaving Pep Guardiola s side with a few more needlessly nervy minutes to see out a 1-0 win.

A key contributor as City racked up six major trophies in the three previous campaigns under Guardiola, Sterling is yet to fully hit his stride this time around, even as his colleagues…