Thursday's gossip column

TRANSFER GOSSIP

Paris Saint-Germain could step up their interest in Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, 27, if Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 31, joins Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich in the summer.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski, 24, is keeping a close eye on Rooney's situation and would love a move to Old Trafford.

Full story: the Sun

Carlos Tevez, 29, Gareth Barry, 32, Edin Dzeko, 26, and Samir Nasri, 25, all face uncertain futures at Manchester City with manager Roberto Mancini planning a summer clear-out.

Nicolas N'koulou is set to leave Marseille

Full story: the Guardian

Swansea manager Michael Laudrup fears defender Ashley Williams, 28, could be tempted by Arsenal at the end of the season.

Full story: Daily Mirror

Liverpool have been encouraged to renew their interest in Paris Saint-Germain striker Kevin Gameiro. Brendan Rodgers enquired about the French forward, 25, in January.

Full story: Daily Mail

Cameroon defender Nicolas N'koulou, 22, who has been linked with a move to Arsenal, is set to leave Marseille this summer.

Full story: Sky Sports

Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling, 18, could be set for a loan move to the Championship with either Cardiff City or Bolton Wanderers.

Full story: Metro

OTHER GOSSIP

Reading's players do not want former Swindon manager Paolo Di Canio to take over as Brian McDermott's replacement at the Madejski Stadium.

Full story: Daily Mail

Brazilian authorities face a race against time to complete the rebuilding of the Maracana if the iconic stadium is to be ready to host a friendly between Brazil and England on 2 June.

Full story: the Independent

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez has joked that the club's fans may even blame him for the Blues' fixture pile-up.

Full story: the Guardian

GLOBAL GOSSIP (sourced by BBC Monitoring)

Barcelona's director of football Andoni Zubizarreta has confirmed manager Tito Vilanova, who has been undergoing treatment for throat cancer, will remain the club's manager next season.

Full story: Marca (Spanish)

Casillas has been out since January with a hand injury

Fifa President Sepp Blatter has told of his opposition to the decision to host the 2020 European Championships in several countries, saying it will rob the tournament of its "heart and soul".

Full story: Kicker (German)

Along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, Malaga's qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League means that Spain have three teams in the last eight for the first time in a decade.

Full story: Marca (Spanish)

Real Madrid and Spain keeper Iker Casillas has returned to training after fracturing a hand in late January.

Full story: El Pais (Spanish)

Zenit St Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti has pledged his future to the club, despite rumours that he is about to move on. "I want to make it absolutely clear that I will not leave even if we are eliminated from Basel," Spalletti said ahead of the Europa league match against the Swiss club who lead the tie 2-0 from the first leg.

Full story: Tuttosport (Italian)

AND FINALLY

Djimi Traore won the Champions League in 2005

Tottenham goalkepeer Brad Friedel has revealed one of the reasons why he is still going strong at 41 - his mother, Sue, continues to teach sport at a school in the USA at 70 years of age "and has no signs of wanting to stop".

Full story: Daily Express

Former Liverpool defender Djimi Traore, 33, did not manage a single league goal in his entire career in Europe but scored one of the goals of the season for MLS side Seattle Sounders.

Full story: 606 newsletter

A group of ticketless Galatasaray fans were caught trying to dig their way into Schalke's Veltins Arena ahead of Tuesday's Champions League match.

Full story: the Guardian