Happy to announce that I'm accredited for #AFCON2025 Great to be heading out to Morocco after providing live commentary for CAF competitions over the last few years. Feel free to reach out if your outlet is looking for on-site coverage in English (ou en français): [email protected]

The breakdown of the €61m PSG have been ordered to pay Kylian Mbappé: - 36.6m for the third instalment of his signing-on bonus - 17.25m in wages from April to June 2024 - 1.5m in "ethics bonuses" - 5.54m in paid leave Contributed to BBC Sport's coverage of the ruling in Paris this afternoon:

This week's GFFN/Guardian Ligue 1 round-up is out - wrote about Strasbourg's struggles, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's return to form, and the campaign calling for French football journalist Christophe Gleizes' release after he received a seven-year prison sentence in Algeria:

PSG’s last home game of a memorable calendar year is against Rennes here tonight Lens now out of reach with a four-point lead at the top of the table, but a chance to bounce back after the defeat in Monaco Senny Mayulu leads the line, Zaïre-Emery starts at right-back again

Quentin Ndjantou in the XI for PSG tonight - earning his first Champions League start Ousmane Dembélé is back in the squad and starts from the bench

PSG's shift towards homegrown talent has been crucial to relieving the pressure of this season's injury crisis. Academy graduates Mayulu, Mbaye and Ndjantou are set to be involved once more tonight against Tottenham. Yohan Cabaye and Luís Campos outlined the club's long-term plans this week:

"I’ve arrived during a difficult period for French football..." I went to Lorient to speak to Laurent Koscielny about his work as the club's sporting director, learning from Arsène Wenger, and his departure from Arsenal:

Belgium are on the brink of qualifying for their first-ever Rugby World Cup - they take on Samoa this afternoon in a decisive final match I spoke to their fly-half Matias Remue, who plays his club rugby for French champions Toulouse, on what qualifying would mean for Belgian rugby:

Great response from Bordeaux after the far-right politician/pundit Éric Zemmour wore their shirt at a book signing: “The Bordeaux shirt belongs an open-minded, united, and inclusive club of the people. It is worn by all, without distinction. It will never be a tool for those who seek to divide.”

The latest chapter in one of international’s rugby’s great rivalries – Les Bleus out for revenge against the world champions

Tonight, France take on South Africa for the first time since a heartbreakingly narrow quarter-final defeat in their home World Cup. Piece on Les Bleus' autumn series preparations, new faces in the team, and overcoming the "trauma” of that defeat:

It might seem like an unassuming mid-table Ligue 1 match, but tonight’s Paris FC v Rennes game is also one of the richest in football - a clash between billionaires and long-time industry rivals in luxury goods The Arnault family (LVMH) take on the Pinaults (Kering) on the pitch for the first time

Nolann Le Garrec confirms Gaël Fickou will be France’s captain against South Africa: "He has a lot of experience. He’s seen it all with this team, through the highs and lows." "It’s great that he has the chance to be captain. He guided a very young team in New Zealand this summer."

Rennes are winless in six and Habib Beye's job is on the line, but the manager isn't the only one at fault — the billionaire-backed Bretons need to commit to a clear direction and a stable hierarchy. Piece for the Guardian/GFFN:

David Hubert unveiled as Union Saint-Gilloise’s new head coach this afternoon, and immediately taking charge of his first training session The former Anderlecht and OH Leuven manager was appointed this morning, a day after Sébastien Pocognoli’s departure to Monaco was made official

Lucas Chevalier getting a warm reception here from his former fans ahead of Lille v PSG Both sides coming off major away wins in Europe, PSG's injury crisis forcing Luis Enrique to name four teenagers in the lineup (including a first senior start for Ndjantou)

The PSG fans’ tifo tonight celebrating Ousmane Dembélé’s Ballon d’Or win “The prince of the city who became king of the world”

Ousmane Dembélé’s transition from misfiring winger (who was dropped from a matchday squad entirely only 10 months ago) to all-action striker (especially in his off-the-ball work) has been very impressive to witness A well-deserved Ballon d’Or

Their flight was delayed until this morning due to an air conditioning issue, but Monaco have made it for their Champions League opener here in Bruges - Denis Zakaria misses out due to an adductor injury, while Ansu Fati is called up for the first time since arriving this summer.

PSG kick off their title defence against Atalanta here tonight - surprisingly, it’s Mayulu who starts up front rather than Gonçalo Ramos, in a revamped frontline due to injuries to Doué and Dembélé

Paris Saint-Germain’s first home game since the Treble here tonight - Dembélé and Neves among those returning to the starting lineup after last week’s stuttering win in Nantes Potentially a last appearance as an Angers player for the Rennes-linked striker Esteban Lepaul

A Coupe de France final where both sides will have one eye on other upcoming games - PSG on the Champions League final, Reims on their relegation play-off Nevertheless a chance for the Parisians to go one step closer to the Treble and for the Champagne side to end a long trophy drought

🍇 A convincing European campaign by Bordeaux-Bègles to win their first-ever trophy (today’s final was the toughest of their games though) - not bad for a club founded in 2006! Damian Penaud with another two tries to take his continental record-breaking tally to 14 this year #ChampionsCup

It’ll be hard to top yesterday’s match - and PSG will be hoping tonight is as uneventful as possible in any case, as they look to qualify for their second Champions League final here tonight Ousmane Dembélé starts from the bench, Thomas Partey returns for Arsenal

A contract extension and a win against PSG to climb back into the top four - not a bad week for Liam Rosenior at Strasbourg I went to Alsace earlier this season to interview the former full-back, who had already made an impression after a few weeks in France:

Paris FC have secured promotion tonight with a draw in Martigues - for the first time in decades, we’ll have a Parisian derby in Ligue 1 next season (at very close quarters) A crucial first step in the Arnault/Red Bull project:

Six months on from being dropped from the squad travelling to Arsenal, Ousmane Dembélé scored the goal in North London which puts PSG in the Champions League final as it stands A solid Donnarumma also helped them ride out the hosts' dominant spells My player ratings from North London:

The travelling PSG fans - 2500 of them - making their presence felt in North London tonight. Just under half an hour to go until kick-off.

Les Bleues come agonisingly close to denying England the Grand Slam - what a run from Joanna Grisez for the last try, to bring it to within a point In any case scoring 42 points at Twickenham is an encouraging performance 4 months from the World Cup #SixNations

Luis Enrique reaches a century of matches in charge of PSG tonight - he’s picked Kvaratskhelia, Doué and Dembélé as his front 3 to face Aston Villa, with Barcola starting from the bench The Asturian takes on Unai Emery for the first time since *that* remontada…

Lille hold on for the win but Antonio was very solid considering the circumstances - did well to recover from a shaky first 20 minutes Lens only really threatened once Andy Diouf came on and changed the dynamic in midfield - otherwise their forward line barely made an impact

A high-stakes Derby du Nord tonight - hosts Lille looking to bounce back from defeat in Nantes and draw level with 4th place, Lens looking to stay in the race for Europe Lens’ 17-year-old defender Kyllian Antonio is thrown into the starting XI for his senior debut following Gradit’s injury

Bordeaux-Bègles have just become the first #Top14 team - on the eve of their top-of-the-table clash against Toulouse, no less - to leave Twitter

France not at the level they showed against Ireland (and Mauvaka perhaps lucky not to see red in the 1st half) but it’s enough to clinch the title! Moefana with his best performance of a stellar tournament, Lucu also among the standouts again

The #SixNations title (and records for Ramos, Penaud and Bielle-Biarrey) in sight for Les Bleus here tonight

France sticking with the 7-1 bench split for Saturday’s #SixNations decider - Lucu unsurprisingly starts, Le Garrec on the bench, and Fickou comes in for his first match of the tournament (his 95th cap overall) to replace the injured Barassi

The way Lucu stepped up in Dupont’s absence is reassuring for next week too - the kind of commanding performance he has on a weekly basis for Bordeaux

This might even be the most important performance of the Galthié era - Twickenham 2023 was memorable but to beat the double reigning champions in this fashion vindicates many of the decisions he was criticised for #IREvFRA

PSG thought they’d left those dominant but wasteful Champions League displays in 2024 - an attack that was firing on all cylinders over the last two months comes to a screeching halt, and Donnarumma’s weaknesses are brought to the surface on the European stage again

A club statement from Bordeaux today (indirectly) criticises Oliver Kahn’s takeover bid and the local officials who have met with the German Its financial backing is dismissed as “unverified, even dubious” Bordeaux mayor Pierre Hurmic had praised the bid as “serious” after meeting Kahn on Friday

The 19 French players who will be rested during this weekend’s Top 14 action, before the #SixNations Ireland match Barré notably left off the list - presumably Ramos will move back to full-back with Ntamack’s suspension now over Penaud also returns (over Attissogbé) but not UBB teammate Jalibert

John Textor after Lyon v PSG, on the TV rights crisis: “My issue is about competitive parity. I’ll let the people who have been in French media fight that one out. I’m probably the only owner who built his wealth in football streaming, so I do think I have something to contribute to the debate.”

At Lyon-PSG tonight, where the main storyline is once again the tension between the two clubs’ presidents John Textor has appeared pitchside wearing a cowboy hat, after this week’s leak of a TV rights meeting from last summer in which Nasser Al-Khelaifi labelled him a “cowboy from who knows where”

An emphatic return to action for Barré (although Bielle-Biarrey’s one-handed take and offload has to be the highlight of the match) #ITAvFRA

Ramos at fly-half for France on Sunday — he was arguably their standout player last autumn in that position After the Twickenham loss both Penaud and Jalibert are dropped (the latter not for the first time), Attissogbé returns to the wing A 7-1 bench is certainly an interesting call #SixNations

🏉 Léo Barré is back in the France starting XV to play Italy I interviewed the full-back for Rugby World's latest issue, to discuss his #SixNations debut last year, Stade Français' struggles this season, and learning from the similarly versatile Thomas Ramos You can get a copy here: bit.ly/4i9tqap

Vitinha, who was once again named man of the match, on PSG’s 10-0 aggregate win over Brest: “When you have that advantage from the first leg, you might unconsciously relax a bit, but that’s exactly what we didn’t do today. We put in the work in defence and attack, that was the key tonight.”

At the Parc des Princes for what will in all likelihood be the final night of Brest’s European adventure (especially considering their rotated XI) Kvaratskhelia makes his 1st Champions League start for PSG, Dembélé looking to add to the 5 (!) goals he’s already scored against Brest this month alone

DAZN is requesting a total of €573m in compensation from the LFP, according to L’Équipe and RMC The platform claims that the broadcasting rights were ”mis-sold” and that the league authorities haven’t done enough to combat piracy

The LFP - the governing body of French football’s two professional leagues - announces it will use its reserve funds to pay clubs amid its legal battle with DAZN, which has withheld part of its latest payment for the Ligue 1 broadcasting rights