Antoine Griezmann is likely to stay at Atlético Madrid next season, sources have told ESPN, despite his longstanding interest in playing in MLS, and links with a move to LAFC.

Forward Griezmann, 34 -- whose contract expires in 2026 -- remains a key player for Atlético, making 28 appearances in LaLiga this season.

The former France international has spoken frequently about his desire to end his career in the United States, calling it a "target" fuelled partly by his love of U.S. sports.

Sources told ESPN that Griezmann is now likely to continue at Atlético in 2025-26, rather than seek a move to MLS at this stage.

However, if Atlético were to ask high-earner Griezmann to consider a move in order to free up space on their wage bill, the player would be willing to consider it, sources said.

Griezmann has been frequently linked with joining LAFC, whose squad includes his former international teammates Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud.

"I've always said it, my target is to end up [in MLS]," Griezmann told ESPN in 2023. "It's my objective, to be there and end my career there, to be able to enjoy the sports there. I'm a big fan."

Atlético strengthened their forward line last summer by signing Julián Álvarez and Alexander Sørloth, leading to speculation that a departure for Griezmann could be imminent.

"Antoine is a fantastic player, a great person and an Atlético Madrid man," Atlético president Enrique Cerezo said on Thursday. "We have a great friendship and relationship with Griezmann. He'll do what he wants to do. It's him who has to take the decision to be here or be elsewhere."

Griezmann is Atlético's all-time leading goalscorer, but is yet to win either LaLiga or the Champions League with the club.

The team are third in LaLiga -- seven points behind leaders Barcelona -- and face Barça next week in their Copa del Rey semifinal second leg, having been eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid in the round of 16.

Is Marcus Rashford really on the way back to his best form at Aston Villa? Or has his recall to the England team given a false impression of the forward's form since escaping his Manchester United misery on loan in January? It is a 40 million question that Villa must answer over the next two months.

If Villa are convinced, a permanent transfer from United for a pre-agreed 40m fee will happen this summer. But if question marks remain, Rashford will be sent back to Old Trafford with three years left on his 325,000-a-week contract and little hope of resurrecting his career at his boyhood club, where coach Ruben Amorim has repeatedly made clear that the player has no place in his future plans.

Rashford, 27, is set to make his 10th appearance for Villa in their FA Cup quarterfinal away to EFL Championship team Preston North End on Sunday (stream LIVE, 8:25 a.m. ET, ESPN+) and it will be another opportunity for him to give a clear indication as to whether he really is back on an upwards trajectory, or if the positive spin on his recent performances is nothing more than deflection from a harsher reality.

Few players divide opinion as much as Rashford. If there are doubters and believers, Amorim and his Old Trafford predecessor, Erik ten Hag, are firmly in the "doubters" camp; Villa coach Unai Emery and England's new boss Thomas Tuchel are in the latter, with both men showing faith in him in recent months.

United supporters, frustrated by Rashford's failure to justify his huge salary, would point to his lack of consistency, goal threat or team-play prior to his move to Villa, almost two months after his last appearance under Amorim. Though his new fans at Villa Park would cite his blossoming partnership with fellow loanee Marco Asensio as proof that Emery is reigniting his dormant career.

Precisely where Rashford is right now comes down to interpretation and subjectivity. Are four assists and no goals in nine appearances for Villa a positive return, or an underwhelming contribution? Did his England recall for the World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, a year after his last international appearance, prove that Villa were right to gamble on a player whose career had ground to a halt at United?

Rashford's performance data this season, for both United and Villa, is inconclusive and only allows the doubters and believers to cherry-pick evidence to suit their respective arguments.

According to ESPN Global Sports Research, Rashford averaged more sprints per 90 minutes for United this season (21.33) than he has at Villa (17.01). But paradoxically, he has covered more metres per 90 minutes (10,745.9) for Villa than he managed at United (10,204.3) before being dropped by Amorim.

So is he working smarter under Emery, or did Amorim not see the work-rate Rashford was producing at United?

Rashford was also more productive in front of goal for United than he has been at Villa, for whom he still hasn't scored. In 23 appearances for United, Rashford recorded an Expected Goals (xG) tally of 3.88, with seven goals in all competitions. At Villa, his xG is 1.59, with no goals in 9 games. But, perhaps because of Rashford's fruitful partnership with Asensio -- for whom Rashford has laid on four assists -- his Expected Assists (xA) figure is higher at Villa (3.26) than it was at United (2.11).

England coach Tuchel urged Rashford to show "more dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box" during his underwhelming return to the international scene, when he failed to score or assist in two games against Albania and Latvia and registered an xG of 0.03 and xA of 1.

Former England and Arsenal forward Ian Wright said after those two games that Rashford's reluctance to take on and beat his defender could cost him a place in future squads.

"The ball gets to him and I'm thinking 'right, yes, go,' and it feels like he's going to do it, then he stops and then he comes back," he said. "There's something that's stopping him, but he's got to play like he's going to fail. If I take this guy on and he tackles me, he tackles me -- but I might get past him; and then when he does get past people, the actual decision is not great."

The big winners from Rashford's return to the England team might be United, whose desperation to offload their one-time boy wonder was given a boost by Tuchel's decision to restore him to the Three Lions squad. Rashford may have been fortunate to be recalled, but from a United perspective it was only a positive that can increase the player's transfer value.

Yet Rashford's failure to make a compelling case that he is on the path to redemption is perhaps the clearest indicator that he still needs to do more. Lucky for him: this is the time of the season to do it.

Villa are just three games from winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1957 and are dreaming of emulating the club's 1982 European Cup winners by going all the way in the UEFA Champions League, with Paris Saint-Germain to overcome in the quarterfinals.

Despite his critics and detractors, Rashford has a good record of delivering in the big games and he has plenty of those in the weeks ahead. How he performs will decide whether he really is on the way back or if his best days are firmly in the past.

In a Premier League season that has almost defied logic and predictions, this campaign could end with Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham qualified for next season's Champions League, and Manchester City missing out on European competition altogether.

Anyone making such a prediction last August would have had their sanity questioned, but that shocking scenario remains a firm possibility as the season boils toward a climax following this international break.

At least the title race looks settled. Liverpool will surely be crowned champions, as they hold a 12-point lead over Arsenal with only nine games to play.

The Gunners can cling to the hope that Liverpool might be running out of energy if their lifeless Wembley display against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final is any indicator. But that is almost certainly clutching at straws. Even if Arsenal win every remaining game, including a trip to Anfield on May 10, Liverpool can still afford to lose three times -- and they've only been beaten once all season in league play.

Arsenal's run-in includes home games against Fulham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle -- all talented teams. It is a good bet that the Gunners will not win all of those, even if the much-missed Bukayo Saka's return from a long-term injury is reportedly imminent. Not bringing in another striker in January was a costly error for Arsenal -- Mikel Merino is doing his best as an emergency No. 9, but it is far from ideal.

My guess is that this international break will have given Liverpool a chance to reset after a nasty few days in which manager Arne Slot suffered his first back-to back defeats since joining the club -- losing against Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle -- and the squad was perhaps emotionally drained. Their next assignment, a Merseyside derby against Everton, will concentrate their minds, but will be no formality given the Toffees' excellent form since David Moyes returned as their manager.

There is no doubt Liverpool and Arsenal will clinch two of a probable five English places in next season's Champions League -- but who gets the other three slots is a puzzle even harder to solve than a Rubik's Cube while blindfolded. The entire top half of the table is involved in this drama, and it's impossible to know who will be sitting in the posh seats when the music stops in May.

Nottingham Forest -- European champions twice under Brian Clough in the 1970s, but strugglers for the last decade or so -- have been the surprise team of the season. But their lofty third position in the Premier League table is no fluke, and they look unlikely to blow their chance of returning to Europe's elite competition as Nuno Espirito Santo's astute management has taken Forest seven points clear of sixth place. A top-five spot looks nailed on unless nerves paralyze them during the final lap, which includes five games at the atmospheric City Ground and only four matches away.

This Forest team has no real weakness -- they boast a good goalkeeper in Matz Sels, a top defensive pairing of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, two flying wingers in Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, a classy No. 10 in Morgan Gibbs-White, and the goal-scoring virtuoso that is Chris Wood.

By contrast, Manchester City's implosion has given the season an unexpected twist of a different kind. As manager Pep Guardiola puts it: "We are not what we were, but will be next season." That sounds like a warning to the rest of the Premier League.

The fact is City's nine defeats so far are more than in their previous two seasons combined. There's no telling if they can even hold on to a top-five position, though a home game with doomed Leicester next in league play should calm any nerves.

The FA Cup could also provide salvation as the winner gets a Europa League place, but even here City have a tricky tie at Bournemouth on Sunday (stream LIVE, 12:25 p.m. ET, ESPN+) to negotiate in the quarterfinals. Either way, this is a City team in transition and you can expect major summer surgery with some big-name exits.

Chelsea, meanwhile, are in fourth place, and according to a bizarre claim by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, they have the "best attack in the country." That might be news even to the most devout fans at Stamford Bridge.

Of the teams in the top five, Enzo Maresca's Chelsea look the most flaky and vulnerable, especially as the injured Cole Palmer is going through a dip in form. Unconvincing since Christmas, Chelsea still have to play Liverpool and a resurgent Manchester United at home, a feisty grudge match against Tottenham, and draining trips to Newcastle and Forest. Any slip could open the door for Newcastle, where the party to celebrate their first domestic trophy in 70 years might last forever.

The international break has been good news for manager Eddie Howe, who has the job of getting Newcastle players off cloud nine and into next season's Champions League. The lift in morale and confidence, plus the form of their key starters Bruno Guimaraes and Dan Burns, make the Magpies dangerous contenders now. Apart from a trip to Arsenal, their run-in looks manageable if Alexander Isak continues his lethal striking form.

Waiting in the wings -- and definitely close enough to strike -- are Brighton and Fulham.

The Seagulls had their wings clipped 7-0 at Forest, but Brighton since reeled off six wins and battled to a very decent 2-2 draw at Manchester City. They are a slick outfit with good options all over the pitch and are fueled by the midfield power of young Carlos Baleba, another player who will surely be transferred at a huge profit sometime soon.

Home games against Aston Villa, Newcastle and Liverpool might decide Brighton's fate. They also have the welcome excitement of the FA Cup quarterfinals, in which they face Forest this weekend.

Fulham are only three points off the Champions League places after their win over Spurs before the international break, and Crystal Palace await them in the FA Cup on Saturday (stream LIVE, 8:10 a.m. ET, ESPN+). Silverware and a return to Europe are definite possibilities for a Cottagers team featuring the pacey creative work of U.S. international Antonee Robinson, who has most assists of any defender in the league. The only fly in the ointment at Craven Cottage is a difficult end to the season that includes games against six teams in the top half.

Of course, Aston Villa -- buoyed by the flying form of seven-goal duo Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford since they arrived -- are still very much involved in the race for European places for next season. Given their brilliant run to the quarterfinals of this season's Champions League, a return to the competition feels even more important now. A mountainously tough tie against Liverpool's conquerors, Paris Saint-Germain, awaits, and Asensio can play against his parent club under UEFA guidelines. One problem for Villa is an injury to striker Ollie Watkins.

The FA Cup is also very much on Villa's radar, too, and they will certainly be favorites to beat Championship team Preston away to advance to the semifinals. A treble-hunting Villa will keep big fan Prince William on tenterhooks this spring.

Bournemouth, who have been so good to watch, have lost a little momentum of late while Brentford, despite five successive away wins, have forgotten how to win at their smart home ground at Kew Bridge. Still, don't rule out either good side when it comes to making a late run.

Even Spurs and Manchester United, both in the bottom half after desperate seasons, can sneak into Europe's elite completion next season through the back door by winning this season's Europa League, though Spurs will have to be at their every best to cope with Eintracht Frankfurt. I like Man United's chances better against Lyon after their recent improvement.

Then there's the relegation debate. What debate? All settled. Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town will surely be making an instant return to the Championship. Wolves are nine points clear of the drop zone now and look safe. It is a concern that the three promoted clubs will almost certainly be relegated for the second season in a row, though hard to know what can be done to ease the pathway in future. Teams like Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth have shown the transition is possible with smart management and recruitment.

That non-race at the bottom of the table means this season's Premier League movie will not get an Oscar nomination, though there is still drama left to unfold, and plenty to be decided in the final reel.

The International Tennis Federation has settled its dispute with Gerard Pique's investment company after their multi-billion dollar deal to organise the Davis Cup ended abruptly in 2023.

Kosmos, founded by the former Barcelona defender, and the ITF announced a 25-year, $3bn (2.25bn) partnership in 2018 in a bid to revamp the men's national team tournament.

The ITF said at the time of the deal that it would safeguard the historic Davis Cup and provide an extra $25m a year for the global development of the sport.

The partnership with the 2010 World Cup winner's company also saw the format of the 123-year-old tournament change to an end-of-season 'World Cup-style' event, a change that proved controversial among players.

But the partnership was terminated in 2023 when Kosmos sought to renegotiate the deal, with the ITF saying it had "ensured financial contingencies are in place" for the competition which began in 1900.

Kosmos then filed a lawsuit at the Court of Arbitration for Sport accusing the ITF of an 'unjustified termination' of the contract and claiming damages.

However, resolution has been achieved, with the ITF stating: "Kosmos and the ITF have reached an amicable resolution regarding their previous contractual disagreements related to the organisation of the Davis Cup.

"Both organisations wish each other success in their future projects."

Raducanu is part of the Great Britain team which will compete in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round in early April, and will be able to spend the next two weeks working with the LTA coaching team.

But she will need a more lasting plan swiftly.

Her clay-court season could take in Stuttgart, Madrid and Rome before the French Open, and there will be very little respite in the schedule before the end of October.

That plan does not need to revolve around one person.

Many top players employ more than one coach, usually because it is very hard for any one individual to commit to more than 30 weeks on the road each year.

Jack Draper ended last summers partnership with Wayne Ferreira as he preferred the "one voice" of James Trotman, but now travels to some events with Alex Ward.

Perhaps things could have worked out differently with Cavaday if an additional coach had been brought into the team when his health problems first arose in the spring of 2024.

Exposure to different personalities and ways of thinking has always been appealing to Raducanu, but the period with Cavaday offered her stability and calmness.

They liked each other, having first established a coaching partnership when Raducanu was a girl. Cavaday was a good sounding board, and there was evidence from her play last spring and summer that the two could flourish in future.

It is a first semi-final appearance for Djokovic at this tournament since 2016 and, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev among a host of top-10 seeds already out, the draw has opened up for the Serb to add another Miami title.

Djokovic efficiently took the opening set on Thursday, breaking his opponent's serve in the eighth game.

But the 24-time Grand Slam champion had to dig deep in the second, with some impressive serving allowing him to recover from 5-2 down to force a tie-break and clinch the win.

"Best serving performance for me so far," Djokovic said. "I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda - he's so aggressive and talented.

"I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance."

Earlier on Thursday, unseeded Czech Jakub Mensik beat 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to book a semi-final against American Taylor Fritz, who secured a gruelling 7-5 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 win against Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini.

Aside from two mistimed overheads and an ambitious 'tweener' shot which did not have enough power to trouble her opponent, Sabalenka barely put a foot wrong as she surged to victory in just one hour and 13 minutes.

"Super happy that I was able to give myself another chance, another final, another opportunity to hold a trophy," Sabalenka said.

"She's an incredible player so I knew I would have to work for every point."

Sabalenka has reached her fourth final in 2025, winning in Brisbane in January before defeats by American Madison Keys at the Australian Open then by Andreeva at Indian Wells two weeks ago.

Filipino Eala, ranked 140th in the world, had only two WTA main draw victories before arriving in Miami, yet she beat three Grand Slam winners in Jelena Ostapenko, Keys and world number two Iga Swiatek on her way to the last four.

The lowest-ranked semi-finalist in Miami Open history pushed Pegula to the brink in a contest lasting two hours and 24 minutes, breaking three times to win the second set.

"To have a week like this, the stars need to align and they did this week, and hopefully I can keep that up - that is my goal now, to keep this up," she said.

Eala, a graduate of the Rafael Nadal Academy, will break into the world's top 100 for the first time next week.

England centre Meg Jones says the loss of both her parents means they will be at Principality Stadium "in a different light" for the Women's Six Nations match against Wales on Saturday.

The 28-year-old lost her parents in quick succession, with her father passing away from lung cancer last summer before her mother died four months later.

Cardiff-born Jones, who starts at outside centre against Wales, will be playing her first Red Roses game since their deaths.

"I am aware you get a lot of firsts, this week [on Sunday] is the first Mother's Day and the first time I am in an England shirt without both of them," Jones told BBC Sport's Rugby Union Weekly.

"It is just about seeing them in a different light and I will always think they are in the crowd. I would never have seen them anyway.

"I'll have moments now where I think they are just at home and I will see them in a couple of weeks.

"They will just be in the crowd cheering me on like they always do."

Jones' mother struggled with alcoholism, which the England back says "spiralled" following her father's death.

The Leicester Tigers centre, who has been capped 21 times, now volunteers as a patron at charity The Living Room to help people tackle the problems her mother faced.

"The idea is to help people with drug and alcohol abuse to navigate through it because it is a really hard journey to do on your own, but you need the guidance to push you through that," she added.

"I am proud and honoured to say that I am affiliated with them."

A record crowd awaits as Wales take on the might of England at the Principality Stadium on Saturday.

The Red Roses arrive in Cardiff as the number-one ranked team in the world, with last weekend's victory over Italy their 21st successive Test win.

Under John Mitchell and new captain Zoe Aldcroft, they are going for their seventh consecutive Six Nations title and a fourth consecutive Grand Slam.

Very few teams have dominated their sport in such a way.

In contrast, Wales are looking to return to form which saw them rise to sixth in the world just a couple of years ago.

They have a new coach in Sean Lynn, and while he was a proven winner at Gloucester-Hartpury, patience is needed as this is only his second week in the job.

Still there were enough green shoots of promise in the opening-round loss to Scotland to suggest Wales are a team on the up.

But they will need every ounce of home support if they are going to challenge England and repeat the heroics of the class of 2015.

More than 18,000 tickets have already been sold for the game, a record for a Welsh women's team event in Wales.

The previous best attendance was 10,592, when Wales hosted Italy in the 2024 Six Nations at the Principality Stadium.

But there is still a way to go to beat the record for a womens sporting event in Wales.

More than 31,000 turned out to watch Team GB womens football team beat Cameroon 3-0 at the Principality during the London 2012 Olympics.

Speaking against the motion, RFU board member Wayne Barnes strenuously defended Sweeney's record in his six years in the role, and said his departure would leave a significant void at the top of English rugby.

"He takes all of those relationships, that experience and that influence with him," former referee Barnes said.

"The void would be filled by someone who does not know the landscape."

Barnes also insisted the majority of referees did not back the motion, despite the Rugby Football Referees' Union bringing the motion in the first place.

"This is a time for rugby to now come together," Barnes said. "I really hope we can start to celebrate the enormous positives there are in the game."

However, speaking on behalf of the RFU board, Barnes pledged the powers-that-be will continue to listen to the game in a bid to end months of discord and heal the cracks in English rugby.

"There is clearly a lot of work to be done to restore our relationship with the community game," he added. "We need to focus on restoring trust."

A second motion, which was brought forward by the RFU board, called for the expedition of governance reform, devolving more power to the community game.

This motion was passed by 554 votes to 127.

"These reforms will represent a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the RFU," said Paula Carter, RFU board member and council member for Surrey.

Beaumont added: "Let us put this period of infighting behind us, and instead, unite behind a common mission to modernise the union and its structures.

"Members have now given us an overwhelming mandate to shake up the archaic structures of how the game is run here, which continue to hold us back.

"The RFU wants to modernise, and this is an unprecedented opportunity to do exactly that."