Timo Werner insists he has no regrets after choosing Chelsea over Liverpool as the two Premier League clubs prepare for the FA Cup final on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp was said to have been a big admirer of Werner when the forward was as Stuttgart and the German was in charge of Borussia Dortmund in 2015.

Klopp subsequently left for Liverpool and was again a frontrunner trying to secure the services of Werner, who came into high demand from Premier League sides after impressing for RB Leipzig in 2020.

However, Chelsea acted the fastest to sign Werner in a £45million deal, beating the likes of Tottenham and Manchester United to the signing, while Liverpool opted for Wolves star Diogo Jota.

The Germany international struggled in his debut Premier League season, scoring six goals in 35 league appearances and converting just over 7.5 per cent of chances.

Werner has yet to hit the heights in the league again this campaign, managing just four goals in 21 games, but his performances in recent months have offered Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel encouragement.

No player has had a direct hand in more FA Cup goals this season than Werner (two goals, three assists) and he does not look back with regrets as Chelsea prepare to face Liverpool at Wembley Stadium.

"The only thing I can say is they have a German manager," the 26-year-old said to Standard Sport when asked about the links to Liverpool. "I have known him for many years before, because when I was in Stuttgart, he talked about going to Dortmund. Then I played not so well, so it was done.

"When I was in Leipzig, I had the possibility to come to the Premier League. Liverpool were also in my thoughts and were a big possibility for me, but at the end I decided for Chelsea and I won the Champions League title last year. It was not the worst decision."

Werner also heaped praise on Klopp, who will become just the second Liverpool manager to take charge of the club in the final of four major domestic/European competitions, after Bob Paisley.

"He is one of the best coaches we had in Germany," the striker said of Klopp.

"Not to attack our manager, but over the past years he won the most titles. He has a very nice personality – a personality that the German people love, because he seems like fun.

"The Germans love the types like Thomas Muller, Jurgen Klopp — they have empathy. They say what they think, and that is really important in this business, to not fake something.

"He's real. He is a funny guy and also, with his power on the sideline, he tries to bring the people with him. That's what we Germans like."

Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel is set to take charge of his fourth major domestic/European final at Chelsea after being at the helm for just one year and 108 days (on the day of the final).

No manager has appeared in more finals in Chelsea's history (Jose Mourinho also four), and Werner was quick to credit Tuchel, while discussing his own problems in front of goal.

"He is on a level now where, when you say who are the best managers, you have only now Klopp, him and [Pep] Guardiola maybe," he added.

"I think maybe he is [demanding], because a lot of strikers this season have struggled a bit. I had so many disappointing moments when I normally can score.

"I know what I can do, because I did it in the past, maybe 100 times. I think it was a lot also on me, a lot on my head to get the things clear in front of goal.

"But you have to keep going and that's the thing that I learned over two seasons. It can't always go up.

"The five years before Chelsea, the last year was always going up. I never had so many problems in terms of scoring as I've had in the last year. But in the end, it helps you, it brings you to another level."

Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-min have joined Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold in being nominated for the Premier League's Player of the Season award.

De Bruyne, who won the award in 2019-20 despite Manchester City missing out on the title to Liverpool that season, is enjoying his best goalscoring campaign for the club.

He netted four goals in a 5-1 thrashing of Wolves on Wednesday, taking him to 19 in all competitions.

Salah is the only other past winner to be up for the award, having scored 22 goals and provided 13 assists (both league-high tallies) in another outstanding campaign as Liverpool battle City for the title.

Fellow Reds star Alexander-Arnold is also on the shortlist after racking up 12 assists in 31 appearances, as is Tottenham forward Son, who scored his 21st league goal of the campaign in Spurs' 3-0 win over Arsenal on Thursday.

The other players on the eight-man shortlist are City defender Joao Cancelo, Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse, and West Ham's Jarrod Bowen.

Bowen is one of just three Premier League players to record double figures for goals and assists this season (both 10, along with Salah and Chelsea's Mason Mount).

Meanwhile, both Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are in contention to be named Manager of the Season at the end of another enthralling title race between their teams.

Guardiola has already won the award on three occasions (in 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2020-21), the same amount as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. Only Alex Ferguson, with 11, has won it more often.

Klopp won the award when he led Liverpool to their first Premier League title in 2019-20, while the other three nominees all manage sides currently in the bottom half of the table.

Brentford's Thomas Frank is among them after leading the Bees to safety in their first top-flight season since 1946-47, as is Patrick Viera after an impressive first campaign with Crystal Palace.

Newcastle United's Eddie Howe is the final boss on the five-man shortlist, after the Magpies became the first side to go winless through their first 14 games in a Premier League campaign and avoid relegation (three had done so and gone down - Swindon Town in 1993-94, QPR in 2012-13, and Sheffield United in 2020-21).

Public votes will contribute towards deciding the winner of each award, with Premier League club captains also getting a vote on the players' award and a "panel of football experts" helping to choose the winning manager.

Fabinho will definitely be back available for Liverpool's Champions League final against Real Madrid, manager Jurgen Klopp has said.

The Reds were dealt a huge blow ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea with the news that the Brazil international has been ruled out with a muscular injury.

Fabinho was forced off during the first half of Tuesday's 2-1 win over Aston Villa and will not return in time for this weekend's trip to Wembley.

However, providing a further update at his pre-Chelsea news conference on Friday, Klopp confirmed the 28-year-old will be available to face Madrid in Paris on May 28.

"He will definitely be back for the Champions League final," Klopp said. "Whether he will play before that, we don't yet know.

"Fab is a professional. He was obviously not happy about missing the Chelsea match, but he took it and is already taking on the fight against time, if you want. That's how it is.

“It is not enough if you are ready on Friday before the final, it should be Tuesday or Wednesday or something like that and we are working on that.

"We are all very positive that it will be the case. So he is absolutely OK."

Liverpool have lost just three of the 47 games that Fabinho has played in this season, conceding 0.7 goals per game compared to 0.9 in the 12 matches he has not featured.

Jordan Henderson is likely to return to central midfield alongside Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara for the clash with Chelsea, and Klopp has full confidence others can step up.

"If all the other boys didn't show the attitude they have had in training all season, we'd have had no chance this season," he said. That's been very important."

Liverpool are competing in their first FA Cup final since 2011-12 when losing 2-1 to Chelsea, with the most recent of their seven triumphs in the competition coming in 2006.

The Reds have already lifted one cup at the national stadium this year, though, having overcome Chelsea on penalties following a goalless draw in February's EFL Cup final.

Klopp's side are therefore looking to win both of England's domestic cup competitions in the same season for the first time since 2000-01, when also winning the UEFA Cup.

"We didn't 'beat' Chelsea. We won the penalty shoot-out," Klopp said. "I've said a few times, without luck you have no chance, and luck was on our side that day.

"It was a tough, tight game and we know how good Chelsea are and we expect another tough game.

"Both teams will go for all they have. That's what I expect from Chelsea and that's what I especially expect from us this time.

"It's the biggest domestic cup competition in the world. I haven't watched 20 FA Cup finals but I don't think that's necessary to understand how big it is.

"We are really looking forward to this opportunity. The boys worked their socks off to arrive here, with all the different challenges over the year.

"It's now a massive final for us and I'm really happy we are part of it. We always gave our all to arrive to the final [in previous years], we just didn't make it."

The three previous meetings between Liverpool and Chelsea this season have finished level and Klopp is anticipating another tight contest against Thomas Tuchel's side.

"Chelsea are a really well-coached team. They have a similar system to others but a different level," he said.

"They have an idea for all areas. They're organised defensively and offensively, with incredible talent. We have no idea how Thomas will line up. There are so many options."

Amir Khan has announced his retirement from boxing aged 35, just under three months after losing to long-time rival Kell Brook.

Former unified light-welterweight world champion Khan was stopped by 36-year-old Brook in the sixth round of their grudge match in Manchester back in February.

Brook subsequently called a day on his boxing career after the all-British bout, and Khan strongly hinted at retiring in the immediate aftermath of the defeat.

The unbeaten Albanian Florian Marku was floated as the next potential fight for Khan, but the 35-year-old has decided to hang up his gloves with a professional record of 34-6.

"It’s time to hang up my gloves. I feel blessed to have had such an amazing career that has spanned over 27 years," Khan posted on Twitter on Friday.

"I want to say a heartfelt thanks and to the incredible teams I have worked with and to my family, friends and fans for the love and support they have shown me."

He accompanied the post with pictures from his greatest nights in the ring, with images from victories over Mexican icon Marco Antonio Barrera, Argentina's Marcos Maidana and American Devon Alexander.

Khan remains one of the youngest world champions in British boxing history, having won the WBA title at the age of 22, while he is Britain's youngest boxing Olympic medalist after claiming lightweight silver in 2004, aged just 17.

Pep Guardiola's departure from Barcelona was influenced by his hostile relationship with then-Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho, according to Blaugrana defender Gerard Pique. 

Guardiola won 14 trophies – including three league titles and two Champions Leagues – in a four-year spell at Camp Nou, developing a legendary side featuring academy graduates including Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Pique.

However, Guardiola's final season at the helm saw the Catalan giants finish second to Los Blancos in LaLiga, as Mourinho's side broke the league's points tally record by earning 100 points in 2011-12, also scoring a yet-to-be-matched 121 league goals. The points tally was equalled by Tito Vilanova's Barcelona in the following season.

The two coaches clashed repeatedly after the Portuguese coach arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2010, and Pique believes the rivalry "got too much", contributing to Guardiola's decision to leave.

"We were winning everything at the time and I remember that the first time Mourinho came to Camp Nou he lost 5-0 against us [in November 2010]," Pique told Gary Neville on The Overlap. 

"It was a shock of reality that these guys are going hard, but in the press conferences every time he was… you know his style, I think that for Guardiola at some point it was too much.

"It was more important sometimes what happened off the pitch than on the pitch.

"Guardiola left. Madrid won the league that year and all of a sudden, he decided to leave for so many reasons, but I am sure part of it was because with Mourinho it got too much."

After Guardiola's Manchester City team fell to a stunning 6-5 Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid earlier this month, he is tied with Mourinho as the two bosses with the most semi-final eliminations from the competition (six each), while the duo are also the two managers with the most wins in their first 100 Premier League games (both 73).

Pique claimed Mourinho's confrontational style also affected relationships between Barcelona and Madrid players in the Spain international set-up, despite the team winning three consecutive major tournaments between 2008 and 2012.

"Since he arrived, he knew that on the pitch they were weaker than us," Pique said of Mourinho's time with Madrid. "We had a better team for sure, and even the relationships between players [were better].

"I remember going to the national team, and after those games it was tough because Mourinho goes to the mind of the player and he says, 'These guys hate you', then you believe that.

"I was in the dressing room of the national team and said to [Madrid goalkeeper] Iker Casillas, 'Hey Iker', and the guy did not talk to me. At that time, I did not know, but it was the coach, he really knows how to go into the mind."

Asked whether Guardiola enjoyed the rivalry with Mourinho, Pique added: "I don't think so. I remember the semi-final of the Champions League in the Bernabeu [in 2011], he did an amazing press conference, but it was not about football.

"He enjoys talking about what is happening on the pitch, and here there was a moment where the press was focusing on what was happening outside the pitch."

Robert Lewandowski remains part of Julian Nagelsmann's plans for next season, despite speculation that the prolific striker could be on his way out of Bayern Munich.

The Poland international has a little over 12 months remaining on his contract with the Bundesliga champions and has been linked with a move to Barcelona.

According to reports from Germany on Thursday, Lewandowski has informed Bayern he does not intend to sign a new contract as he is seeking a new challenge elsewhere.

Should that be the case, Bayern must decide whether to cash in on the 33-year-old or lose him for nothing in a year's time when his deal expires.

While Nagelsmann was unwilling to confirm whether Lewandowski has made clear his thoughts to leave, the Bayern boss insists the club's position remains the same.

"He has been training very well, showing good commitment and scoring great goals," Nagelsmann said ahead of Saturday's league trip to Wolfsburg.

"He will be in the starting line-up tomorrow. His contractual situation is known and I won't give any information about anything else.

"If you want that then you'll have to ask Robert or [sporting director] Hasan Salihamidzic. But otherwise our position is known."

Nagelsmann said last week that Bayern had held positive talks with Lewandowski, while chief executive Oliver Kahn categorically ruled out a sale in the next transfer window.

Further probed on whether he has spoken to Lewandowski regarding his future, Nagelsmann said: "I don't have to.

"It's normal he's in my plans because he has a contract until June 2023. I often meet and speak with him. But we don't need to talk every single day."

Lewandowski joined Bayern from domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and has scored 343 goals in 374 appearances for the Bavarian giants.

That is 16 more than next-best Lionel Messi (327) in all competitions across the same period among players from Europe's top five leagues, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo (321).

He has scored 49 goals this season alone, which again makes him Europe's most prolific striker, with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema (44) next on the list.

Lewandowski's goals have helped Bayern to a 10th straight Bundesliga triumph this season, though they disappointingly fell short in the DFB-Pokal and Champions League.

Asked if he will have the final say on whether Lewandowski stays or leaves, Nagelsmann said: "It's always a discussion with Kahn, Salihamidzic and me. I'm not more important."

James Harden cannot be expected to consistently dominate NBA games but could have shown more aggression as the Philadelphia 76ers were knocked out of the playoffs, team-mate Joel Embiid said.

According to Embiid, a team-wide lack of aggression cost the 76ers as a 99-90 loss to the Miami Heat spelled the end for their season.

After being bounced out of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, much of the attention turned to Harden's quiet game.

He had just nine shots and scored only 11 points in almost 43 minutes on court, taking a mere two shots in the second half.

Embiid, who had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, said the 32-year-old Harden cannot be compared to the player who averaged above 30 points for three consecutive seasons with the Houston Rockets from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Harden was the NBA MVP in 2018, but his points on the board have begun to tail off in the past two seasons.

Since joining Philadelphia in February 2022, after a stint with the Brooklyn Nets, Harden has averaged 21.0 points over 21 regular season games, and just 18.6 points per game in the postseason.

Harden's field-goal shooting record of 40.5 per cent over the Sixers' 12 playoff games was his lowest in the postseason since the 2013-14 season.

"Since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden," said Embiid. "But that's not who he is anymore. He's more of a playmaker. I thought, at times, he could have been, as all of us could have been, more aggressive. All of us, whether it was Tyrese [Maxey] or Tobias [Harris] or guys coming off the bench.

"And I'm not just talking about offensively. I'm talking about as a whole, offensively and defensively. I didn't think we were good defensively as a team.

"They took advantage of a lot of stuff that we tried to do defensively. And then offensively just really everybody being on the same page, obviously, only having probably three or four months to all work together and try to figure it out. Maybe it wasn't a lot of time. I don't think we played our best basketball."

Lakers legend Magic Johnson was among those to question Harden's display, saying such a player "can't have a performance like that".

The 76ers won the last of their three NBA titles in 1983 and have not landed a conference title since 2001.

Asked how he and Harden could forge a stronger understanding, Embiid told a news conference: "Everybody's got to get better. It's not just about me and him."

Questions will be asked of Doc Rivers and the 76ers coaching staff, but Embiid said the players must look at themselves.

"I believe that we have the right people, but at some point you have to stop looking at coaching and you have to look at the players. Maybe you are just not good enough," Embiid said.

"I'm not trying to blame anybody, but the players have also got to do their jobs. It doesn't matter how much a coach or a GM talks to you or tries to motivate you, if you still go out there and don't do your job and the other team is more physical than you, that's on the players."

Tyson Fury is still training despite claiming to have retired says his trainer SugarHill Steward, who commented that boxers often return to the sport after hanging up the gloves.

Steward was in the corner when Fury delivered a brutal sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte in front of a packed Wembley Stadium to retain his WBC heavyweight title in April.

Either side of the all-British fight, Fury repeatedly stated his desire to retire and maintained his career was over after remaining unbeaten in 33 fights.

Fury has since declared he is "very happy" out of the ring after the WBC stated it wanted clarity over the world heavyweight champion's future, and Steward has no problems with his fighter stepping aside.

"For me it was very simple. It was like 'okay, that's what you want to do? That's fine'," Steward told Sky Sports.

"Tyson came to me and wanted to win the Deontay Wilder rematch, I helped him do that, I was okay with that. Now his decision to retire I'm happy to help him with that too.

"We barbeque, we take trash out to the tip, we just live regular right now. He still trains, he still works out, it's something he loves to do, I'm happy with his decision and for him to be able to be with his family and spend time with them.

"This man has been working his whole life doing that to have his family be a part of that. Being able to take care of them, do things and have adventures with them. I'm very happy for him.

"It's just his choice. There's something inside his brain, his head telling him to retire. I have to respect that 100 per cent."

Steward also suggested the ongoings of securing fights behind the scenes helped Fury make his mind up, but would not rule out a potential return.

"There are a lot of fighters that have been retired and come out of retirement," he continued. "There are a lot of fighters that have been retired and stay retired. It's just up to Tyson Fury, I stand by his decision.

"For him being retired I'm happy because that's what he wants. I know a lot of the retirement has to do with not getting the fights he wants and it's really mentally challenging to be offered fights and go through negotiations for fights and then for them to fall through at the end.

"These things happen to many fighters around the world. You wouldn't expect it to happen on this big stage but it does happen and it's something fighters have to deal with.

"We on the outside sometimes don't understand that. We just say 'if he gets the fight he'll come back', it's not as easy as being on the outside going through what happens on the inside.

"But it's the sport he loves so much, and it's hurting him like that. Those things have to be taken into consideration and respected."

If Fury was to return, a unification clash with the winner of the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk would be the next likely fight.

However, there remains talk of a crossover fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and Steward acknowledged the potential behind such a bout.

"I would call it entertainment. It's entertainment, you have somebody from one sport having it with somebody from another sport," he added. "There's a lot of 'oohs' and 'aahs' and wondering who would and who wouldn't.

"It's entertainment. There are fans out there that want to be entertained and that's part of it. You can bring these two guys who are top of different sports coming together, it's exciting."

Pep Guardiola says any extension to his Manchester City contract will not be agreed until next year, insisting now is not the time to discuss his future.

City require just four points from their final two games to secure the fourth Premier League title of Guardiola's reign at the Etihad Stadium after thrashing Wolves 5-1 on Wednesday.

Title rivals Liverpool extended manager Jurgen Klopp's contract until 2026 last month, sparking speculation City could look to do the same with Guardiola, whose current deal expires at the end of next season.

But Guardiola says any new contract will have to wait until next year, even though he revealed he would be happy to stay for another decade if he was certain City would continue to perform at their current level.

"If I extend the contract, it will be at the end of the next season," he told Sky Sports. "Before then, it's not going to happen. 

"It's many years and I have to see how the team and ourselves, how we are together. Knowing it, I would stay 10 more years. 

"But we have to take time for that, absolutely. It's not time, absolutely in this season, or during the next season."

City look increasingly likely to wrap up another domestic title after becoming the first team in English top-flight history to win five consecutive league games by at least three goals.

However, their European woes continued when they fell to a stunning 6-5 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals earlier in May.

Guardiola will have gone 12 years without winning European football's biggest prize by the time he gets another opportunity to win the competition, but insists continental success will not dictate his future.

Asked whether he would only stay if City win the Champions League next term, he responded: "Absolutely not. We compete, for the margins, extremely well in the Champions League. 

"In my life, we won the Champions League in Barcelona with seven players who came from the academy. Nothing changed my life. I was happy for that.

"Yes, I'm disappointed, we wanted to play the final, but it's not going to change my future or my past. The reason why we came here to England, it's already done. We wanted to do it, we did it."

Brendon McCullum is the "perfect person" to turn around England's Test fortunes, according to Andrew Strauss, who was a part of the selection panel for the new men's head coach.

England have won just one of their last 17 Tests, leading to the resignation of captain Joe Root, with Ben Stokes stepping up as skipper in April.

Former opener Rob Key was also appointed as managing director of men's cricket and was tasked with reshaping the faltering structure to make England competitive once more in the five-day game.

As well as confirming Stokes as captain, a decision was made to hire separate coaches for the red ball and limited-overs sides, with McCullum announced as Test coach on Thursday.

The decision represents somewhat of a gamble as New Zealand legend McCullum has only ever coached T20 franchises in the form of Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders and their Caribbean Premier League affiliate Trinbago Knight Riders.

However, McCullum played 101 Tests for New Zealand and captained the side through a transformative period, and Strauss believes the 40-year-old is a great appointment by England.

"I'm delighted and I'm excited. He blew us away with his clarity of thinking and his simple approach," the England and Wales Cricket Board's strategic adviser Strauss told Sky Sports.

"He's a very positive guy with a very clear mindset and he will embed that in the Test team at a time when confidence is a bit low and people need a bit of clarity and direction.

"He's an impressive guy. He can't wait to start and, quite frankly, I can't wait for him to start.

"[As a player] he was incredibly ambitious, he used to run down the wicket against some of the quickest bowlers in the world.

"He always took the positive option, he wasn't scared of failing, he wasn't scared of making mistakes and I think that is what this Test team needs at the moment.

"They need someone to back them, to give them confidence and inspire them, and they need to break the shackles and realise how good they are. I think he's the perfect person to do that."

McCullum's first task will see England host his country of birth, New Zealand, in a three-Test series that starts at Lord's on June 2.

Sebastien Vettel says Formula 1's contribution towards climate change has made him consider his future in the sport.

Aston Martin driver Vettel is known for his environmental and political activism, having previously worn the pride flag at last year's Hungarian Grand Prix and organised an all-women karting event on the weekend of the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Ahead of the inaugural Miami Grand Prix last week, Vettel wore a t-shirt featuring the slogan: "Miami 2060: First Grand Prix under water, act now or swim later" in an attempt to draw attention to the issue of global warming.

Speaking on BBC debate show Question Time on Thursday, the four-time drivers' champion said the environmental impact of travelling the world to race had made him think about his participation in the sport.

Asked whether his involvement in the sport made him a hypocrite, the 34-year-old replied: "It does, it does, and you're right when you laugh.

"There are questions I ask myself every day, and I'm not a saint.

"Certain things are in my control and certain things are not. It's my passion to drive a car, I love it and every time I step in the car, I love it.

"There's things that I do because I feel I can do them better. Do I need to take a plane every time? No, not when I can take the car.

"When I get out of the car, of course I'm thinking as well 'Is this something that we should do, travel the world, wasting resources?'"

Vettel sits 14th in the drivers' championship standings after being classified 17th when failing to finish in Miami, having missed the first two races of the 2022 season after testing positive for COVID-19, and will be out of contract at the end of the campaign. 

Gerard Pique was left in tears following Lionel Messi's Barcelona exit, but the centre-back says he can understand why his former colleague joined Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi's 21-year association with Barcelona, 16 of those spent as part of the senior squad, came to an end last August when he signed for PSG as a free agent.

The Argentina international won every trophy available with Barca and departed as the club's all-time record scorer with 672 goals across 778 appearances.

Last year's departure came as a huge shock at the time, with the Catalan giants' financial situation meaning they could not agree fresh term under LaLiga's salary restrictions.

Pique and Messi came through Barca's La Masia academy together and spent 13 seasons as first-team regulars after the defender returned from a spell at Manchester United.

In an interview with former United team-mate Gary Neville, Pique opened up on just how tough he found it seeing his close friend move to another club.

"I cried when Messi left. I cried for him," Pique said on The Overlap podcast. "For the career he had at Barca, it would have been great if he had stayed until the end of his career.

"I can understand why he couldn't renew. The club was suffering a lot economically because of the past president and how he managed the club.

"At the end of the day, these are things that happen in life. Sometimes you make a decision and things don't work out.

"For Barcelona and the fans, Messi was like a god. It would have been great if he stayed."

Messi was directly involved in 937 goals for Barcelona, with his most prolific season coming in 2011-12 when scoring 73 goals in all competitions and assisting a further 28.

But while the record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was very much the poster boy for Barca's trophy-laden period, Pique insists Messi could not have done it alone.

"Lionel Messi is the best player in the history of the game," he said.

"Messi was Barcelona's best player. I've always said that we had Messi to win titles, but we also had to have a good team. A single player cannot win titles."

Rafael Nadal conceded he is "living with an injury" after suffering his earliest Internazionali d'Italia exit since 2008 against Denis Shapovalov, but still hopes to compete at the French Open later this month.

Record 21-time grand slam winner Nadal fell to a 1-6 7-5 6-2 defeat to Shapovalov in the third round in Rome on Thursday after struggling with a foot injury throughout the match.

The 35-year-old could be seen regularly limping and battling through the pain, but his resistance ultimately wilted as the Canadian surged to victory after winning 12 straight points from 2-2 in the deciding set.

Nadal, speaking after the defeat, detailed the struggles he is having on a day-to-day basis as injury problems continue to hamper him.

"I am not injured. I am living with an injury. My day-by-day is difficult," he told reporters.

"I am trying hard but of course, it's difficult to accept the situation at times. A lot of days I can't practice the proper way.

"It started halfway through the second set and it was unplayable for me. [But] I don't want to take away credit from Denis that he deserves."

Asked about his chances of being fit for the French Open, which starts on Sunday, May 22 at Roland Garros, the Spaniard responded: "[It's] still the goal, in one week and a couple of days. I'll still keep dreaming.

"Maybe in two days, things are better, the things that I have on my foot. It's true that during Roland Garros I'm going to have my doctor with me – that sometimes helps."

Defeat to Shapovalov also meant Nadal will drop to number five in the world rankings, leaving him facing a potential meeting with the top seed in the quarter-finals of the French Open, which he has won a record 13 times.