Nantes

The Argentine striker died in a plane crash in January 2019 while travelling across the English channel to the Welsh side and a legal battle has ensued over the outstanding transfer fees owed.

Cardiff have argued that they were not liable for the fee because the 28-year-old was not officially their player and refused to make any interim payments as they stated the deal was not legally binding.

FIFA disagreed, however, and the appeal was heard by a three-man Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel earlier this year, who rejected the appeal.

In a statement, Cardiff expressed disappointment in the ruling and confirmed their intention to lodge an appeal – adding that they will take their own legal action should they fail.

"Cardiff City is disappointed by the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport," Friday's statement read.

"The award fails to decide the crucial question of FC Nantes' (and its agents') liability for the crash, which will therefore have to be decided in another forum.

"Once the club's lawyers have digested the reasons for the decision we expect to appeal and will not be making any payments to FC Nantes in the meanwhile.

"If those appeals are unsuccessful and the club is liable to pay the transfer fee, the club will take legal action against those responsible for the crash for damages to recover its losses. This will include FC Nantes, and its agents.

"All our thoughts must continue to be with Emiliano's family, who are now supported financially by the trust the club put in place for them."

On the ruling, CAS said: "After taking into due consideration all the evidence produced and all the arguments put forward by both clubs, the Cas panel found the player's transfer from FC Nantes to Cardiff City FC to have been completed.

"And because the conditions set out in the transfer agreement were fulfilled prior to the player's death, FC Nantes' claim for the first instalment of the transfer fee in the amount of 6m euros was upheld."

France implemented lockdown measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic on March 17, with professional football in the country paused four days earlier.

While voiding the season has been disregarded as an option, according to Bernard Caiazzo, who is president of the union representing Ligue 1 clubs, the fate of the campaign remains a constant topic of debate.

With the country seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, president Emmanuel Macron extended the lockdown earlier this month to May 11.

And if that date coincides with many of the public going back to work, Kita sees no reason for football not to follow suit.

"Even if it is in a month or two, I believe it is time for life to resume," he told Le Parisien. "I have always felt that intellectually, mentally and financially, people had to work, but I think of those who have no money and who will soon be forced to.

"Some will have to return to work by getting up at 5am, taking the metro to earn €1,200 while enjoying minimal security. Why does a footballer, who will be surrounded by all the necessary health precautions, not return not to work? Because he is privileged and he lives in his bubble?"

Kita also believes even the return of football behind closed doors will have an impact on the nation's morale.

"We are in perfect financial health," he added. "If I only thought about the economic side of it, I would say that because of the closed doors I will lose a lot of revenue, but the matches behind closed doors are essential at first to protect the players and our spectators.

"We have to find activity and life in our country and football has a part. Watching a match, even on TV, can contribute to this return to life and give a little morale to people after this period of pain."

Henderson, 67, was last month found guilty of endangering the safety of an aircraft.

Sala was on his way to Cardiff City on January 21, 2019, after signing from Ligue 1 club Nantes for £15million (€20m) when his plane came down over the English Channel, killing the striker, 28, and the pilot, Ibbotson, 59.

The court was previously told Henderson arranged the flight with football agent William McKay and asked Mr Ibbotson to fly the plane as he was in Paris on holiday.

Mr Ibbotson – who did not hold a commercial pilot's licence – was not qualified to fly at night and his rating to fly the single-engine Piper Malibu had expired.

A jury of seven men and five women were told that moments after finding out about the incident, Henderson contacted numerous people to ask them to stay silent, saying it would "open a can of worms".

The jury took seven and a half hours to come to a verdict before Henderson was convicted at Cardiff Crown Court, where he returned on Friday to be sentenced.

Henderson was given 18 months for endangering the safety of an aircraft, along with a three-month sentence to be served concurrently for attempting to discharge a passenger.

After a lacklustre Champions League campaign has them in 25th place following a recent narrow loss at Bayern Munich, PSG's 1-1 home draw against struggling Nantes was another disappointing result for the Ligue 1 leaders.

Luis Enrique's team dominated possession against Nantes to such an extent that they set a new Ligue 1 record, with 84.1% possession, the highest since Opta began collecting such data in 2006.

PSG turned that possession into 24 shots, with 10 of those on target, and finished with 2.7 expected goals while also creating six big chances (defined as an opportunity from which a player would reasonably be expected to score), but could not find a winner after Matthis Abline had cancelled out Achraf Hakimi's early opener.

"Efficiency is the key to football. It is very difficult to be efficient, to attack an opponent who is very compact in his area," Luis Enrique said.

"It’s incredibly tough to create as many chances as we did. But it’s clear that if you don’t score, it becomes frustrating and draining.

"In the end, there’s only one way forward: to persist, persist, continue trusting the players and the team, and keep moving forward."

Goncalo Ramos' return to the squad after he recovered from an ankle injury at least provided a positive for PSG.

"I felt good, I managed to play the whole match without any pain and I think that from now on, we have to raise the level and gain confidence," the Portuguese striker said.

"We are capable of working hard, with a lot of desire. We tried everything today, which was visible during the match. But now we have to think about the next match and work during the week." 

The Parisiens slumped to a 1-0 defeat at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday, falling to 25th place in the new 36-team standings and four points off the play-off places. 

PSG have lost three of their five matches in the Champions League this season (W1 D1), their most defeats in a single group stage campaign in the competition since 2004-05 (three), the last time they failed to reach the knockout stages.

However, Luis Enrique did not want to dwell on his latest defeat, instead urging his players to continue their fine form in Ligue 1 on Saturday at home to Nantes. 

"From what we saw, it was positive. We played against a contender for the final away from home," Luis Enrique said.

"I liked what I saw, despite everything, there are always points to improve. But it's important to stay positive. 

"Bayern are one of the favourites to win the final. We applied the same pressure as usual. I tried to change things. 

"I haven't seen a team that has troubled them more than us this season.

"I feel confident. We should have nine points in the Champions League. I'm not hiding behind that. I liked what I saw in Munich. I'm very optimistic."

PSG sit top of the Ligue 1 standings after collecting 32 points from their 12 games so far this season. 

This is the sixth time they have won as many points at this stage of a campaign in the top-flight (after 1985-86, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2022-23). 

And Luis Enrique can be confident that his side will return to winning ways given their impressive record against this weekend's opponents. 

PSG have scored in each of their last 26 games in Ligue 1 against Nantes (64 goals in total), the longest run in their history against an opponent in the top-flight.

However, Nantes could become the team to have beaten PSG the most times in Ligue 1 in the 21st century (currently at 27, tied with Marseille), with a win on Saturday. 

And despite sitting 16th in the table, Luis Enrique believes Nantes' performances this season have merited more points than the 10 they have managed so far. 

"(Nantes) have fewer points than the team deserves. They're coming into the game on a run of (four league) defeats, but I'm expecting a tough game," he added.

"We need to keep racking up wins and get into good habits with a view to the Champions League."

The first round of matches will take place on the weekend of August 22-23, with the season set to conclude on May 23 next year.

PSG were awarded their seventh top-flight title in eight seasons after the 2019-20 campaign was abandoned and decided on a point-per-game basis due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The abandonment move has since been questioned amid other elite divisions in Europe successfully resuming their seasons behind closed doors.

An LFP vote sealed Amiens and Toulouse's relegation, with Lorient and Lens promoted from Ligue 2 in their place.

Lorient host Strasbourg on the opening weekend, while Lens are on the road at Nice.

The first Classique of the season comes in the third round of fixtures, with PSG welcoming Marseille to the Parc des Princes in mid-September. The return is billed for February 7.

Marseille start at home to Saint-Etienne, with Bordeaux and Lille hosting Nantes and Rennes respectively.

Lyon begin on the road at Montpellier, with the first of their always feisty clashes against Marseille coming at Groupama Stadium on October 4. The rivalry is then scheduled to resume at the Stade Velodrome on February 28.

Ligue 1 2020-21 – Opening weekend fixtures in full:

Lorient v Strasbourg
Nimes v Brest
Dijon v Angers
Bordeaux v Nantes
Monaco v Reims
Montpellier v Lyon
Nice v Lens
Lille v Rennes
Marseille v Saint-Etienne
PSG v Metz

Every division has something riding on the final days of the season, whether it be top spot, European qualification, or relegation.

Ahead of what is set to be a dramatic conclusion to the Premier League, LaLiga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga campaigns, we look at the state of play in each league.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Manchester City wrapped up the Premier League title with three games to spare, making them the first team in the competition's history to win the title despite being as low as eighth on Christmas Day.

All three relegation places were also decided with three games remaining – a Premier League record – with Fulham joining Sheffield United and West Brom in dropping down a division.

That leaves just the European spots to fight for, and it is shaping up to be an entertaining end to the English top-flight season in that regard. Manchester United are guaranteed a top-four finish, but five other teams – Leicester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham – are in the mix for the two other Champions League berths with two rounds of games to go.

There is also the small matter of the Europa League places for the teams finishing in fifth and sixth, as well as a spot in the inaugural Europa Conference League, which goes to the team in seventh, meaning everyone from 10th-placed Leeds United to Leicester in third have something to play for. That includes Arsenal, who have not missed out on European football of some sort in 25 years.

LALIGA 

The Spanish title race appeared to take a dramatic twist on Sunday as Real Madrid leapfrogged Atletico Madrid at the summit for around 20 minutes. However, Atleti scored two late goals to beat Osasuna, meaning they are two points ahead of their city rivals heading into the final round of games.

Atleti, who have led the way at the top for 29 matchdays, now need to match Madrid's result against Villarreal when they travel to relegation-threatened Real Valladolid on the final day of the season. It is worth noting that Los Blancos have the superior head-to-head record, so a draw would not be enough for Atleti if Madrid win.

Barcelona are officially out of the title race, meanwhile, but they are assured of a top-four finish along with Sevilla. Real Sociedad and Real Betis occupy the Europa League spots, while Villarreal are in a Europa Conference League berth, though just one point separates the three teams so that could all yet change.

To complicate matters, Villarreal could still qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League final against Manchester United.

At the bottom end of the division, Eibar are already relegated and they will be joined by two of Valladolid, Elche or Huesca. Valladolid must beat Atletico in their final game to have a chance of staying up, while the onus is on Elche to better Huesca's result as they are level on points but have an inferior head-to-head record.

LIGUE 1

The Ligue 1 title battle is also going right down to the wire in a three-way dogfight. After a thrilling race that has lasted the course of the season, underdogs Lille lead heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain by one point with one matchday left.

Monaco have won seven of their previous eight games and are three points off leaders Lille, though they require both Les Dogues and PSG to slip up on the final day, as well as beating Lens. Should it come down to goal difference, PSG hold a big lead over their two title rivals.

Incredibly, PSG are still not yet technically assured of a Champions League place as Lyon in fourth are only three points worse off, although it would take a defeat for the reigning champions and victory for Lyon, plus a goal swing of 16, for them to miss out.

Monaco's opponents Lens, incidentally, also have plenty to play for at the weekend as they are sixth – enough for Europa Conference League qualification – but can still be caught by Rennes in seventh, while they could yet overtake Marseille in fifth if results go their way.

At the opposite end of the table, there may only be one spot left to be settled in the bottom three – Dijon and Nimes are both already down – but six teams are still very much in danger of the drop. Nantes occupy the relegation play-off spot, with Lorient, Brest and Strasbourg just a point better off, and Bordeaux and Reims only two points clear.

SERIE A

With Inter being crowned Scudetto winners for the first time in 11 years at the start of the month, the biggest storyline in Serie A regards Juventus' top-four fate. The dethroned champions, who had finished top nine years running before this season, are currently down in fifth.

Juve are one point behind Napoli and Milan in the two spots directly above them, while Atalanta are three points better off in second and have the better head-to-head record against the Bianconeri.

Andrea Pirlo's side are therefore in need of favours on the final day in what is poised to be a nail-biting finale in terms of those Champions League places. Lazio will finish sixth, so they are assured of Europa League football next term, while Roma hold a two-point advantage over Sassuolo in the Europa Conference League position.

Parma and Crotone are both down already and one of Benevento or Torino will join them, the latter currently three points outside of the relegation zone and with a game in hand to play on Benevento.

BUNDESLIGA

RB Leipzig provided Bayern Munich with some stern competition for a while, but the Bavarian giants' quality eventually told and they are Bundesliga champions for a ninth year running.

It's not only the title race that's done and dusted in Germany, in fact, as RB Leipzig are certain of second place, and both Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg will join them in the Champions League next season.

Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, will finish in fifth and sixth respectively regardless of events later this week.

However, Union Berlin have work to do if they are to finish seventh for a place in the Europa Conference League play-offs as Borussia Monchengladbach are a point further back, while Stuttgart and Freiburg are two behind with a game to go.

Seven-time German champions Schalke will be competing in the second tier of German football next season, but Cologne and Werder Bremen are hanging on in there, sitting two and one point behind Arminia Bielefeld respectively in 15th place.