Uefa Champions League

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are also included, although there is no place for Mohamed Salah.

PSG's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are among the forwards, as is Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Veteran Dani Alves also won enough votes to make the list, even though the 38-year-old, who recently rejoined Barcelona, only played 16 times in domestic competition in Brazil this year.

Professional footballers across the world were asked to vote for the three players they considered to have the best seasons during the 2020-21 season among goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards.

FIFPRO said: "For the first time in 17 years, FIFPRO is updating the announcement about the most-voted players, reducing the shortlist from 55 to 23. This has been done to resemble a real-life 'squad' which, usually for international competitions, is the number of players involved. 

"The three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards with the most votes earned a place in the 23-men World 11 'squad'. To complete this elite selection, the two remaining outfield players with the most votes were added."

The keeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with the most votes will be chosen for the World 11, with the remaining spot assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes.

The final 11 will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on January 17.

FIFA FIFPRO MEN'S WORLD 11 23-PLAYER SHORTLIST:

Goalkeepers:
Alisson (Liverpool, Brazil)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan/Paris Saint-Germain, Italy)
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, Senegal)

Defenders:
David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid, Austria)
Jordi Alba (Barcelona, Spain)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England)
Dani Alves (Sao Paulo/Barcelona, Brazil)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)

Midfielders:
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, Spain)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona, The Netherlands)
Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)

Forwards:
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United, Portugal)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Inter/Chelsea, Belgium)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)

Amid speculation that the biggest clubs from the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 are keen on forming a breakaway competition, football's world governing body has taken a strong stance against such ideas.

A joint statement from FIFA and the six continental federations read: "In light of recent media speculation about the creation of a closed European 'Super League' by some European clubs, FIFA and the six confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA) once again would like to reiterate and strongly emphasise that such a competition would not be recognised by either FIFA or the respective confederation.

"Any club or player involved in such a competition would as a consequence not be allowed to participate in any competition organised by FIFA or their respective confederation.

"As per the FIFA and confederation statutes, all competitions should be organised or recognised by the relevant body at their respective level, by FIFA at the global level and by the confederations at the continental level.

"In this respect, the confederations recognise the Club World Cup, in its current and new format, as the only worldwide club competition, while FIFA recognises the club competitions organised by the confederations as the only club continental competitions.

"The universal principles of sporting merit, solidarity, promotion and relegation, and subsidiarity are the foundation of the football pyramid that ensures football's global success and are, as such, enshrined in the FIFA and confederation statutes.

"Football has a long and successful history thanks to these principles. Participation in global and continental competitions should always be won on the pitch."

It was reported in October that FIFA were hoping to create a closed 18-team tournament that would be dubbed the 'European Premier League'.

However, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was "not interested" in the idea and felt the existing Club World Cup had greater potential.

Prior to his resignation as Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed at a news conference that he had accepted a proposal for the club to join the proposed European Super League.

Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have come under pressure following three straight Bundesliga draws, but they maintained their winning start in the Champions League with a 2-0 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday.

There have been reports of friction within the Bayern squad towards Nagelsmann, with issues including rotation and game time.

Goretzka came off the bench at half-time and played a key role in Bayern's win over Barcelona, with both goals coming in the second half. The appearance was only the 27-year-old midfielder's fifth of the season in all competitions after missing six weeks late in pre-season following knee surgery.

Bild claimed this week that the Germany international, along with new Dutch addition Ryan Gravenberch, were unhappy with their playing time this season, with the former specifically irritated when he learned he was not starting against the Blaugrana.

The report claimed that Goretzka felt his training performances warranted a starting position but Nagelsmann preferred Marcel Sabitzer in midfield to offer defensive stability to allow Joshua Kimmich to be more offensive minded.

"I promised myself that I'd not say anything about it because my words might be interpreted in a different way," Goretzka told reporters after Tuesday's win. "I have no problem with the coach not starting me today.

"I was out for six weeks and it was clear that I wouldn't play from the start. Sabi did a great job.

"These alleged problems in the dressing room are conveyed in a way that really annoys me. We get along really well in the team."

Leroy Sane, who netted Bayern's second goal in the 54th minute, threw a bottle in frustration after being substituted off in the 80th minute.

Sane embraced Nagelsmann along with teammates on the bench before throwing the bottle and going down the tunnel.

"I wasn't angry about my substitution," Sane explained.

"The bottle had to suffer a bit because I didn't play a good game. The goal was nice, but I wasn't entirely happy with my performance today."

Barca saw off Napoli 3-1 in Saturday's last-16 second leg to advance 4-2 on aggregate and set up a meeting with much-fancied Bayern Munich at the Estadio da Luz on Friday.

Bayern have won 26 and drawn one of their last 27 competitive matches and are the favourites of many to win Europe's premier club competition but Griezmann says Barca are ready to knock the Bavarian giants out.

"I have the suitcase ready to be in Lisbon until August 23 - I have even brought the PlayStation," he told the club's official website.

"We have three games left to win the Champions League but we have the tools to achieve it.  Every team has the potential to win a single match.

"We are looking forward to it, we have worked well tactically and we are ready to play the game. 

"We know it will be difficult, but we know what we have to do to qualify for the semi-finals. It will be a very good match.

"We hope to take advantage of the quality we have. We are in a good moment and we can play a good game.

"We have to be together, up front and at the back, and try to have the ball as much as possible."

Prolific Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski either scored or assisted all seven of his side's goals in their 7-1 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the first knockout round.

Griezmann acknowledged it will be tough to stop the Poland international and is well aware of the other attacking talents in the German champions' ranks.

"Bayern are playing very well, they have a great striker, but we also have the tools to play a great game. We have to look at our strengths and try to qualify," he said.

"They're a very physical team that's used to having the ball. We have to make life difficult for them and play our game.

"Bayern are not just Lewandowski. The wingers get forward a lot, [Thomas] Muller, [Serge] Gnabry are also very good. 

"Lewandowski scores a lot of goals but the danger comes from anywhere."

Barca have disappointed domestically this season, finishing second to bitter rivals Real Madrid in LaLiga after being knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage.

However, the fit-again Griezmann - who lasted 84 minutes against Napoli - is adamant his side have showed signs of progress ahead of their showdown with Bayern.

"On a personal level it was good for me to have a few days to be able to recover and play against Napoli," he said.

"In the first minutes of the Napoli game I had no rhythm but little by little I felt better. The team really wanted to play a great game, and we are on the right track."

The coronavirus pandemic has placed elite sport across the globe on hold, meaning the latest episode of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's captivating rivalry must wait.

Nevertheless, given their former employers Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were also due to meet in Der Klassiker, it feels like a good time to run the rule over two men whose tactical approaches and high levels of achievement have – and it does not feel too grandiose to suggest this – changed football in the 21st century, as well as one another.

THE BUNDESLIGA YEARS

Guardiola's arrival to take the reins of a treble-winning Bayern for 2013-14 came shortly after their rivalry with Klopp's Dortmund reached its peak.

Arjen Robben's 89th-minute winner saw Bayern down BVB 2-1 in the 2013 Champions League final at Wembley – a game played out against a backdrop of Dortmund's star playmaker Mario Gotze agreeing terms to move to Bavaria.

In hindsight, Klopp's gegenpressing machine – winners of back-to-back Bundesliga crowns in 2010-11 and 2011-12 – were coming off the top of their curve, having finished 25 points behind a relentless Bayern domestically that season.

The decline continued over the next two seasons. Dortmund were remarkably in relegation trouble halfway through 2014-15, before a post-Christmas recovery preceded Klopp's emotional farewell.

Nevertheless, there was still time for telling blows to be landed. Guardiola's first competitive game in charge saw Bayern beaten 4-2 in the 2013 DFL-Supercup at a delirious Signal Iduna Park.

Stung by that loss, Guardiola sprung a notable surprise in the first league encounter between the sides that November, where he broke Dortmund's rabid press by playing Javi Martinez as an attacking midfielder and repeatedly targeting the rangy Spain international with long balls.

The high priest of tiki-taka (a label Guardiola famously loathes) had presided over "more long balls than in the last three years combined" from a Bayern team, according to Klopp, who bristled after Arjen Robben and Thomas Muller added to Gotze's inevitable second-half opener in a 3-0 win.

A depleted Munich were similarly reactive when they won the DFB-Pokal final 2-0 in extra-time, even if flooding midfield numbers was a more recognisably Guardiola tactic.

Diverting from his dizzying 4-3-3 of swirling triangles has remained something the Catalan tactician has frequently done across his meetings with Klopp, and not always with the success he enjoyed in Germany.

HOLLOW VICTORIES AND THE PHONEY WAR

Klopp ended his homeland head-to-head against Guardiola with three victories, making it back-to-back Supercup triumphs in 2014, having claimed a 3-0 Bundesliga result at Allianz Arena earlier that year – the authority of which was dimmed by the fact Bayern had already cantered to the title.

Guardiola had four victories to his name, with one draw ultimately falling in Dortmund's favour as Bayern failed with all four of their penalty attempts in a 2015 DFB-Pokal semi-final shoot-out.

However, Klopp was denied a glorious farewell as his team lost in the final to Wolfsburg and the fact Robert Lewandowski had followed Gotze to Munich by this point underlined a deck stacked against him.

Liverpool came calling for Klopp in October 2015 and he helmed helter-skelter runs to the EFL Cup and Europa League finals. Manchester City and Sevilla prevailed respectively.

That was Manuel Pellegrini's final honour as City boss as he made way for Guardiola, who collected a third successive Bundesliga title in 2015-16. Thomas Tuchel's Dortmund finished closer in terms of position and points (second, 10 behind) than Klopp's version had managed when in direct competition.

With the stage presumably set for renewed hostilities between Guardiola and incoming Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, the similarly newly installed Antonio Conte did not read the script as Chelsea romped to 2016-17 Premier League glory.

Klopp got the better of his head-to-heads with City as a Georginio Wijnaldum goal sealed a 1-0 New Year's Eve win at Anfield before Sergio Aguero rescued a point for the hosts in the return game.

Guardiola laid it on thick after that 1-1 draw, declaring it to be "one of the most special days of my life".

"He is Spanish. They are a little bit more emotional than the Germans," Klopp chuckled in response.

TON-UP BUT NOT INVINCIBLE AND THE ROAD TO KIEV

Liverpool beat City three times in 2017-18, when most other teams could barely lay a glove on Guardiola's record-breaking side.

But the game where City prevailed, an unusual 5-0 thrashing at the Etihad Stadium where Liverpool subsided meekly after Sadio Mane's red card for clattering Ederson with a high boot, arguably had the biggest influence on the campaign.

When that game was 11 v 11, Guardiola's back three was horribly exposed. Aguero's opener arrived against the run of play, with an unusually wasteful Mohamed Salah having tormented Nicolas Otamendi.

City never used 3-5-2 in the league again that season, reverting to a swashbuckling 4-3-3 that churned out 19 consecutive wins and made the second half of the schedule a virtual procession.

Liverpool halted their designs on invincibility however, claiming a raucous 4-3 Anfield win in January. Klopp hailed "pressing from another planet" by his front three as Roberto Firmino, Mane and Salah were all on target in a euphoric nine-minute spell after half-time.

Guardiola had again seen a swift avalanche of goals bring the roof in during a big match and his tweak to a 4-4-2 diamond, eyeing avenues around those Liverpool pressing lanes, backfired in that season's Champions League quarter-final.

A 3-0 first-leg loss at Anfield, with all the goals arriving during the first half, left City with a mountain to climb and a death-or-glory approach in the return fixture – deploying a formation probably best described as 3-CHARGE!!! – eventually ran out of steam in a 2-1 loss.

But it was Liverpool who came up short in the Kiev final on Loris Karius' nightmare outing against Real Madrid, while City sauntered to a 100-point haul as dominant Premier League champions. Sitting 25 points back in fourth, the Reds had a considerable gap to bridge.

CHASING PERFECTION

Despite that deficit, their efforts in going blow-for-blow with City over 90-minute periods left the impression Liverpool were the best placed of the pretenders to overthrow the champions.

Both teams reconvened on Merseyside undefeated in October 2018 and remained that way as the free-flowing nature of recent meetings gave way to a cagey 0-0 draw.

Reprising the theme of those early Klassiker meetings, Guardiola took his foot off the throttle as City played at a controlled tempo – an approach that would have ended the club's Anfield hoodoo but for Riyad Mahrez's ballooned late penalty.

Fire and brimstone returned the following January, though, with a wobbling City recovering their poise and avoiding a 10-point deficit at the top. Aguero and Leroy Sane were on target either side of Firmino in a bravura display, where Aymeric Laporte took on the unfamiliar role of left-back to stifle Salah.

That was Liverpool's only loss of the season as they finished on 97 points, agonisingly one shy of City. However, their subsequent Champions League final win over Tottenham improbably propelled them further along.

Just as Guardiola has tempered some of his more cavalier tendencies when faced with Klopp, the challenge of an unrelenting City also forced the Liverpool boss into subtle and decisive tweaks.

In bringing in Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, he spent big for what many see as the finest goalkeeper and centre-back on the planet. Their very presence means risk can be reduced.

Heavy metal football has given way to a steady pulsing beat that never wavers. In the city of Merseybeat, Klopp has gone electro.

Amid their steamrollering of the opposition this season, Liverpool have 19 wins by a solitary goal in all competitions. They are frighteningly and ruthlessly clinical. A profligate City trail in their wake, although Guardiola has used this relative freedom from pressure to thumb intriguingly through his tactical playbook in 2020.

Both men have inspired the other to reach beyond their comfort zones and the result is the two best teams in world football. With Klopp contracted to Liverpool until 2024 and Guardiola talking up an extended stay, the thought occurs that they are each other's motivation for sticking around. There is nowhere better to measure their greatness than against one another.

Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino has been widely tipped as the leading contender to take over at Manchester United following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking on Sunday.

Pochettino arrived at the Parc des Princes in January and missed out on Ligue 1 and Champions League success in his first half-season in charge.

However, the Argentinian has lifted the Trophee des Champions and Coupe de France this year – his first cup triumphs following five trophyless years with Tottenham.

With speculation mounting that Pochettino is interested in the United job, Guardiola has defended the ex-Espanyol and Southampton coach's major trophies record.

"I am sure managers become better every year. Every season you have a lot of learnings. I am pretty sure [Pochettino] is an excellent manager," he said ahead of City's showdown with PSG on Wednesday.

"You can be a top manager and not win titles. For the managers who have a chance to win, it is because you are at top clubs with good investment and top players. 

"That doesn't mean managers in the Championship or not at the top of the Premier League aren't excellent managers."

City welcome PSG to the Etihad Stadium requiring a point to secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League, while a win will seal top spot in Group A with a game to spare.

PSG are winless in three games on their travels in the competition and could go without an away victory throughout the group stage for the first time since 2004-05.

English champions City were beaten 2-0 in the reverse fixture in Paris two months ago, with Lionel Messi getting off the mark with his first of four goals for PSG to date in all competitions.

PSG's travelling party is packed full of superstar attackers and Guardiola acknowledged there is little advice he can give his players when it comes to stopping Messi in particular.

"It's so difficult. Sometimes when he has the ball he doesn't know what he's going to do – so imagine you have to know what he is going to do," Guardiola said.

"There are players who you can say if they will go right or left. When he has the ball, not even he knows exactly what he is going to do.

"I cannot tell the players what he will do, but hey, it happens with Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappe, with [Angel] Di Maria, with all the players up front in this team.

"Every player could be a complete star in any team around the world, and all four are in the same team. But I am still glad and happy that he is still playing at the level he plays."

City have scored 15 goals in the Champions League so far this season, a tally bettered only by Bayern Munich's 17, with the Citizens averaging 3.4 expected goals per game.

Last year's beaten finalists are averaging a goal every 37 minutes in all competitions this term, meanwhile, despite playing without a recognised striker through the middle.

Guardiola, who is hopeful of having Jack Grealish back from injury in midweek, explained that playing with or without a number nine is not too dissimilar.

"If a full back goes into midfield you can say he is an attacking midfielder, for example" he said.

"The movements of the players – on the tactics board you put out the names, but after, everyone has permission to drive in the box and has permission to get back and help."

Haaland's stock continues to rise following Wednesday's double for Dortmund in their 3-2 Champions League last-16 first-leg win over Sevilla.

That made the Norway international the quickest player to reach double figures for goals in the competition for a single club, doing so in just seven matches - three games fewer than Roy Makaay for Bayern Munich between 2003 and 2004.

He has now scored a double in three successive Champions League games, having also netted twice against Club Brugge in the group stage.

Former Salzburg star Haaland has 18 goals in 13 games in the competition overall, which is a tally only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski can match since the start of 2019-20.

That type of scoring form has seen Haaland strongly linked with the likes of Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Juventus and Barcelona.

Despite Barca's well-known financial struggles amid the coronavirus pandemic, Laporta - who has close links to Haaland's agent Mino Raiola - is not ruling out a possible move.

"If we have to improve the football team, I have the cards and I'm ready to play them," he said in direct response to the links with the 20-year-old attacker.

"It's because of the experience and the knowledge I have of the people who could intervene in all these situations.

"I want to send a message of calm to the Barcelona fans - we will be economically sustainable again."

Laporta is one of three remaining candidates in the running to take over as Barca's next president, along with Victor Font and Toni Freixa.

The elections were originally due to take place in January but had to be pushed back to March 7 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dortmund are in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification from the Bundesliga and it has been suggested that could result in Haaland moving on.

The 20-year-old has scored 51 goals and supplied 11 assists in 55 appearances in all competitions since arriving at Dortmund from Salzburg in January 2020.

Those goalscoring exploits have seen him linked with a host of major European clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to name but a few.

He was unable to find the back of the net in Wednesday's 2-0 victory over Union Berlin, with Marco Reus opening the scoring on the rebound after the Norway international had a first-half penalty saved.

Dortmund remain four points adrift of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt with four Bundesliga games remaining, but Zorc is confident of holding onto Haaland even if they miss out on a place in next season's Champions League.

"We have made our position clear on the Haaland case," Zorc told Sky Sport.

"The decision will not be made without Borussia Dortmund. No matter where we end up, Erling will continue to play for us."

Raphael Guerreiro wrapped up the win for Dortmund late on against Union, but a booking for Mats Hummels ruled him out of the crunch weekend meeting with third-placed Wolfsburg.

From a relegation battle with Mainz in the German second division to the heights of Champions League glory with Liverpool, Klopp has achieved more than anyone expected of a man whose playing career was distinctly modest.

It would be stretching it to say the signs were there from day one, but they were certainly there from day two.

Klopp was named as an interim replacement for Eckhard Krautzun when Mainz decided on a change of leader on February 27, 2001.

One day later, Klopp made his debut as a coach in the second tier of the Bundesliga. He had been a player in the team until that point, but this marked the beginning of a new chapter.

Club president Harald Strutz, quoted in the Rheinische Post at the time, voiced the suggestion the interim boss could stake a claim for the full-time job.

"Maybe that will be a permanent solution," Strutz said, presciently.

Midfielder Christof Babatz, who would be a significant figure in Mainz's rise to the Bundesliga under Klopp, then said after the first game resulted in a 1-0 win over Duisburg: "The coach teased that certain something out of us."

And so began the story of Klopp's touchline career, one centred on teasing out the very best from the talent at his disposal, nurturing prospects into polished performers, and tallying trophies along the way. From Mainz, to Borussia Dortmund, and eventually to Liverpool, Klopp has delivered on that initial leap of faith.

There have been league titles, cup triumphs and big European final nights with Liverpool and Dortmund, plus promotion and even a relegation during his formative Mainz days.

Here, Stats Perform looks at those first 999 games, as Opta data shows some essential numbers behind one of the 21st century's great coaching careers.

Pep, Howe, Hecking and Magath – Klopp's rivalries

Klopp has faced Pep Guardiola more than any other rival manager, going head-to-head with the Catalan 27 times across their careers.

There have been notable defeats along the way, including the 2014 DFB-Pokal final, when Klopp's Dortmund went down 2-0 to Guardiola's Bayern, and the 5-0 and 4-0 thrashings meted out by Manchester City to Liverpool in September 2017 and July 2020, both of which rank among the top nine heaviest defeats Klopp has had to stomach.

However, Klopp has the overall upper hand across their meetings, winning 11, drawing seven and losing nine of those games.

He has faced only one other boss more than 20 times: German Dieter Hecking, against whom Klopp pitted his wits 21 times, winning 11, drawing five and losing five. Hecking bossed Lubeck, Alemannia Aachen, Hannover, Nurnberg and Wolfsburg during Klopp's time in the German leagues.

Klopp certainly has a happy record against Newcastle United's former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe, achieving 11 wins from their 13 meetings.

This shows the most wins Klopp has had against any boss is 11, against Guardiola, Hecking and Howe, while it can be revealed the team he has beaten the most are Freiburg (13 times), followed by Crystal Palace, Nurnberg and Arsenal (all 12).

His real nemesis appears to have been Felix Magath, the former Stuttgart, Bayern, Wolfsburg and Schalke coach. In 14 games against Magath teams, Klopp won only three times, losing eight.

Bayern have had the most wins against Klopp, with 16. No other team have reached double figures, with Hamburg, Schalke and Wolfsburg (all nine) next on the list.

The milestones, the biggest and the best... and the games he'd rather forget

Klopp won that first match of his career against Duisburg, and to date he has never lost on each 100th game on his way towards 1,000 as a boss.

There have been wins against the way against Bochum (200th game), Werder Bremen (300th), his old club Mainz (400th), Freiburg (500th) and Southampton (600th), and draws on his 700th, 800th and 900th games, against Newcastle, Chelsea and Real Madrid, respectively. Klopp's 100th game was also a draw, against Unterhaching with Mainz.

His biggest win was the 9-0 trouncing that Liverpool dished out to Bournemouth in August of this season, and his Liverpool team have also hit seven in a game five times (Maribor, Spartak Moscow, Crystal Palace, Lincoln City and Rangers), while his biggest win as a boss in Germany was Dortmund's 6-0 crushing of Arminia Bielefeld in May 2009.

Klopp has suffered four defeats by five-goal margins, the worst he has had to endure, with Aston Villa inflicting two of those: 7-2 in October 2020 and 5-0 in December 2019 – albeit the latter with Klopp and his frontline Liverpool stars out of the country on Club World Cup duty. There was also a 6-1 torching for Mainz at the hands of Werder Bremen in October 2006, and Liverpool's 5-0 whipping by Guardiola's City.

When it comes to promoting young talent, Klopp has rarely hesitated. His youngest player was Harvey Elliott, now a first-team squad regular at Liverpool, who faced MK Dons in the EFL Cup at the age of 16 years and 174 days in September 2019.

Klopp has fielded five 16-year-olds for Liverpool, plus seven 17-year-olds, while he also gave chances to the 17-year-old Mario Gotze at Dortmund, and Mario Vrancic, also 17, during his time at Mainz. Gotze went on to become a World Cup final match-winner.

His oldest player was Peter Neustadter, a Kazakh defender who was older than Klopp himself, aged 37 years and 176 days, when he turned out for Mainz against Alemannia Aachen in the Bundesliga's second tier in August 2003.

Warhorse midfielder James Milner could yet break that record as the oldest Liverpool player to have appeared for Klopp, aged 37 years and 13 days when he played in the recent FA Cup replay win against Wolves this week.

James Woodburn remains the youngest scorer for Klopp after hitting the net against Leeds in an EFL Cup clash in November 2016 at the age of 17 years and 45 days, while Sebastian Kehl ranks as his oldest scorer – 35 years and 53 days old when he bagged for Dortmund against Hoffenheim in a DFB-Pokal quarter-final in April 2015.

Klopp's kingpins

Roberto Firmino has played more games for Klopp than anyone, racking up 341 outings for Liverpool under the manager, with Milner (301) next on the list.

When it comes to starters, though, we get a different picture, with former Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller top of the list with 280 games, followed by another BVB stalwart, Neven Subotic (278), and then Firmino (277 starts). Milner is a long way down that list, with 112 of the veteran's appearances for Klopp having come as a substitute.

Mohamed Salah has made 282 appearances and 261 starts for Klopp, and when it comes to scorers for the Reds manager, the brilliant Egyptian is the untouchable number one.

His 173 goals put him streets ahead of Klopp's next highest scorer, Sadio Mane (120), with Firmino (107) and former Dortmund supreme finisher Robert Lewandowski (103) being the only other players to reach three figures.

Among players with 10 or more goals for Klopp teams, Salah has also scored at the fastest rate, netting once every 133 minutes, with Lewandowski in a tie for second place with Darwin Nunez, both scoring at one per 139 minutes. Nunez scrapes onto the list, having scored 10 times so far.

Lewandowski hit four hat-tricks for Klopp's Dortmund, while Salah has managed five for Liverpool under the German.

Both men once hit four in a game for Klopp, with Lewandowski doing so in a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, and Salah in a Premier League match against Watford.

The manager teased plenty out of those two down the years, and Klopp will doubtless look to Salah, a former Chelsea player, to ensure his 1,000th game brings cause for celebration.

The outbreak of the virus, officially named COVID-19 which originated in China, forced four Serie A matches to be postponed on Sunday, including the clash between Inter and Sampdoria.

The move came as part of preventative measures taken in Italy after two people died in the country.

Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte has said all this week's top-flight fixtures could yet be cancelled too, while reports suggest Juve will host title rivals Inter behind closed doors in Turin on Sunday.

Sarri, though, has refuted suggestions his club's fans should have stayed at home instead of travelling to France for the first leg of their last-16 tie.

"It's a European and global problem, not an Italian one," he told a media conference. "In Italy, we made 3,500 tests for coronavirus and therefore had many more positive tests.

"In France you had about 300 tests and so obviously the average who are positive is much lower. If you did as many tests as we did, you'd probably have as many positives too. Therefore, our fans have every right to be here."

Juve have not won European club football's biggest prize since 1996, but Sarri does not believe his future is dependent on ending that drought this season.

"I don't know what my future depends on, but the president pointed out that this is a three-year project," he added. "I have great faith in what my president says, as he tends to be pretty clear.

"It's very difficult for any Italian club to chase this dream because we were the leaders 20 years ago, but we have been overtaken due to various reasons in the last couple of decades.

"A dream is not to be underestimated. If you chase a dream and achieve it, that is ecstasy, whereas if you don't achieve it, it was still a wonderful journey."

Giorgio Chiellini could make his first European appearance of the season after a serious knee injury ruled him out for five months.

The centre-back has featured in Juve's last two Serie A games and has subsequently been named in the squad for the trip to France, much to the delight of his defensive partner Leonardo Bonucci.

"We both like to not only play football, but also talk during the game, communicate with our team-mates and help the younger players to make the right movements," Bonucci said. "If there are two of us doing that, it's easier.

"There is also a language issue, because with Matthijs de Ligt we are trying to communicate in English while he learns Italian. It's not quite the same, but we're getting there and improving our communication. With Giorgio there, we can speed the process up."

Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski scored 55 goals in all competitions last season as Hansi Flick's side won the Champions League, Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal.

Voting for the award considers achievements from July 20, 2019 to October 7, 2020, during which the Poland international also won the UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup with Bayern.

Lewandowski scored 15 goals and assisted five more as Bayern won all of their 2019-20 Champions League games and lifted the trophy, an achievement that will be central to his claim for the honour.

The 32-year-old's output far outstripped perennial contenders Cristiano Ronaldo (four goals, no assists) and Lionel Messi (three goals, three assists).

Bayern overcame Paris Saint-Germain in the final and their star duo of Neymar (three goals, four assists) and Kylian Mbappe (five goals, five assists) could not get anywhere near Lewandowski in the Champions League.

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah – the only other attacker on the 11-man shortlist for the FIFA accolade – had four goals and two assists in last season's Champions League.

Lewandowski also had a better shot conversion rate (34.9 per cent) than any of those candidates and averaged 3.4 shots on target per 90 minutes – the most of any player to have featured more than four times.

"As the name suggests, there can only be one who is the best. That is Robert Lewandowski," Matthaus wrote in his Sky Sports column.

"He's no longer just the best number nine in the world. Robert is the most complete and best player there is in world football.

"With FC Bayern he has won the five big titles that can be won. Champions League, Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, DFL-Supercup and UEFA Super Cup. In addition, he was also the top scorer in the first three competitions mentioned.

"His rivals Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and Mbappe are all fantastic players – just like Lewy. The difference is he has won every title there was to be won.

"Messi had a season without a trophy, Ronaldo became Italian champion, is still great, but not as strong as a few years ago."

While France Football made the decision not to name a Ballon d'Or winner for 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, world football's governing body will crown The Best FIFA Men's Player on December 17.

The award takes into account accomplishments between July 20, 2019 and October 7 of this year. During that time, Lewandowski scored 55 goals in an incredible 2019-20 season that saw Bayern complete a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble, before adding the UEFA Super Cup and DFL-Supercup this term.

Ronaldo scored 31 goals as Juventus won the Scudetto and he became the first player to strike 50 times in the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A in the process.

Messi, who took home the accolade in 2019, led LaLiga in goals (25) and assists (21), but his tally of 56 goal involvements in all competitions (31 scored, 25 assisted) represented his worst season since 2013-14.

Kylian Mbappe, Sadio Mane, Neymar and Mohamed Salah are the other forwards on the 11-man shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's Player, but Lewandowski does not think any comparison can be made to him.

"I don't think about that, because I think the most important thing is to analyse what your team achieved in the season," Lewandowski told Ole when asked who his biggest competition for the award is.

"If you scored a lot of goals and won everything and were at the top, I don't think there's anyone I can compare myself to.

"I just focus and think about the next challenge, and so on. If I win the award, of course I will be happy because I know everything I did, that it was for the team, and I know that it will be a decision of the fans and the journalists who vote."

Asked if he feels he deserves to win, Lewandowski added: "Hopefully. It would be a unique feeling. If I won The Best it would be something spectacular for me and an award for the whole team, because I know how well we played.

"What we did last season, for me, was incredible and I think we were the best. We are the best, there is no doubt. And we want to stay in that place

"It's always special to win a FIFA award, a dream. Personally, I know how hard I worked and pushed myself to have the year I had. If you love what you do, it is possible to get the prize.

"But I insist, winning it would be a prize for the whole team. Bayern had an unbeatable year."

Lewandowski led Bayern Munich to a domestic and European treble last term, scoring a remarkable 55 goals across all competitions.

The 32-year-old has picked up where he left off this season, with 15 goals from 14 appearances ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga clash with RB Leipzig.

Lewandowski scored one and set up another as Bayern trashed Messi's Barcelona 8-2 en route to their Champions League triumph in August, a result which contributed to the Blaugrana's talisman asking to leave Camp Nou.

Messi did not get his wish, however, and ultimately agreed to stay on and see out the final year of his contract.

With the Argentinian set to become a free agent at the end of the season, a number of Europe's biggest clubs will be on high alert, and Lewandowski believes Messi is such a unique talent that it may well be another 100 years before another player of his ilk comes to the fore.

"He is a great player, one of the greatest in the history of football," Lewandowski told Ole.

"I know that the expectations around him are enormous and what he has already achieved as a footballer is something that perhaps no one will achieve.

"Maybe you have to wait 100 years for someone like him to be born again. With what he has already done, he is and will be one of the greatest in all of history."

With the Ballon d'Or not being awarded for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Lewandowski has at least been nominated alongside Messi to be named The Best FIFA Men's Player.

Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi received the FIFA award last season and Lewandowski chuckled at the suggestion the 33-year-old should stand aside for somebody else.

"I know that he also wants to win it!" Lewandowski said. "It is logical. It's our job."

Lewandowski also paid tribute to Argentina great Diego Maradona, who passed away last month.

"A great sadness. The news was very ugly," Lewandowski said. "That a player as fabulous as Maradona has left is very sad for all of football.

"We are all very sad but it happened, sadly. When he played, I was hardly born, but I know very well what he did in football and in the 1986 World Cup, how many great games he played.

"As a person it was the same as a player. He liked to have fun and enjoyed life both on and off the field."

Son faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a fractured arm in Spurs' Premier League win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

With Harry Kane still absent due to a hamstring injury, Tottenham are without a recognised striker in the starting line-up to face Leipzig on Wednesday.

It appears Alli could move into a more advanced role, with Lucas up top and Steven Bergwijn also offering support along with Giovani Lo Celso.

Jose Mourinho has made two changes to his starting line-up for the clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Gedson Fernandes and Lo Celso coming into the side as Eric Dier drops to the bench 

Timo Werner will provide Leipzig's main attacking threat in a contest that will see Julian Nagelsmann become the youngest manager to take charge of a Champions League knockout match at the age of 32.

Stats Perform News understands the Spain Under-21 international will cost City £21.1million (€23m), plus further add-ons.

City were linked to several young wingers after Leroy Sane's move to Bayern Munich was confirmed at the start of July, with Torres ultimately emerging from the pack to pen a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.

While perhaps not a like-for-like replacement, Pep Guardiola and City will believe they have got themselves a bargain and pulled off a significant coup in landing Torres, who had also attracted interest from Barcelona, Juventus and Liverpool.

"I am so happy to be joining City," Torres said. "Every player wants to be involved in attacking teams and Manchester City are one of the most attacking in world football.

"Pep encourages a really open, aggressive style, which I love, and he is a manager with a proven track record of improving players. To have him overseeing my development is a dream."

Torres is considered one of Spain's most promising young players, having come through Valencia's academy and made his debut as a 17-year-old in 2017.

A talented and direct winger capable of playing on either flank, though preferring to operate from the right, he enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2019-20.

Having made 24 LaLiga appearances in 2018-19, Torres had even greater exposure to first-team football this term due to injuries, taking full advantage of Goncalo Guedes' long-term absence as he featured 34 times domestically.

He scored four goals and set up another five in LaLiga, while his Champions League strike against Lille in November made him the first player born in 2000 to net in the competition for a Spanish club.

Torres' contract with Valencia was said to contain a €100m release clause, but he had stalled on signing fresh terms, meaning Los Che were never likely to hold out for such a fee given his deal was due to expire next year.

With Valencia failing to qualify for European football next season after a disappointing 2019-20, their final bargaining chip was essentially lost and City have moved swiftly to secure the youngster's future.

Premier League champions City made the decision in conjunction with UEFA after Madrid established a self-imposed quarantine in the wake of a positive coronavirus test by one of their basketball players on Thursday.

Juve's game was pushed back after centre-back Daniele Rugani was found to have contracted COVID-19, with the club consequently following isolation procedures.

A City statement read: "Manchester City's Champions League fixture at home to Real Madrid has been postponed.

"The decision to postpone Tuesday's game was made in conjunction with UEFA and follows confirmation that players from Real Madrid will self-isolate for 15 days, after it emerged that a player from the club's basketball team tested positive for COVID-19.

"The club sends it best wishes to the players and staff at Real Madrid's football and basketball teams.

"Further information regarding the rescheduled date and related ticketing information will follow in due course."

The proliferation of COVID-19 in Spain has led to the next two LaLiga matchdays being suspended, having previously been due to be played behind closed doors. In Italy, all domestic sport has been prohibited until April 3.

According to the World Health Organization, there have been 2,140 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Spain and 12,462 in Italy.

Sancho was the subject of intense transfer rumours in the close-season as Manchester United reportedly attempted to prise the England international away. 

Dortmund maintained early on that Sancho was not for sale once an August deadline passed, and they successfully resisted United's apparent attempts to make a deal happen. 

But, while no move transpired, Favre suggests it was not a case of no harm being done. 

Sancho has only had a hand in two goals (two assists) in four Bundesliga matches at the start of 2020-21, a somewhat disappointing figure by his usual standards.

Favre believes the pre-season saga could have affected him. 

"Every player has slow periods," he said ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Zenit. 

"There was a lot of talk about Jadon in the summer, something like that can also have an impact. 

"But no player is consistently in top form for an entire year, that's impossible. You have to accept that." 

Last season, Sancho created a total of 69 goal-scoring chances in the Bundesliga, ultimately leading to 16 assists. He also scored 17 times, meaning he was involved in 33 goals in 32 games. 

While his key pass frequency was 2.71 per 90 minutes in 2019-20, that has only decreased slightly to 2.04 this term, therefore he is still creating opportunities. 

Nevertheless, Sancho is already behind in regards to his overall productivity in comparison to the previous season.

Mane was a standout player as Liverpool went all the way in the 2018-19 Champions League, while he has also enjoyed a strong start to the 2019-20 Premier League campaign.

The Senegal international placed in the top three in each of the previous three years, finishing runner-up to Salah in 2017 and 2018, and third in 2016, when Mahrez came first.

But this time Mane claimed the prize, ahead of Liverpool team-mate Salah and Mahrez, who won a domestic treble with City and captained Algeria to glory at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

It is the first time since 2002 that a Senegalese player has claimed the award, with El Hadji Diouf winning it shortly after switching Lens for Liverpool.

While Liverpool's Champions League success undoubtedly helped Mane's chances, he also enjoyed a wonderful year individually.

In 36 Premier League outings in 2019, Mane scored 24 times and got six assists to leave Salah (18 goals and five assists from 34 matches) and Mahrez (seven goals and seven assists from 24 games) trailing in his wake.

Mane, Salah and Mahrez also formed part of CAF's star-studded Team of the Year.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was selected to lead the line, with Hakim Ziyech and Idrissa Gueye chosen in midfield, while Andre Onana takes the place in goal.

Kalidou Koulibaly, Joel Matip, Serge Aurier and Achraf Hakimi – who won the Young Player of the Year award – were the back four and Algeria's Djamel Belmadi was crowned Men's African Coach of the Year.

Both players have been linked with moves to Real Madrid, and Mbappe recently scored a superb solo goal to give Paris Saint-Germain a 1-0 lead over Los Blancos in their Champions League round-of-16 tie.

Madrid had multiple bids for Mbappe turned down in August. The 23-year-old will become a free agent at the end of the season.

Reports had suggested that Mbappe could miss Wednesday's return leg in Spain after suffering a knock in training, but with PSG hoping that he will be fit for the trip, former Madrid forward Higuain claims the forward is one of the two heirs apparent to Messi and Ronaldo.

The Inter Miami forward, who scored 107 goals in 190 LaLiga appearances for Madrid between 2007 and 2013, also believes Mbappe's arrival could take his old club back "to the top" of European football.

"[Mbappe] has all the characteristics," Higuain told Stats Perform.

"I believe that Leo and Cristiano at some point will stop playing, because life is like that, and Mbappe and Haaland will be their successors. 

"Of course, Mbappe has all the characteristics to take Real Madrid to the top."

Mbappe recently moved level with Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the joint-second highest goalscorer in PSG's history, with his tally of 156 goals for the French giants bettered only by Edinson Cavani, who scored 200 goals for the club.

Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti called Mbappe "unstoppable" after he downed the Spanish giants at the Parc des Princes last month.

PSG sporting director Leonardo, meanwhile, recently referred to Mbappe as the "best player in the world today", hinting the in-demand striker could yet elect to remain in the French capital.

Mbappe was suspended for PSG's 1-0 Ligue 1 loss to Nice last time out, and is the only player in the French top flight to have reached double figures for both goals and assists this season, with his 24 goal contributions (14 goals, 10 assists) helping the Parisians to a 13-point lead at the summit. 

Haaland, meanwhile, is one of the most prolific forwards in European football, and it has been reported that Madrid and Manchester City are leading the chase for the 21-year-old.

Since making his debut for Borussia Dortmund in January 2020, the Norway international has netted 80 times in all competitions, a tally which ranks behind that of only Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (112) in the same timeframe of players in Europe's big five leagues.

LaLiga giants Barca and Serie A champions Juve were paired together in Group G, along with Dynamo Kiev and Ferencvaros. 

Messi and Ronaldo have played against each other five times in the Champions League, the former on the winning side twice and as many matches ending in a draw.  While Ronaldo has managed a solitary win, he has failed to score in their previous meetings.

Bayern Munich, who defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to be crowned champions of Europe for a sixth time in Lisbon in August, will come up against Atletico Madrid in Group A.

PSG were drawn with Manchester United, RB Leipzig and Istanbul Basaksehir in what looks a tough Group H, while Liverpool - winners of the competition in 2019 - will lock horns with Ajax, Atalanta and Midtjylland in Group D. 

Real Madrid are in Group B with Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter and Borussia Monchengladbach, while Europa League holders Sevilla have Chelsea for company in Group E, along with Krasnodar and Rennes. 

Group C comprises of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Porto, Olympiacos and Marseille, while Zenit, Borussia Dortmund and Lazio are joined by Club Brugge in Group F. 

The final will be staged at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul on May 29, 2021.

Champions League group stage draw:

Group A: Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Salzburg, Lokomotiv Moscow 
Group B: Real Madrid,  Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter, Borussia Monchengladbach 
Group C: Porto, Manchester City, Olympiacos, Marseille 
Group D: Liverpool, Ajax, Atalanta, Midtjylland 
Group E: Sevilla, Chelsea, Krasnodar, Rennes 
Group F: Zenit, Borussia Dortmund, Lazio, Club Brugge 
Group G: Juventus, Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev, Ferencvaros 
Group H: Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, RB Leipzig, Istanbul Basaksehir