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• Caicedo felt £115m price tag pressure during first season at Chelsea

  Moises Caicedo has said he struggled with his confidence during his first season at Chelsea because of the pressure of his £115m price tag. 

  Caicedo, who completed his move to Stamford Bridge from Brighton last year, signed for an initial £100m fee but could see that rise to a British club record £115m due to performance-related add-ons. 

  The 22-year-old endured a difficult campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, making 49 appearances in all competitions but registering just four goal involvements (one goal, three assists). 

  He was often outperformed by midfield partner Conor Gallagher, who is expected to complete a move to Atletico Madrid in the coming days despite captaining the Blues to European football last season. 

  Last season, Gallagher won more tackles (52), created more chances (53) and had the highest passing accuracy (91.5%) when compared to Caicedo. 

  "The beginning was tough for me, because you are at a big club, the price, you always have to win every game," Caicedo said.

  "It was tough for me because when I was in Brighton, the pressure is less.

  "At Chelsea, it is different. I felt a lot of pressure because you know the club, the history, the players who were there.

  "But after the last four or five months, I felt more comfortable at the club."

  Caicedo showed signs of improvement towards the end of the last Premier League season, with three of his four goal involvements coming in the final four games of the campaign. 

  The Ecuador international praised new head coach Enzo Maresca's new style of play, likening it to the one played by Graham Potter and Roberto De Zerbi during his time at Brighton. 

  "He plays like the same system that I played in Brighton. He wants the same," Caicedo said. 

  "He wants me to show my quality, to have good personality, to show to my team-mates that I am the boss on the pitch."

  It could have been much different for Caicedo, who was the subject of interest from Liverpool before his move to Chelsea last year. 

  After the departures of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jurgen Klopp was keen to add Caicedo to his midfield ranks.

  Liverpool had agreed a £111m deal with Brighton before Caicedo chose Chelsea, something he said was down to the Blues' sustained show of interest. 

  "Chelsea was with me for a couple of months. I could not miss out on them," Caicedo added. 

  "Because they were with me in tough moments when Brighton didn’t want to let me go.

  "It was a difficult decision but, for sure, 100%, I knew I wanted to go to Chelsea."

• Ibrahimovic misses feeling "alive" but little chance of coaching role

  Zlatan Ibrahimovic misses feeling "alive" following his retirement from professional football, but distanced himself from a coaching role. 

  Ibrahimovic, who is now an advisor to Milan's club's board, won 12 league titles during his illustrious 24-year career.

  The Swede netted 496 goals in 827 appearances, with his 93 goals for Milan only bettered by his time with Paris Saint-Germain (156). 

  In an interview with The Athletic, Ibrahimovic quipped he could try his hand at any sport and have success, though conceded the buzz of being on the pitch is hard to replace.

  He said: "I would be the best in every ball sport. Martial arts — I could challenge. I used to do taekwondo. With my feet, I’m fast, I move well. I had the advantage of being 1.97m tall, but moved like a guy of 1.60m.

  "That’s why I was a freak of nature. This is not me trying to impress you. These are true facts. But I like the adrenaline of taekwondo. I like duels. I need to feel alive.

  "That is the only thing I miss with football. It is not actually playing football. I just miss sometimes feeling… alive.

  "Imagine you are in front of 80,000 people. If you were so small, you would get so big. And imagine if you can get 80,000 to bounce or you can make them cry. This is who I was."

  Milan, 19-time Serie A champions, will be under new management this season, with Paulo Fonseca arriving from Lille following the departure of Stefano Pioli. 

  Ibrahimovic says he attends first-team training sessions regularly, but when asked about becoming a coach, he said: "No.

  "You see my grey hair?. Fully grey hair is after one week as a coach. A coach's life is up to 12 hours per day.

  "You absolutely don't have free time. My role is to connect everything; to be a leader from above and make sure the structure and organisation works. To keep everybody on their toes."

  Ibrahimovic made 31 appearances in his final two seasons with Milan in all competitions, scoring nine times, but started just 12 of those games. 

  It paved the way for the likes of Rafael Leao to emerge onto centre stage, with Ibrahimovic concentrating on setting an example for the young players rather than his own personal gain. 

  "It depends on the person. I didn’t need to score one goal more or one goal less. It would not change my career," he added.

  "It was more about preparing the future for the other ones because I believe this young generation needs a leader to follow.

  "If you don’t have examples, especially when you’re playing at great clubs, who will show the way?

  “I did it in a way where it was not about me, it was about the team. All these young guys that had never played in the Champions League and had never won.

  "When you get older, you need to find trigger points. It’s not about contracts after 20 years. My trigger point was to show the path for the young team."

• Henry in dreamland after guiding France to Olympic final

  Thierry Henry was delighted to guarantee France a first Olympic medal in the men's football since 1984 after their comeback victory over 10-man Egypt. 

  Les Bleus were minutes away from a semi-final exit against the Pharaohs until Jean-Philippe Mateta's 83rd minute equaliser. 

  Mateta would grab his fourth of the tournament and second of the match in the ninth minute of extra-time, with former Crystal Palace team-mate Michael Olise confirming the 3-1 win soon after.

  Henry had been preparing for this event since taking over in August 2023 and felt the weight of responsibility, having seen his nation perform brilliantly in other events as the hosts.

  “I’m living a dream. I don’t want to wake up," Henry said.

  "I’ll be honest with you, what’s nice is for Team France because when you see everyone winning medals here and there, you think it’s up to us not to let the guys down.”

  Henry endured a torrid time in charge of Monaco over five years ago, winning five of his 20 games in charge (D4, L11), but has since rebuilt his career. 

  Firstly, in the MLS with Montreal Impact, leading Montreal to their first playoff berth in four seasons, before returning for a second stint with the Belgium national side as an assistant manager. 

  This tournament has seen Henry possibly stake a claim for the France job further down the line, with Didier Deschamps’ contract expiring after the 2026 World Cup. 

  However, Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, did not want to entertain the idea just yet.

  Diallo told RMC: “Let’s not rush things. Thierry Henry, when I appointed him to the position, there were some who had doubts given what he had done previously. I had confidence in him and he is proving it.”

  France will play Spain at the Parc des Princes on Friday in the showpiece final.