Borussia Dortmund are "on the right track" to secure the prized signing of Salzburg striker Karim Adeyemi, according to Sebastian Kehl.

Kehl, who will move from a player licensing role at Dortmund to become sporting director next season, expressed optimism that the Bundesliga giants will acquire a talent who has also been linked to Manchester United.

It may be that Adeyemi directly replaces Erling Haaland, who looks set to leave Dortmund after two and a half highly successful years with the club.

Haaland is another Salzburg old boy who has flourished in the German Bundesliga since leaving behind its Austrian equivalent, with Manchester City emerging as favourites to sign up the Norway striker in a big-money deal.

Adeyemi is 20 years old and already a full Germany international with three caps and a three-time Austrian Bundesliga winner, so his signing would be a coup for Dortmund.

Kehl told Sky Sport: "The gut feeling got better over the week. We're on the right track."

Recent reports in England have claimed United made a move for Adeyemi but were rebuffed by the player, who was said to prefer a return to his homeland rather than a Premier League switch.

A technically gifted and rapid forward, Adeyemi has long been considered one of Germany's most promising young players, having cost Salzburg a reported €3million when he was 16 and joined from Unterhaching. Adeyemi had left Bayern Munich's youth ranks six years earlier.

This season, he is the leading scorer in Austria's top flight, with 17 goals in 26 games, while he also netted three times and had one assist in eight Champions League games – a European campaign that ended with a last-16 defeat to Bayern.

While Haaland's departure would undoubtedly harm Dortmund, the potential arrival of Adeyemi continues what looks to be a strong transfer window for BVB, who have already reached agreements with centre-backs Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck.

Watford failed to save themselves as their relegation from the Premier League was confirmed by a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace on Saturday.

It meant Watford boss Roy Hodgson saw the final blow inflicted by one of his former clubs, as the Hornets missed out on the win they required to keep survival as a long-shot hope.

Wilfried Zaha's 31st-minute penalty, following a handball by Hassane Kamara, put Palace in front and proved to be the match-winner. Kamara was also sent off midway through the second half for a second bookable offence.

Even if Watford had won at Selhurst Park, they would have required further victories in their final three games against Everton, Leicester City and Chelsea, while hoping Leeds United or Burnley lost each of their remaining fixtures.

Hodgson, who left Palace last May after four seasons with the Eagles, was appointed Watford manager in January and inherited a side sitting 19th in the Premier League.

After earning promotion with Xisco at the helm, Watford fired the Spanish coach in October and brought in Claudio Ranieri, the Italian who led Leicester City to a shock title in the 2015-16 season.

Ranieri showed little sign of repeating past glories, and Hodgson also found the going tough, with Watford remaining 19th and now condemned to a swift return to the Championship, along with already-doomed Norwich City.

This will be Watford's fourth relegation from the Premier League, making them the sixth different side to be relegated from the competition on four or more occasions, after Norwich (6), West Brom (5), Palace, Middlesbrough and Sunderland (all 4).

Hodgson, who will leave Watford at the end of the season, this week said he would not be putting his name forward for Premier League jobs in the future at the age of 74.

Watford have now won just one of their last 30 league matches against London sides (D7 L22), with the exception being a 1-0 home win over Millwall in April 2021. They have lost 15 Premier League matches in a row against teams from the capital, the longest ever losing run against London teams in top-flight history.

Conor Coady scored with almost the last touch of the game as Wolves fought back to draw 2-2 with Chelsea on the day a £4.25billion sale of the Blues was agreed.

Todd Boehly, who leads the consortium that will complete a takeover later this month, was in attendance at Stamford Bridge as Romelu Lukaku scored his first Premier League goals since a 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion on December 29 to put the hosts 2-0 up before the hour mark.

Substitute Trinaco set up a dramatic finale, though, with a sumptuous goal 11 minutes from full-time.

Coady then popped up in the seventh minute of stoppage time to head home Chiquinho's cross and seal the most unlikely of points for the visitors.

Manchester United were left short of attacking options due to the board's refusal to sign a forward late in January, according to Ralf Rangnick.

Rangnick took interim charge in November after the dismissal of club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and arrived as a highly acclaimed operator in the transfer market after his technical role at RB Leipzig.

United fans may have been hopeful the German would be allowed to deliver some transfer gems, having previously signed the likes of Erling Haaland, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita for small fees while at RB Salzburg.

However, United were instead left with a shortage of strikers after the unsettled Anthony Martial was loaned to Sevilla and Mason Greenwood was suspended indefinitely by the club with three days left in January.

Rangnick eyed moves for Dusan Vlahovic, who subsequently left Fiorentina for Juventus, Manchester City-bound Julian Alvarez, and Luis Diaz, who joined Liverpool from Porto, but none came to fruition.

That left United to rely on the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored nine of their last 13 league goals across 10 matches, with Edinson Cavani hampered by fitness and injury issues.

"The answer at the time was no there was no player on the market that could really help us – there were a few, Diaz who is now at Liverpool, Alvarez who will be at Manchester City in the summer, Vlahovic who at the time still was with Fiorentina those are just three of them that come across my mind now," said Rangnick.

"We had four days off at the time and on the Sunday I was informed about the issues with Mason Greenwood and obviously Anthony Martial had already left.

"Then I was aware that within four days we had some strikers missing and it might make sense, we were still in three competitions – Champions League, FA Cup and fourth in the league but that's the past and it doesn't help us anymore.

"I spoke to the board and said shouldn't we at least speak and try and analyse if we could get a player either on loan or as a permanent deal but in the end the answer was no.

"I still believe that we should have at least tried, if we would've found and been able in 48 hours, 48 hours is short notice but it's still 48 hours, it might have been worth to try and internally discuss but we didn't and it was not done."

Rangnick will move into a consultancy role at the end of the season, alongside his coaching commitments with Austria, and partner the incoming Erik ten Hag in an attempt to transform United's fortunes.

Ten Hag has already demanded some ruling over transfers, while Rangnick claimed United may need up to 10 players to compete.

Rangnick is under no illusions about how sizeable the rebuilding task will be at Old Trafford.

"If there is a good thing about the poor season we had so far it is that everybody now should be aware how big and where the problems are and what needs to be done to raise the level again and to be a serious title contender again – and this is what it's all about – to me it's obvious what needs to be done, this is what is most important," said Rangnick.

"If there hadn't been any problems before I came I wouldn't have come, probably Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] would still be sat here answering your questions.

"There were some problems the team already had at the end of November and as we all know in the first couple of months until the end of January we were improving, we conceded less goals, we had a point average of 2.1 after the West Ham game but then in that international break we lost three players and we had problems to score goals and find our balance."

"Now it's time to look ahead, now we have two games to play try to play as well as we possibly can, get as many points as we possibly can out of those two games. 

"Then together with Erik, together with the board, together with the scouting department, hopefully find and also convince the players, it's not only about finding them, scouting them you also have to convince them to come to Manchester United."

Erik ten Hag says questions about the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and other Manchester United stars are "for the future" as he focuses on attempting to see Ajax over the line in the Eredivisie title race.

It was confirmed last month Ten Hag will be the replacement for interim boss Ralf Rangnick from next season.

The long-term future of Portugal superstar Ronaldo, who signed on for a second spell at Old Trafford from Juventus back in August, has been shrouded in doubt despite the fact he has another year on his contract, with an option to extend for a third season, and has contributed 18 Premier League goals for a United side that has badly underperformed this season.

Reports in the British media suggested Dutchman Ten Hag wants Ronaldo to be a part of his plans next term, but when asked about the prospect of working with the 37-year-old at a news conference previewing Ajax's clash with AZ, he kept his cards pressed firmly to his chest.

"They are questions for the future and not in this moment," he said.

"I want to answer questions about Ajax, we are in an important race, and an important week. I want to focus on Ajax and not on Manchester United."

There have been rumours Ten Hag could look to take some of his Ajax squad with him to Old Trafford, with Sebastien Haller, Antony, and Jurrien Timber among those linked with a switch.

Ten Hag denied suggestions any deals are in place, though.

"No, there are no agreements about that," he added. "I now have very good players, but it's not an issue at all."

Chelsea have agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjorg Wyss for £4.25billion.

The Boehly-led consortium had moved clear in the race to buy the Blues after being selected as the preferred bidder despite a last-ditch higher offer from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

The takeover, which promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, is expected to be completed later this month.

In a statement released in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, Chelsea said: "Of the total investment being made, £2.5billion will be applied to purchase the shares in the club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.

"UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

"In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.

"The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time."

Boehly is a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the biggest spenders in Major League Baseball.

Chelsea have agreed to terms for the sale of the club to an ownership group led by Todd Boehly, Clearlake Capital, Mark Walter and Hansjoerg Wyss for £4.25billion.

The Boehly-led consortium had moved clear in the race to buy the Blues after being selected as the preferred bidder despite a last-ditch higher offer from British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe.

The takeover, which promises investment of £1.75billion into the club, is expected to be completed later this month.

In a statement released in the early hours of Saturday morning local time, Chelsea said: "Of the total investment being made, £2.5billion will be applied to purchase the shares in the club and such proceeds will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate 100 per cent to charitable causes as confirmed by Roman Abramovich.

"UK Government approval will be required for the proceeds to be transferred from the frozen UK bank account.

"In addition, the proposed new owners will commit £1.75bn in further investment for the benefit of the club. This includes investments in Stamford Bridge, the academy, the women’s team and Kingsmeadow and continued funding for the Chelsea Foundation.

"The sale is expected to complete in late May subject to all necessary regulatory approvals. More details will be provided at that time."

Boehly is a part-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the biggest spenders in Major League Baseball.

Antonio Conte urged Tottenham to enjoy the pressure of the Premier League's top-four race as he claimed his side did not expect to be in contention back in November.

Nuno Espirito Santo lasted just four months in charge of Spurs before his dismissal on November 1, with the north London club eighth in the Premier League, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Conte, who departed Inter after guiding the Nerazzurri to the Scudetto last season, replaced the Portuguese coach and became the first Spurs manager to go unbeaten in his first eight league games.

However, Spurs' form nosedived in February, with Conte losing four of five top-flight games for just the third time in his managerial career.

That led to questions over Tottenham's credentials for Champions League qualification, but slip-ups by Arsenal in April allowed Spurs to temporarily occupy fourth place, even if they could not fully capitalise.

Spurs lost against Brighton and Hove Albion after Arsenal were defeated by Southampton, before being held by Brentford as they dropped further ground in the top-four race.

Across those two games, Tottenham failed to register a single shot on target but responded with a 3-1 win over Leicester City in their most recent game, keeping them two points behind Arsenal with four games to play.

Conte acknowledged his side must deal with the pressure as they head towards the crunch period of the season, with a meeting against Mikel Arteta's side coming in the penultimate week of the campaign.

"It can happen in one or two games in a row, you can struggle," the Italian told reporters. "It can happen for many reasons. Maybe sometimes the pressure starts to become strong and you need to be used to this sort of pressure.

"Before these two games against Brighton and Brentford, we were behind the others but when we reached fourth place and we tried to defend this position, we have these strange performances. 

"But I think that this team and group of players are improving every aspect and also at dealing with the pressure.

"I think that we have to enjoy this time and this race. I repeat it was very hard to predict at the start of the season and November that Tottenham could compete for the Champions League.

"We have to enjoy with the right pressure and try to have a game for our fans and the people that watch the game."

Conte's side next visit Liverpool on Saturday at Anfield, where the Reds have lost just one of their last 27 Premier League games against Spurs.

However, Tottenham are the top scorers across their last 16 top-flight games, albeit they have either scored multiple goals (in 11 matches) or failed to find the net (five matches) in that period.

"I think that since November until now, you can see the stats, they’ve improved a lot since November," Conte added. "The goals we scored, the goals we conceded, the chances we created.

"It happened in the last two games against Brighton and Brentford that we weren't able to score. But I think in every game we create a lot of chances and score a lot of goals and the fans see us play football.

"I think the game against Liverpool will be interesting. We play a game face to face against a team that likes to be offensive, and we like to be offensive."

Asked whether Spurs fare better against bigger teams due to the space for Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to counter, Conte responded: "No. I can tell you that we played Chelsea four times this season and we lost four times.

"This comparison is not right. We lost four times to Chelsea and they are on the level of Man United, Man City and Liverpool. I think this is not the reason.

"For sure, when you play against [bigger] teams the pressure is very high but at the same time you enjoy this type of game because you play against a really strong team.

"And in these types of games you can also make an evaluation about your level and progress you made in these months.

"I think in this aspect it will be important not only to get points but to understand our level and the level we have reached, in these types of games and against these types of monsters."

Romelu Lukaku remains a "big player" for Chelsea, according to Thomas Tuchel, and the striker could make a long-awaited Premier League start against Wolves on Saturday.

Lukaku has endured a miserable first season back in England after making a club record £97.5million (€115m) return to Stamford Bridge from Inter last July.

The striker has scored only 12 goals and declared in an interview with Sky Sport Italia in December that he was not happy with his role under Tuchel.

Lukaku has remained out in the cold and has not started a top-flight game since a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace in February.

Belgium's all-time leading scorer has been linked with a return to Inter at the end of the season, but Tuchel says he has a future at Chelsea and may be in the side to take on Wolves at Stamford Bridge.

When asked about Lukaku's future, the Blues boss said: "Yes, I want him to be an important part of the squad.

"He is right now a very important part of the squad and, next season, there is no recruitment [due to sanctions imposed on Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich] and no players are about to leave, because it's simply not possible.

"We signed a big player and he still is a big player. He has trained very well and maybe starts tomorrow."

Tuchel has stressed the importance of "trust and commitment" as Lukaku endeavours to prove his worth.

"I don't know what needs to happen. He needs to happen. Everyone needs to happen. It's the life of a professional football player at this kind of level," Tuchel added.

"Everybody does their very best and it is the same for every player. Of course, we do the very best to integrate him and it needs to happen. He needs to happen. We need to support him and trust in what we do.

"There is not one thing that we can provide to make this happen. It's about trust, it's about commitment, about the feeling for the game, a bit of luck, game momentum. That's it."

Third-placed Chelsea have work to do in order to secure a Champions League place next season after a 1-0 defeat to Everton and Tuchel expects a response from that loss at Goodison Park. 

He said: "We need another reaction. That's where we are, we had a week to prepare, which was nice but not nice, because we prefer to play [in the] Champions League.

"But it was nice to have the team, to have influence in training to set the focus on things we want to improve. We want to meet our standards and we demand a lot from ourselves.

"I think there are a lot of reasons why it is sometimes normal to drop in intensity and to drop in the level of effort, but as we are an elite sports team and sports club competing on a very, very high level of this sport, there is not much room for normal behaviour.

"We want elite behaviour and this includes me. We want to step up and show another reaction and show that we can play better, we can have more impact in the matches and start from there on tomorrow."

Midfield duo N'Golo Kante and Jorginho will miss the clash with Wolves due to injury.

Pep Guardiola accepts his Manchester City players will not be able to forget Wednesday's defeat to Real Madrid, but he does not believe that should hamper their Premier League title bid.

City suffered yet more Champions League pain as Madrid scored two late goals and another in extra time to beat Guardiola's men 3-1 in their semi-final second leg, securing a 6-5 aggregate triumph.

Despite being four games away from another domestic league title, with Liverpool just a point behind, the Madrid match dominated Guardiola's pre-match news conference ahead of playing Newcastle United.

The manager imagines it will be the same inside the minds of his players, yet that does not concern him.

"They don't have to forget it," he said. "How are we going to forget it? We are going to play against Newcastle thinking about that, for sure.

"All the players in the training sessions, the meeting rooms, the warm-up, they are committed, they are going to do it. I don't have any doubt about that."

Guardiola made the assertion despite claiming he has not spoken to his City squad since returning from Madrid, allowing them time to recover before facing Newcastle.

Asked what he had said to the players, the Catalan coach said: "Nothing, we didn't speak. No words can help what all of us feel. It's just a question of time.

"Tomorrow will be the first day we'll be together, and we are going to talk about who we are as a team, what we have done in this semi-final of the Champions League, how good we have been – not just in these two games but all season – and trying to do an excellent last week.

"Probably it's one of the moments since I've been manager [when I have been] the most proud I am to be in this club, this organisation."

Guardiola's explanation for much of what happened in midweek was simple, repeating several times: "It's football."

He bristled at the idea Rodrygo Goes' dramatic last-gasp double exposed a mental fragility in his City side.

"There is no time for 'mental'," Guardiola said. "It was 45 seconds later."

He added: "Now people say it's a lack of character. A lack of character? What happens if Jack Grealish scores the two goals?

"Where is the character in Atletico when Ederson saves from [Angel] Correa. That's character, but if he scores it's not character?

"When [Thibaut] Courtois saves with his feet and it goes one centimetre to the corner, that is not character?"

City will certainly have to show character against Newcastle, surely fatigued from a draining European encounter in which they appeared to again lose Kyle Walker to injury.

However, Guardiola assured Kevin De Bruyne's substitution in Madrid was only "tactical". "He's good," the City boss added.

Thomas Tuchel says the future of every Chelsea player is uncertain amid the ongoing takeover saga but the Blues boss is "confident" the club will soon be under new ownership.

Chelsea have been in limbo since Roman Abramovich confirmed two months ago that he had put the club up for sale.

Sanctions imposed on Abramovich by the United Kingdom government due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine left Chelsea unable to offer Antonio Rudiger an improved contract, so the defender will leave as a free agent at the end of the season.

The London club have their hands tied, as they will be unable to bring in fresh faces or tie existing players down to new deals in their current predicament.

Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly was last week reportedly chosen as the preferred bidder to take over the cub, before Abramovich on Thursday hit out at "entirely false" claims that he has asked for the £1.5billion debt he was owed by Chelsea to be repaid.

Blues boss Tuchel is optimistic there will be a resolution before long and says it is vital for a takeover to be completed, with the futures of all of his players up in the air in the meantime.

He said in a media conference on the eve of Saturday's Premier League clash with Wolves: "I have been told last week that we have a preferred bidder and things are going forward, so it's a pretty important week now for the club but I was not involved. I was fully focused on the pitch, but after what I heard I'm confident."

Holders Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last month before losing to Arsenal and Everton in the Premier League.

Tuchel feels it is only normal they will suffer setbacks due to off-field issues at the club.

He said: "Clearance is always the best, because when the situation is clear you can take actions, you can make a judgement and act. Otherwise you are in a passive role and that is what we are. We try to make the smallest issue possible, but of course it is there.

"We prefer to have it in a clear and forward-thinking situation and this is what we are looking and hoping for, that we know what we deal with and we know what the circumstances are in improving the team, not react or even worse do nothing."

He added: "It surely affects the team, but I cannot tell you to which degree. The longer the situation goes, now it has a huge effect because Toni leaves us in the middle of the process where we are sanctioned and we could not even fight, could not do offer or be in negotiations.

"It clearly has an effect and it makes not so much sense to deny it, we lose one of our key players so it is proven it has this effect. This decision has an effect on the dressing room, because Toni is not isolated when he is here at Cobham and not talking to anyone.

"He is a huge part, he is a leader and of course the situation is like that and the situation regarding the future of every individual player is not that clear, because there are no talks for nobody at the moment.

"Of course we try to minimise that influence, I think it's most important to accept it and not to use it as an excuse so if there's a certain degree of distraction, a certain degree of uncertainty, okay we accept it but there is still another 100 per cent to reach and this is still our level."

Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick has defended his decision not to play Jesse Lingard in what could have been the winger's final game at Old Trafford after receiving criticism from the player's brother.

Lingard was an unused substitute as the Red Devils ran out as 3-0 winners over Brentford in their final home league game of a frustrating season on Monday, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Raphael Varane on the scoresheet.

A number of players either confirmed or likely to leave Old Trafford, including Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, Phil Jones, and Edinson Cavani, were given appearances by Rangnick, although Lingard was not afforded a farewell outing ahead of his contract expiring in June.

That attracted the ire of the player's brother Louie Scott, who posted on Instagram: "20 years of blood sweat and tears, four domestic trophies, three cup final goals, not even a farewell. No wonder it's Conference League next year."

But Rangnick insists he has done more for Lingard than several past United bosses, and listed several factors affecting his decision not to play the 29-year-old.

"Well to start with, I think in the last couple of weeks under my tenure, he has played far more games than he used to before I came," Rangnick said.

"Number two, on gameday against Chelsea [last Thursday] he contacted me at the hotel and asked me to release him from the game and to also release him from the training session two days after the Chelsea game, for some personal family reasons, and I allowed him to do that.

"This was the reason, and with only three substitutions, unfortunately – in all the other leagues you have five – I had to take a decision between bringing on Cavani or Lingard, or even the young Alejandro Garnacho, who I also would have loved to bring on and give him a chance after being 3-0 up.

"I took the decision to bring on Edinson for the very reasons I just explained. If I hadn't brought on Edinson maybe someone else would have posted 'it was classless not to bring on Cavani', or someone else would have posted 'why didn't the manager bring on Garnacho?'

"You have to take a decision. This will not be to the liking of everybody, but it's part of the game."

Lingard has made 22 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions this season, although only four of those have been starts and the 29-year-old has only featured for a total of 548 minutes.

United are looking to avoid a fifth consecutive away league defeat when they travel to Brighton and Hove Albion in their penultimate game of the Premier League season on Saturday, with their current run of four consecutive league losses on the road already their worst such streak since the 1980-1981 season (a run of six).

Jurgen Klopp has questioned UEFA's allocation of tickets for the Champions League final, where Liverpool will face Real Madrid.

The game at the Stade de France on the outskirts of Paris will be played on May 28, and both participating clubs have been allocated fewer than 20,000 tickets each to sell to fans, despite the capacity of the stadium being 75,000.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Tottenham, Klopp was asked about the impact of the travelling Reds support this season, and he was keen to point out the ticket issue.

"When you see the ticket prices and all this kind of stuff, the amount of tickets you get only... did I read, is it right that we only get 20,000, they get 20,000, [but] 75,000 in? That makes 35,000, what? Where are these tickets?," he asked.

"I cannot be more appreciative, more thankful for what [the fans] are doing. Unbelievable... It is the only bad thing about the journey [fans struggling to obtain tickets]. I really hope they all can make it somehow and can create an incredible atmosphere.

"That is what I love about this game, really. The world will be red or white, but everybody will be either or, so that's really cool."

The game will be a repeat of the 2018 Champions League final, in which Madrid ran out 3-1 winners in Kyiv thanks to Gareth Bale's brace and a Karim Benzema goal.

Mohamed Salah was forced off injured following a crude Sergio Ramos challenge early in the contest, and the Egyptian has not held back in his assertions that the Reds want revenge this time around.

Salah posted: "We have a score to settle" on social media on Wednesday, before also saying when he received his Football Writers' Player of the Year award on Thursday: "We lost in the (2018) final, it was a sad day for all of us and I think it is revenge time."

Klopp was not quite as forthright, though he did pay tribute to Madrid's astonishing semi-final win against Manchester City, when Los Blancos came from 5-3 down on aggregate heading into the 90th minute of the second leg to win 6-5 after extra time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"When we lost that final actually my favourite solution would have been to play the final the next year against Real Madrid, to be honest," Klopp admitted. "But we faced Tottenham [in 2019, winning 2-0], which was absolutely fine, in Madrid, so Madrid seems to be our destiny.

"It was strange and unlucky for City, but what Madrid did was outstanding. They got through against Paris Saint-Germain, against Chelsea, and against City, when we said before when we played Villarreal that if you knock out Bayern, you deserve to be in the semi-final, if you knock out these three [teams], you definitely deserve to be in the final.

"It will be great. That we were not happy that night, that's clear, but it was a while ago. I'm happy to go there and give it a try. Until then, we have a lot of games to play and you will ask a lot of questions about Real Madrid until then.

"What Carlo [Ancelotti] did there is absolutely incredible. If you go to a final the idea is you want to win it and that is what we'll work on the week before."

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have already achieved their aims by being contenders in every competition, insisting he was not brought to the Etihad Stadium to win the Champions League.

City's wait for European football's top club prize will go on after they lost 6-5 on aggregate to Real Madrid following an incredible semi-final collapse.

But in a lengthy response to a question about his players' chances of ever winning the competition ahead of Sunday's Premier League game against Newcastle United, Guardiola explained how the club view success differently from "the people" on the outside.

"I don't know [if this team can win it]," he said. "It's a question I cannot answer. Before Madrid, I did not know if we were able to win it.

"I don't have an answer to all your questions. Football is incredibly unpredictable – we saw it.

"This is my feeling, maybe I'm wrong: Abu Dhabi didn't buy this club and invest in these incredible facilities, invest in players, like a lot of other clubs in the world, to be what we lived the last years.

"It's not to win just the Champions League. They did it to be there in all competitions, in every season, compete, compete, compete until the end.

"In the Champions League, we want to do it – maybe I'm not good enough, nobody knows what happens with another manager – but we want to be there as much as possible in all competitions. For us, it's an honour.

"There are people who I know didn't appreciate what this club is doing. Maybe it's not enough, but for me it's incredible, remarkable.

"Being in the semi-finals of the Champions League again, after last season, making steps to be there and compete against an outstanding team in this competition, the way we did it, home and away...

"We were close – not close enough, because the team who wins deserves it – but we were there. This is my feeling.

"It always depends on winning the Champions League, winning the Champions League, winning the Premier League, winning the Premier League – nothing about what we have done since the takeover one decade ago, with all the players that went before, the managers that went before – it doesn't make sense.

"We will try again next season; it will be difficult, because the teams are good. I know the people want to be in that way, I accept it from day one, I have to handle it, but it's not a problem for me.

"It's not about that; it's about in the Premier League again being there, in the FA Cup semi-finals again, in the Champions League semi-finals, this season it could not happen but even the Carabao Cup four times in a row.

"This is where the club want to be. That's why they ask me to come here, for that.

"They never ask me to win any one title. They never ask me anything, the club, if anything just to play as good as possible and compete with all the teams in England and all the teams in Europe we have to play. It's completely opposite to what people think about it.

"I'm not saying it's fair or not fair; I'm not saying that.

"People say if they this group of players or this manager doesn't win a title, they're failures. I accept it, but I completely disagree, completely. We know how difficult it is, but I accept it.

"I'm not going to make it a thing where I am right and you're wrong. You can do whatever, say whatever, but as a club, the feeling that we have, it's to try to do it.

"We are sad, of course we are sad – we were close. The players wanted to play the final. But for this club to compete with Real Madrid the way that we did was a joy.

"How close we were, wow, but we could not do it, okay. I say congratulations to Liverpool and Real Madrid; if they are in the final, they deserve to be in the final.

"It's important that next season we are going to try; if it doesn't work, we are going to try again; if it doesn't work, we are going to try again.

"And in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup next season, we want to go further than we were this season.

"This is when we became a club, you know, a club where this club is great, it's good. Look at all the big clubs in Europe, who every year are there, are there, are there; in the last years, we are there.

"Sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes you put in everything and you do not achieve it. What is the problem?

"Okay, we did not achieve it. The next day, you try to do it; in the good moments, take credit; in the bad moments, more sad than usual. The next day, you try to do it. The club is good for this."

Guardiola insisted he "cannot live" for European glory alone – and suggested City would be criticised even if they did win the Champions League.

Asked if the defeat gave him added hunger, he replied: "No, always I am starving.

"I know the people outside here demand Champions League, Champions League, Champions League, we know it, but I cannot live [just for that].

"The moment we win the Champions League, they'll say look at the money we spent. If not, they spent all that money and didn't win the Champions League. We are the only club in the world in the last 10, 15, 20 years who spent money."

Mikel Arteta believes his new contract will clear up any doubts over Arsenal's future direction and be a major factor in the club's recruitment and retention drive.

The manager has committed to a two-year contract extension at Emirates Stadium, with his previous deal having run to the end of next season.

It means he is now set to stay at Arsenal until 2025, ensuring stability at the club.

Arteta revealed a number of Arsenal stars had been asking him about his future before he committed to an extended stay, with the announcement coming from the club on Friday.

Asked when the players learned the news, Arteta said: "They found out this morning. Some of them had been asking me in the last few months because they had questions about their individual futures.

"I want zero distraction about that. It's clear for the future."

Arsenal sit fourth in the Premier League and are looking to lock down a top-four finish to ensure a return to the Champions League, having last featured in that competition in the 2016-17 season.

They face Leeds United on Sunday, with Arteta hoping a feel-good factor can carry Arsenal towards their goals.

"I'm delighted, because from both sides we have shown a real commitment of what we want to do together in this beautiful journey," he said of his new deal.

"The plans and the vision that we shared are the reason why I'm doing it, and I think the club is doing it because we share the same belief, the same passion, and the same level of trust about each other and how we're doing it, and I'm really excited about what we can do together."

Speaking in a news conference, Arteta said: "The club was so decisive and committed to do it now.

"They wanted to bring clarity starting from ownership about what we were doing and show the stability and commitment to the project, and don't have to worry in the summer about any of that. When we want to recruit players or keep the players we want, they can see a clear path in the future and there is no question mark.

"I'm extremely happy here, and this job is still a lot to do."

Arteta indicated he was offered his new deal after the run of losses to Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton in April.

That has been followed by wins over Chelsea, Manchester United and West Ham, and now lowly Leeds await, with Jesse Marsch's team battling to avoid sliding into the Championship.

The Emirates Stadium clash is therefore a high-stakes affair for both sides.

"It's a lot to play for, and obviously the situation they are in, they're going to show how much they want to get out of that zone as quick as possible," Arteta said.

"For us, it's the defining moment in the season, after everything we've done, so we want to capitalise on what we've done in the last nine or 10 months."