Welcome to All Football's Kick Off, we bring you all important news in the past 24 hours. Make sure you do not miss out.
TOP HEADLINE
Messi left an impression on fans after addressing his Ballon d'Or wins & legacy
Whatever happens between now and his retirement Messi will be considered one of the greatest players of all time when he hangs up his boots, however the Barcelona forward isn't too fussed how people see him. Asked about winning Ballon d'Ors the five-time winner answered, "Well, I don't think I've done anything decisive to achieve success or win titles. It comes when God decides and chooses, there's no fixed time."
Man Utd to pursue No.1 target Koulibaly in the summer (Evening Standard)
Manchester United are unlikely to secure any signings in the January transfer window and instead focus all their efforts on bringing in a defender in the summer.
FA Cup Round of 16 Draw: Chelsea host Man Utd at home; Man City get easier draw
Draw results for English FA Cup fifth round have been confirmed as holders Chelsea will take on the 12-time winners Manchester United at Stamford Bridge next month.
OFFICIAL: Morata joins Atletico Madrid on loan from Chelsea until summer 2020
Chelsea forward Alvaro Morata has joined Atletico Madrid on loan until the summer of 2020 and will wear the No.22 shirt.
Neymar '90%' likely to miss the rest of the season (L'Equipe)
L’Équipe report that additional MRI scans show that Neymar has suffered a fracture on his 5th metatarsal on his right foot and will miss at least both legs against Manchester United in the Champions League owing to this injury.
TRANSFER CENTER
Chelsea tell Bayern top target Hudson-Odoi that he WON'T be sold in January
Chelsea have told Callum Hudson-Odoi that he won't be leaving the club before the transfer window shuts on Thursday after the Blues reject a £40million bid from Bayern Munich.
Chelsea preparing move for Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic (Sport)
Chelsea are preparing a summer move for Barcelona star Ivan Rakitic as they look to finally fill the void left by Cesc Fabregas, according to Sport.
Mane responds to Real Madrid rumours after penning Liverpool extension
The Senegalese forward committed to fresh terms at Anfield in November, with little attention being paid to reports of interest being shown from afar
Man Utd to offer Mata one-year extension amid Arsenal & Barcelona links (Mirror)
Manchester United have offered Juan Mata a 12-month extension to try to stop him walking on a free transfer.
Philippe Coutinho 'set for Barcelona crisis talks with Ernesto Valverde'
Philippe Coutinho is set to hold crisis talks with manager Ernesto Valverde to discuss his Barcelona future, according to Sport.
Inter winger Perisic 'has agreed Arsenal terms'
Inter winger Ivan Perisic has reportedly agreed personal terms with Arsenal.
WHAT THEY SAY
Messi is a greater player than Maradona, says Sir Alex Ferguson
Sir Alex Ferguson has backed Lionel Messi over Diego Maradona in the argument over which Argentina legend is the greater footballer.
Lukaku: Mourinho did a lot for Man Utd and deserves respect
The Belgium international was taken to Old Trafford by the Portuguese coach and believes he deserves credit for the job he did over two seasons
Bollywood star slammed after sharing racist remarks about Arsenal's Alex Iwobi
Arsenal fan and Bollywood actress Esha Gupta has been slammed online after sharing racist remarks towards Alex Iwobi on Instagram, describing the Nigerian as a 'gorilla'.
Chelsea fans loved Willian offering penalty to new boy Higuain
Chelsea cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup on Sunday, but all eyes were on new loan striker Gonzalo Higuain.
THESE THINGS HAPPENED
Underwater search to begin for missing plane carrying Emiliano Sala
An underwater search for the missing plane carrying Emiliano Sala to Cardiff is set to begin, the director of Bluewater Recoveries has confirmed.
Lionel Messi collects 2017/18 La Liga MVP Award after hitting 34 goals last term
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has received his La Liga MVP award for 2017/18 season today.
IN-DEPTH & AF COLUMNS
All Football Team of the Week: Benzema & Lukaku lead XI as De Bruyne shines
Who shone enough to make this time's Team of the Week? Have a scroll down and see if you agree with our choices.
On This Day: Liverpool smashed FOUR past Everton; Juve legend Buffon was born
Hi all, welcome to All Football's On This Day! Let's find out what happened today (January 28th) in football history. If you have more stories and news that happened on this day in history, please post them in the comment area and share them with AFers!
Torres, Eto'o, Falcao, Morata... Will Chelsea post-Drogba striker woes end now?
Chelsea confirmed the loan departure of Alvaro Morata on Monday, marking the latest failure in their bid to replace Didier Drogba.
Willian to Barca, Perisic to Arsenal... 8 deals could still happen in January
With three days left of the January transfer window, managers are still working tirelessly to strengthen their squads in a bid to finish the season in a flurry.
VIDEO OF THE DAY
Who could be the next legend, Thiago Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo Jr?
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FIXTURE OF THE DAY (CET)
Premier League
20:45 Arsenal vs Cardiff City
21:00 Manchester United vs Burnley
21:00 Newcastle United vs Manchester City
Coppa Italia
20:45 Milan vs Napoli
chidesco1
178
Man city are very lucky. Scaled through the efl with relatively easy ties and now are also getting relatively easy ties in the fa cup. Where as man united have to eliminate chelsea immediately after just eliminating arsenal.
Mosanya
161
Rakitic is one of the best midfielder in world football today a player who tries to be at his best week in and week out so if this is a true News than Barca would be losing a great player! who can still offer them so much before I can show Rakitic the door I have to start with players like Vidal..Rafinha...Denis suarez and many others cuz Rakitic has proven that he belongs at Barcelona, Barca should not sell him to Chelsea m
Abbawaziri
152
Koulibaly is one of the best defender at the moment and it will be a huge signing for Man Utd, he has been phenomenal ever since he played Sarri ball his mentality has even effective in that napoli team, we have got Van digk in Liverpool and now Koulibaly in Man Utd finally English teams might be back topping in Europe.
prakashcr7
57
Benfica Women's team are On fire 🔥🔥🔥 Average 18 goals in a game. 😍👌 This is quite surprising but it's truth. 👍 Let's take a moment and appreciate the performance of Benfica. 👏👏👏
Utondu1
53
Barca selling Rakitic will be the greatest mistake they have ever made in their life, I don't know what is wrong with this Catalan team, I this k is either too much money or racism, look back in history and see all the players barca sold went to other teams and became number 1 players there. Someone like, Sanchez, David villa , Pedro,Dani Alvis not to mention but few. why selling rakitic again while he is giving us what we want ??