The big news

Pep Guardiola is set to return to the Nou Camp in Barcelona after the team he currently manages, Manchester City, found themselves in the same group as the Catalan giants, his previous club, in the Champions League draw on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C along with Germany's Borussia Mönchengladbach and Scotland's Celtic FC, a tough group to say the least. Defending champions Real Madrid are in Group F along with Germany's Borussia Dortmund, Portugal's Sporting Lisbon and Poland's Legia Warsaw.

Making their Champions League debut, Premier League champions Leicester City were drawn with Portugal's FC Porto, Belgium's Club Brugge and Denmark's FC Copenhagen. However, runners-up in the Premier League last season, Tottenham Hotspur, find themselves in a tricky spot in Group E with the likes of France's AS Monaco, Germany's Bayer Leverkusen and Russia's CSKA Moscow eyeing a spot in the round of 16. Arsenal are in Group A along with the likes of France's Paris Saint-Germain, Switzerland's FC Basel and Bulgaria's Ludogorets Razgrad.

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With eight groups in play, two teams from each group will progress to the round of 16. The matches begin on September 13.

Other top stories

  1. Cristiano Ronaldo was named UEFA’s Best Player in Europe following the Champions League draw. Ronaldo beat teammate Gareth Bale and Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann to bag the trophy. Ronaldo joined Lionel Messi as the second player to win the award twice. 
  2. Indian Super League franchise Atletico de Kolkata announced the signing of Spain’s Juan Belencoso for the upcoming edition of the eight-team tournament.
  3. English side West Ham United failed to reach the Europa League group stage as Romanian champions Astra Giurgiu beat them 1-0 at home. Last week, both sides were involved in a 1-1 draw in the first leg. 
  4. Arsenal have agreed to pay £35 million (approximately Rs 310 crore) to sign Valencia’s defender Shkodran Mustafi. The defender will undergo a medical before the weekend, having agreed personal terms with the club. The Gunners have already signed Granit Xhaka, Rob Holding, Takuma Asano and Kelechi Nwakali this summer. Deportivo la Coruña striker Lucas Pérez is also set to join the North London club and is due for a medical this weekend.
  5. Manchester City have signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona for a fee of £13.75 million (approximately Rs 122 crore). Bravo completed the switch on Thursday with the transfer taking place after the Catalans signed Jasper Cillessen from Ajax as the Chilean’s replacement.
  6. Former footballer Diego Maradona has accused Lionel Messi of staging his retirement. Messi retired from international football after the heart-breaking loss to Chile in the Copa America final in June. However, the superstar announced he would be returning to the national team in September for their World Cup qualifiers. 
  7. India named a 28-strong list of probables for the upcoming international friendly against Puerto Rico in Mumbai on September 3. Ranked 114th in the FIFA rankings, Puerto Rico will be a stern challenge for India, who are placed 152nd.
  8. Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter fought a marathon-long appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn his ban from football. The 14-hour appeal hearing is a result of the huge corruption scandal that engulfed FIFA with Blatter at the centre of it.