Kick Off: Rakitic praises Messi; Guardiola extends his Man City contract

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 Headlines

Rakitic: Messi will never know how much it meant to play with him

'I feel like the most privileged man in football for everything it has given me,'

OFFICIAL: Guardiola has signed a new two-year deal with Man City

Guardiola has signed a new two-year deal with Man City

These things happen

Hazard and Militao finally test negative for COVID-19

Zinedine Zidane received some good news on Thursday as Eden Hazard and Eder Militao both tested negative for COVID-19, which means that they will be able to take part in Thursday evening's training session at 17:00 CET.

The day Pep Guardiola explained why Messi does not run for the entire match

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has given an insight into the way that Lionel Messi thinks

Blues more clinical with fewer shots & have FINALLY solved the leak at the back

Frank Lampard knew Chelsea's summer spending of £250million would be used as 'a stick to beat him with', as he put it himself.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson 'likely to miss clash with Leicester'

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is reportedly set to miss Sunday's clash with Leicester with the groin injury he picked up on international duty.

Real Madrid need to find the Serbian version of Jovic

With three goals and an assist, Luka Jovic enjoyed a confidence-boosting and lethal international break with Serbia. Now how does Zidane get that for Madrid?

Messi, De Jong and Pjanic miss Barcelona training

Messi, De Jong and Pjanic had permission from Ronald Koeman to not take part in the session with their teammates as they had not yet received the results of their PCR tests.

Barcelona not able to sell Messi in January

The management committee currently in temporary charge at Barcelona will not be able to sanction the departure of Lionel Messi in January.

Man United, Real Madrid and PSG most likely clubs to sign Eduardo Camavinga

Manchester United face a battle with PSG and Real Madrid to sign 18-year-old France and Rennes wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga.

Arsenal in training bust-up with David Luiz 'hitting Dani Ceballas on the nose and drawing blood'

News of a fiery altercation at Arsenal training has emerged with David Luiz reportedly hitting team-mate Dani Ceballos in the face, drawing blood from the midfielder.

What they say

Barcelona should NOT have signed Griezmann, claims presidential candidate Font

Barcelona's presidential candidate Victor Font has slammed the club's decision to sign Antoine Griezmann last year.

Tuanzebe reveals Man United stars are baffled by woeful Old Trafford form

Manchester United defender Axel Tuanzebe admits Manchester United's dismal start to the Premier League season at Old Trafford is as surprising to the players as it is to everybody else.

Lampard says his wife is NOT allowed to arrange social events after Chelsea lose

Frank Lampard has revealed his wife, Christine, will not arrange any social gatherings if his Chelsea side fall to defeat because he turns into a 'nightmare'.

Xavi: De Jong will define an era at Barcelona

Replacing Xavi Hernandez has proven to be one of the more difficult tasks at Barcelona since his retirement, yet with the Catalan now on his own coaching journey, he has admitted that Frenkie de Jong will define an era with the Blaugrana.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta admits Mesut Ozil's first-team exile 'hurts' him

Mikel Arteta has opened up about Mesut Ozil's Arsenal exclusion, claiming his decision to axe the German star has hurt him.

Wayne Rooney speaks for first time as Derby County caretaker manager

Wayne Rooney has reiterated his desire to move into management as he prepares to take caretaker charge of Derby County - but the Manchester United legend won't necessarily be imitating Sir Alex Ferguson in the dug-out despite his influence.

In Depth

Pedri, Messi and the teachers of football's greats

Attending class is a little bit easier if your teacher's name is Lionel Messi, particularly this season after the forward spent the summer looking for a job at a new school.