AHEAD OF THE GAME: Man City could cancel parade plans if they lose Champions League final

Manchester City could cancel plans to hold a trophy parade at the end of the season if they fail to win the Champions League final against Inter Milan next week.

The club has scheduled an open-top bus party with fans on Monday, June 12, if they win the European Cup for the first time, but it will not be confirmed until after the result in Istanbul.

The final decision rests with manager Pep Guardiola, who may opt to let the players go on holiday if they are deflated by a shock defeat to Inter next Saturday.

Manchester United will not stage a parade as they clinch a domestic cup double by beating City in the FA Cup final on Saturday afternoon, while Erik ten Hag had already decided to send his players on holiday straight after the game at Wembley.

JUDE HOUSING IN MADRID

Jude Bellingham’s representatives have begun inspecting apartments in Madrid ahead of his anticipated £100 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

Jude Bellingham has already started house hunting in Madrid in anticipation of a big move to Real Madrid

Andrea Radrizzani’s absence from Elland Road was a result of abuse by Leeds fans against his family

Real Madrid have beaten competition from Manchester City with the offer of a six-year contract at Bernabeu for the England midfielder, with a formal announcement expected in the coming weeks.

Bellingham moved to Germany from Birmingham at the age of 16, so he is used to living abroad and his family has already started the process of making sure he will settle in Madrid.

WHY LEEDS CHEF STAY AWAY

Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani’s decision to stay away from the home defeat to Tottenham, who confirmed their relegation last Sunday, was influenced by the abuse his family received from fans during the previous game at Elland Road, a 2-2 draw with Newcastle last month.

The Italian’s absence has further angered the Leeds fanbase and he is likely to meet a torrid reception at Elland Road if he continues to lead the club in the Championship next season.

ITV SIGN HAYES FOR WORLD CUP

ITV staged a coup by recruiting Chelsea manager Emma Hayes as an expert for their coverage of the Women’s World Cup this summer.

ITV will share the live rights for the tournament with the BBC for the first time, with all 64 matches being broadcast live, although the deal has yet to be signed as FIFA are unhappy with the offers they have received from other European markets.

At around £8 million, the joint bid from ITV and BBC is worth almost eight per cent of what they paid FIFA for the Men’s World Cup in Qatar last year, although that is still significantly more than the one per cent offered by Italian broadcasters .

The terrestrial broadcasters intend to cut costs by only sending small teams to the Australia and New Zealand tournament, but Hayes will bring a lot of authority and insight to ITV’s coverage.

FIFA has signed TV contracts in 157 countries to cover the World Cup, with the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Japan the biggest markets yet to commit to the tournament.

ITV has pulled off a major coup by signing Emma Hayes for the upcoming Women’s World Cup

TERRIERS’ TRANSFER GURU LEAVES

Leigh Bromby, Huddersfield Town’s head of football operations, will leave the club this summer following the completion of a takeover by American businessman Kevin Nagle.

Bromby was in charge of transfer strategy at the Championship club, who were also looking for a new manager after Neil Warnock managed to keep them employed after being appointed on a short-term basis in February.

LABOUR’S TOP FLIGHT WARNING

Shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell has warned the Premier League that if they don’t act swiftly on the government’s proposals to set up an independent regulator, they will face much tighter restrictions if Labor passes the next general wins elections.

The Manchester Central MP has met with several Premier League clubs in recent weeks and has made it clear in no uncertain terms that a Labor government would take a more hands-on approach to regulating football than the Conservatives.