Serial African club title winners Al-Ahly of Egypt are among six sides chasing three CAF Confederation Cup semi-finals places this weekend.

The other hopefuls include Zambians Nkana, Ivorians Sewe San Pedro, Tunisians Etoile Sahel, Congolese AC Leopards and Malians Real Bamako.

French champions Paris Saint Germain's Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic should be back in action soon despite tearing a side muscle, claimed their coach Laurent Blanc on Thursday.

The 32-year-old striker went off during the win over Bastia last Saturday but Blanc said that both he and Dutch international defender Gregory van der Wiel, who has a sore back, should both be back soon.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that midfielder Angel di Maria has asked to leave the European champions before the end of the transfer window.

The 26-year-old Argentine -- who missed the World Cup final defeat by Germany because of injury -- was a star performer as Real claimed their 10th European crown last season, but has fallen down the pecking order at the Bernabeu due to the arrivals of James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos.

Mario Balotelli is on the brink of a shock move to Liverpool, media in England and Italy reported Thursday, two weeks after Reds boss Brendan Rodgers ruled out a bid for the controversial striker.

According to sports channel Sky Italia, AC Milan have agreed to let the 24-year-old move to Anfield and a transfer worth 20 million euros (16 million pounds, $27 million) is being wrapped up.

The last player to win back-to-back majors in the same season didn't even make it to the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake.

"That's not going to happen," said Rory McIlroy, with a smile.

Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has signed a new four-year contract with the Premier League champions.

The 28-year-old Bosnia international follows striker Sergio Aguero, midfielder David Silva and captain Vincent Kompany in committing his future to City this month.

Manchester United completed the signing of defender Marcos Rojo from Sporting Lisbon for 20 million euros ($27 million) on Wednesday, and sent Nani on loan to the Portuguese club.

The 24-year-old Rojo, who played for Argentina in the World Cup final loss to Germany last month and scored earlier in the tournament, signed a five-year contract at Old Trafford.

Barcelona will not be able to sign any new players until January 2016 after world football's governing body FIFA rejected an appeal over a transfer ban imposed for breaching rules on underage players.

The Catalan giants will be banned from the national and international market for two consecutive transfer windows, starting in January 2015, FIFA said.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric reinforced his commitment to Real Madrid on Wednesday by signing a four-season contract extension through June 2018 with the club.

Modric, who joined Madrid in August 2012 from English Premier League club Tottenham in a deal worth a reported 35 million euros ($44 million), won the UEFA Champions League with the La Liga club last season.

Michael Phelps received an abrupt reminder of how challenging his return to international competition may be when he was asked whether he was good enough to even reach a final at the Pan Pacific Championships starting Thursday.

Phelps, the most decorated Olympian ever and on the comeback trail from a short-lived retirement, took a deep breath before responding to the question on Wednesday and said: "Wow, you're really setting the bar high for me!"