Bellarabi: Bayer Leverkusen winger Karim Bellarabi capped a superb start to the Bundesliga season with a Germany call-up. The World Cup winners travel to Warsaw for a friendly against Poland on Oct. 11 before hosting Ireland in Gelsenkirchen three days later in a Euro 2016 qualifiers. The 24-year-old Bellarabi had also been courted by the Moroccan football federation to play for them.

Gignac: Andre-Pierre Gignac’s fine start to the season with Marseille was rewarded yesterday when the striker was recalled to the France squad for friendlies against Portugal and Armenia. Ligue 1 top scorer Gignac, who has helped Marseille to the top of the table with eight goals in as many appearances, won the last of his 17 caps in a World Cup qualifier against Georgia in September 2013.

Rangers: Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has increased his stake in Rangers to almost nine per cent, the Glasgow club have confirmed. Ashley’s MASH Holdings Ltd has been named as the purchaser of more than four million shares, which were sold by Hargreave Hale earlier this week. Several updates to the London Stock Exchange show that Ashley transferred his existing shareholding to MASH Holdings, which he owns in its entirety, to give him a total stake of 8.92 per cent.

Platini: UEFA president Michel Platini has added his voice to calls for a secret report into World Cup bidding to be made public. FIFA president Sepp Blatter has rejected calls to publish the report by investigator Michael Garcia saying any decision would threaten witness confidentiality. “As long as the regulations of the FIFA code of ethics are respected, I support the publishing of the report,” Platini said. “I have no issue with the findings being made public.”

Dani Alves: Brazil international Dani Alves is planning to leave Barcelona at the end of this season, the full-back said. “I am moving to England next year,” he said. “I am going to play in the cradle of football. This will be my last year at Barcelona.” He did not say which club he might join or why he wanted to leave Barca. The 31-year old joined the Catalans in 2008 and has won four La Liga crowns and two Champions League titles.