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He was a cricketing national hero but Monty Panesar suffered a spectacular fall when beset by mental health problems. Here Sportsmail serialises his brutally honest new autobiography The Full Monty... 

Remember Adrien Rabiot? The curly-haired midfielder has gone off the radar in recent months after being placed in exile at Paris Saint-Germain. The Frenchman dared to take on the Ligue 1 champions when it came to his future as he refused to commit to a new deal.  Not only has he not kicked a ball in 2019, Rabiot has not been involved in PSG's match day squads but yet he remains one of the most exciting free agent options this summer.  

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain ended their Ligue 1 season with a disappointing loss at Stade de Reims.  Left-back Baba Rahman, on loan from Chelsea, opened the scoring before the break and Mathieu Cafaro doubled it shortly after.  Kylian Mbappe's consolation goal means he ends the season with 33 league goals, three behind Barcelona's Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Shoe - given to the top scorer in Europe through a ranking system.

Lionel Messi has described being knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool as a stain on Barcelona's season. Speaking on the eve of his chance to pick up his 35th trophy at Barcelona in Saturday's cup final against Valencia the captain did not hold back on opening up about how the loss to Jurgen Klopp's team took the air out of Barcelona's season. Barca looked in good spirits as they trained in the rain on Friday, but Messi admits it has taken the team a while to get the good feeling back. 

EXCLUSIVE BY LAURIE WHITWELL: It was the final day of the regular Championship season and Tyrone Mings was trying to drive away from Villa Park. A group of fans surrounded his car, blocking his exit. Aston Villa had just lost to Norwich and Mings hadn't played. Except instead of anger, there was only jubilation. Mings was smiling, and so were the supporters. Because Villa were in the play-offs and the player behind the wheel was in the best form of his life. He listened as his chant went up. 'Mings can only get better.' The D:Ream track that once did wonders for Labour has been appropriated by Villa, as more optimism flourishes.

CHRIS FOY: When Saracens face Gloucester in Saturday afternoon's first Gallagher Premiership play-off at Allianz Park, the game will revolve around a box-office contest between the rival No 10s. Owen Farrell is the England captain and multiple title-winning Lion, renowned as a supreme warrior-play maker. Opposite him will be Danny Cipriani, who is striving for inclusion in Eddie Jones' World Cup squad after claiming both the RPA and Premiership Player of the Year awards. Much is made of perceived differences between the pair, in terms of playing style and character, but similarities are also apparent as they discuss this match-up — and others reflect on Cipriani's exploits for his new club.

Diego Costa has been up to his old tricks, but this time it wasn't an opposition player on the receiving end. The Atletico Madrid striker played an old school yard trick on an unassuming young mascot before the friendly with Beitar Jerusalem. And it led to hilarious results as the youngster was filmed blissfully unaware of who was playing the prank on him.

JACK GAUGHAN: Having cruised past Newcastle in a painfully one-sided FA Cup final, Manchester United left Wembley with words to live by from Sir Alex Ferguson. ‘Put your medals away, there is more to do,’ Ferguson told his players, that message resonating as the squad’s coach pulled up at the Royal Lancaster Hotel, where families waited to celebrate the second trophy of a Treble during an 11 days that came to define United’s history. Barely a drop of alcohol was touched in merriment that night. They’d already had a proper party after lifting the title the weekend before. Bayern Munich, and that Champions League final, were in sight. They would not see their loved ones until after full-time at the Nou Camp.

Injured Katie Boulter travelled to Paris to withdraw from the French Open ensuring she claimed her £20,000 first round fee. The British No 3 has not played since Britain's Fed Cup victory over Kazakhstan last month, where she aggravated a back problem, and had been ruled out of the whole clay season as she rehabilitates. Boulter posted a video of herself on Instagram, which boasts more than 89,000 followers, on Thursday at the National Tennis Centre in London before travelling to Paris and pulling out of the tournament, ensuring a healthy pay-day.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe cost PSG a combined £390m in transfer fees as the Ligue 1 club tried to buy their way to success in Europe. Now both have the chance of becoming the face of a new-look Real Madrid this summer but the Spanish giants can only land one of the two stars.  Mbappe hinted at a move away from the French capital on Sunday by stating he wants more responsibility within a club and that he may have to leave PSG to do so.  Neymar has flirted with a return to Spain ever since he signed on the dotted line with the French champions and the lure of Real Madrid might be too much for the Brazilian. 

Some supporters have already set off and others will fly out of the continent to get there but whatever the route, Baku is the destination for Chelsea and Arsenal's most hardened fans going to Wednesday's Europa League final.  The cheapest flight presently available presents a changeover in Doha and costs nearly £800. Elsewhere, as Sportsmail reported earlier this week, two Chelsea supporters set off on Tuesday, May 21 on a journey that will involve sleeper train in Ankara and taxis in Tblisi. And it is all to reach Baku's Olympic stadium, the venue for a match that will not only define this season for both teams, but the next one too. There is, of course, not just a trophy on offer but a place in next season's elite club competition, the Champions League.

In just over 10 hours' time Dorotas Wildcat will begin his defence of The Star Sports, ARC & LPS Greyhound Derby in Nottingham. The four-year-old landed the pinnacle prize of the sport in a blistering 28.85 seconds last year and is favourite to repeat that feat and become just the fifth dog in history to win back-to-back titles. 'Dorotas Wildcat is the Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo,' trainer Kevin Hutton hails the 2018 Derby hero. 'He knows he's the top dog, he keeps them all in check.'