The 29-year-old quadruple major champion, who looked well placed going into the final round to win an elusive Masters before his challenge fizzled out, makes his first appearance on European soil this year in a bid to win the prestigious title he claimed in 2014.

McIlroy is the major drawcard in a field that includes defending champion Alex Noren of Sweden and last year’s Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood.

“I’ve had a weird relationship with Wentworth,” said McIlroy in April.

“I had the win there back in 2014 but I haven’t really done much else.

“I think I had a top five back in 2009 but it’s been a place of high frustration for me so I’m looking forward to going back and trying to solve the puzzle again.

“At least I do have good memories there.”

The former world number one, who started the European Tour season with top three finishes in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, is encouraged that his relationship with the course could be due a change because it has undergone a revamp since he last played it.

“I haven’t played there in a couple of years (he had a rib injury last year) but from what I’ve seen, with the new grass that they’ve put in, it looks a much better golf course, a much more playable golf course,” said McIlroy.

“It was always a great golf course but sometimes it could get very tricky with some of the lies you could get.

“For them to re-grass the place and for it to look as good as it does is great, and I’m looking forward to playing it.”

– ‘Unreal to defend it’ –

McIlroy carded a sublime 66 in his final round to win in 2014 — an annus mirabilis for him as he went on to win two majors, the British Open and the US PGA — but Noren bettered that in some style last year with an incredible round of 62 after beginning the day seven strokes off the lead.

Noren, who will tee off with McIlroy and veteran Lee Westwood, admitted he also had his issues with the course prior to his victory.

“It’s by far the biggest tournament I’ve won, and it would be unreal to defend it,” said Noren.

“I think it was a shock to me to win it.

“I played it ten times before last year and I always thought the golf course was not up my alley.

“I made it, in my head, a bigger tournament than it maybe is — it’s already huge and then I made it feel even bigger.

“I’ve watched the tournament since I was little, and then you get to play it, then you make the cut for the first time, so it’s always been a big tournament in my head and it was amazing to win it.”

Winning the PGA would all but guarantee the winner a place in the European team for the Ryder Cup later this year but Fleetwood for his part says that it would be a mistake to allow that to enter one’s thoughts.

“The Ryder Cup, for any of us, is a dream,” said Fleetwood.

“I’m desperate to play in the Ryder Cup, but the more you think about it and the more you put too much pressure on yourself to make it; if I was to go out and start on Thursday with a couple of bogeys and you’re thinking about the Ryder Cup in September, it’s only going to add pressure.”

The Red Devils’ overall value increased five percent compared to 2017 to more than 3.2 billion euros (£2.8 billion pounds, $3.77 billion), beating ​​Real Madrid on 2.9 billion euros and FC Barcelona on 2.8 billion euros.

“We calculate the assets of each club, if they own a stadium for example, the value of the players, but also the value of the brand or image with advertising contracts and their reach on social networks,” said Jacques Boussuge, head of sports advisory at KPMG.

Of the 32 European clubs assessed, Bayern Munich came fourth with 2.55 billion euros, Juventus were ninth on 1.3 billion euros, with Paris Saint-Germain in 11th place, with an estimated value of 1.14 billion euros.

“PSG is progressing… but it takes time and is limited by financial fair play regulations,” Boussuge said.

In total, the financial value of the 32 clubs reached an estimated 32.5 billion euros, a 9 percent increase on 2017.

“French Open is punishing Serena Williams for having a baby” read a USA Today headline, arguing an expection for the 23-time major winner should be made for Thursday’s draw.

At 36, the American is looking to regain her top form following the birth of her daughter last September. After sitting out of competition for over a year, she no longer had a ranking upon her return to the WTA circuit in March.

She has played just four matches this season across appearances at Indian Wells and Miami. But her results, far from convincing, have only been good enough to climb to 449th in the world rankings.

With a ranking so low, no player would typically even be able to take part in qualifying for the main draw. That is unless benefiting from a wildcard or using a protected ranking, which has at least allowed Williams direct entrance into the field.

It is a system that lets a player retain, for a transitional period, a former ranking upon return from a long absence — between six months and two years — due to injury, illness or pregnancy.

But it does not guarantee them a seeding, leaving Serena vulnerable to an encounter with leading title contenders as early as the first round.

At Miami, Williams ran into Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in her opening match and was easily beaten.

– ‘Grace period’ needed –

“She has won this title so many times (eight) that she needs protection,” Miami tournament director James Blake said after the WTA refused to alter its rules despite conceding that they would be “further reviewed” going forward.

“It’s not as if she left because of injury and lost her passion for the game,” Blake said. “She had a kid, which we should all be celebrating, so when she comes back there should be a grace period where she can still be seeded.”

Maria Sharapova also spoke up in support of her longtime rival last week.

“It’s a tough call, I would like to see that change,” Sharapova said. “I think that would be nice.”

At Wimbledon, which runs from July 2-15, the All England Club could elect to seed Serena using its unique system that favours grass-court specialists, given she is a seven-time champion.

But at Roland Garros, an event she has won three times, organisers are not ready to take such a step with the French Tennis Federation (FFT) reaffirming the seedings will reflect the latest WTA rankings.

Tournament organisers have been equally unmoved in the past when faced with similar situations.

Victoria Azarenka was unseeded at last year’s Wimbledon in her first Grand Slam since giving birth in late 2016, while Kim Clijsters was in a similar position at the 2009 US Open.

However, that didn’t stop Clijsters, who needed a wildcard just to compete in New York, from going on to lift the second of four career Grand Slam titles.

 The defending champions have now won two straight ties and will move into the knock-out stage along with Indonesia, who also collected two wins by 3-2 over Malaysia and 5-0 over France.

China and Indonesia are sure of their quarter-final places no matter what happens in their final group game against each other on Wednesday.

World No 5 Chen Yufei was extended to three games by Soniia Cheah before toughing out an 18-21 22-20 21-18 win to give China their first point.

The world’s top double team, Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan, brushed aside Yea Ching Goh and Soong Fie Cho 21-9 21-8 before Malaysia reduced the deficit to 2-1 as 2017 SEA Games gold medallist and world No 31 Goh Jin Wei upset world No 8 He Bingjiao 9-21 21-17 21-13.

China fought back to seal off the deal when Huang Dongping and Yu Zheng won the second doubles match against Chow Mei Kuan and Vivian Hoo 21-9 21-15 and world No 31 Gao Fangjie wrapped up the encounter by defeating the 41st ranked Ying Ying Lee 21-16 21-15.

In the men’s Thomas Cup, Thailand despite a stunning win over world No 1 Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukumuljo by Kittisak Namdash and Nipitphon Phuangphupet , lost to Indonesia 1-4, losing a chance to reach the next round. The Kingdom’s team however will play their last tie against Canada on Wednesday.

Defending champions Denmark also successfully booked their last-eight spot after a 5-0 win over Russia 5-0 in Group D, their second win after the 5-0 demolition over Algeria on Monday.

In Group C, Japan also moved into the quarter-finals after they beat Germany 4-1.

Klopp’s men started their Champions League campaign in a playoff against Hoffenheim just to make the group stages back in August.

Now, after plundering 46 goals in 14 games, Liverpool have made it back to the Champions League final in Kiev for the first time in 11 years.

“I don’t want to talk about confidence, but we feel good and think we deserve to be where we are because the boys really showed up in all the different games,” said Klopp on Monday.

“It was a very exciting journey so far and now we want to bring it to the best possible end.”

By contrast, Madrid are featuring in their fourth final in five years. But Klopp believes Liverpool can compensate for their lack of experience compared to the European champions with other qualities that have characterised their run to the final.

“If there is an experienced market, they should sell it because then they would be even more rich than they are already,” Klopp added of the Spanish giants.

“Experience is very important in life but not the only important thing in life, and especially in football. It is an advantage to be more experienced, but you can level it with desire, with readiness, attitude, work rate and that is what I love in football.”

Liverpool will be back in the Champions League next season no matter the outcome in the Ukranian capital as they held on to finish fourth in the Premier League despite a late-season blip in form as the physical toil of their European exertions showed.

– Refreshed and ready to run –

Klopp took his squad on a warm weather training camp in Marbella last week.

And he believes a two-week break between their 4-0 thrashing of Brighton to ensure a top-four finish and the final is the perfect preparation to ensure Liverpool’s high-energy style can be fully utilised on Saturday.

“It’s a very good moment for the club, for us, for the boys because we have finished the season in the best way we could,” he added.

“It felt really good and then having the time to prepare the game is really good. We could do a lot of things and didn’t have to rush it or compress it into two or three sessions. It was good recovery time.”

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren is one of Klopp’s many success stories this season as the Croatian has improved significantly since being paired with club record £75 million ($100.6 million) signing Virgil Van Dijk in January.

“I feel personally much more confident when you know you have a really good partner next to you and he showed already at Southampton that he is one of the best defenders in the Premier League,” Lovren said of Van Dijk’s influence.

And Lovren urged Liverpool not to miss out on what could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“We have the biggest chance in our lives. For some of us, maybe it’s the only one,” he added.

“We have something to catch, (for the) whole squad it is the first time in the final of the Champions League. We know what we are playing for and how hard it was from day one.”