London (AFP) – Manchester City signed Portuguese international right-back Joao Cancelo from Juventus on Wednesday with Brazilian full-back Danilo heading in the other direction to join the Italian champions. City will pay a net fee of 28 million euros ($31 million) with Cancelo's move valued at 65 million euros and Danilo costing 37 million euros. […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's football federation the DFB on Wednesday launched an inquiry after doubts were raised over the identity of a Gambian footballer playing for Hamburg. The German second division side's records indicate that Bakery Jatta is 21 years old and arrived from Gambia as a 16-year-old in 2015. But Germany daily Sport Bild […]

Madrid (AFP) – The time and date of La Liga's opening games of the season may not be decided until days before the first match kicks off, after a court postponed its decision on Wednesday. La Liga and the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) are locked in another bitter dispute, with the RFEF trying to ban […]

Cairo (AFP) – Tunisia's Esperance were declared winners of the African Champions League by CAF on Wednesday following a long legal battle after Wydad Casablanca stormed off in protest during the second leg of the final in May. Wydad "is considered to have lost the game", African football's governing body said in a statement. The […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Former Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny insisted Wednesday that he had nothing but respect for the Gunners despite being told he "should be ashamed" of himself over the way his unveiling at Bordeaux was handled. The 33-year-old penned a "rolling contract" with the French side on Tuesday but enraged Arsenal fans when a […]

London (AFP) – Watford have signed former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck on a free transfer. Welbeck, 28, has been without a club following his release from Arsenal at the end of last season. He broke his ankle playing for the Gunners in November. "We're delighted to confirm the signing of England international […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Former Uruguay captain and English Premier League winner with Manchester United, Diego Forlan has announced his official retirement at the age of 40. Forlan had been without a team since a brief spell last year with Kitchee Sports in Hong Kong. "I've decided to stop playing professional football," said Forlan in quotes […]

Frankfurt am Main (AFP) – German goalkeeper Kevin Trapp completed his return to Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday after signing a five-year deal with the club he left to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2015. The 29-year-old Trapp spent last season on loan at Frankfurt after falling further down the pecking order in Paris following the arrival […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich's record signing Lucas Hernandez took part in his first squad training session on Tuesday, four months after a serious knee operation, the Bundesliga champions reported on their website on Wednesday. The 23-year-old French World Cup winner has yet to feature for Bayern since his 80 million euro ($89 million) move from […]

Madrid (AFP) – Gareth Bale's stand-off with Real Madrid continued on Wednesday after the forward was left out of Zinedine Zidane's squad to face Red Bull Salzburg in a friendly. Bale has only played in two of Real Madrid's five pre-season games so far, coming on as a substitute against Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, and […]

Berlin (AFP) – Clemens Toennies has stepped down for three months as chairman of German Bundesliga club Schalke following widespread condemnation of alleged 'racist' comments he made last week. The club's five-strong ethics committee, in a statement late Tuesday, said Toennies had "violated the ban on discrimination contained in the club's statutes" after a lengthy […]

London (AFP) – With the new Premier League season kicking off on Friday, AFP Sport takes a closer look at four gifted youngsters who are ready to emerge as breakout stars over the next 10 months: Tammy Abraham Despite helping Chelsea win numerous honours at youth level, academy graduate Abraham has only appeared three times […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have Premier League immortality in their sights as they start their title defence this weekend, but Liverpool's burning desire to get their hands on the trophy will fuel a heavyweight battle for supremacy. In the blue corner, treble winners City are at the peak of their powers and look capable […]

London (AFP) – The new Premier League season kicks off on Friday with Champions League winners Liverpool hosting promoted Norwich. AFP Sport looks at five key matches in the opening weeks of the eagerly anticipated English top-flight campaign: West Ham v Manchester City, August 10 Pep Guardiola's side were pushed right to the finish line […]

Paris (AFP) – Last season's Champions League semi-finalists Ajax recovered to earn a 2-2 draw on their trip to PAOK Thessaloniki in Tuesday's first leg of the third qualifying round. Dutch champions Ajax came within seconds of reaching the final last term but again must come through a series of qualifiers despite landing a 34th […]