London (AFP) – Crystal Palace have completed the permanent signing of Ghana forward Jordan Ayew from Swansea, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. Ayew, 27, spent last season on loan at the Eagles and will return to Selhurst Park after agreeing a three-year deal with the club. The fee was reported to be £2.5 […]

Washington (AFP) – Liverpool wrapped up their US tour with a 2-2 draw Wednesday against Sporting CP as the English Premier side failed to win a game in their first trip abroad since being crowned European champs. Liverpool finished with no victories to show from their three-match stateside tour but did manage to salvage a […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Former Argentina World Cup winning captain Diego Maradona underwent a successful knee operation at a clinic in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, his lawyer revealed. The former coach of the Argentine national team quit his job at Mexican second division outfit Dorados last month for health reasons after just nine months in […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool defender Nathaniel Clyne faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the club's pre-season tour of the United States. Clyne suffered the injury in Liverpool's friendly with Borussia Dortmund in Indiana on Friday. The 28-year-old right-back, who spent most of last season on loan […]

Shenzhen (China) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain great Youri Djorkaeff played down the transfer speculation swirling around Neymar as "normal" on Wednesday as the Brazilian trained alone on the club's China tour. The bleach-blond player, linked with a return to his former club Barcelona, practised apart from his team-mates in Shenzhen, southern China, following a late […]

Nanjing (China) (AFP) – Matthijs de Ligt scored an own goal 10 minutes into his first Juventus start before veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon inspired them to a 4-3 penalty shootout win over Inter Milan on Wednesday. It may only have been a friendly between the Italian arch rivals, but tempers threatened to boil over at times, […]

Hong Kong (AFP) – Pep Guardiola urged Leroy Sane to decide if he wants to stay at Manchester City or go to Bayern Munich as the unsettled star scored twice in a 6-1 rout of Hong Kong's Kitchee. Sane, the subject of persistent interest from the Bundesliga giants, underlined his class with a goal in […]

London (AFP) – Everton defender Yerry Mina has been charged with misconduct in relation to a breach of the Football Association's betting regulations, the FA has announced. It is alleged the Colombian international participated in an advertisement for betting activity that he is prohibited from engaging in. It is understood the charge relates to an […]

Asuncion (AFP) – Argentina star Lionel Messi was hit with a one-game suspension by South American football bosses over his dismissal during the Copa America third-place play-off against Chile earlier this month. However, CONMEBOL made no mention of Messi's "corruption" accusation against the regional governing body that he made after receiving his red card. Messi […]

Hong Kong (AFP) – Demonstrators chanted "Free Hong Kong" and sang a protest song as Premier League champions Manchester City hammered Kitchee 6-1 on Wednesday, underlining the political turmoil that has gripped the city. Bayern Munich target Leroy Sane scored twice, Raheem Sterling got one and set up two more and teenagers Nabil Touaizi and […]

London (AFP) – Reported incidents of racist abuse in English football rose by 43 percent in the 2018/19 season, according to campaign group Kick It Out. Wednesday's annual report from the equality and inclusion charity said reports of discrimination in professional and grassroots football were up by 32 percent to 422, from 319 the previous […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a friendly against Arsenal, the Spanish club announced Wednesday, and is expected to miss most if not all of the next La Liga season. The club said the Spanish 23-year-old will soon undergo surgery for the injury, which occurred just minutes […]

Geneva (AFP) – FIFA on Wednesday banned the former of head of the Liberian Football Association from football for 10 years over corruption, including misuse of funds intended for an Ebola awareness campaign. Musa Hassan Bility, an executive committee member at the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was also hit with a 500,000 Swiss franc […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa announced the signing of Egypt winger Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan from Turkish club Kasimpasa for a reported fee of £8.75 million ($11 million) on Wednesday. The 24-year-old scored one goal in four appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations and becomes the Birmingham club's ninth signing of the transfer window. Known […]

Berlin (AFP) – Uli Hoeness is set to step down as president of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich with reports Wednesday saying he will not stand for re-election in November. According to Germany's top-selling daily Bild and other media outlets, the 67-year-old will also quit as head of the club's supervisory board following its annual general […]