Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid bought a second defender in less than 24 hours on Thursday when they signed Spanish international centre back Mario Hermoso from Liga rivals Espanyol. The club unveiled Hermoso at their Wandsa Metropolitano stadium in the same press conference where they introduced England right-back Kieran Tripper, bought the day before from […]

Portrush (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ireland's Shane Lowry said he felt "uneasy" on the first tee before going on to take the early lead on Thursday as the British Open returned to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951. The 32-year-old carded a four-under-par first round of 67 at Royal Portrush to move one […]

London (AFP) – Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been fined and suspended for six weeks for breaching betting rules, the Football Association announced on Thursday. An independent regulatory commission found that 29-year-old Sturridge, capped 26 times by England, had instructed his brother to bet on a possible move to Sevilla during the January 2018 […]

Cairo (AFP) – Senegal coach Aliou Cisse believes the Africa Cup of Nations group stage defeat by Algeria helped fuel their run to the final, where they will meet the same opponents Friday for the title in Cairo. Algeria beat Senegal 1-0 in their second game of the tournament in Egypt, but Cisse's side have […]

Berlin (AFP) – French under-21 international midfielder Christopher Nkunku has joined RB Leipzig from Paris Sain-Germain, the Bundesliga club announced on Thursday. The transfer fee is around €13 million ($14.6 million) plus two additional payments, according to media reports. Leipzig said Nkunku had signed a five-year contract. "Christopher Nkunku has the qualities we were […]

Nanjing (China) (AFP) – Captain Jamaal Lascelles said that Newcastle United must move on from the Rafael Benitez era and warned the players need to adapt swiftly to new coach Steve Bruce. Bruce was named successor to the popular Benitez on Wednesday but the appointment has gone down badly with Newcastle fans and some are […]

Rome (AFP) – Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt, one of the most coveted young players in world football, signed Thursday for Juventus from Ajax for a fee of 75 million euros ($84.2 million) plus add ons. The 19-year-old agreed a five-year contract with the Italian champions. Juventus said in a statement the fee would […]

Rome (AFP) – Dutch central defender Matthijs de Ligt signed Thursday for Juventus from Ajax for 75 million euros ($84.2 million), the Italian champions said. The fee for De Ligt, 19, makes him Juventus' third most expensive signing in their history after the 105 million euros they paid for Cristiano Ronaldo and the 90-million-euro transfer […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Young striker Edward Nketiah scored the winner just two minutes from time as a youthful Arsenal side beat Bayern Munich 2-1 in a pre-season friendly in California on Wednesday. The Gunners finished off a rapid passing sequence in the 88th minute that culminated with teenager Tyreece John-Jules slipping the ball to […]

Cairo (AFP) – Odion Ighalo boosted his chances of winning the Golden Boot at the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday after he netted Nigeria's winner to ensure his side third place in the tournament with a 1-0 victory over Tunisia. The 30-year-old Shanghai Shenhua forward struck the only goal of the match just 130 […]

Cairo (AFP) – CAF club finals will be reduced from two legs to one match at a neutral venue from next season, African football boss Ahmad Ahmad announced Wednesday. "The Champions League and Confederation Cup finals will now be played as single matches," the CAF president said on Twitter. The first final of the Champions […]

Madrid (AFP) – England right-back Kieran Trippier has joined Atletico Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur, the Spanish club said on Wednesday. Atletico said on their website they had signed a "fantastic and experienced player from the Champions League runner up" and added Trippier had agreed a three-year deal. Spanish and British media said Atletico were paying […]

Nanjing (China) (AFP) – Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola said on Wednesday that he will let his players decide who will captain the Premier League champions next season following the departure of long-time skipper Vincent Kompany. The captain's armband is up for grabs at City after Kompany left at the end of last season after […]

Nanjing (China) (AFP) – Coach Pep Guardiola warned Leroy Sane on Wednesday he only wanted to keep players at Manchester City who are happy to be at the club. The German winger has been strongly linked with a move to German champions Bayern Munich and found himself frozen out at times last season. Former Bayern […]

Brussels (AFP) – Former Belgium national team manager Robert Waseige died on Wednesday at the age of 79. The first Walloon coach in the history of the Red Devils had been hospitalised for a week with heart failure and kidney problems, French language RTBF TV reported. "Belgian football has lost a great personality with the […]