Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund confirmed on Wednesday they have signed Thorgan Hazard, the younger brother of Chelsea star Eden, on a five-year deal form Borussia Moenchengladbach. The 26-year-old winger announced in April that he was joining Dortmund, who finished runners-up in the Bundesliga this season, with only the details of the transfer to sort […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain should be excluded from European club competition and are nothing more than "playthings of a state", La Liga's president Javier Tebas has said. It is not the first time the outspoken head of the Spanish league has attacked Abu Dhabi-owned City or Qatari-owned PSG, and newly crowned […]

London (AFP) – Christian Pulisic says he wants to make the same impact that Eden Hazard has had at Chelsea and hopes to play alongside the Belgium superstar at Stamford Bridge. The US international signed a five-and-a-half year contract with Maurizio Sarri's team in January but was immediately loaned backed to Germany to finish the […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and the returning Sergio Aguero headed the 23-man Copa America squad announced by Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni on Wednesday. Paris Saint Germain winger Angel Di Maria was also included but there was no place for striker Gonzalo Higuain, who is on loan at Chelsea from Juventus. "These […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi and the returning Sergio Aguero headed a 33-man list as Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni named an enlarged preliminary Copa America squad on Wednesday. Paris Saint Germain winger Angel Di Maria was also included but there was no place for striker Gonzalo Higuain, who is on loan at Chelsea from […]

La Paz (AFP) – The death of a Bolivian referee officiating a match at more than 4,000 meters has reopened the debate about the safety of playing football at such altitude. Victor Hugo Hurtado collapsed while refereeing a Bolivian first division match in El Alto, at 4,090 meters, between the local side Always Ready and […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa have included defenders who have played for Croatia and Switzerland at age-limit levels in a provisional 30-man squad for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) in Egypt. Centre-back Nikola Tavares, 20, who is on the books of Crystal Palace, was born in Cape Town to Croatian parents. […]

Paris (AFP) – Head coach Jean-Louis Gasset will leave Saint-Etienne after reportedly disagreeing with the club's board despite qualifying for the Europa League, he announced on Tuesday Gasset, 65, had been in charge since December 2017 and had led the outfit to a fourth place finish in Ligue 1 this season. He secured European football […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino is on course to be fit for the Champions League final against Tottenham after returning to training during the club's break in Marbella. Firmino missed Liverpool's last three Premier League matches due to a thigh injury. But the Brazil international was able to take part in the first […]

Paris (AFP) – Didier Deschamps on Tuesday called up an uncapped trio of players including Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet for a 24-man squad for a friendly against Bolivia on June 2, and Euro 2020 Group H matches against Turkey on June 8 and Andorra three days later. Accompanying Lenglet in their bid for a first […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Former Chelsea star Oscar hit a hat-trick, including a wonderful curling effort from outside the box, to fire Shanghai SIPG into the AFC Champions League last 16 on Tuesday. The Chinese champions' 5-0 home demolition of a depleted, but already qualified, Ulsan Hyundai dumped Japan's Kawasaki Frontale out of Asia's premier club […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham have given "indefinite" bans to three fans who tried to sell their tickets for the Champions League final against Liverpool. Three Tottenham season-ticket holders listed the seats for the showpiece at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid on a secondary market site. But they are not allowed to resell the tickets, […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal's Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss the Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku amid fears over his safety. Mkhitaryan's well-being was a concern for Arsenal due to the tense political dispute between Armenia and final hosts Azerbaijan. The Premier League club have decided against Mkhitaryan travelling with the rest of […]

London (AFP) – Olivier Giroud is relishing the prospect of beating his old Arsenal team-mates when he lines up for Chelsea in the Europa League final in Baku on May 29. The 32-year-old French World Cup winner's move across London 18 months ago has failed to deliver the regular first team football he hoped after […]

Tehran (AFP) – Xavi Hernandez's dazzling career came to a low-key end when his Qatari side Al Sadd were beaten 2-0 by Iranian giants Persepolis in their last group match of the AFC Champions League on Monday. The 39-year-old midfield genius, who helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010 and won four UEFA Champions […]