London (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic has revealed he was told by "everyone" not to risk his reputation by playing in England but how a successful spell at Manchester United made him feel young again — "like Benjamin Button". The 37-year-old Swedish forward made a high-profile switch to Old Trafford in July 2016 after leaving Paris […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Clubs from Iran, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar will meet once again in a politically-charged group stage of the 2019 AFC Champions League but officials are confident that football can help to bring the squabbling neighbours together. Asia's premier club football competition, which features 32 teams, is split into […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hoffenheim have extended the contract of burly Brazilian forward Joelinton, who head coach Julian Nagelsmann describes as "an animal" in front of goal for the Bundesliga outfit. The 22-year-old was recruited in 2015 from Brazilian club Sport Club do Recife, but has now signed a two-year contract extension until 2022. After two […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese Super League (CSL) top-scorer Wu Lei, who has been linked with a transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers, says he would move abroad for the right offer. The 27-year-old was named CSL player of the year on Wednesday after hitting 27 goals to help Shanghai SIPG to their maiden league title. The Chinese […]

Havana (AFP) – First it stormed living rooms via television, then it took the streets, where joyous shouts of "Gooooaaal" have gradually replaced the bellowed "Strike!" In the battle for the hearts and minds of Cuban kids, soccer is threatening to topple baseball as the island's most popular sport. "Soccer here was on the floor […]

London (AFP) – Ivory Coast and Chelsea great Didier Drogba announced his retirement on Wednesday after a 20-year career. The 40-year-old scored 164 goals in 381 appearances for Chelsea, winning four Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the 2012 Champions League, while he is also Ivory Coast's all-time record goalscorer with 65. Drogba most […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter called for an investigation into his successor Gianni Infantino, after Switzerland's Attorney General admitted meeting the current boss of world football's governing body. The attorney general, Michael Lauber, told journalists earlier on Wednesday that his meetings with current FIFA boss Infantino were "normal and regular, especially in […]

Paris (AFP) – Selected international friendly results on Tuesday: At Antalya, Turkey Turkey 0 Ukraine 0 At Elbasan, Albania Albania 1 (Balaj 59-pen) Wales 0 At Milton Keynes, England Brazil 1 (Richarlison 45) Cameroon 0 At Genk, Belgium Italy 1 (Politano 90+4) United States 0 At Paris France 1 (Giroud 52-pen) Uruguay 0 At Mendoza, […]

New York (AFP) – A US judge has awarded FIFA just 0.4 percent of the $28 million it requested in restitution after the New York corruption trial that ended in guilty verdicts for two defendants. District Judge Pamela Chen, who presided over the six-week 2017 trial, issued a 32-page ruling Tuesday that took FIFA to […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are both in a race against time to recover from injuries in time for the crucial Champions League clash with Liverpool, the French club said Wednesday. PSG said a scan had showed that Neymar strained an adductor muscle in his groin in Brazil's 1-0 friendly […]

Berlin (AFP) – Former Germany captain Oliver Kahn is emerging as the favourite to be the next president of Bayern Munich — 15 years after he first put himself forward for the job. In 2003, while he was still keeping goal for Bayern and Germany, Kahn said in an interview that he "could not imagine […]

Copenhagen (AFP) – Denmark striker Nicklas Bendtner has had to drop his appeal against a 50-day prison sentence, the state prosecutor of Copenhagen announced on Wednesday. "The footballer is withdrawing his appeal. The public prosecutor of Copenhagen believes that there is not sufficient reason to maintain his appeal. The verdict therefore enters into force," tweeted […]

Madrid (AFP) – Groundbreaking Spanish surgeon Cesar Noval will set aside the scalpel on Saturday and pick up an assistant referee's flag to run the line as Eibar host Real Madrid in La Liga Noval made headlines across Spain on Wednesday for carrying out an entire female-male sex change in a single marathon operation for […]

Berlin (AFP) – A German football wunderkind, who only turned 14 on Tuesday, says his goal is to one day lift the Champions League trophy with Borussia Dortmund and win the Ballon d'Or. Burly teenager Youssoufa Moukoko, a goal machine in German youth football, is already well on his way to a professional contract with […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German Football League (DFL) on Wednesday confirmed that Monday night matches will be scrapped in the Bundesliga from the 2021/22 season. While other European leagues are prolonging their football weekend with televised Monday kick offs, Germany's top flight is bucking the trend, following pressure from fans. Fans rallied against the five […]