Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Asia's football body has signed a major commercial rights deal with sports marketing agency DDMC Fortis aimed at securing the financial future of the game in the region for the coming years. The deal gives the agency, a joint venture between Chinese and Swiss groups, exclusive rights from 2021 to 2028 […]

Milan (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri revealed on Monday he had been "terribly shaken" by the death of Leicester City boss Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. Ranieri, 66, was hired by Vichai in 2015 and led Leicester to their historic Premier League title success the following year. Billionaire Vichai, 60, died along with four others when his helicopter plummeted […]

Milan (AFP) – Mauro Icardi scored in either half as Inter Milan beat Lazio 3-0 under the rain in Rome on Monday to move ahead of Napoli and into second place behind Juventus in Serie A. Inter skipper Icardi tapped in the opener after 28 minutes with Marcelo Brozovic adding a second before the break. […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez dedicated his Wembley winner against Tottenham to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha after the "heart-breaking" death of the Leicester owner. Vichai died on Saturday when his helicopter crashed just moments after taking off from Leicester's King Power Stadium following their match against West Ham. The football world was stunned by […]

London (AFP) – Riyad Mahrez fired Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League as the champions won 1-0 in their pitch battle with Tottenham on Monday. Playing on the scarred Wembley turf just 24 hours after it was damaged by an NFL fixture, City's peerless quality and a predatory finish from Mahrez […]

Madrid (AFP) – Santiago Solari has been put in temporary charge of Real Madrid after Julen Lopetegui was sacked on Monday. Solari was the coach of Madrid's B team, Castilla, and is now expected to take Madrid for their Copa del Rey game against Melilla on Wednesday. Here, AFP Sport takes a closer at the […]

London (AFP) – Glenn Hoddle's family have revealed their gratitude for the outpouring of support for the Tottenham legend since he suffered a heart attack on Saturday. Hoddle collapsed on his 61st birthday shortly before he was due to go on air as a pundit for BT Sport. He was airlifted to hospital and reportedly […]

Madrid (AFP) – Julen Lopetegui's brief and inglorious reign as Real Madrid coach lasted just 139 days after the club confirmed he had been sacked on Monday. Lopetegui was dismissed following a meeting of the board of directors, who concluded there had been a "great disproportion between the quality of the staff of Real Madrid...and […]

Berlin (AFP) – Alphonso Davies will finally join Bayern Munich next month, head coach Niko Kovac confirmed on Monday after the Canadian teenage talent shone in his final MLS game. Bayern signed Davies, who turns 18 on Friday, from Vancouver Whitecaps in July for a reported $13 million (11.4m euros) — the highest transfer fee […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich will be missing several big names for Tuesday's second-round German Cup match at fourth-division minnows SV Roedinghausen, who are preparing for the "game of their lives". Alongside long-term injury casualties Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman, the quartet of Arjen Robben (back), Jerome Boateng (virus), James Rodriguez (cold) and reserve keeper […]

Madrid (AFP) – Julen Lopetegui's brief and inglorious reign as Real Madrid coach could come to an end on Monday with the defending European champions believed to have lined up Antonio Conte as his replacement. Lopetegui took training as usual on Monday morning but is not expected to be in post for the Copa del […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus midfielder Emre Can has undergone successful surgery to remove a thyroid nodule, the Italian champions confirmed on Monday. The club said the surgery on the thyroid gland which is located in the neck had been carried out in Frankfurt and "was a complete success". "The prognosis for the resumption of physical […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The family of the late Thai billionaire boss of Premier League club Leicester City laid a wreath on Monday at the site where his helicopter crashed as investigators began examining the aircraft's black box. Dressed in black, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's son Aiyawatt and widow Aimon walked through a sea of tributes […]

Paris (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel's position of strength in charge of Paris Saint-Germain was reinforced on Sunday after the German's decision to leave Kylian Mbappe on the bench against bitter rivals Marseille paid off. The teenage France World Cup star was omitted from PSG's starting line-up for disciplinary reasons but came on as a second-half […]

Paris (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo has said he decided to leave Real Madrid for Juventus after sensing that the Spanish club's president, Florentino Perez, no longer saw him as being "indispensable". "I felt within the club, especially from the president, that I was no longer considered in the same way as I was at the […]