London (AFP) – Harry Kane has set his sights on matching the goalscoring standards set by Lionel Messi as the Tottenham Hotspur striker prepares for his shoot-out with the Barcelona legend. Kane and Messi will be the leading men at Wembley on Wednesday when Tottenham host Barcelona in a crucial Champions League clash. Messi has […]

Paris (AFP) – Brazilian star Neymar and his coach Thomas Tuchel fully agreed Tuesday that no-one at Paris Saint-Germain was "yet at 100 percent." "I'm not at 100 percent of my fitness, no-one is at 100 percent, it's the start of the season and we haven't played many matches," said Neymar ahead of Wednesday's Champions […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Under-fire Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho recalled Alexis Sanchez among four changes to the side that slumped to a 3-1 defeat at West Ham United for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Valencia. Sanchez didn't even make the bench at the London Stadium on Saturday as he paid for failing to […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has been ruled out for up to a month with a hamstring injury. Cech limped off late in the first half of Arsenal's 2-0 win against Watford on Saturday after suffering the injury while taking a goal-kick. Arsenal said in an update on their official website ahead of […]

Cairo (AFP) – An Egyptian military court on Tuesday cleared four hardcore football fans of accusations of trying to overthrow the regime and setting fire to stadiums, their lawyers said. Four other members of the banned White Knights ultras who support Cairo club Zamalek were each sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment, said the lawyers, […]

Milan (AFP) – Italian champions Juventus were on Monday hit with a one-match closure of their south stand and fined 10,000 euros ($11,500) after racist chanting was aimed at Napoli's Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly during their game at the weekend. Massimiliano Allegri's side won 3-1 to move six points clear of Carlo Ancelotti's southerners in […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona have left the door open to buying a player in January despite not including mid-season signings in the club's budget announced on Tuesday. Barca announced record revenues of 914 million euros for last season, with a net profit of 13 million euros after tax. They are predicting another revenue jump to […]

Naples (Italy) (AFP) – Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday he was surprised by the choice of Hungarian Viktor Kassai to referee the Champions League Group C game against Liverpool in Naples. The Italian was furious with the official after his Bayern Munich side were eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid in 2017. […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane has set his sights on emulating the incredible goal-scoring feats of Lionel Messi as the Tottenham striker prepares for his shoot-out with the Barcelona legend. Kane and Messi will be the leading men at Wembley on Wednesday when Tottenham host Barcelona in a crucial Champions League clash. Messi has already […]

Nantes (France) (AFP) – French league strugglers Nantes replaced under-fire Portuguese coach Miguel Cardoso with former player Vahid Halilhodzic on Tuesday, the club announced. Cardoso, who arrived in the summer, amassed only six points from eight league matches during his brief spell with the Canaries and came under fire from club president Waldemar Kita for […]

Paris (AFP) – Brazilian star Neymar and his coach Thomas Tuchel fully agreed Tuesday that no-one at Paris Saint-Germain was "yet at 100%." Neymar "is perhaps not at 100%, but he's close," Tuchel said at a press conference ahead of Wednesday's Champions League home game against Red Star Belgrade. "I'm not at 100% of my […]

Doha (AFP) – Scotland's Premier League on Tuesday announced a broadcast deal to show matches across 26 countries in the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand with Qatar-based channel beIN Sports. The deal, which will also cover the League Cup, will run until June 2020, a joint statement from the Scottish league and beIN said. […]

Yaoundé (AFP) – Confederation of African Football chief Ahmad Ahmad made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Cameroon, the troubled host of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, official sources said. The Madagascan will visit President Paul Biya, whose government is working to convince CAF it will be ready to host the continental festival of […]

London (AFP) – France's World Cup winning captain Hugo Lloris offered Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino a little ray of sunshine amid an injury crisis on the eve of their Champions League clash with Barcelona. Lloris returned to training having recovered from a thigh injury, that has seen him on the sidelines since the end of […]

London (AFP) – Former Liverpool goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has spoken about how football "saved" him after his horrific experiences as a soldier in the Rhodesian army, also recounting the trauma of the Heysel and Hillsborough disasters during his playing days. The 60-year-old told Britain's Guardian newspaper in a frank interview that the impact of the […]