Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has lamented the hype around individual awards in football after Luka Modric was named FIFA's Best Men's Player. Modric beat Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to win the prize on Monday after Lionel Messi was surprisingly left off the final three-man list. Messi was named in […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea assistant manager Gianfranco Zola believes Eden Hazard hasn't yet reached his true potential, but can do under the tutelage of Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge. Now in his seventh season in England, Hazard has shone in winning two Premier League titles and was named the second best player at the World […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has expressed his admiration for Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri and stressed that the Blues are strong contenders for the Premier League title. Chelsea — in Sarri's first season at Stamford Bridge — have 16 points out of a possible 18 in the Premier League so far, two fewer […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has warned his Tottenham stars not to use the club's delayed new stadium as an excuse for their spluttering start to the season. Pochettino's side have been forced to play their League Cup third round tie against Watford on Wednesday in Milton Keynes due to the on-going problems with the […]

Lausanne (AFP) – The Court of Arbitration for Sport listed Jerome Valcke's use of private jets for himself and his family, as it explained its decision to reject the former FIFA General Secretary's ban appeal. CAS issued a report on Monday explaining the decision it made in late July to uphold a 10-year ban and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid midfielder Isco is set to miss the city derby against Atletico Madrid on Saturday after surgery for acute appendicitis. The club announced on Tuesday that Isco was set to have an operation but included no time-frame for the 26-year-old's recovery. "After the tests carried out today on our player Isco, […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward underlined the club's hunger for silverware on Tuesday after announcing record-breaking revenues. United, under manager Jose Mourinho, are seventh in the Premier League after a disappointing start to the season, eight points behind leaders Liverpool and six behind reigning champions Manchester City. The club have not […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Jerome Valcke used private jets for himself and his family and exploited his position as secretary general of FIFA to help his son to win a job, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled as it rejected his appeal against a ban on Tuesday. Valcke, who was also implicated in the resale of […]

London (AFP) – Former Gabon international Daniel Cousin has become the sole coach of the national team after Pierre-Francois Aubame Eyang, father of Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, refused an offer to join the set-up. "We have worked hard to confirm the choice of Daniel Cousin, to whom we entrust the national team," the Gabonese Minister […]

Madrid (AFP) – Football clubs are starting to tap the potential of blockchain technology as an innovative way to deal with longstanding issues such as ticket scalping, fan engagement and the payment of players' salaries. Considered by many as revolutionary as the internet, a blockchain is a database that is shared across a network of […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo turns his focus back to Juventus's quest for a treble this season on Wednesday after losing out in the FIFA's best player of the year award. Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo skipped the awards ceremony in London on Monday as his former Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric beat him for […]

London (AFP) – Sunderland have told midfielder Didier Ndong they intend to terminate his contract after the club's record signing went absent without leave in the wake of their relegation to League One last season. The Black Cats have also indicated their readiness to take legal action to recoup the Gabon international's transfer value should […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA said Monday it had ordered accusations that Paris Saint-Germain has broken its financial fair play rules to be referred to its financial unit "for further investigation". European football's governing body initially opened an investigation into the Qatari-owned club's spending in September 2017 under pressure from some of Europe's biggest clubs after […]

London (AFP) – Luka Modric ended Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's decade-long domination of football's individual awards by being crowned FIFA's best player of the year on Monday. The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder starred for both club and country as Madrid won a third straight Champions League, and he inspired Croatia to reach the […]

Milan (AFP) – Luciano Spalletti will sit out Inter Milan's Serie A game against Fiorentina at the San Siro on Tuesday after being given a one-match touchline ban by the Lega Serie A for his over-exuberant goal celebration at the weekend. Spalletti was sent to the stands for screaming towards the television camera after Croatia's […]