Berlin (AFP) – Reinhard Grindel, the head of the German Football Association (DFB), and Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, have exchanged heated letters over bids for Euro 2024, German media reported on Friday. Germany is one of the two candidates to host the tournament. The other is Turkey. UEFA, the governing body of European […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths wants to fire the Scottish champions to 10 consecutive league titles after signing a new four-year contract on Friday. Griffiths, 28, has been rewarded with a new deal after scoring 100 goals in 190 appearances since joining the club in 2014. The Scotland international has been an integral […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has urged Raheem Sterling to end his prolonged contract talks with Manchester City and sign an extended deal with the Premier League champions. The England forward is expected to be back in action for City against Fulham this weekend after missing the Three Lions' clashes with Spain and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui believes staging Girona's home game against Barcelona in the United States would harm the equality of La Liga. "I'm not in favour of it," Lopetegui said on Friday. Barcelona and Girona have signed a formal request — made by La Liga to the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has opened the door for former captain John Terry to return to Stamford Bridge as part of his coaching staff. Terry left Stamford Bridge after 22 years' service in June 2017 for a season-long stint with Aston Villa and rejected a move to Spartak Moscow this week. Sarri […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes too much demand is placed on international stars who have had barely any rest following the World Cup. Klopp's men play away on Saturday against Tottenham who had nine players involved on the final weekend of the World Cup, less than a month before the start of […]

Moscow (AFP) – Italian veteran Claudio Marchisio will make his debut for Saint Petersburg when they visit surprising Orenburg in the Russian Premier League this weekend. The 32-year-old midfielder Marchisio, who played 55 times for Italy and won seven Serie A titles, joined the league leaders last Monday as a free agent. With English defender […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho turned on the media once more on Friday as he launched a detailed defence of his use of England international striker Marcus Rashford. The 20-year-old forward impressed for the Three Lions over the international break as he started, and scored, against both Spain and Switzerland. […]

London (AFP) – The co-chairman West Ham, David Gold, has backed proposals to stop clubs spending millions on football agents. At a meeting of Premier League clubs on Thursday, a proposal was made to prevent the same agent representing both the club and the player in transfer deals and receiving a fee from each — […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo faces Sassuolo on Sunday still chasing his maiden competitive goal for Italian champions Juventus before he returns to Spain for the first time in the Champions League. Bolstered by five-time winner Ronaldo, Juventus begin their quest for the Champions League title which has eluded them since 1996 in Valencia next […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Fabio Cannavaro's Guangzhou Evergrande face a critical five days that could go a long way towards deciding who wins the Chinese Super League's most closely contested title race in years. The stakes could hardly be higher for the Italian World Cup winner, as failure to steer Evergrande to an eighth successive CSL […]

Sydney (AFP) – World Cup-winning coach Vicente del Bosque has some advice for sprint king Usain Bolt's new Australian club — play him in defence. The Jamaican superstar has been handed the chance to train with the Central Coast Mariners for an indefinite period in a bid to prove he has what it takes to […]

London (AFP) – Four games into the new season, the top of the Premier League already has a familiar feel bar the presence of Javi Gracia's Watford nestled alongside Liverpool and Chelsea. Tipped for another campaign in which just beating the drop would be deemed a success, the Spanish coach has led the Hornets to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Robert Lewandowski will celebrate his 200th appearance for Bayern Munich this weekend, as the Polish superstar looks to continue his explosive early-season form when Bayern host Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Lewandowski, who has 157 goals in 199 appearances in his Bayern career so far, has found the net six times in competitive […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City's Fabian Delph and Phil Foden will be sweating on team news for Saturday's visit of Fulham, with Gareth Southgate's England warning ringing in their ears. The pair have found it difficult to break into Pep Guardiola's side this season, with Delph yet to play in the Premier League […]