Lyon (AFP) – Lyon have completed the signing of Belgian international defender Jason Denayer from English champions Manchester City for a fee of up to 10 million euros ($11.5 million), the French club announced on Tuesday. Denayer has signed a four-year deal, with the transfer fee taking into account 3.5 million euros in potential bonus […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Mesut Ozil is "Little Wife", Paul Pogba is "Busty" and Jose Mourinho is called "Magic Bird" — Chinese fans and media have conjured up creative and bizarre nicknames for many of the world's best-known football figures. There is also "Very Homesick Boy" (Carlos Tevez), "Little Puppy" (Kylian Mbappe) and "Violent Bird" (Paulinho). […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Impassioned debate raged in China on Tuesday about the state of the men's national football team after the Chinese women's side thrashed sorry Tajikistan 16-0 at the Asian Games. Forward Wang Shanshan plundered nine goals — a remarkable hat-trick of hat-tricks — as China ran riot on Monday in the Indonesian host […]

Gosford (Australia) (AFP) – Usain Bolt has taken the first tentative steps towards his Manchester United dream after the sprint king joined Australian side Central Coast Mariners for his first training session Tuesday. Wearing gloves and tracksuit bottoms despite a mild winter's day, the Jamaican did some light stretching, jogging and ball work with the […]

Paris (AFP) – Mario Balotelli has signed a new deal to stay at Nice despite strong interest from French rivals Marseille, the Ligue 1 club announced on Monday. The striker, whose strong form in the last two seasons at the Allianz Riviera has seen him return to the Italy team, has scored 43 goals for […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes the champions are well placed to avoid past mistakes and become the first team in a decade to retain the Premier League title. The Belgian, who is the only current City player to have been with the club through the decade that they have […]

Berlin (AFP) – Belgian international Axel Witsel struck deep into injury time on his Borussia Dortmund debut to save his new club from an embarrassing German Cup exit at Greuther Furth on Monday, before Marco Reus sealed a 2-1 win in extra time. The 29-year-old Witsel, who joined the Bundesliga giants from Chinese side Tianjin […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City could be without reserve goalkeeper Claudio Bravo for the rest of the season after the Chilean ruptured an Achilles tendon, the Premier League champions confirmed on Monday. "Bravo has sustained an Achilles tendon injury in today's training session," City said in a statement. "He will fly out to Barcelona for further tests […]

London (AFP) – Mohamed Salah was engulfed in a diving storm as the Liverpool star won the controversial penalty that inspired their 2-0 win over 10-man Crystal Palace on Monday. Salah was accused of diving by Palace when he tumbled in the penalty area late in the first half at Selhurst Park. Referee Michael Oliver […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid failed to get their La Liga title bid off to a winning start, as Rodrigo earned Valencia a 1-1 draw at the Mestalla Stadium on Monday. Angel Correa gave Diego Simeone's visitors a 26th-minute lead, but Rodrigo struck in the second half for the home team and last season's runners-up […]

Monaco (AFP) – At his first press conference as a Monaco player, teenager Willem Geubbels met the inevitable questions about Kylian Mbappe by asking why he can't do even better at the club than the World Cup winner. Monaco paid Lyon 20 million euros (£17.5 million, $23.6 million) for the forward in June, and he […]

Marseille (AFP) – France World Cup-winning goalkeeper Steve Mandanda will be out for up to four weeks with a torn hamstring, his club Marseille confirmed on Monday. Mandanda, 33, tore his left hamstring during Marseille's shock 3-1 defeat at Nimes in Ligue 1 on Sunday and will be out for three to four weeks. He […]

Abuja (AFP) – FIFA announced Monday Nigeria will no longer be suspended over a long-running court case focusing on the disputed leadership of the federation of one of Africa's football powerhouses. World football's governing body said it had received confirmation that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) had restored control of the body and its offices […]

Soreang (Indonesia) (AFP) – Son Heung-min said he's cheering on his Spurs team-mates in the Premier League even as he undertakes a difficult mission for gold in far-flung Indonesia that could make or break his career. The South Korea forward said he had followed Spurs' "positive" 3-1 win over Fulham from thousands of miles away […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Liverpool's German goalkeeper Loris Karius, whose fumbles were widely blamed for the defeat of his side in the Champions League final, is to join Istanbul giants Besiktas on a two-year loan deal, Turkish reports said Monday. The loan deal would be worth 2.0 million euros ($2.3 million), the NTV channel said, adding […]