Le Bourget (France) (AFP) – Brazil star Neymar flew back into France on Friday to rejoin his club Paris Saint-Germain after an operation on a broken foot bone in March. An AFP photographer at the scene took shots of Neymar seemingly at ease as he strolled to an awaiting van wearing sports shoes, no sign […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Reaction to former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard being named manager of Scottish giants Rangers on Friday: Pep Guardiola, manager of English champions Manchester City: "I think the challenge is a lot. It is not about being in the past. Good football players can be good managers, exceptional managers are sometimes […]

London (AFP) – Rangers on Friday confirmed former Liverpool and England midfielder Steven Gerrard as their new manager, announcing he would join the Scottish Premiership club this summer on a four-year deal. Gerrard, who has previously only worked with Liverpool's Under-18s, faces a daunting task in trying to compete with Old Firm rivals Celtic, who […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona defender Lucas Digne has admitted he and his team-mates are desperate to avoid surrendering their unbeaten La Liga record to Real Madrid on Sunday. Barca are four games away from adding a first invincible La Liga season to their domestic double but this weekend they host a Real side in form, […]

London (AFP) – British lawmakers are to quiz the Football Association over the proposed sale of Wembley after billionaire American businessman Shahid Khan made a bid to buy the national stadium. Khan, the owner of Championship side Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL, has made an offer reportedly worth £800 million ($1 billion) […]

London (AFP) – Leicester's Riyad Mahrez said Friday he has withdrawn his transfer request after a move to Manchester City fell through but the future of the Algerian forward remains in doubt. Mahrez asked to leave the former Premier League champions in January during a protracted transfer saga that resulted in a 10-day absence from […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich goalkeeper Sven Ulreich insists he will not allow his costly mistake in the Champions League semi-final to spoil the "best season" of his career. Ulreich completely misjudged a back pass in Tuesday's second leg in Madrid, gifting Karim Benzema a simple goal in the 2-2 draw and Bayern eventually bowed […]

London (AFP) – Rangers are set to unveil former England and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard as their new manager on Friday after they called a press conference at their Ibrox ground. The club were due to host their weekly pre-match media briefing at their training base at 1130 GMT but that has now been cancelled, […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid can transform their own season by beating Liverpool in this month's Champions League final, and on Sunday they can dent Barcelona's by becoming the first team to defeat the Catalans in La Liga. This 'clasico' at Camp Nou will have minimal impact on the league, with Barca already crowned champions […]

Madrid (AFP) – Arsene Wenger was left devastated by Arsenal's Europa League defeat to Atletico Madrid on Thursday but made a staunch defence of midfielder Mesut Ozil. Ozil's performance was heavily criticised by former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, who said the German had cried "crocodile tears" after the game, and was "not fit to wear […]

Jiutepec (Mexico) (AFP) – A Mexican factory is churning out rubber Neymars, Messis and Ronaldos ahead of the World Cup, racing to meet demand for life-like masks of a dream team of football giants. An eclectic lineup rounds out the roster of 12 famous football faces being immortalized in latex at the Grupo Rev factory […]

Madrid (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal paid the price for their wasteful finishing as they were denied a place in the Europa League final by Atletico Madrid on Thursday. Diego Costa's strike at the end of the first half proved decisive at the Wanda Metropolitano where a 1-0 victory secured Atletico a 2-1 win […]

Madrid (AFP) – Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny looks set to miss the World Cup after the France international suffered an Achilles injury during Thursday's Europa League semi-final defeat by Atletico Madrid. The 32-year-old centre-back was stretchered off in tears after just 12 minutes of his side's 1-0 second-leg loss at the Wanda Metropolitano, with manager Arsene […]

Salzburg (Austria) (AFP) – Marseille booked a Europa League final meeting with Atletico Madrid after Portuguese defender Rolando struck in extra time to grab a 3-2 aggregate victory over a spirited Salzburg on Thursday. Salzburg produced a rousing second-half performance to wipe out a 2-0 first-leg deficit, but Marseille became the first French side to […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has promised not to stand in the way of long-time assistant Rui Faria should he pursue ambitions of becoming a manager in his own right. United's bitter rivals Liverpool secured their place in the Champions League final on Wednesday after a turbulent week that saw […]