Milan (AFP) – Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into the sale of AC Milan to Chinese businessman Li Yonghong following claims of suspect financial dealings, according to reports on Wednesday. It follows three "reports of suspicious transactions" transmitted in recent months by the Bank of Italy financial information unit to the Guardia di Finanza […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, the last two winners of the CAF Champions League, will face each other in the group phase this year. Defending champions Wydad and 2016 title-holders Sundowns were placed in Group C Wednesday with two debutants, Port of Togo and Horoya of Guinea […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain came close to retiring two years ago but was convinced to continue by his severely ill mother, the Argentine forward told television channel TyC Sports on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Juventus forward was undergoing a difficult period at that time with the national team, which had lost three successive major […]

Santiago (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez confessed on Wednesday to having had a "rough" start at Manchester United where he's scored only once in 10 matches since his lucrative move from Arsenal in January. The diminutive Chilean forward has been in the eye of the storm with a string of below-par performances as United struggled in […]

London (AFP) – British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Wednesday he wanted Russian guarantees over the safety of England fans at this year's football World Cup amid a diplomatic row over a spy attack. Relations between London and Moscow are in crisis over the March 4 nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in […]

London (AFP) – Championship side Reading on Wednesday announced the departure of manager Jaap Stam, with the Chinese-owned club hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone. The former Manchester United and Netherlands defender led the Royals to the play-off final in his first season in charge but they have struggled this season and are 20th […]

Mogadishu (AFP) – Shortly after sunrise, a group of young women arrives at a football pitch in Mogadishu, where they shrug off their hijabs — some changing underneath the billowing veil — to reveal their team kit. Young Somali men stand nearby, some disapproving but all watching closely, as the women jog up and down, […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Out-of-favour Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba said it would be a pleasure to play with Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar, whom he described as pure "joy on the pitch" in an interview with an Argentine sports channel Tuesday. "Neymar is the definition of joy on the pitch," the French international told Argentina's TyC […]

Abidjan (AFP) – Ivory Coast's Football Federation (FIF) on Tuesday said it had "no news" of the whereabouts of star midfielder Yaya Toure, who did not turn up for training in France ahead of upcoming friendlies. The 34-year-old Manchester City player came out of international retirement last December and was named in the Ivory Coast […]

Paris (AFP) – Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on Tuesday that Neymar's recovery from foot surgery "is going well", as the star forward bids to be fit for the World Cup in Russia. Lasmar, who operated on Neymar on March 3, said he speaks "two or three time a day" with the physiotherapists working […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Just three months out from the World Cup in Russia, England manager Gareth Southgate has admitted his "number one jersey is up for grabs" with four goalkeepers vying to start against Tunisia on June 18. Burnley's Nick Pope has forced himself into Southgate's reckoning with a fine season and is […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – There was a time Nick Pope never dreamed he'd be called into the England squad, but now the Burnley goalkeeper is hoping to be his country's number one at the World Cup. Pope, 25, has worked his way up through England's football pyramid, playing in the fifth-tier Conference as recently […]

Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines (France) (AFP) – Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba missed France's training session for treatment on Tuesday as Didier Deschamps' side prepared for Friday's friendly with Colombia. Pogba, his United teammate Anthony Martial and Marseille winger Florian Thauvin were victims of "little knocks", according to French officials. On Monday, Pogba trained as normal while Martial […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Peru captain Paolo Guerrero has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to clear his name and have a six-month doping suspension lifted. The 34-year-old striker was originally given a one-year ban for taking performance-enhancing drugs, including cocaine, which would have ruled him out of the World […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Egypt striker Amr Gamal has quit reigning South African champions Wits after failing to make an impact, lessening his chances of featuring at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Wits coach Gavin Hunt on Tuesday confirmed the early end to a one-year loan deal, saying: "Amr is a good footballer, but I […]