Buenos Aires (AFP) – Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain was recalled to the Argentina squad after a nine-month absence on Thursday for pre-World Cup friendlies against fellow former winners Spain and Italy. Higuain, 30, has 31 goals from his 69 international appearances and takes his place in a 22-man squad made up entirely of players based […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal painted their pitch markings blue in a bid to combat the snow gripping London ahead of Manchester City's visit to the Emirates Stadium on Thursday. With heavy snow coating the English capital in the 24 hours before the clash with the Premier League leaders, Arsenal took the decision to change the […]

Milan (AFP) – Gianluigi Donnarumma should leave AC Milan, his agent said Thursday, a day after the teenage goalkeeper played a starring role in his team's advance to the Italian Cup final. The 19-year-old saved two penalties as AC Milan beat Lazio 5-4 in a shoot-out after the two-legged semi-final ended goalless to set up […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazilian superstar Neymar will be sidelined for up to three months — perilously close to the eve of the World Cup — after undergoing surgery on his broken foot, his doctor said Thursday. The worse than previously announced prognosis came minutes after the Paris Saint-Germain striker, 26, arrived in Rio […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool have pledged to back boss Jurgen Klopp in the transfer market after their accounts returned to profit with a £39 million ($53 million, 44 million euros) surplus recorded in the latest financial results. The Reds had made a £21 million loss for the year ending May 2016, but they benefited from […]

Rome (AFP) – AS Roma's half-year accounts announced on Thursday reveal the Serie A club reduced losses to 40.3 million euros ($49 million) helped by a boost to revenue from the Champions League. The accounts revealed that Roma have also bought outright Czech Patrik Schick and Frenchman Gregoire Defrel, two forwards who arrived on loan […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazilian superstar Neymar flew into Rio de Janeiro early Thursday ahead of an operation on his fractured foot that will rule him out for up to three months, casting a long shadow over Paris Saint-Germain and Brazil's World Cup preparations. The world's most expensive player, 26, arrived on an Air […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey has extended his contract with Atletico Madrid until 2023, the Spanish club announced on Thursday. It is a one-year extension to his existing deal, which was due to expire in 2022. "For me, it's an honour to play for this club," said the 24-year-old, who joined Atletico's youth […]

Tehran (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that a two-year diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran should not be allowed to get in the way of football. Saudi clubs have refused to play in Iran since the kingdom broke off relations in January 2016 forcing AFC Champions League fixtures with Iranian […]

London (AFP) – A former Premier League referee believes mistakes were made with the deployment of the controversial Video Assistant Referee system during Wednesday's FA Cup fifth-round replay at Wembley. Tottenham Hotspur eventually booked their place in the quarter-finals with a 6-1 win over third-tier strugglers Rochdale. But, not for the first time this season, […]

Beijing (AFP) – French-born Congolese striker Cedric Bakambu was officially presented by Chinese Super League club Beijing Guoan on Thursday, capping a weeks-long transfer saga following his departure from Spain's Villarreal. The 26-year-old player had announced his move away from Spain in mid-January but the Beijing club delayed an official announcement, even after posting a […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian striker Neymar Wednesday thanked his fans for their support after he suffered a sprained ankle and fractured metatarsal at the weekend. "Thank you for all the messages!!", he wrote in Portuguese, French and English on his Instagram page. The forward also shared a picture of himself lying […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Holders Juventus booked their ticket to the Italian Cup final for the fourth year in a row to set up a meeting with AC Milan after a 1-0 win over Atalanta in a semi-final second leg tie played in the snow in Turin on Wednesday. The first leg ended 1-0 in […]

Madrid (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann made it back-to-back hat-tricks by putting four goals past Leganes and now Atletico Madrid's star striker has Barcelona in his sights. Atletico and their French maestro go up against the La Liga leaders on Sunday and will arrive brimming with confidence after subjecting Leganes to a 4-0 demolition, with Griezmann […]

Paris (AFP) – As if losing Neymar wasn't bad enough, Paris Saint-Germain's hopes of overturning their 3-1 Champions League deficit to Real Madrid took another blow on Wednesday when striker Kylian Mbappe picked up an ankle injury in the 3-0 French Cup quarter-final win over Marseille. "Kylian Mbappe injured his ankle. He asked not to […]