Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde is looking forward to working with Philippe Coutinho after the club announced his arrival in a record-breaking deal on Saturday. Coutinho, 25, will move from Liverpool in a deal worth 160 million euros ($192 million), the third-biggest transfer in football history and a club record deal for Barcelona. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi marked his 400th appearance in La Liga with the opening goal as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win over struggling Levante at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Messi's 365th goal in Spain's top flight came inside 12 minutes, with Luis Suarez adding the second before the interval and Paulinho completing […]

London (AFP) – FA Cup holders Arsenal were sensationally dumped out of the competition by Nottingham Forest on Sunday, joining Leeds United as big-name casualties on a day of shocks. Elsewhere, West Ham stayed alive with a goalless draw at Shrewsbury and Tottenham scored three goals in just eight second-half minutes to see off the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Having eliminated Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig and holders Borussia Dortmund in the previous two rounds, Bayern Munich were handed a tie against third-tier Paderborn in Sunday's draw for the German Cup quarter-finals. Paderborn spent the 2014-15 season in the Bundesliga but are currently second in the third division. They are the only […]

Rome (AFP) – Serie A club Cagliari apologised on Sunday to Blaise Matuidi for the racist abuse fans directed at the Juventus winger during the Italian champions 1-0 win in Sardinia on Saturday, the second time he has received such abuse in as many weeks. Writing in French on their Twitter account, Cagliari apologised for […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi marked his 400th appearance in La Liga with the opening goal as Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win over Levante at the Camp Nou on Sunday. Messi's 365th goal in Spain's top flight came inside 12 minutes, with Luis Suarez adding the second before the interval and Paulinho completing the […]

London (AFP) – Lowly Newport County came from behind to send Championship side Leeds United crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday but Premier League West Ham stayed alive with a goalless draw at Shrewsbury. Elsewhere, Tottenham scored three goals in just eight second-half minutes to see off the challenge of League One side […]

Rome (AFP) – Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala could be out for over a month after picking up a thigh injury in his side's 1-0 win at Cagliari on Saturday, putting his chances of facing Tottenham in the Champions League at risk. The Italian champions revealed Sunday that the Argentine international had suffered a "light-medium" injury […]

Paris (AFP) – Crack marksman Edinson Cavani and gifted midfielder Javier Pastore will need to provide answers to their tardy returns from Latin America with both men absent from the Paris Saint-Germain squad to face Rennes in the French Cup Sunday. Sources close to the club say both men face heavy sanctions with Cavani returning […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Brazilian midfielder Philippe Coutinho is expected in Barcelona Sunday to tie up a 160-million-euro ($192 million) move from Liverpool, the third-richest deal of all time. "Bem-vindo! Welcome! Benvingut! ¡Bienvenido!" Barca tweeted to Coutinho along with a waving hand sign and a video showing a shirt bearing his name in a locker. Spanish […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Argentine star Carlos Tevez arrived in Shanghai to a hero's welcome but sneaked out of China less than a year later and has now sealed a return to Boca Juniors. The 33-year-old, whose former clubs include Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus, scored just four goals in the Chinese Super League and […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola apologised to Burnley manager Sean Dyche for his behaviour after Manchester City equalised in their 4-1 FA Cup third round victory. City boss Guardiola gestured angrily towards Dyche, making a 'yapping' gesture at his counterpart and the fourth official, as a furious row erupted between the two at […]

Cagliari (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus's French midfielder Blaise Matuidi has hit out after he suffered racist abuse during Saturday's Serie A game against Cagliari in Sardinia and was ignored when he asked the referee to intervene. "Today I experienced racism during the match. Weak people try to intimidate with hate, I am not a hater […]

Milan (AFP) – Fernando Bernardeschi scored the only goal as champions Juventus kept Serie A leaders Napoli in their sights with a 1-0 win over Cagliari in Sardinia on Saturday. Napoli cemented their position in top spot before Italy's two-week winter break with 51 points from 20 games after seeing off Verona 2-0. They are […]

Piraeus (Greece) (AFP) – Greek champions Olympiakos announced Saturday that they have come to an agreement with English side Everton for the return of Belgium international winger Kevin Mirallas. No details of the deal were announced by the club but Greek media reported that Everton will loan the 30-year-old player for six months at a […]