Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Andrew Robertson is pushing to make his debut in Saturday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace as the Philippe Coutinho transfer saga rumbles on. Robertson arrived from Hull in July but the Scotland left-back has yet to feature in a competitive game since his £10 million ($12 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Football icons and longtime rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo joined Spanish sports stars around the world in expressing their grief after Thursday's terror attack in Barcelona left 13 people dead. Barcelona's most famous street Las Ramblas was packed with tourists when a van drove into the crowds, leaving scenes of carnage. […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus director-general Beppe Marotta on Thursday called for a shorter summer transfer period as he slammed agents for unsettling players before the start of the season. Speaking two days before Juventus begin the defence of their Serie A title at home to Cagliari, Marotta said the Turin giants would not be making […]

Milan (AFP) – French striker M'Baye Niang is set to end his frustrating four-year spell at AC Milan by signing a four-year deal with Russian league side Spartak Moscow, reports said Friday. Niang spent last season on loan at Watford, who opted not to buy the Frenchman, and he is now surplus to requirements at […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo leads the nominees unveiled on Thursday for the Best FIFA Men's Player 2017 award. The 32-year-old Portuguese captain is favourite to retain the title he won last year after success in both the Champions League and La Liga. Among the 24 men's nominees are Ronaldo's Real Madrid […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's World Cup-winner Mario Goetze is poised to play for the first time in seven months for Borussia Dortmund at Wolfsburg on Saturday to end his illness misery. "Mario has taken full part (in training) and it looks good," confirmed Dortmund's new coach Peter Bosz on Thursday. Goetze last played on January […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Troubled Barcelona were dealt a new blow ahead of the start of the Spanish league season when Luis Suarez was ruled out for a month with a knee injury on Thursday. The Uruguayan striker suffered the injury in the second half of Wednesday night's 2-0 defeat away to Real Madrid in the […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane heads the list of 12 nominees for the FIFA men's coach of the year award announced on Thursday. Other candidates include Antonio Conte, who led Chelsea to the English title, Manchester United's Europa League-winning coach Jose Mourinho and Massimiliano Allegri of Juventus. Zidane has enjoyed a glorious […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has rejected Barcelona's claims that they are close to signing unsettled Brazil forward Philippe Coutinho. Klopp's side have snubbed Barcelona's £90 million ($115 million, 99 million euros) offer for Coutinho and last week issued a defiant statement insisting no further offers would be considered. Coutinho, who is currently […]

Milan (AFP) – Fiorentina will sanction want-away Croatian striker Nikola Kalinic after he failed to turn up for training Thursday amid reports of an imminent move to league rivals AC Milan. Although no formal announcement has been made by either club, Kalinic is expected to become the latest recruit at Milan as the Serie A […]

Berlin (AFP) – Eintracht Frankfurt have confirmed they are interested in signing Ghana international midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng following his hasty exit from Spanish side Las Palmas. "I can confirm we are busy with the name Kevin-Prince Boateng and are working on it," said Frankfurt coach Niko Kovac, 45, who played alongside Boateng at Hertha Berlin […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his side's outstanding display as they moved to the verge of the Champions League group stages with a 5-0 thrashing of FC Astana in Glasgow. An own goal from Evgeni Postnikov and two goals from Scott Sinclair either side of half-time had the Hoops cruising to victory […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid shrugged off the absence of the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo to cruise past rivals Barcelona 2-0 in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup to cap a 5-1 aggregate win. Ronaldo was slapped with a five-game ban for pushing the referee after he was sent-off in the first leg, but […]

Paris (AFP) – Napoli took a big step towards the Champions League group stage with a 2-0 win over outclassed nine-man Nice in their play-off, first-leg in Italy on Wednesday. The Riviera side were down to nine men after 79 minutes when Alassane Pléa was sent off for a second yellow card just after Vincent […]

London (AFP) – Everton signed Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson from Premier League rivals Swansea for a club record £45 million ($58m, 49.4m euros) on Wednesday. The 27-year-old penned a five-year contract worth a reported £100,000 a week to become Everton's record signing, topping the £31.8 million they paid Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku in 2014. "Hopefully I […]