Washington (AFP) – Pre-season matches against star-studded Real Madrid and Barcelona were good preparation for the rigors of the Premier League even as they demonstrated the Spanish giants' superior level, Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho said Wednesday. With a goal from Brazilian striker Neymar, Barcelona defeated Manchester United 1-0 on Wednesday, handing the Red Devils […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Pep Guardiola's Manchester City has spent big to bolster their defence this summer, but showed they will be a force to reckon with at the other end this season in a 4-1 friendly win over Real Madrid on Wednesday. A second-half blitz in front of 93,000 fans at Los Angeles Memorial […]

Miami (AFP) – Claudio Marchisio's second-half double was enough for Juventus to see off Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on Wednesday and send the French champions home from the United States on the back of two consecutive defeats. The Italian international scored the goal of the game, a fiercely struck effort in the 62nd to restore Juve's […]

Santa Clara (United States) (AFP) – Jordan Morris's late strike lifted the United States to a 2-1 victory over Jamaica on Wednesday in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final. The United States captured their sixth Gold Cup crown — one shy of Mexico's record seven victories in the regional championship for North and Central America and […]

Washington (AFP) – Neymar, serene amid a frenzy of transfer speculation, scored the first-half goal that gave Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday in an International Champions Cup friendly. The Brazilian striker, reportedly pondering a 222-million euro ($256.8 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain, showed why the French club would be willing to […]

Rotterdam (Netherlands) (AFP) – A late Camille Abily free-kick sent 10-woman France through to the women's Euro quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw against Switzerland, alongside newcomers Austria who routed Iceland 3-0 on Wednesday. In Breda, Switzerland took the lead on 19 minutes when Eve Perisset was sent off for bringing down Ramona Bachmann and Ana-Maria […]

Ankara (AFP) – Turkish national team coach Fatih Terim resigned on Wednesday, the country's football federation said, less than two weeks after he was reportedly involved in a fight at a kebab house. "It was decided that it would be better for both sides to part ways," the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) said. TFF president […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco said on Wednesday that no deal with Real Madrid has been reached for teenage French international striker Kylian Mbappe. Monaco vice president Vadim Vasilyev also said in a press conference the principality club were in discussions with Mbappe over a new contract extension. The 18-year-old has been the subject of intense […]

London (AFP) – Shrewsbury have moved closer to becoming the first English club to install safe standing in their stadium nearly three decades after the Hillsborough disaster. The third-tier League One team want to create a safe-standing area, which would have a capacity of around 500, in their Montgomery Waters Meadow arena and their application […]

London (AFP) – Everton manager Ronald Koeman sparked a transfer chase for Ross Barkley on Wednesday by revealing he is "100 percent" certain the England midfielder will leave Goodison Park. Barkley is in the final year of his Everton contract and last season he was told by Koeman he would be sold if he didn't […]

Madrid (AFP) – Confusion surrounding the Neymar-Paris Saint-Germain transfer saga was rife in Barcelona on Wednesday, with the player staying silent on his future. "Doubts, doubts and more doubts," ran the headline on the front page of Catalan daily Sport, above a photo of the striker lost deep in thought. Barca centre-back Gerard Pique had […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has slammed the "unsustainable" spending of Premier League clubs during a frenzied summer transfer window. At least £800 million ($1.04 billion, 896 million euros) has been spent by English top-flight clubs in the current transfer period and Levy believes the exorbitant spree is bad for the sport. Manchester […]

Singapore (AFP) – Bayern Munich will not enter into a bidding war for star footballers, the German champions' boss Uli Hoeness said, describing skyrocketing transfer prices as "madness". "I don't want to buy a player for 150 or 200 million euros, I don't want to join in such madness. That's something that we will refuse […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney says he can't wait to fulfil his childhood dream of playing for Everton in Europe in Thursday's Europa League tie against MFK Ruzomberok. Rooney won the Champions League and Europa League during his trophy-filled spell with Manchester United, but the visit of Slovakian side Ruzomberok to Goodison Park will still […]

Singapore (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti said Wednesday he would not be rushed into a decision about Renato Sanches's future and they would sit down together after the pre-season. It came after the Portuguese midfielder reportedly conceded Tuesday he was unhappy at Bayern and expressed an interest in AC Milan. The 19-year-old, who […]