Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Benfica right-back Nelson Semedo on a five-year deal, the Spanish club announced on Thursday. Barcelona said Semedo would undergo a medical on Friday after Spanish press reports said they had agreed to pay a transfer fee of 30 million euros (£26.4 million, $34.2 million). The […]

Madrid (AFP) – Monaco's Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, suspected of tax evasion in Spain, has paid 8.2 million euros ($9.3 million) to Spanish tax authorities, judicial sources told AFP on Thursday. Falcao is suspected of failing to correctly declare 5.6 million euros of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while he was […]

The Hague (AFP) – Dutch counter-terrorism officials said Thursday they had not found any "concrete threat" against the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 football championships, after a reported jihadist call for an attack. There are "no indications that an attack will be made on the European Women's Football Championship," the Dutch counter-terrorism agency (NCTV) said in […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Marseille's rebuilding programme continued on Thursday as the ambitious Ligue 1 club signed Adil Rami the France defender on a four-year deal from Sevilla. The 31-year-old has 33 caps for France, won the Ligue 1 title with Lille in 2011, the Europa League in 2016 with Sevilla and had solid spells at […]

Berlin (AFP) – German international defender Sven Bender joined his twin brother Lars at Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday, after moving from Borussia Dortmund on a four-year contract. German media reported that Leverkusen paid in the region of 15 million euros ($17.1m) for the 28-year-old, who started just three Bundesliga games last season and hasn't played […]

Monaco (AFP) – Defensive duo Djibril Sidibe and Kamil Glik have handed French champions Monaco a major boost by signing contract extensions on Thursday to commit their futures to the principality side. Full-back Sidibe, who has won 10 caps and had been heavily linked with a move to the English Premier League, has signed a […]

London (AFP) – England full-back Kyle Walker is set for a £50 million ($64.5m, 56.7m euros) move to Manchester City from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, the BBC and British Press Association reported Thursday. The 27-year-old — who moved along with Kyle Naughton to Spurs from Sheffield United in 2009 for a combined total of […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – A top East Timor official has been banned for life from taking part in any football-related activity after he accepted money to lose a match against Malaysia, the Asian football body said Thursday. Orlando Marques Henriques was found guilty of receiving $15,000 from a third party to arrange for seven players […]

Cairo (AFP) – Al-Ahly coach Hossam El Badry has been suspended for one match by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after boycotting a press conference over the presence of the Qatari-owned BeIn Sports channel. Egypt and several of its allies cut diplomatic relations with Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting extremism. The Eygptian […]

Rennes (France) (AFP) – Cameroon striker Benjamin Moukandjo has joined Fabio Capello's struggling Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning after two seasons at Lorient, the French club said on Thursday. The 28-year-old who captained Cameroon to the African Cup of Nations title in 2017 has signed a two-years deal with the club coached by former […]

Accra (AFP) – The British manager of Ghana Premier League side Asante Kotoko and one of his players were hospitalised after a bus crash that killed a member of their back-room staff, the club said on Thursday. The crash happened when the team bus rammed into a stationary truck at Nkawkaw, some 150 kilometres (95 […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Barcelona star Lionel Messi on Thursday expressed hope for improved fortunes under new coach Ernesto Valverde after a disappointing year for the Catalan club. "Whenever I start a new season there is a very clear-cut goal, which is that Barcelona would do its best," said the Argentine wizard, who recently agreed a […]

The Hague (AFP) – Ajax midfielder Abdelhak Nouri has suffered "serious and permanent" brain damage after collapsing over the weekend, the Dutch club said Thursday, dashing earlier hopes the promising prospect would make a quick recovery. "Ajax are deeply saddened by the news that 'Appie' Nouri has been diagnosed with serious and permanent brain damage," […]

Dar es Salaam (AFP) – Wayne Rooney was the centre of attention in Tanzania on Thursday with England's record goalscorer set to make his first appearance back in an Everton shirt against Kenya's Gor Mahia. Rooney rejoined his boyhood club from Manchester United last week on a free transfer after 13 years at Old Trafford. […]

Sydney (AFP) – Arsenal's record signing Alexandre Lacazette scored on debut in the Gunners' 2-0 win over Australian champions Sydney FC on Thursday. Lacazette, signed last week in a £52.5 million ($68 million) deal from Lyon, came off the bench in the second half to score Arsenal's second goal before more than 80,000 fans at […]