Lyon (AFP) – Chelsea forward Bertrand Traore has joined Lyon for 10 million euros (£8.8m, $11.2m) on a five-year deal, the French club announced on Monday. Chelsea will earn 15 percent of any profit from a future sale of the player and the English champions will have first refusal on Traore should he eventually move […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – FIFA's referees chief said Monday he wants less delays caused by the video assistant referee and to reduce disruptions from the system being tested for next year's World Cup. World football's governing body is using the Confederations Cup in Russia to test the video assistant referee (VAR) system for the first […]

Nantes (France) (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri insists his incredible achievements at Leicester City count for nothing now that he has taken over at sleeping French giants Nantes, where he was unveiled as their new coach on Monday. "I have missed being out on the pitch. But we must forget what I did at Leicester. What […]

Rome (AFP) – Fiorentina's owners said fan dissatisfaction had driven them to putting the Italian Serie A side up for sale on Monday. Fiorentina, who finished eighth last season, have been owned since 2002 by the Della Valle family, Italian industrialists. They have come in for recent criticism by supporters over their management and declared […]

Montpellier (France) (AFP) – Giant Montpellier striker Steve Mounie is on the verge of completing a transfer to English Premier League newcomers Huddersfield Town, the French side announced on Monday. "Steve Mounie has left. He will have a medical before signing in England," said the new Montpellier coach Michel Der Zakarian as the Ligue 1 […]

Moscow (AFP) – Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi hopes Charles Aranguiz will be fit for Wednesday's Confederations Cup semi-final against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal after the midfield enforcer suffered a knock against Australia. A hard challenge from Socceroos veteran Tim Cahill clattered Aranguiz, who had to be substituted at half-time of Sunday's 1-1 draw in Moscow. […]

London (AFP) – English Premier League side Crystal Palace on Monday appointed former Dutch international Frank de Boer as their new manager The 47-year-old — who guided Ajax to four successive league titles before a disappointing short spell at Serie A giants Inter Milan — signed a three-year contract. He fills the vacuum left by […]

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Ambitious Timo Werner is eyeing Confederations Cup glory with Germany and hopes his two goals against Cameroon are enough to see him start Thursday's semi-final with Mexico. The 21-year-old sealed the world champions' 3-1 win in Sochi with a second-half brace by heading home Joshua Kimmich's cross, then drilled in a […]

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Germany's Joachim Loew said he is looking forward to facing Mexico on Thursday in the Confederations Cup semi-finals after the world champions pipped Chile to top spot in Group B. The Germans play Mexico in Sochi for a place in next Sunday's final in Saint Petersburg while Chile meet Cristiano Ronaldo's […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Italian international striker Mario Balotelli signed a new deal with French Ligue 1 outfit Nice on Sunday after spearheading their qualification for the Champions League in his first season. "OGC Nice are delighted to confirm that Mario Balotelli has signed a new contract with the club," Nice wrote on their Twitter […]

Chicago (AFP) – US national team coach Bruce Arena named a 23-player roster Sunday for next month's Gold Cup, using the North American championship to evaluate talent for next year's World Cup. A squad dominated by talent from Major League Soccer features 13 players with less than 10 caps, four of them making their first […]

Moscow (AFP) – Martin Rodriguez rescued a 1-1 draw for Chile against Australia on Sunday to send the South American champions through to a Confederations Cup semi-final against Portugal. James Troisi steered Australia ahead on 42 minutes in Moscow, but Chile replied through half-time substitute Rodriguez on 67 minutes to advance as Group B runners-up […]

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Timo Werner netted twice as Germany set up a Confederations Cup semi-final against Mexico with a 3-1 win on Sunday against 10-man Cameroon, who initially had the wrong player sent off. Germany midfielder Kerem Demirbay opened the scoring just after the break before Werner struck either side of Vincent Aboubakar's consolation […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko on Sunday shrugged off a report that the country's entire 2014 World Cup squad was under FIFA investigation for doping. British newspaper The Mail on Sunday wrote that the Russian players are being probed by FIFA as part of a broader scandal over allegations of state-backed […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia struggled for positives Sunday after they crashed out of the Confederations Cup on home soil in an ominous sign of how the hosts might fare at next year's World Cup. Football bosses shrugged off fans' fears after the team's early exit following a 2-1 defeat by Mexico in Kazan on Saturday, […]