Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United on Wednesday completed the signing of Swedish international centre-back Victor Lindelof from Benfica for a fee believed to be £31 million (35m euros, $39.6m), the English Premier League side announced. "I am thrilled to be joining Manchester United," said the 22-year-old after penning a four-year deal. "I have […]

Lyon (AFP) – France midfielder Corentin Tolisso has moved to Bayern Munich from Lyon for a record fee that could reach 47.5 million euros ($53.5 million), the Bundesliga champions announced on Wednesday. The 22-year-old signed a five-year deal with Bayern to bring an end to his 10-year association with Lyon. Before bonuses Bayern paid 41.5 […]

Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig have signed talented Portuguese winger Bruma from Galatasaray on a five-year deal, the German Bundesliga runners-up announced on Wednesday. German football magazine Kicker reported the transfer fee for the 22-year-old as 12 million euros ($13.5 million), with three million in potential bonuses. "With his footballing and physical characteristics, he is […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo insisted Wednesday he had a "clear conscience" after Spanish prosecutors accused Real Madrid's star forward of evading 14.7 million euros in tax through offshore companies. "Conscience clear, always," Ronaldo told reporters at Lisbon airport as he and his Portuguese teammates prepared to fly out to the Confederations Cup in Russia. […]

London (AFP) – Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo stands accused in Spain of evading 14.7 million euros in tax, highlighting the thorny issue in football of image rights. He is not the only player to have been caught up in the issue, with arch rival Lionel Messi having already been convicted of tax fraud in […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Former France and Barcelona defender Eric Abidal, who returned to top-flight football despite a liver transplant, was on Wednesday named as an ambassador for the Catalan club. Barca said they had reached an agreement with the 37-year-old "to be an ambassador and representative of the club at different events in the next […]

Milan (AFP) – Luciano Spalletti said on Wednesday that bringing the dressing room together will be one of his priorities in leading embattled Inter Milan "back to where they belong". "First and foremost we have to be united," said Spalletti at his official unveiling in Milan following his appointment last week as the successor to […]

London (AFP) – Football Association (FA) board member Heather Rabbatts voiced her frustration on Wednesday at the lack of black coaches in the English game as she announced she would stand down next month. The 61-year-old — who became the FA's first female non-executive director in 2012 — said it had been a privilege to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Footballing super-agent Jorge Mendes, who manages Cristiano Ronaldo among others, has been summoned before a Spanish court as part of the probe into Colombian striker Radamel Falcao's alleged tax evasion, legal sources said on Wednesday. Monaco's Falcao is suspected of failing to correctly declare 5.6 million euros ($6.1 million) of income earned from […]

Beijing (AFP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping met with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino on Wednesday as the football world watches for signs that the Asian giant will make a bid to host a World Cup. Xi greeted Infantino in the capital's palatial Great Hall of the People but the two men did not mention China's […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic was facing a performance review on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw with Iraq set back his team's World Cup qualifying campaign. Japan's football chief was left fuming by the result in neutral Tehran, saying hot conditions were no excuse for the disappointing result. "(The heat) is not an […]

London (AFP) – The agent of the late Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote on Wednesday called for the media to cease making unsubstantiated claims about the reasons for his death. The 52-time capped star — a member of the Ivory Coast squad that ended a 23-year drought in winning the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations […]

London (AFP) – Premier League champions Chelsea will be the first opponents for runners-up Tottenham at their temporary home of Wembley on the second weekend of the 2017/18 campaign it was revealed on Wednesday when the fixtures were published. Spurs — who were beaten by Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley and lost […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was shown the door at China's second-tier Shenzhen FC on Wednesday after a run of poor results. The club hailed Eriksson despite parting ways with the much-travelled Swede, who leaves with the team fourth in China League One. Shenzhen said it had "cooperated with Mr. Eriksson with […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Marcello Lippi's China vowed to fight on after their 2018 World Cup hopes were all but destroyed when Syria's late equaliser left them bottom of their qualifying group and with their captain in tears. The Italian coach angrily blamed the referee after Ahmad Al Salih's injury-time free-kick secured a 2-2 draw, dealing […]