New York (AFP) – A 63-year-old former official in Guatemala's Football Federation broke down in tears as he pleaded guilty in New York Friday to wire fraud and conspiracy in the massive corruption scandal that has rocked world soccer. Hector Trujillo, who served as general secretary of the Guatemalan federation from 2009 to 2015 and […]

Rennes (France) (AFP) – An Olivier Giroud hat-trick helped France brush aside Paraguay 5-0 in an international friendly at Rennes on Friday. The Arsenal striker became the first France international to score a treble since David Trezeguet achieved the feat in 2000. He opened the scoring for Didier Deschamps's team in the sixth minute, doubling […]

Monaco (AFP) – Monaco's Colombian international Radamel Falcao has extended his contract with the newly-crowned Ligue 1 champions until 2020, the club announced on Thursday. The 31-year-old club skipper — who scored 30 goals this season with six decisive passes in all competitions — said he was "happy to continue the adventure with Monaco". "After […]

Rome (AFP) – Six years after its inauguration, Champions League finalists Juventus's home stadium in Turin has finally been given a name: the Allianz Stadium. As of July 1, the German insurance firm's name — which already adorns a number of other sports stadiums, including Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena, Nice's Allianz Riviera, and the Allianz […]

Rennes (France) (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps revealed on Thursday that Kylian Mbappé was uncertain for Friday's friendly against Paraguay as fellow wunderkind Ousmane Dembélé returns to the grounds of his former club Rennes. The match in Brittany will allow the 2016 Euro finalists a warm-up for their World Cup qualifier against Sweden in […]

London (AFP) – Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure signed a new one year contract with Manchester City on Thursday, a reward for sterling performances after returning to favour mid-November. The 34-year-old midfielder — a four-time African Footballer of the Year — had fallen out with City manager Pep Guardiola but regained his trust and has […]

London (AFP) – Scotland international midfielder Darren Fletcher joined Stoke City on Thursday on a free transfer after rejecting an offer of a new contract from their Premier League rivals West Brom. The 33-year-old former Manchester United star — who will join fellow former West Brom team-mate Saido Berahino at Stoke — signed a two […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA's plans to use video refereeing during the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be a positive development in football, former Dutch star Marco Van Basten insisted on Thursday. "It helps football a lot, it's good for the honesty," Van Basten told AFP after a workshop organised at FIFA headquarters by the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Argentina superstar Lionel Messi is to branch out into the leisure industry and launch an amusement park in China in 2019, his partners in the venture said on Thursday. The "Messi Experience Park" will have more than 20 attractions spread out on a site covering more than 80,000m2 in Nankin, south east […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Newly-installed Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde vowed Thursday to "deepen" and "revisit" the renowned slick passing game of the Catalan giants in a bid to lead the club to success in all possible competitions next season. "I know the style because I played here" between 1998-2000, Valverde said at his first press conference […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Newly installed Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde vowed Thursday to "deepen" and "revisit" the renowned slick passing game of the Catalan giants in a bid to lead the club to success in all possible competitions next season. "I know the style because I played here" between 1998-90, Valverde said at his first press […]

Berlin (AFP) – Joachim Loew, who has rested all of his Germany stars for this month's Confederations Cup, says football's governing bodies are risking over-loading the sport's top players with too many games. "It's a dangerous game – we mustn't pull too hard on the rope," Germany's head coach warned in Thursday's interview with SID, […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Pep Guardiola's summer recruitment drive continued apace on Thursday as Manchester City signed the up-and-coming Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson Moraes from Benfica, the Portuguese champions announced. The 40-million-euro (£34.85m, $44.87m) deal makes the 23-year-old the most expensive goalkeeper since Juventus paid Parma 52 million euros for Gianluigi Buffon back in 2001. City had […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian Premier League side Zenit St Petersburg on Thursday appointed Italian Roberto Mancini as manager in their quest to claw their way back after a third place league finish. "Zenit football club welcomes Roberto Mancini to Saint Petersburg and wishes him success as manager of the white-and-blues," the club wrote on its […]

London (AFP) – Saturday's Champions League final between Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid and Gianluigi Buffon's Juventus will take place amid taut security in Cardiff following last week's terror attack in Manchester. The suicide attack at Manchester Arena, which left 22 dead and scores injured, means vigilance will be heightened, but unprecedented security measures were already […]