Vienna (AFP) – Austria's oldest football club First Vienna FC, started by British expats in 1894 but a shadow of its once-mighty self, has escaped bankruptcy after creditors agreed to a rescue plan. "Austria's oldest football club lives!" it said in a statement, calling the investors' green light on Wednesday "a major step towards a […]

London (AFP) – Real Madrid's Welsh star Gareth Bale will hope for a triumphant homecoming in Saturday's Champions League final against Juventus in Cardiff. Ahead of the game, AFP Sport looks at four Welsh figures who, to greater or lesser degrees, have marked the histories of the two clubs: John Charles (Juventus, 1957-1962) One of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid will be unable to sign new players until January 2018 after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday upheld their transfer ban. Atletico and city rivals Real Madrid were barred from registering new players for two transfer windows in January 2016 for irregularities in the signing of foreign […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – On one side, one of the world's most powerful clubs and the reigning champions, Real Madrid. On the other, Juventus, a club without the same financial means, yet. AFP looks at the business models of the two sides who will clash in Saturday's Champions League final in Cardiff. – Real […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo heads to Saturday's Champions League final against Juventus on the brink of realising a burning ambition of matching Lionel Messi's record of winning the Ballon d'Or five times. "I want to catch Messi," Ronaldo confessed when collecting his third World Player of the Year crown back in 2015. Now the […]

London (AFP) – With his future finally resolved, Arsene Wenger has one last chance to restore his battered reputation and end the civil war that threatened to tear Arsenal apart. It is 13 years since Wenger's 'Invincibles' won the last of his three Premier League titles, a golden period when the bond between the Arsenal […]

Athens (AFP) – AEK Athens secured their place in next season's Champions League qualifying rounds on Wednesday as they finished top in a four-team Greek Super League play-off. AEK beat another Athens side, Panionios, 2-1 to top the mini league ahead of PAOK, who lost 3-2 at home to Panathinaikos. Just four years after being […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Two days before Real Madrid and Juventus clash in the Champions League final, the women's showpiece will be played in Cardiff on Thursday with holders Lyon taking on French rivals Paris Saint-Germain. The match, to be played at the Cardiff City Stadium, across the Welsh capital from the Principality Stadium […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga club Mainz on Wednesday confirmed former player Sandro Schwarz as their new coach, promoting him from his job in charge of their reserve team. The 38-year-old was coaching the club's under-23 team, which has just been relegated from Germany's third division. Schwarz made 100 appearances as a midfielder for Mainz between […]

London (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku's agent claims Everton have promised the Belgium striker he will be allowed to leave if certain clubs make a bid during the transfer window. Lukaku has refused to accept Everton's offer of a new contract which would make him the highest-paid player in the Premier League club's history. The 24-year-old […]

Madrid (AFP) – Madrid's city hall on Wednesday gave the green light to a multi-million-euro revamp of Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium after courts blocked an initial, more ambitious project. The 81,000-capacity venue will be fitted with a retractable roof and will also include room for a shopping centre and possibly a hotel, all of […]

London (AFP) – Long-serving Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has signed a new two-year contract, the club announced on Wednesday, ending months of speculation about his future. Wenger has presided over a gruelling season, which saw his team fail to qualify for the Champions League, but masterminded a stunning FA Cup final win over Chelsea last […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Brazilian striker Elkeson scored once and forced an own goal as Shanghai SIPG downed Chinese rivals Jiangsu Suning 3-2 to reach the AFC Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday. Elkeson profited from some kamikaze first-half defending from Hong Jeong-Ho, who gifted him the opening goal, and Yang Xiaotian, who diverted a shot into […]

Berlin (AFP) – Marc Bartra has opened up for the first time about the April 11 bomb attack which blasted the Borussia Dortmund team bus and left the defender with a fractured wrist. "There was a loud bang and I felt a warm wave of pressure, then a great pain in my arm," he told […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan's Kashima Antlers have sacked manager Masatada Ishii five months after he steered them to the Club World Cup final, officials said Wednesday. The 50-year-old was dismissed after Kashima beat China's Guangzhou Evergrande 2-1 in the last 16 of the Asian Champions League on Tuesday, only to crash out of the competition […]