Madrid (AFP) – Ernesto Valverde resigned from Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday with the hope of taking over at Barcelona next season, a goal Spanish media take as a given. "Ernesto Valverde will not continue as manager of the premier team of Athletic Club in the 2017/18 season," the Basque club said in a statement. Valverde, […]

London (AFP) – Sam Allardyce announced Tuesday he was stepping down as Crystal Palace manager after just five months at the helm of the Premier League club for family reasons. The 62-year-old, who was previously in charge of England for just one game, said he had "no ambitions to take another job". Allardyce took over […]

London (AFP) – Australia's Harry Kewell has been appointed as the new manager of English fourth-tier club Crawley Town, it was announced Tuesday. The former Leeds United and Liverpool forward, 38, was in charge of Premier League club Watford's Under-23 team before leaving the Hornets last month. Kewell is currently doing his UEFA Pro Licence […]

Stockholm (AFP) – A "numb" Manchester United will honour the victims of the Manchester bomb attack with a minute's silence and black armbands at Wednesday's Europa League final, the club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said Tuesday. United flew out to Sweden with Manchester still reeling from an attack which left 22 people dead and 59 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke has extended his contract by five years in a deal that will keep him in the Spanish capital until 2024, the La Liga club announced Tuesday. The 25-year-old, capped 32 times by Spain, has spent his whole career at Atletico after coming through their youth system. "Atleti is […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny will miss this weekend's FA Cup final against Chelsea, it was confirmed Tuesday, after his appeal against a three-match ban was dismissed by the Football Association. The 31-year-old French central defender was sent off against Everton on Sunday for a reckless first-half challenge on Enner Valencia. Despite his absence, […]

Paris (AFP) – Bastia's appeal over their punishment following last month's abandoned Ligue 1 game against Lyon, which included forfeiting the match, was rejected by the French Football Federation (FFF) on Tuesday. The league's disciplinary commission awarded Lyon a win and ordered Bastia's stadium to be closed for two games after home fans twice invaded […]

Stockholm (AFP) – The Europa League final between Manchester United and Ajax will not be the same following the deadly terror attack in Manchester, the Dutch club's coach Peter Bosz said on Tuesday. "What happened in Manchester is something that we all feel at Ajax," Bosz told his pre-match press conference at Stockholm's Friends Arena. […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Istanbul police on Tuesday detained Turkish international and Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan in a probe into the illegal import of luxury cars, releasing the football star after questioning. Prosecutors in the Istanbul district of Bakirkoy issued 46 arrest warrants for suspects including Tufan, the state-run Anadolu news agency said. Tufan, 22, was […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho said the victims of a deadly suicide bomb attack in Manchester were in the "minds and hearts" of his squad as United prepare for Wednesday's Europa League final against Ajax in Stockholm. The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack that killed at least 22 people, […]

The Hague (AFP) – Dick Advocaat will take up his role as the new Dutch coach next month, officials said Tuesday, as he looks to salvage the country's faltering 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. The 69-year-old is returning for a third spell in charge of the Netherlands, who are fourth in Group A ahead of […]

Moscow (AFP) – FIFA chief Gianni Infantino told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday he was satisfied with Russia's preparations ahead of hosting the Confederations Cup in June and the 2018 World Cup. "I've always been convinced that Russia will meet all of its obligations — now we can see the concrete facts," RIA Novosti news […]

Guangzhou (AFP) – Paulinho's late strike put Guangzhou Evergrande in the driving seat as they beat Kashima Antlers 1-0 in the first leg of their AFC Champions League round of 16 clash on Tuesday. The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder struck on 75 minutes to reward heavy pressure from Luiz Felipe Scolari's Evergrande, who lifted the Asian […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United's preparations for Wednesday's Europa League final were plunged into sadness on Tuesday after a bomb attack at a Manchester pop concert killed 22 people and injured dozens more. Manager Jose Mourinho led his players in a solemn minute's silence on United's Carrington training pitches west of Manchester city […]

Berlin (AFP) – Arturo Vidal has urged Bayern Munich's bosses to sign his Chile international team-mate Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal after the Gunners missed out on a Champions League place next season. Sanchez scored 24 league goals for the Gunners in 2016/17, but it was not enough to secure Champions League qualification as Arsene Wenger's […]