London (AFP) – Premier League chiefs say Black Lives Matter badges on team shirts will be replaced by patches promoting the organisation's own anti-discrimination campaign. The badges were worn by players last season following the global protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in the United States at the hands of a white police […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed Kevin De Bruyne as the best midfielder in the world as he prepares for the new Premier League campaign. City playmaker De Bruyne was named the Professional Footballers' Association's player of the year this week after an outstanding 2019/20 campaign in which he clocked up […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi returned to Crystal Palace on a season-long loan on Thursday. Batshuayi, 26, has moved back to Selhurst Park after a successful loan spell with Palace in the second half of the 2018-19 season. The Belgium international scored six goals in 13 appearances for Palace to help them avoid […]

London (AFP) – Everton new-boy James Rodriguez believes the Premier League club are ready to end their 25-year trophy drought. James joined the Merseysiders from Real Madrid on Monday as the Colombia midfielder reunited with Toffees manager Carlo Ancelotti. The 29-year-old, who previously worked with Ancelotti at Real and Bayern Munich, is the most high-profile […]

London (AFP) – The Premier League have slammed Newcastle's claim that the organisation rejected a Saudi Arabia-backed bid to buy the troubled club. Newcastle released a statement on Wednesday that said Premier League chief executive Richard Masters had blocked the takeover and did not "act appropriately". But the Premier League delivered a strongly worded response […]

Berlin (AFP) – Werder Bremen players, officials and backroom staff have again agreed to waive an undisclosed part of their salaries, the cash-strapped Bundesliga club announced Thursday. Having previously endured a pay cut in March, the Werder squad and club employees have approved a second lowering of salaries, although no details of the amounts or […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Frank Lampard insists he can cope with the pressure of having to deliver a Premier League title challenge after a spending spree of around £200 million ($259 million). Lampard has spent more than any other Premier League manager since the end of last season as he aims to close the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Limited numbers of football fans will watch matches in stadiums across Germany for the first time in six months this weekend when the first round of the German Cup kicks off. There is an odd number of 31 matches spread over the weekend as holders Bayern Munich will only play fifth-tier side […]

Rome (AFP) – Napoli's football club president Aurelio De Laurentiis has tested positive for Covid-19, the club announced Thursday, a day after meeting other Serie A club officials. "SSC Napoli can confirm that club president Aurelio De Laurentiis tested positive for Covid-19," the club said on its website, but gave no further details. Italian news […]

London (AFP) – Marcelo Bielsa confirmed on Thursday that he was staying with Leeds for their first season back in the Premier League after a 16-year-absence. The Argentine head coach guided Leeds back to the top flight in July but despite the club saying a new deal was due, an agreement has not been formally […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Asia's football body on Thursday cancelled this year's AFC Cup because of the coronavirus pandemic — and also announced further delays to Champions League matches in what it said were "tough times" for the sport. The Asian Football Confederation had hoped to restart its long-delayed Cup competition next month in four […]

London (AFP) – Marcus Rashford says the task of reeling in Liverpool and Manchester City adds spice to Manchester United's bid to re-establish themselves as Premier League title contenders. United put together a nine-game unbeaten run in the league, which included six wins, after the coronavirus lockdown to pip Chelsea to third place at the […]

Madrid (AFP) – La Liga has been forced to change the days of its fixtures for the opening weekend of the season, just two days before they were due to start. The Spanish league announced on Wednesday night it had given in to the "nonsense" of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), in order to avoid […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal and Tottenham are desperate to stake their top-four claims this season after missing out on the Champions League, with Leicester and Wolves also hungry for a seat at Europe's top table. AFP Sport looks at the leading contenders to finish in the coveted positions ahead of the Premier League kick-off on […]

London (AFP) – Just five months after Premier League clubs consulted their players about taking a 30 percent wage cut, the English top-flight is again blowing Europe's other top leagues out the water when it comes to splashing the cash. A return to the routine spending of tens of millions of pounds on players jars […]