Shanghai (AFP) – Former German international striker Sandro Wagner has left Tianjin Teda for "family reasons", just as the Chinese Super League kicks off on Saturday. The 32-year-old joined the club in China's northeast in January last year from Bayern Munich for five million euros and scored 12 goals in 26 matches. Tianjin, who are […]

London (AFP) – The Premier League will finally reach the end of its longest season on Sunday with plenty still on the line at both ends of the table. Manchester United and Leicester face each other in a shootout for a place in the Champions League next season with Chelsea also hoping to secure their […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel said "everyone is worried" after Kylian Mbappe hobbled off in the first half of Friday's French Cup final with an ankle injury after a dreadful tackle by Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin. Mbappe received lengthy treatment but was eventually substituted after his right ankle was caught by a […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe hobbled off in the first half of Friday's French Cup final with an ankle injury after a dreadful tackle by Saint-Etienne captain Loic Perrin. Mbappe received lengthy treatment but was eventually substituted after his right ankle was caught by a clumsy Perrin challenge that resulted in a […]

Milan (AFP) – Atalanta's slim hopes of pipping Juventus to the Serie A title dimmed further Friday after a 1-1 draw at AC Milan. The team from Bergamo stay second in the table, five points behind Juve but have just two games left. Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta had routed Milan 5-0 when the teams met […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar scored the winning goal as Paris Saint-Germain defeated 10-man Saint-Etienne 1-0 in the French Cup final on Friday, the first competitive fixture in the country since March 11 following the coronavirus pandemic. However, coach Thomas Tuchel faces an anxious wait over the fitness of Kylian Mbappe ahead of next month's Champions League […]

Miami (AFP) – High-scoring Los Angeles FC and a confident Columbus squad with three wins from three matches will be among fancied sides when the Major League Soccer is Back Tournament knockout stages begin Saturday. A 24-team group stage determined the last 16 to chase a title under a COVID-19 quarantine bubble at Walt Disney […]

Paris (AFP) – Friday's national cup final between Paris Saint-Germain and Saint-Etienne marked the return of French football after a four-month suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Stade de France fixture was the first competitive match in one of Europe's leading football countries to allow fans to attend since March, albeit in severely restricted […]

New York (AFP) – Atlanta United parted ways with coach Frank De Boer on Friday, three days after the club finished a winless run in the Major League Soccer is Back Tournament. The 50-year-old Dutchman, a defender with Ajax and Barcelona, left by mutual agreement, according to a club statement. Atlanta United lost by identical 1-0 […]

Abidjan (AFP) – Global footballers' union FIFPro has suspended the Ivory Coast Footballers Association (AFI) for failing to endorse Didier Drogba's bid to head the country's football federation. In a letter dated Thursday and addressed to the president of the AFI Cyrille Domoraud, FIFPro said it was suspending his organisation "with immediate effect." The letter […]

Geneva (AFP) – Switzerland's top prosecutor resigned Friday following a drawn-out controversy over his handling of a corruption investigation targeting FIFA, but continued to deny accusations he lied. Attorney General Michael Lauber, suspected of collusion with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino following a series of secret meetings in 2016 and 2017, said in a statement he […]

London (AFP) – The 2020-21 Premier League season will begin on September 12 and conclude on May 23, the English top-flight announced on Friday. Most clubs will have a seven-week break between the end of the 2019/20 season this weekend and the start of the new campaign. However, Manchester City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Wolves […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit back at his Chelsea counterpart Frank Lampard by suggesting the Blues boss still has a lot to learn after branding the new English champions "arrogant." During Liverpool's 5-3 win between the sides on Wednesday, Lampard became embroiled in a row with Klopp's assistant Pepijn Lijnders over […]

London (AFP) – The Bournemouth players and coaching staff face "the biggest game" of their careers on Sunday as they battle to extend their surprising five-year stay in the Premier League, manager Eddie Howe says. Bournemouth were widely tipped to make an immediate return to the second-tier Championship in their maiden season amongst the elite […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Friday that he will not settle for the point that would guarantee his side a return to the Champions League next season when the Red Devils travel to Leicester. United sit third in the Premier League table going into the final day of the season, […]