Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola believes Mikel Arteta would be a suitable replacement for him when he leaves Manchester City after his Spanish assistant was linked with vacant jobs at Arsenal and Everton. But the City boss said he would not stand in the 37-year-old's way if he wanted to seek an opportunity […]

London (AFP) – Duncan Ferguson said it will be an "incredibly proud moment" for him when he takes charge of Everton for their Premier League clash with Chelsea on Saturday. The 47-year-old Scot has been appointed caretaker manager after Marco Silva was sacked on Thursday following eight defeats in their last 11 games, including Wednesday's […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp says he does not care about being top of the Premier League at Christmas as he prepares his Liverpool team for a hectic few weeks. Liverpool, who finished a single point behind champions Manchester City last season, travel to Bournemouth on Saturday with an eight-point lead over Leicester. City are […]

Mönchengladbach (Germany) (AFP) – Rising star Marcus Thuram admits the word "champions" is no longer taboo at high-flying Borussia Moenchengladbach as the Bundesliga leaders prepare for Saturday's showdown at home to Bayern Munich. Bayern have won the German title in each of the past seven seasons, but their dominance is coming under threat from Gladbach, […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Chelsea manager Frank Lampard admitted the club will be on the lookout for new faces in the January window after a FIFA-imposed transfer ban was reduced on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday. The ban, imposed following violations in the recruitment of minors, was reduced from two […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Friday that Gareth Bale has not trained ahead of Real Madrid's match against Espanyol as injury threatens to rule him out of this month's Clasico. Bale is struggling with a minor problem in his thigh although the club remain optimistic he will recover in time for the crunch […]

London (AFP) – Brendan Rodgers has committed his long-term future to Leicester City, ending speculation linking him with the vacant Arsenal manager's job. The Northern Irishman moved to Leicester from Celtic in February after winning seven trophies in just under three years in charge in Scotland. The 46-year-old has taken Leicester to second in the […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United on Friday announced a partnership with China's technology giant Alibaba Group, boosting the club's engagement with its Chinese fanbase. The partnership will see Manchester United content, including selected first-team matches, highlights and localised original productions, available to around 700 million consumers across Alibaba's platforms, according to the Premier League club. […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Chelsea are free to sign new players in the January transfer window after a FIFA-imposed ban was reduced on appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday. The ban, imposed following violations in the recruitment of minors, was reduced from two transfer windows to one, which Chelsea already served […]

London (AFP) – Amazon Prime has declared its first foray into the Premier League market a success, saying its coverage of the midweek programme was one of the biggest-ever streaming events in the United Kingdom. The streaming giant made its debut in English top-flight football this week by showing all 10 matches, breaking up the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says smiles are back on the faces of his Manchester United players after their victory against Tottenham as he prepares to take on defending champions Manchester City. United ruined Jose Mourinho's Old Trafford return on Wednesday, winning 2-1 to end their former manager's perfect start to his […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has branded Corriere dello Sport's "Black Friday" headline "the worst front page" he has ever seen and offered support to Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku. Roma defender Smalling, who is on loan from United, and Inter Milan forward Lukaku, were pictured either side of […]

Milan (AFP) – The jersey worn by Brazilian football legend Pele during his final match for the five-time world champions has sold for 30,000 euros ($33,000) in an action in Italy. The three-time World Cup winner wore the jersey in a friendly against Yugoslavia at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in July 1971, […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany will play friendlies against fellow European powerhouses Spain and Italy next March in the build-up to Euro 2020, the German Football Association (DFB) has confirmed. Joachim Loew's side face Spain in Madrid on March 26 and Italy on March 31 in Nuremberg before the European Championship finals, which start on June […]

Milan (AFP) – Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport has described the backlash over its controversial "Black Friday" headline as a "lynching". The front-page headline accompanied an article about the first Serie A meeting between former Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling. "Who are you calling racist? Lynching of a newspaper that for […]