Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick said he could not turn down the opportunity to manage one of the "world's biggest clubs" as the German set his sights on potentially extending his stay in charge beyond this season. Rangnick has agreed to manage United until the end of the current […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool have set a fearsome pace in the Premier League that no other team can live with as a thrilling three-way title race takes shape. Thomas Tuchel, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are in charge of three of Europe's hottest sides, with Liverpool, in third place, […]

Lisbon (AFP) – The upcoming match between Covid-hit Belenenses and Vizela has been postponed as the former club lacks the minimum number of players, the Portuguese football league said Friday. Belenenses had asked for their Monday match to be postponed after last weekend's game with Benfica was called off when they were reduced to just […]

London (AFP) – Crowd trouble at the Euro 2020 final at Wembley could have led to tragedy if England had won the game, the stark findings of an independent review suggested on Friday. A 128-page report into the chaos at the showpiece game on July 11 concluded there were real fears thousands of ticketless fans […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick said Friday he wanted to "balance" Manchester United by strengthening the club's leaky defence. The 63-year-old German's first press conference since being appointed interim manager until the end of the season following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came after United's see-saw 3-2 win over Arsenal in the […]

Beijing (AFP) – China replaced Li Tie as coach on Friday after weeks of intense media pressure and speculation, with their hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup all but over. The former Everton midfielder, 44, resigned and has been replaced by Li Xiaopeng, who had been in charge at Super League side Wuhan FC, […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain have been milking the fact that they have this year's Ballon d'Or winner in their ranks, but Lionel Messi was crowned the world's best player for the seventh time in his glittering career entirely because of what he achieved elsewhere. At 34, perhaps Messi was principally rewarded for his enduring […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Sociedad will attempt to halt Real Madrid's march away from La Liga's chasing pack on Saturday in a battle of first against third at the Reale Arena. Madrid have stormed seven points clear at the top of the table after seven consecutive victories in all competitions, with nine wins and a […]

Rome (AFP) – Transfer dealings in Italy have been put under the microscope after prosecutors began investigating Juventus' accounts in what is claimed to be a system of player trades at allegedly inflated values in order to help balance clubs' books. AFP looks at why the probe was launched and what it could mean for […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga star strikers Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski go head-to-head on Saturday when Borussia Dortmund host Bayern Munich in the top-of-the-table clash. League leaders Bayern head to Signal Iduna Park just one point ahead of second-placed Dortmund. Haaland, 21, who has scored 19 goals for Dortmund and Norway this season, proved a […]

Madrid (AFP) – "He's the best player in the league," said Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil in September after his team had just beaten Granada to go third in La Liga, three points behind Real Madrid. He was not talking about the league's top scorer, Karim Benzema, or Luka Modric, its only remaining winner of […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Michael Carrick exited Manchester United with a win as Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed 800 goals for club and country with a double to see off Arsenal 3-2 on Thursday. Carrick was taking charge for the final time as caretaker manager with new interim boss Ralf Rangnick watching from the stands and […]

Milan (AFP) – Tolgay Arslan scored eight minutes into stoppage time to snatch a 4-4 draw for Udinese at the end of an incredible match at Lazio which featured comebacks and three red cards. Lazio thought they had won a memorable encounter at the Stadio Olimpico after rebounding from 3-1 down at half-time to lead […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Former Valencia and US national team assistant coach Nico Estevez was named the new coach of Major League Soccer's FC Dallas on Thursday. The 41-year-old Spaniard replaced Luchi Gonzalez, who parted with FC Dallas midway into the 2021 campaign with Marco Ferruzzi finishing the season on an interim basis as the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Michael Carrick announced on Thursday he will leave Manchester United after three games as caretaker manager. The former midfielder steadied the ship for the Red Devils after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, taking four points from two Premier League games against Arsenal and Chelsea as well as progressing to […]