Hamburg (AFP) – Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can reacted with fury Wednesday after Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri left him off the club's Champions League squad. "I'm furious, I don't understand, I'm totally shocked because I was promised something else these past few weeks," said Can, who is preparing with the Germany squad for Euro 2020 […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has undergone knee surgery that is expected to keep the centre-back sidelined for at least a couple of months. Laporte had been in line to make his international debut with France this week after his exceptional form for the Premier League champions over the past year was […]

Paris (AFP) – Euro 2020 qualifying resumes on Thursday with several of the biggest teams such as world champions France sporting a changed look for the new season, in some cases not by choice. Less than a month into the new European season, France have been particularly hard hit by injuries ahead of home matches […]

Milan (AFP) – North Korea international striker Han Kwang Song has completed his loan move to Italian champions Juventus from league rivals Cagliari, both teams have confirmed. The 21-year-old — the first North Korean to play in Serie A — has spent the past two seasons on loan from Cagliari to Serie B side Perugia […]

Rome (AFP) – Veteran Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini underwent successful surgery on a torn knee ligament the club said on Tuesday, saying they expected him back in action in six months. The eight-time reigning champions have signed 20-year-old Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt. The young Dutchman had a poor Serie A debut at the weekend […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar unveiled the logo for the 2022 World Cup which will be hosted by the Gulf emirate by displaying it in public spaces in Doha and cities around the world Tuesday. The design is a stylised Arabic white unisex shawl with maroon patterning displayed in a figure-of-eight symbolising infinity while creating a […]

London (AFP) – Clubs from Europe's 'big five' leagues in England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany combined to spend a record £5 billion ($6 billion) on transfer fees during the summer transfer window, financial experts Deloitte revealed on Tuesday. However, despite boasting the largest television rights deals, the net spend of teams from England's Premier […]

London (AFP) – Ireland coach Joe Schmidt has slammed Agustin Pichot's criticism of his decision to select Jean Kleyn instead of Devin Toner in his World Cup squad. World Rugby vice chairman Pichot urged Toner to ask the sport's governing body "for answers" following his controversial absence from Ireland's 31-man World Cup squad on Monday. […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was withdrawn from England's squad to face Bulgaria and Kosovo in Euro 2020 qualifiers next week due to a back injury on Tuesday. The 21-year-old was in line for his senior international debut after impressing in his first four appearances since joining United from Crystal Palace in a […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich and former German national team football star Jerome Boateng, 31, has been charged with assault after allegedly attacking his former partner, German prosecutors confirmed Tuesday. "The Munich prosecutor's office has had proceedings open against Jerome Boateng for dangerous assault since autumn 2018. Following extensive investigations, charges were brought on February […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain coach Robert Moreno has said he would be happy to step aside if Luis Enrique ever wanted to resume his role in charge of the national team. Luis Enrique's nine-year-old daughter Xana died of bone cancer last week. He resigned from his position as Spain coach in June. Moreno took over […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain's first major match-fixing trial began Tuesday with former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera among 42 defendants charged over a 'suspect' 2011 match between his former club Real Zaragoza and Levante. The accused made no comments as they arrived at the court in the eastern city of Valencia for the start of […]

London (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez believes his failure to shine in a dismal 18 months at Manchester United prior to joining Inter Milan on loan was due to a lack of opportunities. The Chilean moved to Italy on a 10-month loan deal last week with United still paying a large chunk of his reported £400,000 […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar's decision to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 was motivated by a desire to establish himself as the best player in the world, but a troubled time in the French capital has left the Brazilian at risk of wasting the best years of his career. The closure of the transfer window has […]

Paris (AFP) – The transfer window shut gently across much of Europe on Monday evening with a flurry of loan deals instead of the anticipated bang of a mega-move. Several big-name players did change clubs on loans, including Mauro Icardi, Nikola Kalinic on loan from Atletico Madrid and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. The biggest names among the permanent […]