Berlin (AFP) – Uli Hoeness, the son of a butcher, rose to fame as Bayern Munich's powerful president and a millionaire businessman who bounced back despite a spectacular own goal which landed him in jail. He will stand down in November as club president after a glorious era of success in which Bayern won the […]

Dijon (France) (AFP) – English forward Stephy Mavididi has joined Ligue 1 club Dijon on loan from Italian champions Juventus, the French club announced on Thursday. The 21-year-old, who signed for Juve from Arsenal last year, made his Serie A debut in April as a second-half substitute in a 2-1 loss at SPAL. Mavididi scored […]

Paris (AFP) – Celtic cruised into the Europa League group stage on Thursday, the Scottish champions crushing Swedish club AIK 4-1 in their play-off second leg. James Forrest opened the scoring after a one-two with Odsonne Edouard as Celtic comfortably secured their place in Friday's draw 6-1 on aggregate. That was Forrest's seventh goal in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Uli Hoeness on Thursday officially told Bayern Munich he is stepping down as president of the Bundesliga champions, the club said in a statement. At a meeting of the club's board, the 67-year-old confirmed reports he will not be seeking re-election in November with former Adidas boss Herbert Hainer poised to replace […]

Monaco (AFP) – Holders Liverpool will face Napoli again in the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur must take on Bayern Munich and Barcelona could just face a struggle to make it out of their group. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at some of the best quotes — including a cameo from Eric Cantona — following […]

Monaco (AFP) – Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk won the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award on Thursday, edging out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while Lucy Bronze took the women's prize. Dutchman Van Dijk starred as Liverpool won their sixth European Cup last season with a 2-0 Champions League final victory over Tottenham […]

Monaco (AFP) – Barcelona will have to come through a group containing both Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan after the three former winners all came out together in Thursday's UEFA Champions League group stage draw in Monaco, while holders Liverpool will face Napoli again. Barcelona, Dortmund and Inter, with nine European Cups between them, were […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar took part in training for Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday afternoon but will again not play for the French champions this weekend amid reports that an agreement had been reached that would see the Brazilian return to Barcelona. The world's most expensive player was the last to take to the training field […]

Halberstadt (Germany) (AFP) – Bora-Hansgrohe sprinter Pascal Ackermann powered to victory in the opening stage of the Tour of Germany in Halberstadt on Thursday as the overall race favourites finished safely in the peloton. Ackermann, who won the points classification at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, edged out Alexander Kristoff and Italy's Simone Consonni […]

Berlin (AFP) – Striker Jurgen Locadia has joined Hoffenheim on a season-long loan from Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion, the Bundesliga side announced on Thursday. The 25-year-old moves to Germany for an undisclosed fee and will link up with Hoffenheim head coach Alfred Schreuder after the pair previously worked together at PSV Eindhoven, […]

Berlin (AFP) – Striker Robert Lewandowski has extended his contract at Bayern Munich until 2023, the defending Bundesliga champions announced Thursday. "FC Bayern is one of the three largest clubs in the world and we have an outstanding team. I am proud to be part of this club," said the 31-year-old, who has scored 207 […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar took part in Paris Saint-Germain training on Thursday afternoon amid reports that an agreement had been reached that would see the Brazilian return to Barcelona. The world's most expensive player was the last to take to the training field in a session attended by a large contingent of journalists and broadcast […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate named on Thursday the uncapped Tyrone Mings, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount and James Maddison in a youthful England squad to face Bulgaria and Kosovo in next month's Euro 2020 qualifiers. Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also returns for the first time since March 2018 following a long-term knee injury, but there […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Danish striker Kasper Dolberg has signed for Nice from Ajax, the Ligue 1 side announced on Thursday, becoming the first signing since this week's takeover of the club by Ineos. "After passing his medical on Wednesday... Danish striker Kasper Dolberg completed his transfer to OGC Nice on Thursday morning," Nice said […]

Paris (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps has included Manchester City centre-back Aymeric Laporte in his squad announced on Thursday for next month's Euro 2020 qualifying double header against Albania and Andorra. Laporte, 25, was last called up to a squad in March 2017 but has never been capped by France at full international level. […]