London (AFP) – A British court on Friday remanded Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy in custody after he was charged with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The 27-year-old appeared at Chester Magistrates' Court in north west England to face accusations brought by three complainants. The incidents are alleged to have […]

Madrid (AFP) – Midfielder Casemiro has extended his contract with Real Madrid by two years until 2025, the Spanish giants announced on Friday. The 29-year-old Brazilian international's previous deal had been due to expire in 2023. He joins Karim Benzema, until 2023, Thibaut Courtois, until 2026, and Federico Valverde, until 2027, in signing contract extensions […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Juventus, coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed on Friday, as rumours of an imminent move to Manchester City gather pace. "Yesterday, speaking with Cristiano, he told me that he has no intention of staying at Juventus, for this reason he will not be picked tomorrow. This morning he didn't […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur will play Rennes and Vitesse Arnhem as well as Mura of Slovenia in the group stage of the inaugural Europa Conference League following Friday's draw in Istanbul. Spurs, who are the sole English representative after finishing seventh in the Premier League last season, could probably not have got a tougher […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo has decided he no longer wants to play for Juventus, coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed on Friday, as rumours of an imminent move to Manchester City gather pace. "Yesterday Ronaldo told me that he no longer has any intention of playing for Juventus, for this reason he will not be picked […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Leicester City will face Napoli in this season's Europa League, while Celtic found themselves in a tough section alongside Bayer Leverkusen and Real Betis in Friday's draw for the group stage. As well as Napoli, Leicester will play Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw in Group C as they look to do better […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate has revealed he has been abused in recent months for supporting the drive to encourage young people to be vaccinated against coronavirus. Southgate led England to a first major tournament final in 55 years at Euro 2020, missing out on penalties to Italy. His decisions to introduce Manchester […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo will not train with Juventus on Friday, the Serie A giants confirmed to AFP, as rumours of an imminent move to Manchester City gather pace. Widespread media reports said that Ronaldo left Juve's Continassa training centre before the start of Friday's session. Sky Sport Italia reported that the five-time Ballon […]

Madrid (AFP) – Despite the continuing devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Real Madrid have still been able to make a 160 million-euro ($188m) bid for Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and are in a "win-win" position. The offer was rejected with PSG's sporting director Leonardo saying on Wednesday it was "not enough" for the […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool and Chelsea face off in the first heavyweight clash between title contenders of the Premier League season, while Arsenal aim to get off the mark when they visit Manchester City on Saturday. Arsenal suffered at the hands of Chelsea last weekend as Romelu Lukaku scored on his second debut in a […]

Berlin (AFP) – After his hopes stalled at Bayern Munich, New Zealander Sarpreet Singh has kick-started his career on loan this season at Jahn Regensburg where his performances have helped them top Germany's second division. Singh was mobbed by team-mates after his stunning goal sealed a 4-1 home win over Schalke to send Regensburg […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich have implored their fans to stop whistling winger Leroy Sane ahead of the Bundesliga champions' home match against bottom club Hertha Berlin on Saturday. Bayern thrashed fifth-tier Bremer 12-0 in the German Cup on Wednesday with back-up striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scoring four goals, including a first-half hat-trick. Despite setting […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi could make his hotly anticipated debut for Paris Saint-Germain against Reims in Champagne country on Sunday but it is Kylian Mbappe who is the centre of all the attention just now amid ongoing speculation about his future. Messi has not featured in either of PSG's two Ligue 1 games since […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid on Thursday increased their offer for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe to 180 million euros, sports daily L'Equipe claimed. Real are willing to pay 170 million euros plus a 10 million euro bonus package, said the report. That would match what PSG shelled out to Monaco to buy French World […]

Paris (AFP) – Premier League champions Manchester City were reported to be closing in on a deal late Thursday to bring Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo back to England. Despite Juventus insisting the 36-year-old was staying with the Serie A giants, media reports in Italy suggested that the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star has […]