London (AFP) – The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) has urged the English Football Association to ban children under 10 heading balls amid growing fears of brain injuries. A new study from the University of Stirling found heading a ball could cause memory problems for 24 hours and experts want to study the implications for younger […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says the team that avoids making costly defensive mistakes will win Saturday's showdown with title rivals Manchester City. Klopp's second placed side have scored 45 goals in 18 Premier League matches, while third placed City have hit the back of the net 39 times. But both teams are […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger has labelled Chelsea as 'super-favourites' for the Premier League title after watching the leaders close in on Arsenal's record for consecutive victories. Antonio Conte's side have opened up a six-point lead at the top of the table thanks to a superb run of 12 successive wins. Chelsea have been perfect […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – From the violent streets of Buenos Aires' notorious Fort Apache, the son of an alcoholic mother and without money to even buy a pair of boots, Carlos Tevez is now football's biggest earner. The fiery Argentine striker, who will bank a mind-boggling 38 million euros a year with Chinese super club […]

London (AFP) – World player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo rejected a world record £257 million (300 mn euros, $317 mn) bid from China, his agent Jorge Mendes has claimed. Mendes told Sky Sports Italia on Thursday that the unnamed Chinese Super League side had offered the 31-year-old Portuguese superstar a record £85 mn a year […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic captain Scott Brown admits it would not be a disaster if his side lost to Rangers in the Old Firm derby on Saturday. The Hoops have a massive 16-point lead over the Gers going into the New Year's Eve showdown at Ibrox and still have a game in hand over their […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri admits victory is a must for Leicester City against West Ham United on Saturday, and the Italian is ready to turn to his struggling big guns in his moment of need. Ranieri is set to recall Riyad Mahrez after dropping the Algerian star for the Boxing Day defeat […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is in optimistic mood as he prepares to face an old friend in Middlesbrough handler Aitor Karanka, despite facing the prospect of being without his captain. Wayne Rooney was absent with a minor thigh problem as Manchester United recorded a fourth successive Premier League victory […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes the key to their stunning turnaround in form lies in the defence that has conceded just two goals during the club's 12-game winning streak. The Premier League leaders face Stoke City next at Stamford Bridge on Saturday aiming to secure a 13th consecutive league win in a […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola confronts one of the few opposition managers to have regularly outwitted him when Manchester City visit Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in the Premier League's stand-out New Year's Eve fixture. Klopp was a thorn in Guardiola's side during their time as rivals in the Bundesliga, with his Borussia Dortmund team overcoming the […]

London (AFP) – Bob Bradley should have been given more time to see if he could turn round the fortunes of Premier League strugglers Swansea, says West Ham manager Slaven Bilic. The former United States national handler was sacked after Monday's 4-1 home defeat — only his 11th game in charge since replacing Italian Francesco […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Landon Donovan, the all-time US national team scoring leader, has been offered a two-year deal to return to Major League Soccer with Real Salt Lake, according to multiple reports Thursday. Donovan, who has 57 goals in 157 matches with the US side, spent four seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes from […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid will be without midfielders Lucas Vazquez and Mateo Kovacic when the team returns to action in 2017 after picking up injuries in their successful Club World Cup campaign. Vazquez suffered a right leg injury in the 4-2 final win over Kashima Antlers in Japan and will be sidelined for up […]

Jerusalem (AFP) – A UN resolution condemning settlements has raised pressure on FIFA to take action against Israeli football clubs based in the occupied West Bank, Human Rights Watch said Thursday. The United Nations Security Council last week demanded an end to Israeli settlements in the first such resolution in decades. Israel labelled the resolution […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Underpinned by ferocious passion, century-old mistrust and Sectarian conflict, the sound and fury of the Old Firm derby between Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers is unique in modern football. "The noise and the passion, there's nothing like it," said late Rangers star Sandy Jardine. "I've been fortunate to see derby games all […]