Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Former England Under-21 goalkeeper Alex McCarthy became Premier League side Southampton's third signing of the close season on Monday, joining from rivals Crystal Palace. The 26-year-old — who signed a three year contract — is likely to play second fiddle to England international goalkeeper Fraser Forster but should gain playing […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Full-back Martin Montoya has joined Valencia on a four-year deal after being released by Barcelona, the two clubs confirmed on Monday. The 25-year-old Spaniard broke into the first team at the Camp Nou in 2011, but could not consolidate his place and only made 45 La Liga appearances for the Catalan giants […]

London (AFP) – Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Walter Zenga insists his surprise appointment by the Championship club's new Chinese owners will prove a wise decision. Former Italy goalkeeper Zenga was confirmed as the second tier team's boss less than 12 hours after the Fosun International group announced they had sacked Kenny Jackett. Fosun's decision to axe […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's World Cup winner Mario Goetze relished his return to Borussia Dortmund's pre-season training on Monday for the first time after three barren years at Bayern Munich. Alongside fellow new signings Andre Schuerrle and Raphael Guerreiro, Goetze was put through his paces with a series of fitness tests at Bochum University by […]

Here are the ten things we learned from Week 21 of the 2016 MLS season. Schmid’s Farewell to Seattle Sigi Schmid’s firing on Tuesday may have been seen as a necessity by a number of fans, but it certainly wasn’t greeted with any cheers in Seattle. Schmid was, until Sunday, the only MLS coach the […]

London (AFP) – Sunderland boss David Moyes insists he has been revitalised by his spell out of management as he looks to bring stability to the Stadium of Light. Moyes had been out of work for eight months after being sacked by Real Sociedad last November, but the former Manchester United and Everton manager feels […]

Gelsenkirchen (Germany) (AFP) – Leroy Sane underwent a medical check with Manchester City on Monday, his club Schalke 04 has confirmed, with the imminent deal reportedly worth a record 50 million euros ($55.8m). If the transfer goes through, and hits the 50 million mark, it would make Sane the most expensive German signing of all […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney has blamed England's Euro 2016 humiliation on Roy Hodgson's unsuccessful selection gamble. Hodgson made six changes for England's final group match against Slovakia and the subsequent goalless draw cost England first place in their group. England captain Rooney was one of those rested by Hodgson and the Manchester United forward […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – France international Jeremy Menez is set to join Bordeaux from Italian giants AC Milan, pending a medcial, the Ligue 1 club announced on Sunday. Menez would be Bordeaux's third signing ahead of the new season following the arrivals of veteran midfielder Jeremy Toulalan and Guinea striker Francois Kamano. The 29-year-old spent the […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazil ruled goalkeeper Fernando Prass out of their Olympic campaign on Sunday after he injured an elbow warming up for a friendly against Japan. The 38-year-old Palmeiras goalkeeper was one of the three over-23 players included in the Brazil squad. His place was taken by Atletico Mineiro’s Uilson for the […]

Berlin (AFP) – French forward Franck Ribery has been called to order by Bayern Munich over his criticism of the club's former coach Pep Guardiola as well as his conduct on the pitch. Ribery, currently with Bayern on their pre-season tour of the United States, has described Guardiola as inexperienced and repeatedly compared him unfavourably […]

Last season was a disappointing one for a Manchester United team with such high expectations. Although there was the FA Cup trophy, a very expensively assembled side never truly threatened for a title (this in a season where most traditional powerhouses struggled), and finished fifth, missing out on the UEFA Champions League through goal difference. […]

Melbourne (AFP) – Spanish giants Atletico Madrid crashed to a 1-0 loss to A-League side Melbourne Victory on their Australian pre-season tour in Geelong on Sunday. The European Champions League runners-up fell behind to a goal against the run of play shortly before half-time and were kept scoreless in the second half. Defender Nick Ansell […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – French title winners Paris Saint-Germain brought English champions Leicester City down to earth with a comfortable 4-0 win in the exhibition International Champions Cup in Los Angeles. A sell-out 25,667 crowd was treated to passages of sumptuous midfield interplay as PSG gave the naive Foxes a taste of what to expect […]

Dublin (AFP) – Brendan Rodgers remains optimistic about Celtic's Champions League hopes even after seeing his side beaten 3-1 by Spanish giants Barcelona in a Dublin friendly. Luis Enrique's side scored three first-half goals through Arda Turan, Munir El Haddadi and an Efe Ambrose own-goal, to cancel out Leigh Griffiths's 29th-minute strike. Rodgers had one eye […]