Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Barcelona superstar Neymar was hailed as "a good guy with a huge heart" after being named captain of the Brazil Olympic team on Thursday. Coach Rogerio Micale admitted that appointing the international star as skipper was an easy decision to make for a team who have never won football gold […]

London (AFP) – Kolo Toure will miss Celtic's friendly with Spanish giants Barcelona in Dublin on Saturday but could play for his new club in next week's key Champions League tie against Astana. The 35-year-old Ivory Coast centre-back, formerly with Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool has yet to feature for his new side since joining […]

London (AFP) – Welsh international midfielder Andy King signed a new four year contract with the only club he has played for Premier League champions Leicester City on Friday. The 27-year-old — who is the only player in the Premier League era to have won the league titles in the top three tiers — joins […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – The acting head of Argentina's FA, Armando Perez, insisted he would do all he could to lure Lionel Messi out of international retirement during an upcoming visit to the Barcelona superstar in Spain. "We need Messi," Perez stressed to AFP on Friday, with Argentina left in shock after the five-time world […]

London (AFP) – Aston Villa manager Roberto di Matteo has said he expects Idrissa Gana to join Everton after the Premier League club triggered a £7.1 million ($9.4 million, 8.4 million euros) release clause in the Senegal midfielder's contract. The clause expires at the end of the transfer window but Everton are the only club […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish champions Besiktas on Friday announced the signing of Brazilian full-back Adriano Correia from Barcelona in a three-year deal for a transfer fee of 600,000 euros ($670,000). Adriano had enjoyed six full seasons at Barcelona and his signing by Besiktas marks a major boost to their campaign for the Champions League in […]

Melbourne (AFP) – Spain's Atletico Madrid beat England's Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in their International Champions Cup pre-season match in Melbourne with their goalkeeper Jan Oblak pulling off two magical saves on Friday. Uruguayan defender Diego Godin scored the winner five minutes before halftime and the Atletico defence kept out Spurs in the second half. Skipper […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney believes new manager Jose Mourinho has restored a "winning mentality" at Old Trafford. Mourinho was brought in after the end of last season following the sacking of Louis van Gaal. United have failed to win the league since legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, with David […]

Hong Kong (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri says he can’t wait to start working with his 90 million euro man Gonzalo Higuain but warned the striker not to come to Turin expecting his place in the side is assured. "It will not be easy for us to win the championship again," said Allegri, whose […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's midfield general Bastian Schweinsteiger walks away from international football two years after his crowning moment at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Bloodied but unbowed, Schweinsteiger was magnificent at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium in the final, ensuring Germany controlled the midfield before Mario Goetze's extra-time winning goal against Argentina. After […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger on Friday announced his retirement from international duty with immediate effect. The 31-year-old Manchester United midfielder won his 120th cap in Germany's 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals of Euro 2016. He announced the news on his official Twitter account.

San Francisco (AFP) – Chuba Akpom scored a late winner as English giants Arsenal defeated the Major League Soccer All-Stars 2-1 in San Jose. England Under-21 striker Akpom pounced three minutes from time at the Avaya Stadium as the Premier League side snatched victory in an entertaining game. Akpom tapped in from close range after […]

La Liga President Javier Tebas has confirmed a major change in kickoff times for the upcoming 2016-17 season. The league is eliminating the 22:00 local time kickoff (4:00pm ET) on Saturday’s and introducing a new 13:00 local time Saturday match (7:00am ET). Heads of La Liga are open about the reason for the new Saturday […]

Arsenal's second and final friendly of their 2016 US summer tour will be televised live on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, July 31. The Gunners' friendly against Chivas, which will be played at the StubHub Center in Carson, outside Los Angeles, will be shown live on FOX Sports 1 as well as streamed live in the […]

Major League Soccer has been touting a TV ratings increase this season on ESPN and FOX platforms as the league breaks for its annual MLS All-Star Game. The ratings have gone up, and that is good news for soccer in America. But a quick peek behind the ratings indicates the league got a boost from […]