Melbourne (AFP) – Italian champions Juventus scored two early goals and held off a strong finish from their opponents to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the International Champions Cup in Melbourne on Tuesday. The Turin giants, who won a fifth consecutive Serie A championship last season, struck early through Paulo Dybala and Medhi Benatia to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund have dismissed reports that Pep Guardiola's Manchester City are poised to offer at least £58 million (70m euros, $77m) for star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. According to British media, City are in advanced talks with the Gabon international, who scored 39 goals for Dortmund in all competitions last season as they […]

Lyon (AFP) – French club Lyon said Tuesday they had rejected a 35-million-euro (£29 million, $39 million) bid from Arsenal for star striker Alexandre Lacazette. Lyon called the 25-year-old, who has long been linked with a move to the Premier League having scored 48 goals over the last two seasons, "irreplacable" and said he would […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino says he is not interested in the vacant coaching post with his native Argentina because he is happy at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. The 44-year-old — who turned Spurs into title contenders last season before they faded in the final few weeks and ended up third — said it […]

London (AFP) – New England manager Sam Allardyce admitted Wayne Rooney has a significant part to play in his plans but refused to give assurances about the player’s future as captain. Rooney recently expressed a desire to continue as skipper, despite criticism following England’s disastrous campaign at the 2016 European Championship in France. Manchester United […]

London (AFP) – Stoke City have signed Wales international midfielder Joe Allen from Liverpool on a five-year deal, the two Premier League clubs announced on Monday. Stoke paid £13 million (15.5 million euros, $17 million) to make Allen the club's second signing of the pre-season after tying up a deal for Egyptian teenager Ramadan Sobhi […]

Abuja (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Monday he hopes Africa gets two more spots at the World Cup if his proposal for the tournament to be expanded to 40 teams goes through. There are presently 32 finalists for the World Cup with Africa represented by five teams. Infantino, elected in February this […]

With an estimated fanbase of 6 million supporters worldwide, Newcastle United fans will be watching their favorite team in the Championship this season, and not in the Premier League. Unfortunately for the Toon Army, you're not going to be able to watch as many Newcastle games as you did when they played in the Premier […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool and Sevilla were fined by UEFA on Monday following crowd trouble before and during the Europa League final against Sevilla in Basel in May. Sevilla, who won the match 3-1 for a third successive Europa League title, were fined 17,000 euros (£14,242) while Liverpool were fined 16,000 euros. The sanctions relate […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis believes it's high time Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich were knocked from the top of the German league after four years with an iron grip on the title. Bayern have won the Bundesliga title for a record four consecutive seasons, but it is all change in Munich for 2016/17 […]

Here are the ten things we learned from Week 20 of the 2016 MLS season. 1. Seattle Hits Rock Bottom It might go down as the week that brought the curtain down on the Seattle Sounders’ remarkable first MLS era. On Wednesday night, the Sounders were 2-1 up in Carson against the LA Galaxy with […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan on Monday insisted captain Mauro Icardi is not for sale amid reports Napoli have tabled a generous offer — including a future role in a film — for the Argentine striker. Icardi, who scored 16 goals in 33 league games last season, is a reported target for Arsenal as well […]

Geneva (AFP) – FIFA's ethics committee on Monday banned Wolfgang Niersbach, former president of the German Football Association (DFB), for one year over misconduct surrounding the country's successful 2006 World Cup bid. "Mr. Niersbach has been banned for one year from all football-related activities," a statement from FIFA's in-house court said, noting that the German […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – New England manager Sam Allardyce vowed on Monday to break the psychological barrier hindering the performance of the country's big-name players at international level. Allardyce also revealed he has not yet made a decision on who will captain England, which leaves the Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney — heavily criticised […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery claimed Monday that he has finally felt trusted again since Carlo Ancelotti took over as head coach from Pep Guardiola. With Guardiola now coaching Manchester City after three years in Munich, Italian Ancelotti has taken charge of Bayern, who have won the Bundesliga title in each of […]