Paris (AFP) – For French clubs without the means to attract Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi, sometimes the key to success can be thinking outside the box when it comes to recruitment. While Paris Saint-Germain were running away with the Ligue 1 title last season, in France's south-west Toulouse won the Ligue 2 crown […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich take on Borussia Moenchengladbach at home on Saturday, an opponent which has had their measure in recent seasons. While Bayern have won ten titles in a row, no Bundesliga team has had more success against them than Gladbach over that period. In the ten years since a team other than […]

Paris (AFP) – West Ham shrugged off their dismal Premier League start to ease into the Europa Conference League group stage on Thursday with a 6-1 aggregate rout of Viborg in their play-off tie. Already 3-0 up from last week's first leg in London, West Ham secured victory with £30 million striker Gianluca Scamacca, Algerian […]

Istanbul (AFP) – For Karim Benzema, the UEFA men's player of the year prize is unlikely to be the last recognition he receives for his role in Real Madrid's memorable run to Champions League glory last season. The Ballon d'Or will surely follow in October, before he heads to the World Cup in Qatar with […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Being crowned the UEFA player of the year for the second season running may be scant consolation for Alexia Putellas after the Spain star finished the campaign with the agony of a Champions League final defeat and then sat out Euro 2022 due to injury. The 28-year-old is currently in the early […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas were rewarded for outstanding seasons by winning the UEFA men's and women's player of the year prizes at a ceremony in Istanbul on Thursday. France striker Benzema captained Real Madrid to victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final and scored 15 goals in the competition, while […]

Doha (AFP) – Tickets for two games featuring Lionel Messi's Argentina have been the top attractions for fans at this year's World Cup in Qatar, according to the chief organiser. Argentina's first round group games against arch-rivals Mexico on November 26 and Saudi Arabia on November 22 were the "most requested", Nasser Al-Khater, CEO of […]

London (AFP) – Premier League clubs have shattered their record for summer transfer window spending, according to analysis from sports finance experts Deloitte. Gross spending by the 20 Premier League teams stood at £1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) on Thursday, surpassing the 2017 record of £1.43 billion spent by English clubs in the close-season window. It […]

Rome (AFP) – French international Samuel Umtiti bedevilled by injuries and a loss of form since winning the 2018 World Cup has been sent on a season long loan to Serie A side Lecce by Barcelona. The 28-year-old defender is due to undergo a medical later on Thursday at Lecce, who won Serie B title […]

Milan (AFP) – Paulo Dybala will lead the Roma charge on Saturday as the team seek to build on a perfect Serie A start when he returns to Juventus, the ground he last left in tears. Roma travel to Turin following two single-goal wins from matches with Salernitana and Cremonese but with some of their pre-season […]

Paris (AFP) – Antonio Colak scored the only goal that took Rangers into the Champions League group stages on Wednesday, a year after he had been responsible for knocking the Scottish side out of Europe's elite club tournament. Colak found the target on the hour mark to secure a 1-0 win at PSV Eindhoven and […]

Oslo (AFP) – Norway striker Caroline Graham Hansen announced on Wednesday she was taking a break from international football aged 27, blaming heart problems and exhaustion. "After a year with heart problems and almost 50 matches, I still feel a fatigue that makes me choose to listen to my body. I need rest. I need […]

London (AFP) – Leicester defender Wesley Fofana is training with the Under 23 squad because he has been distracted by interest from Chelsea, said manager Brendan Rodgers. Chelsea had a third offer of reportedly £60-70 million ($82 million) for the 21-year-old French centre-back rejected earlier this week. Rodgers revealed that Fofana failed to turn up […]

London (AFP) – Fulham suffered an embarrassing League Cup exit as the Premier League side were beaten 2-0 by Crawley in a second round shock on Tuesday. Marco Silva's side are 83 places above League Two Crawley and beat Brentford 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday. But the Fulham manager's decision to make 10 […]

Paris (AFP) – Benfica cruised into the group stage of the Champions League after overrunning Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 in the second leg of their playoff on Tuesday thanks to David Neres' assist and goal. The two-time European champions from Portugal will be in the draw on Thursday while Dynamo will be in the Europa League. […]