London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp is confident Liverpool will recover from a disappointing Premier League run to seal qualification for next season's Champions League in their final game against Brighton. Defeat to Chelsea on Sunday, following damaging draws against Stoke and West Brom, has taken the race for Champions League football next season into the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane believes Cristiano Ronaldo will be fit to play for Real Madrid in the Champions League final. Zidane also said on Tuesday that Mohamed Salah deserves great credit for Liverpool's surprise run in Europe but insisted the match in Kiev will not be a contest of the Egyptian against Ronaldo. Ronaldo […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger said Tuesday he has been surprised at the number of job offers he has received since his departure from Arsenal was announced, urging the club to appoint his successor as soon as possible. The Frenchman will step down as Gunners boss after Sunday's Premier League trip to Huddersfield, with Juventus […]

Milan (AFP) – All roads lead to Rome this week for Juventus who will look to seal the Italian Cup and Serie A double in the space of four days at the Stadio Olimpico. Massimiliano Allegri's Turin giants take on his former club AC Milan in the Italian Cup final on Wednesday, and on Sunday […]

Paris (AFP) – There may never have been a greater mismatch in a Cup final than Tuesday's French Cup showpiece which will see the mighty Paris Saint-Germain take on the minnows of Les Herbiers. It would take a shock of seismic proportions for Qatar-backed PSG, even without the still injured Neymar, to slip up against […]

In cities across the United States, World Cup fever has arrived. It's measurable in the form of Panini soccer stickers that are being bought in stores across the country, and the number of empty boxes being left behind that are quickly selling out of the $1 sticker packs. When I recently attended an event in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Mesut Ozil has joined the list of Germany stars currently injured, but the Arsenal midfielder insisted Monday he will be fit for their World Cup title defence in Russia. "It's a pity I missed yesterday's match with my back injury," Ozil wrote on his Instagram account after sitting out Arsenal's 5-0 rout […]

Berlin (AFP) – Veteran winger Franck Ribery, 35, has signed a one-year extension to stay at Bayern Munich until 2019, the German giants announced on Monday. "I am very happy to be able to play for another year at this great club," said Ribery in a statement. "Munich has long since become a home for […]

Les Herbiers (France) (AFP) – When little Les Herbiers come up against Kylian Mbappe and co. in Tuesday's French Cup final clash with the mighty Paris Saint-Germain, they could be forgiven for freezing on the big stage. Rarely has a showpiece game appeared such a mismatch as this, which will pit the third-division minnows against […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United's most decorated player Ryan Giggs is hopeful his legendary former manager Alex Ferguson will make a full recovery from emergency surgery on a brain haemorrhage. Considered the most successful manager in the history of British football, Ferguson, 76, won 38 trophies in just over 26 years in charge of United, […]

Abuja (AFP) – Injured Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi will be fit for the World Cup even though his Premier League season with Leicester City is over, national team spokesman Toyin Ibitoye said on Monday. Ndidi, 21, is nursing a hamstring injury and is expected to be out of action for several weeks. However, Ibitoye said […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has admitted he met with representatives of Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann in October. Griezmann has indicated he wants his future decided before this summer's World Cup after Barca were forced to deny in January they had already agreed a deal to sign the Frenchman. "We had […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United defender Phil Jones is hopeful legendary former manager Alex Ferguson will make a full recovery from emergency surgery on a brain haemorrhage, despite admitting he was "devastated" by the news of his ill health. Considered the most successful manager in the history of British football, Ferguson, 76, won 38 trophies […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – The CAF Champions League group phase kicked off at the weekend with a time-killing Moroccan coming under fire while a Guinean club fielded five starters with the same surname. A young South African fluffed a chance to star for African giants Al Ahly of Egypt and an Algerian side that had scored […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United defender Phil Jones said he was "devastated" to learn his old manager Alex Ferguson had suffered a brain haemorrhage, but backed the man he described as a father figure to battle back to full health. Ferguson, 76, remains in intensive care following emergency surgery on the haemorrhage on Saturday, but […]