Madrid (AFP) – Gareth Bale declared the lure of "the biggest club in the world" behind his decision to sign a new bumper six-year deal with Real Madrid which makes him one of football's highest paid players. Bale, who has won two Champions League titles in three seasons in Spain, is set to take home […]

Berlin (AFP) – Arjen Robben is relishing his return to PSV Eindhoven, 14 years after his Champions League debut, with Bayern Munich hunting a win to take them closer to the knock-out stages. Eindhoven host Bayern at PSV's Philips Stadium on Tuesday. Robben, 32, was outstanding in Bayern's 3-1 win at Augsburg on Saturday as […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's World Cup-winning coach Joachim Loew has extend his contract until 2020, the German FA (DFB) announced on Monday. The 56-year-old, who took charge in 2006, has penned a two-year extension to lead Germany's defence of the World Cup in Russia in 2018 and to the European Championships in 2020. If Loew […]

Paris (AFP) – Lyon on Monday hit out at "despicable" social media reports that French international Mathieu Valbuena had died. "Mathieu Valbuena is happily alive and well contrary to what those despicable individuals are spreading on Twitter," the club said in their own Twitter retort. The Ligue 1 club acted after after a number of […]

Paris (AFP) – AFP Sports looks ahead to Tuesday's Champions League action as Pep Guardiola's Manchester City host Barcelona with a number of sides, including the Spanish champions, looking to seal a place in the next round (all kick-offs 1945 GMT unless stated): Group A Ludogorets Razgrad (BUL) v Arsenal (ENG) At Sofia, Bulgaria Mesut […]

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Antonio Conte insists it is too soon to label Chelsea as Premier League title contenders after his side maintained their impressive run with a 2-0 victory at Southampton. Conte's team have reeled off four successive league wins for the first time in 18 months and they sit just one point […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Giovani dos Santos's second-half header was enough to give the Los Angeles Galaxy a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Sunday and the edge in their MLS Cup playoff tie. The Mexican striker made good use of a strong individual effort from Jelle Van Damme with a header that deflected […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Ross Barkley's excellent goal sealed an impressive 2-0 win for Everton over West Ham in their Premier League clash on Sunday ending a four-match winless run in the league. For Barkley, who had been dropped both from the England squad and the Everton starting line-up this season as his form dipped, it […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon called for improvements despite a 2-1 win over title rivals Napoli that left the Serie A champions four points clear of an increasingly ambitious chasing pack. A second-half winner from ex-Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain sent Juve four points clear of Roma, with Napoli now seven points off the […]

Milan (AFP) – The future of Inter Milan coach Frank de Boer was plunged into fresh doubt on Sunday after a 1-0 defeat at Sampdoria left his side mired in mid-table in Serie A. Inter travelled to the Luigi Ferraris stadium looking to build on a 2-1 mid-week win over Torino that saw Argentine striker […]

Madrid (AFP) – Villarreal spurned the chance to move up to third in La Liga as Eibar struck twice in the final 10 minutes to inflict their first league defeat of the season 2-1 on Sunday. Celta Vigo blew a three-goal lead in a pulsating 3-3 draw at Las Palmas, whilst Athletic Bilbao remain seventh […]

Paris (AFP) – Mario Balotelli starred once again as clinical Nice opened up a six-point gap at the top of Ligue 1 with a 4-1 thrashing of Nantes on Sunday. The maverick forward, back in form after a nightmare spell at Liverpool, scored his sixth league goal of the season and was involved in two […]

Milan (AFP) – Stephan El Shaarawy and Edin Dzeko fired blanks as Roma were held to a scoreless draw at Empoli on Sunday, leaving champions Juventus four points clear at the top of Serie A. Roma travelled to the Castellani stadium looking to close the gap on a Juventus side which secured a 2-1 win […]

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Diego Costa's sublime strike sealed Chelsea's 2-0 success against Southampton on Sunday as the Blues chalked up a fourth successive Premier League victory. Costa doubled Chelsea's lead with a fine finish from 25 yards after Eden Hazard had put Antonio Conte's side ahead early in the first half at St […]

Berlin (AFP) – Rising Germany star Niklas Suele sealed Hoffenheim's 1-0 win over Hertha Berlin which put them third in the Bundesliga and set up a mouth-watering clash against leaders Bayern Munich next week. Suele's 31st-minute header on Sunday gave unbeaten Hoffenheim their fifth win in nine games. "It was a cool feeling to score, […]