Milan (AFP) – AC Milan director Paolo Maldini confirmed on Wednesday that Chelsea's French centre-forward Olivier Giroud was set to arrive in Italy while regretting the loss of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to Paris Saint Germain. "Olivier should arrive in Milan tomorrow (Thursday)," Maldini said at the unveiling of the Serie A calendar for the 2021-2022 […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain said on Wednesday that they had completed the signing of Italy's Euro 2020 goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma on a five-year deal. The 22-year-old, who saved two penalties in the Euro final and was named player of the tournament, heads to France on a free transfer from AC Milan. Donnarumma will be […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona have reached a deal on principle with Leo Messi for the Argentine veteran to remain with the Catalan club for another five years, but on a reduced wage, Spanish media reported on Wednesday. Messi, who earlier this month finally landed a major international trophy with Argentina when they beat rivals Brazil […]

With kickoff of the 2021-22 Premier League season less than one month from today, NBC Sports announced its schedule for August, as NBCUniversal will once again present live coverage of every Premier League match across NBC, NBCSN, Peacock, CNBC, Telemundo and Universo. The opening weekend schedule kicks off Friday, August 13 at 3 p.m. ET […]

London (AFP) – London's Metropolitan Police on Wednesday defended their handling of Sunday's hooliganism-tainted Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium and said the showpiece event might have been abandoned without their intervention. Senior officer Jane Connors said the Met had planned extensively for the match and deployed specially-trained public-order officers who subdued the ticketless supporters […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish online daily El Confidencial on Wednesday followed up a batch of audio recordings of Real Madrid chairman Florentino Perez disparaging two former club legends with similar outbursts on former star Cristiano Ronaldo and former coach Jose Mourinho. The latest quotes follow publication by El Confidencial on Tuesday of older recordings dating […]

London (AFP) – Rafael Benitez insists he has the support of Everton fans despite the backlash to his controversial appointment as manager of the Premier League club. Prior to Benitez's arrival at Goodison Park last month, Everton fans warned the former Liverpool boss not to sign by hanging a threatening banner close to his home. […]

London (AFP) – England fans allegedly bribed stewards and forged tickets to enter London's Wembley Stadium for the Euro 2020 final, causing chaos that defender Harry Maguire said had left his father injured. The Guardian newspaper on Wednesday quoted an anonymous fan as saying ticketless fans used the messaging app Telegram to share advice on […]

London (AFP) – Laws banning football hooligans in England from attending matches will be extended to target those responsible for racially abusing players on social media, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday. The proposed change to football banning orders follows a deluge of abuse being directed at several black England players after the team's […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Bukayo Saka's "strong character" will help him ignore the racist abuse he suffered after England's Euro 2020 final defeat. Saka endured vile racist taunts on social media after missing the penalty that sealed Italy's 3-2 shoot-out victory against England in Sunday's final at Wembley. Marcus Rashford and […]

Milan (AFP) – Portugal international goalkeeper Rui Patricio has signed a three-year contract with Serie A club Roma from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Italian club announced. The 33-year-old becomes new Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho's first signing in a deal which runs until June 2024 and is worth an initial 11.5 million euros ($13.5 […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford could be sidelined for up to three months after deciding to have surgery on a shoulder issue following Euro 2020, according to reports on Tuesday. Rashford, 23, had a scan earlier in the day on the issue which has hampered the England striker since the end of […]

Sunday’s UEFA EURO 2020 Final on ESPN set a record as the most-watched European Football Championship match ever in the United States with an average audience of 6,488,000 viewers. The audience for the Final increased 43 percent over the 2016 Final and surpassed the previous viewership high of 4,567,000 for the EURO 2012 Final (Spain […]

West Didsbury (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Anti-racism demonstrators gathered on Tuesday at a mural of striker Marcus Rashford after it was vandalised amid a deluge of abuse against England players. Throughout the day, hundreds gathered at the mural to the England player in the Withington area of Manchester which had been defaced with racist abuse […]

Paris (AFP) – Proclaiming himself "full of hope and desire" for fresh glory Spanish veteran Sergio Ramos insisted on Tuesday he has joined Paris Saint-Germain in the twilight of his career with the intention of winning a fifth Champions League. "Why PSG? Because it's a pleasure to be here. The priority was a big sporting […]