London (AFP) – Teenage breakthrough star Marcus Rashford has signed a new contract committing him to Manchester United until 2020 with an option for a further year, the club announced on Monday. In the first major squad announcement since Jose Mourinho was appointed manager last week, Rashford and fellow academy graduate Cameron Borthwick-Jackson have both […]

Paris (AFP) – France braced Monday for severe disruption to trains and flights less than two weeks before Euro 2016, as unions called fresh strikes in their battle to have labour reforms scrapped. The fresh industrial unrest which caused petrol shortages and travel delays across the country last week was set to hit transport just […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo will not play in Portugal's pre-European Championship friendly against England on Thursday as he rests from his third Champions League triumph but he insists those who doubt his talents are "jealous". The 31-year-old, who looked jaded in Real Madrid's win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday even though he scored the […]

Watford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge made a timely return to England training on Monday, the day before manager Roy Hodgson submits his final 23-man squad for Euro 2016. Sturridge missed England's 2-1 win over Australia in Sunderland on Friday after sustaining a calf strain during Liverpool's Europa League final defeat by […]

Moscow (AFP) – Twice-capped Germany international Roman Neustadter has received a Russian passport allowing the defender to play for the country at the Euro, a post on the national team's Twitter site announced on Monday. The Twitter site posted a picture of the 28-year-old Schalke player holding up his new Russian passport at Russia's Consulate […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Argentina star Lionel Messi, who is due to go on trial in Barcelona for alleged tax fraud, told a judge that he never looks at the contracts he signs, the El Periodico daily said Monday. The newspaper got access to Messi's September 2013 statement to a judge and published extracts just a […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Sven-Goran Eriksson's Shanghai SIPG ended Guangzhou Evergrande's run of nine straight Chinese Super League victories to cut their lead at the top of the table. The ex-England manager, who warmly greeted old sparring partner Luiz Felipe Scolari before the game, oversaw a 1-1 draw — Evergrande's first dropped points since March. The […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Rising teenage star Gabriel scored on his international debut as Brazil warmed up for the Copa America Centenario with a 2-0 victory over Panama. Gabriel — affectionately known as "Gabigol" — underscored his precocious talent by calmly finishing Brazil's second goal on 73 minutes soon after replacing veteran striker Jonas as […]

Madrid (AFP) – Thousands of Real Madrid fans pilled into the streets of the Spanish capital and filled the club's 80,000 capacity Santiago Bernabeu stadium on Sunday to welcome home their heroes after an historic 11th European Cup win. An open top bus emblazoned with the word "Campeones" (Champions) carried the team, who showed off […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea captain John Terry believes his former manager Jose Mourinho will lead Manchester United back to the top. Mourinho was appointed United manager earlier this week after Dutchman Louis van Gaal was sacked two days after leading the Red Devils to an FA Cup victory. And Terry, who won the Premier League […]

Ta’ Qali (Malta) (AFP) – Southampton striker Graziano Pelle hit a second-half winner as an injury-depleted Italy beat Scotland 1-0 in a disjointed Euro 2016 friendly in Malta on Sunday. With his midfield decimated through injuries to Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti, and Thiago Motta and Riccardo Montolivo resting due to calf problems, Italy coach […]

Berlin (AFP) – An inexperienced Germany team suffered a self-confidence sapping 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in Sunday's storm-affected friendly ahead of Euro 2016 as the world champions looked out of sorts. Slovakia, who will make their European championships debut in Group B alongside Wales, England and Russia next month, deserved their win in Augsburg as […]

Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) (AFP) – Mexican footballer Alan Pulido, a striker on Greece's Olympiakos team, was kidnapped Sunday in his home state of Tamaulipas, law enforcement officials here said. Family members told authorities that Pulido was snatched at around dawn in his birth city of Ciudad Victoria. Officials told AFP that an intensive search for […]

Nantes (France) (AFP) – France head coach Dider Deschamps confirmed on Sunday that he will not add Mamadou Sakho to his Euro-2016 squad, even if the centre-back is allowed to return to action after serving a provisional drugs ban. Sakho has been a key player for Euro hosts France at the heart of their defence […]

Madrid (AFP) – Celta Vigo forward Nolito strengthened his case for inclusion in Spain coach Vicente del Bosque's squad for Euro 2016 with his first two international goals in a 3-1 friendly win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in Saint Gallen, Switzerland, on Sunday. Del Bosque named an experimental side with no players from Champions League finalists Real […]