Caracas (AFP) – Venezuela's Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro has resigned less than two weeks ahead of a triple-header of World Cup qualifiers, because he has not been paid for a year, the country's federation said on Friday. "Yesterday (Thursday) we received a letter from the technical director rescinding his contract," said Jorge Gimenez, president of […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is ready to return to Japan following Kyogo Furuhashi's successful start to life with the Scottish giants. The new Hoops boss knows the J-League well, having been the head coach of Yokohama Marinos, and he moved quickly to sign Furuhashi, with the Japan striker now having scored six […]

London (AFP) – Christian Pulisic will miss Chelsea's Premier League trip to Arsenal after testing positive for the coronavirus, Blues manager Thomas Tuchel said Friday. The United States forward missed Chelsea's open training session on Wednesday, and is not available for Sunday's game at the Emirates Stadium as he self-isolates. But Hakim Ziyech and N'Golo […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer warned his side not to get carried away with a 5-1 win over Leeds United to start their Premier League season as he challenged Paul Pogba to perform consistently at his best. The Frenchman provided four assists in the rout of Marcelo Bielsa's men […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo refused to say whether Harry Kane will play for the first time this season at Wolves on Sunday as the stand-off over the England captain's future continues. Kane is keen to leave his boyhood club for a move to Premier League champions Manchester City before the end […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea's Kai Havertz is to auction off the specially-designed boots he will wear in Sunday's Premier League match against Arsenal in a bid to raise funds for those affected by flooding in his native Germany. Some 189 people lost their lives in severe floods that pummelled western Germany in mid-July, with houses […]

Madrid (AFP) – French striker Karim Benzema has signed a new deal with Real Madrid to keep him at the La Liga club until 2023, the Spanish outfit said on Friday. The versatile 33-year-old forward joined Madrid back in 2009 from Lyon and he has racked up an impressive 560 matches for them since. He […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Friday he was surprised his side were forced to play their Premier League opener at Brentford last week despite a coronavirus outbreak that saw four players test positive. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Willian and reserve goalkeeper Alex Runarsson missed the match. An extra round of testing […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal secured the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a permanent deal on Friday after the Norwegian international midfielder impressed during a loan spell at the Emirates last season. The 22-year-old will reportedly cost the Gunners an initial £30 million ($41 million) with Arsenal also expected to splash £30 million […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in their first away match since the departure of Lionel Messi, hoping to back up a promising La Liga opener last weekend, while Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid also look to notch second straight wins. Ronald Koeman's Barca beat Real Sociedad 4-2 last weekend despite the […]

Paris (AFP) – With Serie A getting underway six weeks after Italy's triumph at Euro 2020, the 2021/22 season is in full swing across Europe. AFP Sport previews the pick of the action on the continent, as Lionel Messi waits for his Paris Saint-Germain debut, his old club focus on life after the Argentine, and […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal's miserable start to the Premier League season could get even worse as Chelsea unleash record signing Romelu Lukaku for his debut on Sunday, while Liverpool and Manchester United look to build on a promising start to their title challenge. Lukaku has returned to Stamford Bridge, seven years after his first spell […]

Berlin (AFP) – After thwarting Dortmund star Erling Braut Haaland, Bayern Munich's new centre-back pairing Niklas Suele and Dayot Upamecano can help the defending champions claim their first Bundesliga win this season at home to Cologne on Sunday. The pressure was on Suele and Upamecano to forge a partnership after the departures of double Champions […]

Milan (AFP) – Jose Mourinho is the biggest name to arrive on a Serie A bench this summer but the once Special One's shock move to Roma is one of 12 managerial changes in Italy's top flight in a chaotic summer. AFP Sport picks out the key new faces leading the country's top clubs. Jose […]

Paris (AFP) – A new-look Tottenham slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Pacos de Ferreira of Portugal in their Europa Conference League play-off first leg on Thursday. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo made 11 changes to the team that defeated champions Manchester City in their Premier League opener at the weekend. Not surprisingly, it was a […]