Berlin (AFP) – The new Bundesliga season kicks off on Friday when defending champions Bayern Munich play at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Bayern's new head coach Julian Nagelsmann, 34, is under pressure to deliver a tenth straight German league title at the end of his first season in charge. AFP sports looks at which clubs can prevent […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australian football chiefs are formulating plans to host either the men's 2030 or 2034 World Cup to build on the country's successful bid for the women's 2023 tournament, top officials said Thursday. The move follows Australia's failed tilt for the 2022 event, which was funded with Aus$45 million (US$33 million) of taxpayer […]

ESPN+ will kick off its second season of Bundesliga coverage in the U.S. on Friday, August 13, with presentation of Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. reigning 2020-2021 league champions FC Bayern München, live from Borussia-Park in Mönchengladbach at 2:30 p.m. ET, in English and Spanish exclusively on ESPN+. Live coverage of the match will kick off at […]

Belfast (AFP) – Kepa Arrizabalaga was the unlikely hero as Chelsea started the new season as they ended the last with a European trophy by beating Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the UEFA Super Cup in Belfast. The Spaniard, who has lost his place as number one since joining the […]

Belfast (AFP) – Extra-time was required to decide the first European trophy of the season after Villarreal pegged back Chelsea as the UEFA Super Cup final finished 1-1 after 90 minutes on Wednesday. A dominant start by the European champions was rewarded in Belfast as Hakim Ziyech fired Chelsea into a 27th minute lead, but […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi completed his move to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday with the French side breathing a sigh of relief after some heartbreaking moments against the Argentine star in the past. – 2013: Old guard trumps new money – For the first time, Barcelona and Messi meet the Qatari version of PSG in the […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden is set to miss the first month of the Premier League season due to a foot injury he sustained at Euro 2020. The 21-year-old missed England's final defeat to Italy due to the problem and is unlikely to feature before September's international break. City open their Premier […]

Paris (AFP) – Determined queues formed before dawn in front of the club shop on the Champs- Elysees while raucous crowds gathered outside the Parc des Princes stadium on Wednesday as Lionel Messi was officially unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player. And the verdict? "It's been a mental morning," a staff member of the club […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi has been reunited with his old Barcelona team-mate Neymar in an all-star attack at Paris Saint-Germain, but the question now is whether the arrival of the Argentinian superstar could actually push Kylian Mbappe out of the French giants. PSG's plan is to have the three forwards playing together in an […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi set his sights on more Champions League glory after being unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Wednesday as hundreds of fans gathered outside the club's stadium hoping to see their new idol. The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar was presented to media from all over the world at a news conference […]

Geneva (AFP) – Former world football chief Sepp Blatter remains "optimistic" Wednesday, his spokesman said, as he faces a fourth day of questioning by a Swiss prosecutor investigating a suspect FIFA payment to Michel Platini. FIFA's ex-president Blatter is being investigated over a two million Swiss franc ($2.2 million, 1.85 million euro) payment in 2011 […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi has set his sights on more Champions League glory after being unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Wednesday as hundreds of fans gathered outside the club's stadium hoping to see their new idol. The 34-year-old Argentinian superstar was presented to media from all over the world at a news […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser al-Khelaifi said on Wednesday forward Kylian Mbappe has "no reason" to leave the club after Lionel Messi signed a two-year deal with the French side. Mbappe is in the final year of his contract and has been linked with a move away from PSG with Real Madrid interested […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi said on Wednesday he is "dreaming" of winning a fifth Champions League after signing a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain. "I have said my dream is to win another Champions League and I think I'm in the ideal place to have that chance and to do it," he said as […]

Paris (AFP) – There was once the romantic notion that whenever Lionel Messi finally left Barcelona he would return to Argentina and play for Newell's Old Boys, the club he supported as a boy. Paris Saint-Germain, a club transformed by the unfathomable state wealth of Qatar, is a rather less romantic destination for the player […]