Madrid (AFP) – Three-time World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo insists he will have a "spectacular" season despite a slow start to the campaign caused by knee ligament damage. Ronaldo was sidelined for two months by a sprained left knee ligament picked up during Portugal's Euro 2016 final triumph over France, forcing him to […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Steven Gerrard is back home in Liverpool, where he's rehabbing the troublesome hamstring that disrupted his Major League Soccer season, Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena confirmed. Gerrard will miss Sunday's match against the Houston Dynamo, and his status for the remainder of the campaign is unclear, he said Thursday. "Steven […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller says there is no need to panic as the Bundesliga leaders look to get back to winning ways when they play Eintracht Frankfurt away on Saturday. Bayern dropped their first league points of the season after being held to a 1-1 draw at home to Cologne a fortnight […]

Glasgow (AFP) – From Paris to Glasgow via London, Celtic striker Moussa Dembele has packed a lot into his short footballing career. The 20-year-old has enjoyed a dream start to life at Celtic Park where he has already netted 12 goals since his summer move from Fulham and has been keeping last season's top scorer […]

Milan (AFP) – A crushing knee injury to Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik paves the way for substitute Manolo Gabbiadini to lead Napoli's Serie A title challenge, according to Italian goalkeeping legend Dino Zoff. Napoli sit second at four points behind leaders Juventus and face their first big test since Milik was sidelined for up to […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho faces one of the biggest decisions of his Manchester United reign as he weighs up whether to recall Wayne Rooney for the Premier League clash with bitter rivals Liverpool. Rooney has endured a miserable few weeks after being dropped by United and England. The 30-year-old's troubles have led to a […]

London (AFP) – George Best's prodigious rise to football superstardom and plunge into alcoholic self-destruction is laid bare in a new documentary film that focuses on the character behind the tragic tale. "George Best: All By Himself", which has its world premiere at the London Film Festival on Friday, looks at what lay behind one of […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger is out to banish the memory of a surprise defeat by Swansea which shattered Arsenal's hopes of winning the Premier League title last season. A devastating 2-1 loss at the Emirates Stadium in March effectively ended Arsenal's hopes of catching eventual champions Leicester. Now, as he prepares Arsenal for a […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Former Barcelona team-mates Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman are reunited at Eastlands on Saturday as Manchester City and Everton square up for the first time in the Premier League this season. And Everton manager Koeman is relishing the chance to pit his wits against his City counterpart, who was just […]

True story. Two weeks ago when I was walking toward the bleachers to watch my daughter play her soccer game, I saw one of the parents wearing a Tottenham Hotspur jersey. I asked him if he had watched the Spurs-Manchester City game earlier that morning, but he only had a chance to watch the first […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Brazilian striker Neymar has vowed to continue to produce his trademark dribbles and dummies even if that makes him a target for rough tackles, he said on Thursday. Neymar was left heavily bleeding from a cut eyebrow when he was elbowed in the face during a 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA executives will make a final decision on World Cup reform in January after weighing up three proposals on Thursday, as president Gianni Infantino pushes plans to grow the lucrative tournament. Infantino said it was possible that FIFA will leave the competition as a 32-team event, but he has made no secret […]

Paris (AFP) – Controversial Paris Saint-Germain full-back Serge Aurier is under investigation by FIFA after making a throat slitting gesture duing a World Cup qualifier last weekend. Ivory Coast international Aurier celebrated a goal against Mali by turning to the crowd and dragging his finger across his throat. "A preliminary investigation is underway," football's world […]

London (AFP) – Mike Phelan has become the new permanent head coach of Hull City, the English Premier League club announced Thursday. "The Tigers are pleased to confirm the appointment of Mike Phelan as the club's new head coach on a permanent basis," said a Hull statement. Phelan had been in caretaker charge of the […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea have signed a club record kit deal with Nike that is reported to be worth £60 million ($73 million, 66 million euros) per season to the Premier League club. The Blues have been in talks with American sportswear giants Nike since May, when it was confirmed Chelsea were ending their partnership […]