Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina great Diego Maradona has criticised Lionel Messi, suggesting that the Barcelona star's retirement from international football, and subsequent change of heart, was "staged". "I don't know whether this was staged to make us understand that he'd lost three finals, but we never lost by big margins," said Maradona to radio […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has lost his place in England's senior squad after being called up for the Under-21s for the first time. Rashford made two substitute appearances at Euro 2016 to cap a meteoric rise in the final weeks of the campaign that took him from United's youth teams to […]

London (AFP) – Everton manager Ronald Koeman has dismissed talk of a move for out of favour Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart. Hart is set to leave City after being reduced to a fringe role since Pep Guardiola's arrival as manager and the England international had been strongly linked with a switch to Everton. With […]

As we exclusively revealed yesterday, NBC Sports will debut their newest program Goal Rush this Saturday. It'll be shown on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App from 10am to Noon ET. And the first Goal Rush game to be shown in the United States is this Saturday's clash between Watford and Arsenal, live from Vicarage […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have completed their swoop for Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, the Premier League club confirmed on Thursday. City manager Pep Guardiola's move for Bravo is likely to push England goalkeeper Joe Hart closer to an exit from Eastlands after he lost his place to back-up Willy Caballero at the start of […]

The number of written words given to NBC's Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, Robbie Mustoe, Kyle Martino, Lee Dixon, Graeme Le Saux, Steve Bower and Arlo White could fill a book. The talent at NBC Sports does a fantastic job of bringing the Premier League to us in the United States, but one unsung star often […]

Berlin (AFP) – Schalke 04 strengthened their squad for the new German Bundesliga season on Thursday by confirming the loan signing of Algerian international Nabil Bentaleb and closing in on the capture of French midfielder Benjamin Stambouli. Schalke, who finished fifth in Germany's top flight last season to qualify for the Europa League, have signed […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is trying to keep the peace with Daniel Sturridge after the frustrated striker complained about being played out of position. Sturridge has been deployed on the right wing rather than in his preferred central striker's berth in his two appearances for Liverpool this season and he made it […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona have completed the signing of Dutch international goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen from Ajax, the Spanish champions confirmed on Thursday. In a statement on their official website the Catalans confirmed they had signed the 27-year-old on a five-year contract for a fee of 13 million euros (£11.1 million, $14.7 million), rising to a […]

Berlin (AFP) – On the eve of the new German Bundesliga season, Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has poured cold water on their fans' dreams of winning another treble. "Of course, I know that the public is dreaming of the treble, but we also know well enough how difficult and unpredictable the Champions League is," […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – USA women's goalkeeper Hope Solo has been slapped with a six-month ban from the national team for her comments in which she called the Swedish players "a bunch of cowards", US Soccer announced Wednesday. The 35-year-old Solo made the comments after the Americans were eliminated in a penalty shootout from the […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City and England midfielder Danny Drinkwater signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League champions on Thursday. Drinkwater, 26, joins Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Kasper Schmeichel in committing his future to the club since the end of last season. "I've loved playing for this club. It's been perfect for […]

Monaco (AFP) – The eyes of European football will be on Monaco on Thursday as holders Real Madrid and the rest of the continent's elite discover their fate when the Champions League group-stage draw is made. Zinedine Zidane's side won the trophy last season — a record 11th in the club's history — as Cristiano […]

Berlin (AFP) – Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund resume the chase to knock Bayern Munich from the top of the German league having made eight new signings — and losing a trio of stars. Dortmund start their campaign at home to coach Thomas Tuchel's ex-club Mainz on Saturday. But things looked bleak when captain Mats […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – USA women's goalkeeper Hope Solo has been slapped with a six-month ban from the national team for her comments in which she called the Swedish players "a bunch of cowards", US Soccer announced Wednesday. The 35-year-old Solo made the comments after the Americans were eliminated in a penalty shootout from the […]