Berlin (AFP) – Japan defender Atsuto Uchida is set to fly home on Friday to be treated by a specialist doctor after suffering with on-going knee problems, his Bundesliga club Schalke 04 confirmed. The 28-year-old, who missed the whole of last season with injury, has been blighted by knee problems for two years and has […]

MLS and FOX Sports experienced another poor weekend with Sunday evening’s matchup between the Seattle Sounders and Real Salt Lake attracting only 50,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1 and an additional 6,000 on FOX Deportes. Not only are those the worst numbers for any game this season, they are also record lows for both networks. […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has told winger Riyad Mahrez he expects him to improve after the Algeria star committed his future to the Premier League champions by signing a new four-year deal. Mahrez ended speculation about his future on Wednesday when it was announced he was extending his stay at the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Mario Gomez said Thursday that his priorities at new club Wolfsburg are to get them back in the Champions League and make sure his want-away Germany team-mate Julian Draxler stays. The 31-year-old Gomez is enjoying an Indian summer of his career, having been top scorer in the Turkish league last season with […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted the torrent of criticism pouring down on Alberto Moreno will not affect his judgement of the Reds left-back. The Spanish defender was widely regarded to have had a poor game during Liverpool's Europa League final defeat by Sevilla and came under fire agin following last weekend's […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho confirmed on Thursday that record signing Paul Pogba will make his second debut for the club in Friday's Premier League home game with Southampton. Pogba, 23, returned to United from Juventus in a world-record 89 million pounds (105 million euros, $116 million) transfer last week, four […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hit back Thursday at suggestions he is afraid to spend in the transfer market amid concerns the Gunners are losing ground to other leading Premier League clubs. The north London club, who were last crowned Premier League champions back in 2004, are estimated to have cash reserves in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Carlo Ancelotti re-visits the scene of an embarrassing defeat on Friday when holders Bayern Munich play minnows Carl Zeiss Jena in the first round of the German Cup. Back in their heyday, Jena once reached the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, beating Roma, for whom Ancelotti was a player at the time, […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti says Kingsley Coman's ankle injury is not as serious as first suspected and hopes to have the French winger back by the middle of September. Coman was stretchered out of Bayern's training session on Wednesday, clutching his left ankle after a collision with Javi Martinez, and has […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers refused to get carried away after his side took a major step towards qualifying for the Champions League group stages with a 5-2 win over Hapoel Beer-Shevaon at Parkhead on Wednesday. The Scottish champions are] looking to book a berth in the lucrative group stages of Europe's elite […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Luis Enrique wanted his players to take the plaudits as Barcelona crushed Sevilla 3-0 to win their 12th Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, 5-0 on aggregate. Arda Turan and Lionel Messi blew away the Andalusians at the Camp Nou, with victory meaning the coach has won eight of the 10 competitions he […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Ahead of the start of the 2016/17 La Liga season on Friday, AFP Sports takes a look at the five most prominent challengers to champions Barcelona and European champions Real Madrid (last season's final position in brackets): Atletico Madrid (third) The undoubted third force of Spanish football missed out on the title […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Arda Turan and Lionel Messi blew away Sevilla as Barcelona lifted their 12th Spanish Super Cup with a 3-0 victory at the Camp Nou Wednesday. With the hosts already leading by two goals from the first leg, Sevilla — bar an early flurry of chances — were on the receiving end of […]

London (AFP) – West Ham announced Wednesday that their club-record signing Andre Ayew is facing "a significant rehabilitation period" as a result of the thigh injury sustained in Monday's Premier League match at Chelsea. Ayew, who joined the Hammers from Premier League rivals Swansea for £20.5million (24 million euros, $26.7 million), lasted just 35 minutes […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic have one foot in the group stages of the Champions League as they recovered from a second-half scare to seal a commanding 5-2 victory over Israeli champions Hapoel Beer-Sheva. A dominant first-half display appeared to have Celtic cruising to victory at Parkhead as Australian international Tom Rogic fired home a ninth-minute […]