Berlin (AFP) – Thomas Mueller has extended his contract with Bayern Munich until 2024, it was announced on Tuesday, with the Germany international set to spend his entire professional career at the Bundesliga champions, who he joined as a 10-year-old. "The journey we have taken together since I joined the youth team in 2000 has […]

Madrid (AFP) – Carlo Ancelotti admitted on Tuesday that Real Madrid will have to gamble if they are to come from behind to beat Manchester City in the semi-final of the Champions League. Madrid trail 4-3 after a thrilling first leg in Manchester last week as they look to pull off another comeback and reach […]

Rome (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that he will "probably" retire when he leaves the La Liga champions, but is prepared to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu for several years. The 62-year-old Italian became on Saturday the first coach in history to win all five of Europe's top leagues this season […]

For soccer fans around the globe, the World Cup is the pinnacle competition in the sport. No sporting event attracts more viewers. In fact, the 2018 World Cup Final reportedly averaged a whopping 517 million viewers and more than 1.1 billion people tuned in over the course of the 90-minute match. This attraction even dwarfs […]

Madrid (AFP) – As Real Madrid celebrated their La Liga title win, Carlo Ancelotti was already trying to direct momentum towards Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City. Madrid had beaten Espanyol 4-0 on Saturday and the players were celebrating at Plaza Cibeles after an open-top bus had wound its way through the […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City stars to show their "personality" as the Spaniard plots yet another successful visit to Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg. Guardiola's side head to Madrid with a slender 4-3 advantage after last week's thrilling first leg at the Etihad Stadium. With a […]

Bergamo (Italy) (AFP) – Salernitana maintained their bold bid for Serie A survival on Monday with a 1-1 draw at Atalanta which pulled them closer to safety. Mario Pasalic's 88th-minute leveller denied Salernitana a fourth straight win after Ederson had poked the away side ahead just before the half hour but the draw moved them […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United took the sting out of their fans' latest protest against the Glazer family as they eased to a 3-0 win against Brentford on Monday. Ahead of a summer of change for troubled United, Ralf Rangnick's side won for just the second time in seven games to keep the […]

London (AFP) – Fulham manager Marco Silva backed record-breaking Aleksandar Mitrovic to thrive in the Premier League next season after the Serbia striker took his Championship tally to 43 goals this season in a title-clinching 7-0 thrashing of Luton on Monday. Mitrovic, 27, managed just three goals as London club Fulham were relegated from the […]

Berlin (AFP) – RB Leipzig crashed to a 3-1 defeat at ten-man Moenchengladbach on Monday in the Bundesliga, while fellow Europa League semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt also went down 2-0 at Bayer Leverskusen. Leipzig face Rangers away at Ibrox in Thursday's semi-final return leg holding a 1-0 lead, but came unstuck at Borussia Park as Jonas […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund further bolstered their defence for next season by announcing the signing Monday of Germany centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck on a five-year contract from Bundesliga rivals Freiburg. The 22-year-old broke into the Germany team this season on the back of impressive displays for Freiburg in Germany's top flight. Neither club has confirmed […]

Paris (AFP) – Russian clubs have been banned by UEFA from participating in the Champions League and all other European competitions next season, European football's governing body announced on Monday. "Russia will have no affiliated clubs participating in UEFA club competitions in the 2022/23 season," it said in a statement. Russian clubs and national teams […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has warned his side must be "ready to suffer" against Villarreal if they are to reach the Champions League final. The six-times champions of Europe will travel to Spain for Tuesday's second leg of their semi-final with a healthy 2-0 lead. Liverpool are aiming to win a remarkable […]

Madrid (AFP) – Unai Emery insisted on Monday Villarreal are not playing for pride but believe they can beat Liverpool and still reach the Champions League final, despite their 2-0 defeat in the first leg last week. Villarreal were undone by two goals in two minutes in the second half at Anfield as Liverpool took […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have been criticised for last weekend's two-day "team-building" trip to Ibiza immediately after Saturday's shock defeat at Mainz. A week after being crowned Bundesliga champions for the 10th straight season, Bayern crashed to a 3-1 loss at mid-table Mainz, who also hit the woodwork four times in a […]