Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona will play home games away from Camp Nou during the 2023-24 season while the stadium is being redeveloped, the club confirmed on Thursday. Barca will relocate to the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic before returning to Camp Nou for the 2024-25 campaign, when the capacity will be reduced "by approximately 50 percent", […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has signed a new contract that will keep him at Anfield until 2026, the Premier League club announced on Thursday. The German, whose previous deal was due to expire in 2024, said he was "delighted, humbled, blessed" to have signed the deal. "There is just so much to […]

Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Thursday he was "100 percent" sure both he and star striker Kylian Mbappe would be at the club next season. Pochettino took over at PSG last summer. In his first season the club have regained the Ligue 1 title but suffered another meltdown in […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar: Brazil has a long list of legendary black and mixed-race football stars. But the coach's bench remains a largely white domain. More than six decades after Pele led the Selecao to the first of their five World Cup titles, in 1958, prejudice and discrimination still divide Brazilian […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Nicolas Lodeiro scored two second-half penalties as the Seattle Sounders stunned Mexican side Pumas UNAM to snatch a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final on Wednesday. Seattle skipper Lodeiro completed a remarkable fightback in the ninth minute of stoppage time, burying his second spotkick of […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool have to remain "on alert" despite putting one foot in the Champions League final with a dominant 2-0 win over Villarreal in the the first leg of their semi-final tie at Anfield on Wednesday. Two goals in two minutes undid Villarreal boss Unai Emery's defensive game plan as […]

London (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick insists he wants to help Erik ten Hag "change everything for the better" in his consultancy role at Manchester United. Rangnick is in the final weeks of his spell as United's interim manager before he passes the reins to Ajax boss Ten Hag in time for next season. The German […]

London (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel believes Chelsea will only need a "facelift" to succeed next after Ralf Rangnick said Thursday's opponents Manchester United will require "open heart surgery". Tuchel's side head to Old Trafford looking to cement their grip on third place in the Premier League, while sixth-placed United appear certain to miss out on […]

Liverpool (AFP) – As Liverpool fans all around Anfield celebrated their Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Villarreal, it was fitting they choose a Beatles song to serenade the mastermind of their bid for football immortality. In recent months, Jurgen Klopp has been feted by supporters who have turned the Beatles' 'I feel fine' […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool are on the brink of a third Champions League final in five seasons after breaking Villarreal's resistance to win the first leg of their semi-final 2-0 at Anfield on Wednesday. Two goals in two minutes undid Villarreal boss Unai Emery's defensive game plan as Pervis Estupinan deflected Jordan Henderson's cross into […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Mamelodi Sundowns sealed a record-extending fifth consecutive South African Premiership title on Wednesday, despite a 0-0 draw at home to Cape Town City in Pretoria. Securing a point lifted 12-time champions Sundowns to 58 with four matches to play, and second-placed Royal AM can reach only 57. Cape Town stretched an […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan failed to claim top spot in Serie A on Wednesday after an incredible howler from reserve goalkeeper Ionut Radu consigned his team to a 2-1 defeat at Bologna. With the teams locked at one apiece in the 81st minute Radu somehow hooked the ball towards his own net when trying […]

Chicago (AFP) – The United States will play host to Uruguay in a 2022 World Cup warm-up match for both clubs on June 5 at Kansas City, the US Soccer Federation announced Wednesday. The Americans own a record of 2-2 with three drawn against La Celeste, the most recent meeting a 1-1 draw in 2019 at […]

London (AFP) – Giovanni van Bronckhorst has urged his Rangers players to ignore the pressure of trying to reach the club's first European final for 14 years when they face RB Leipzig on Thursday. Van Bronckhorst's side play the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in Germany, with thousands of the club's fans making […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has hailed Jose Mourinho as "one of the greats" as he prepares to pit his wits against the Roma boss in the Europa Conference League semi-finals on Thursday. Rodgers' side host Roma in the first leg as Mourinho returns for his first game on English soil […]