Milan (AFP) – Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone lamented that losing a second Champions League final in three years was a "failure", after seeing his side fall short against Real Madrid in a penalty shoot-out in Milan on Saturday. The 46-year-old Argentine also appeared to hint at a possible exit from the Vicente Calderon in […]

Milan (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo said penalties are just a game of chance after scoring the winning spot-kick to give Real Madrid an 11th Champions League crown on Saturday. "The penalties are always a lottery, you never know what's going to happen, but we showed that our team had more experience and we showed that […]

Madrid (AFP) – French football legend Zinedine Zidane became just the seventh man to win the Champions League as a player and a coach after Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid on penalties on Saturday. Zidane masterminded a huge turnaround in Real's fortunes just five months into his first senior managerial role as he led the […]

Milan (AFP) – Five key moments from Real Madrid's penalty shootout victory over Atletico Madrid in Saturday's Champions League final: Ramos strikes Sergio Ramos fired Real Madrid into a 15th-minute lead to cap a bright start from Zinedine Zidane's side. After breaking Atletico hearts with a stoppage-time equaliser in an eventual 4-1 extra-time victory when […]

Milan (AFP) – Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico for the second time in three years to win the Champions League for the 11th time on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the decisive penalty in a 5-3 shoot-out victory after the final finished 1-1 following extra-time. Atletico's Yannick Carrasco had scored a late equaliser in regulation […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi's condition had improved Saturday after the Barcelona superstar suffered a back injury in Argentina's 1-0 friendly victory over Honduras, reports citing team medical officials said. Team doctor Daniel Martinez told La Nacion newspaper that Messi felt less pain in his lower back a day after being left writhing in […]

Milan (AFP) – A late equaliser by Atletico Madrid's Yannick Carrasco pushed the Champions League final into extra time on Saturday after Sergio Ramos opened the scoring for ten-time champions Real Madrid on 15 minutes. With the game poised at 1-1 after 90 minutes, another 30 minutes of extra-time will now be played at Milan's […]

London (AFP) – Steve Bruce saluted Wembley hero Mohamed Diame as the Senegal midfielder's sublime winner sent Hull back to the Premier League on Saturday. Bruce's side were bidding to make an immediate return to the top flight following last season's painful relegation and Diame ensured the Tigers achieved their goal with a memorable 1-0 […]

Milan (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane and Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone kept to the script with no real surprises in their respective line-ups for the Champions League final at Milan's San Siro on Saturday. French striker Karim Benzema will spearhead the hosts' attack flanked by Cristiano Ronaldo and Welshman Gareth Bale, in front […]

Paris (AFP) – Belgium continued their build-up to Euro 2016 with a 2-1 friendly victory over hosts Switzerland in Geneva on Saturday. Blerim Dzemaili fired Switzerland into a 31st-minute lead at the Stade de Geneve, but Romelu Lukaku levelled shortly afterwards with Kevin De Bruyne scoring an 84th-minute winner for Belgium. Belgium, second to Argentina […]

London (AFP) – Hull City hit the promotion jackpot as Mohamed Diame's stunning strike sent them back to the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship play-off final on Saturday. Exactly 370 days after being relegated from the Premier League, Steve Bruce's side sealed their third promotion to the top-flight […]

Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines (France) (AFP) – Attacking midfielder Dimitri Payet played down reports of a possible move away from West Ham United on Saturday, saying that he is likely to stay in east London. "Journalists have been announcing me everywhere, but I've had no contact for now and I signed a long contract with West Ham. So […]

Paris (AFP) – France international Lassana Diarra confirmed Saturday that he has been ordered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to pay a 10 million euro ($11 million) fine to former club Lokomotiv Moscow. The 31-year-old midfielder arrived in Russia to join Anzhi Makhachkala from Real Madrid in August 2012 but moved to […]

Funchal (Portugal) (AFP) – A car park with a spectacular view of Funchal bay now stands on the site of the house where Cristiano Ronaldo grew up and became a football genius. The superstar's name now brings tourists to the island of Madeira and the main town will again fall silent each time Ronaldo plays […]

Paris (AFP) – French football chief Noel Le Graet on Saturday slammed claims by former international Eric Cantona that France coach Didier Deschamps was guilty of racial discrimination in his Euro 2016 selection as "stupid" and "pathetic". Cantona told British daily The Guardian on Thursday that Deschamps had snubbed Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa […]