London (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic thanked his children and Jose Mourinho for getting him to sign for Manchester United but refused to commit his future to the club after his goals helped them win the League Cup. Ibrahimovic scored United's first and their winner in a 3-2 victory over Premier League rivals Southampton at Wembley […]

Berlin (AFP) – Rising star Timo Werner, currently the Bundesliga's best homegrown striker, is in line for a senior call-up for next month's internationals against England and Azerbaijan after praise from Germany coach Joachim Loew. With 13 league goals for second-placed RB Leipzig, Werner — who only turns 21 next Monday — is the top-scoring […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester's underachieving stars will be in the spotlight when the crisis-torn champions start life without Claudio Ranieri in a crucial home clash against Liverpool on Monday. Ranieri was ruthlessly sacked by Leicester's Thai owners on Thursday amid reports several of the team's senior players had lost faith with the Italian. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid's French defender Lucas Hernandez and his girlfriend were on Monday ordered to serve 31 days of community service and to not see each other for six months after a violent altercation. Hernandez, 21, was arrested after his girlfriend was taken to hospital with minor injuries following a fight between the […]

Bastia (France) (AFP) – Rui Almeida has replaced Francois Ciccolini as coach of struggling Ligue 1 club Bastia. Portuguese Almeida, sacked by Ligue 2's Red Star in December, takes over a club which lies second from bottom of France's first division, just one point off bottom team Lorient. His first match in charge will be at […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has warned against complacency when the Turin giants host 'angry' Napoli in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Napoli's hopes of staying in the title hunt were dented by a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to 10-man Atalanta on Saturday which left them 12 points […]

London (AFP) – Tony Bloom deserves promotion to the Premier League as a return on the £200 million (234m euros, $248m) he has invested in Championship side Brighton, says club chief executive Paul Barber. Chairman since 2009, Bloom — a hometown boy and successful property developer, as well as a renowned poker player — has […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – FIFA on Monday said it was confident problems plaguing the pitch at the new Saint Petersburg stadium will be fixed in time for the Confederations Cup in June. Last year inspectors said the retractable pitch at the 68,000-seater Saint Petersburg Arena — which is set to hold the opening and final […]

London (AFP) – The family of former Celtic captain and manager Billy McNeill has said he is suffering from dementia as they called for more research into whether footballers were at greater risk of brain injury from heading the ball. A central defender, the 76-year-old Celtic great's glittering career saw him become the first British […]

Berlin (AFP) – Andries Jonker was on Monday named head coach at struggling Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg following Valerien Ismael's sacking after just four months. Ismael, 41, was told his services were no longer required on Sunday night in the wake of Wolfsburg's 2-1 defeat at home to Werder Bremen on Friday. The loss left […]

Berlin (AFP) – Andries Jonker is set to be named head coach at struggling Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg on Monday, press reports said, following Valerien Ismael's sacking after just four months. Ismael, 41, was told his services were no longer required on Sunday night in the wake of Wolfsburg's 2-1 defeat at home to Werder […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino believes Harry Kane is on course to becoming a Tottenham Hotspur great after the striker scored the 100th club goal of his career. Kane, 23, scored a first half hat-trick in his club's 4-0 victory over Stoke City, reaching the century mark with his first goal and ending the game […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho has challenged his Manchester United stars to use their dramatic League Cup final win against Southampton as a springboard to bigger prizes. Mourinho lifted the first major trophy of his United reign on Sunday after Zlatan Ibrahimovic's late header clinched a 3-2 victory at Wembley. The 54-year-old is the first […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane hailed the impact of Isco and Alvaro Morata off the bench as the European champions came from 2-0 down at Villarreal on Sunday to win 3-2. Morata completed the comeback after Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo had hauled Madrid level to ensure Zidane's men move back ahead […]

London (AFP) – Claude Puel insists his heartbroken Southampton players will use their League Cup final pain as fuel for a strong finish to the Premier League campaign. Puel's side were denied only the second major trophy in their club's history as Zlatan Ibrahimovic's 87th minute header gave Manchester United a 3-2 victory in Sunday's […]