French President Emmanuel Macron has issued a public statement in defence of Kylian Mbappe after reports emerged that the Real Madrid forward’s name appeared on an alleged kidnapping target list uncovered by French authorities. “No one will touch Kylian. He has worn the France shirt. He is a national treasure”, Macron said, placing the state’s…
Brazilian police have arrested a man who impersonated football manager Luís Castro on messaging apps, posing as the current Grêmio and former Al-Nassr head coach to solicit money from professional players under the guise of buying food baskets for charity. The scammer created a fake account using Castro’s identity and contacted players directly through messaging…
Manchester City have completed the signing of Enzo Fernandez from Chelsea for £125 million, equalling the joint-British transfer record and taking City’s summer spending to a Premier League record £458 million for a single window. The deal was agreed within the past 24 hours after Chelsea set a deadline of 17:00 BST on August 14…
Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay is set to undergo a minor heart procedure after Napoli detected a “mild benign arrhythmia”. The 29-year-old was substituted after 56 minutes of Napoli’s 2-1 Serie A defeat by Como on Sunday. Napoli said McTominay will undergo cardiac arrhythmia ablation in the coming days as corrective treatment. The Italian club expects…
Lionel Messi has announced his retirement from international football, ending one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of the game. The 39-year-old made the announcement in a statement posted to Instagram, saying the decision “hurts” him deeply but that “the time has come.” Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in…
Liverpool have completed the signing of France international Bradley Barcola from Paris St-Germain in a deal worth up to £123m. The 23-year-old forward joins the Reds for an initial £106m, with a further £17m available in potential add-ons. PSG had initially valued Barcola at around £145m. Barcola has signed a five-year contract at Anfield and…
The story of United’s weekend was simple and emphatic. Bruno Fernandes, wearing the armband for his first home appearance this season, delivered a captain’s performance that silenced any lingering doubts about his form. The Portuguese midfielder scored a hat-trick and added an assist as United dismantled Ipswich 5-2 at Old Trafford. Ipswich opened the scoring…
Liverpool and Nottingham Forest shared a 2-2 draw at Anfield in a pulsating Premier League encounter. The result leaves both managers waiting for their first wins since taking charge of their respective sides this summer. Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool twice found themselves behind and twice battled back, with Victor Munoz capping his full debut with a…
Trabzonspor have rejected head coach Fatih Tekke’s resignation following the Turkish club’s heavy Europa League defeat by Ferencvaros. The Super Lig side were eliminated from the competition after suffering a 4-0 defeat in Hungary on Thursday. A scoreline that meant losing the play-off tie 5-0 on aggregate. Tekke, 48, tendered his resignation shortly after the…
Raphinha continued his impressive start to the season as Barcelona made it two victories from two in La Liga with a 2-0 win over Athletic Club at Spotify Camp Nou. The Brazil winger scored his third goal of the campaign before Fermin Lopez sealed the points late in the second half. The match also saw…
