When Paris Saint-Germain let midfielder Marco Verratti move to Qatari side Al Arabi for €45 million this summer, it came as a bit of a shock. The writing had been on the wall for the transfer all summer long, but the 31-year-old had won 30 trophies during an incredible 11 years at the club, was still playing at an extremely high level and seemed like a perfect tactical fit for…
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed plans for an independent football regulator to safeguard the future of English soccer clubs in his King’s Speech on Tuesday. The Independent Regulator for Football (IREF) will have the power to step in to address cash flow and other systemic issues within clubs, many of which are financially vulnerable. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) “Legislation will be brought forward to safeguard…
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — Manchester City had Young Boys beaten by half-time on Tuesday and their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign is done and dusted after just four games. Pep Guardiola will want to secure the top spot in Group G but 12 points from a possible 12 so far means that, for the 11th year in a row, City will have an interest in the knockout rounds in the…
Another European soccer weekend is in the books, so let’s review! Bayern Munich shrugged off some recent woes with (yet another) comprehensive win over rivals Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, while Arsenal were left raging after a controversial 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League that again involved VAR and its various applications. Oh, and in LaLiga, Barcelona wrapped up a dramatic (and lucky) late victory at…
Spain international Jenni Hermoso, speaking publicly for the first time since winning the World Cup, told GQ in an exclusive interview that she underwent counseling after receiving threats over the unsolicited kiss she received from then-Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales after the final victory. Rubiales, who stepped down on Sept. 10, is facing criminal charges for kissing Hermoso on the lips without her consent during the awards ceremony…
Celta Vigo captain Iago Aspas threw the pitchside VAR monitor to the ground after the on-field referee had used it to overturn a late penalty decision that had been awarded in Celta’s favour during their 1-1 draw with Sevilla in LaLiga on Saturday. Aspas had been substituted with his team winning 1-0, shortly after teammate Renato Tapia had been sent off, and was on the sidelines as Sevilla forward Youssef…
Moments after Chelsea’s emphatic 6-0 Women’s Super League (WSL) win at Aston Villa, the club announced that manager Emma Hayes would leave at the end of season. ESPN sources have confirmed she is now set to take the United States job, and those unaware of her achievements in the English game will wonder what she will bring. Since arriving at Chelsea in August 2012, Hayes has won six WSL titles,…
Germany women’s national team coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg has stepped down with immediate effect, with the German Football Association’s (DFB) board of directors approving the decision in a meeting on Saturday. The Germans drew 1-1 with South Korea and lost 2-1 to Colombia to crash out of the recent Women’s World Cup at the group stage, the worst-ever result at the tournament for one of the world’s traditional superpowers in the…
The U.S. Soccer Federation is in advanced talks with Chelsea women’s manager Emma Hayes to be the next manager of the U.S. women’s national team, sources confirmed to ESPN. Chelsea coach Hayes is to leave the club at the end of the Women’s Super League (WSL) season “to pursue a new opportunity outside the WSL and club football,” the club announced in a statement following a 6-0 thrashing of Aston…
It has been less than a week since the shocking scenes on Sunday in southern France, where the Lyon team bus was attacked on its way to the stadium for a game against rivals Marseille. As well as the trauma for Lyon manager Fabio Grosso, who needed 12 stitches around his left eye and on his face, for his assistant Raffaele Longo, also injured, and for the players who feared…