Here is what we’ve learned from the Club World Cup thus far: The Bundesliga is a lot better than the Northern League of New Zealand. The Portuguese league is also better than New Zealand’s league, but not by as much — and it’s also worse than MLS. But MLS is worse than the Tunisian league. And the Tunisian league is worse than the Brazilian league, but that’s nothing to worry…
Enzo Maresca said Chelsea are not under any financial pressure to lift the Club World Cup despite the £97 million ($130 million) on offer to the winner. The Blues face a scramble to qualify for the round of 16, needing to avoid defeat against Esperance de Tunis in Philadelphia on Tuesday to secure second place in Group D. They will receive in the region of £40m just for participating in…
It’s Monday, and another week of NWSL action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings. Who’s climbing the table? Who’s in free fall? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 13 to come up with this week’s order of all 14 teams in the league. Let’s dive in. Previous ranking: 1 Next match: Friday, Aug. 1 vs. Racing Louisville, 8 p.m. ET Angel City…
Marcus Rashford has revealed his desire to one day play in the same team as Barcelona star Lamine Yamal. Rashford, 27, spent the second half of last season on loan at Aston Villa after falling out of favour at Manchester United and sources have told ESPN that United are listening to offers for the England forward this summer. There has been interest from Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich…
Chelsea have entered the race to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani, while Arsenal and Manchester City lead a host of clubs chasing Martim Fernandes. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe. Transfers homepage | Done deals | Men’s summer window grades – André Onana is keen to stay at Manchester United despite interest from AS Monaco. — Rob Dawson Read –…
Nuno Espírito Santo has extended his contract with Nottingham Forest until the summer of 2028 after helping the club qualify for a European competition for the first time since 1995-96, the Premier League club said on Saturday. Portuguese Nuno, who previously managed Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, joined Forest in December 2023 and helped the team avoid relegation before guiding them to a seventh-place finish in 2024-25, their best top-flight…
Liverpool have signed 22-year-old midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a blockbuster transfer worth an initial £100 million, with £16m in potential add-ons. While the British transfer record remains the £106.3m that Chelsea paid Benfica up front to sign Enzo Fernández in 2023, Wirtz will become only the fifth player to move to (or within) the Premier League for over £100m. Though Wirtz’s fee is a long way shy…
PHILADELPHIA — Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson apologised to his teammates and the club’s fans after picking up his second red card in four matches as the Blues lost 3-1 to Flamengo at the Club World Cup. Pedro Neto gave Maresca’s side a 13th-minute lead in Philadelphia but six second-half minutes changed the game as Bruno Henrique equalised before Danilo put the Brazilian side in front. Jackson, on moments earlier as…
Even Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso couldn’t believe it. After watching Florian Wirtz dance through a crowd of SC Freiburg defenders in October 2023 to give his side a precious lead on their way to the Bundesliga title, the former Spain international simply raised his eyebrows on the touchline. It was a quiet acknowledgment of Wirtz’s brilliance, and Alonso’s sentiments were echoed after the match by Freiburg coach Christian Streich,…
Tottenham Hotspur were fined £75,000 ($100,710) by the Football Association on Thursday for crowd misconduct after the club’s supporters were heard making anti-gay chants during their Premier League match at Manchester United in September. The club condemned the incident at the time and said they were working with local police and stadium security to identify their supporters who participated in “abhorrent homophobic chanting” at Old Trafford. Spurs were charged in…