BARCELONA — There was applause in Barcelona’s offices on Friday as a first payment of €28 million from the €100m sale of VIP boxes at Spotify Camp Nou arrived. Though the stadium is not yet operational, as it is being renovated ahead of a partial reopening later this year, Barça had hoped the money raised would serve to register star signing Dani Olmo and young forward Pau Víctor with LaLiga…
Cristiano Ronaldo has declared that he’s hungry for more titles on his two-year anniversary with Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr. The Portugal captain, named the Best Middle East Player of 2024 at the recent Globe Soccer Awards, has scored 74 goals in 83 games since joining on a free transfer in January 2023 after leaving Manchester United. Reflecting on his time in Riyadh, Ronaldo, who turns 40 on Feb.…
Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday with the fortunes of the two teams about as disparate as they have ever been in the Premier League era, but that doesn’t make this weekend’s clash a foregone conclusion. Ruben Amorim will be hoping the absence of expectation on his United team, added to the storied rivalry with Liverpool, can inspire his struggling charges to a famous away win despite the…
Frenkie de Jong has said he is disappointed at how few trophies he has won with Barcelona and that he will only stay at the club if he feels he can still contribute on the pitch. The 27-year-old joined Barça from Ajax in 2019 but has won just three titles since signing — one LaLiga, a Copa del Rey and the Spanish Supercopa — and has been plagued by ankle…
Jonas Eidevall is set to be unveiled as San Diego Wave’s new head coach in the coming days, sources have confirmed to ESPN. Eidevall resigned from his post as Arsenal women’s manager in October, but will head back into management having been lined up by the NWSL franchise as their new coach. The news was first reported by The Equalizer, and Eidevall will manage the club which was taken over…
The Premier League transfer window opened on Wednesday, giving clubs the opportunity to improve their squads for the remainder of the 2024-25 season and beyond. Teams will be able to sign players until the window closes at 11 p.m. GMT (6 p.m. ET) on Feb. 3, 2025. The transfer window also applies to the other divisions in England’s football league system and is replicated in France and Germany. However, the…
Thomas Tuchel has officially begun as England men’s national team coach on an 18-month contract that runs until the end of the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel’s appointment as Gareth Southgate’s successor was confirmed by the English Football Association in October but with a start date of Jan. 1, 2025. He will be assisted by Anthony Barry who he worked alongside at Chelsea and Bayern Munich. Former Borussia Dortmund and Paris…
While there is plenty of beauty to be found in a slick passing move or a well-timed sliding tackle, when it comes to football, there is little doubt as to the real art: scoring goals. German football journalist Javier Cáceres has spent the past two decades asking many of the game’s biggest stars to draw their favourite goals. Most sketches were produced during formal interviews and others at chance meetings…
Forget Rodri and Vinícius and all that Ballon d’Or “brawling” — let’s say goodbye to 2024 by admitting, unequivocally, that it has been the year of Lamine Yamal. In footballing terms, the boy is a genius. Fact. He’s blessed with sublime skills, physical maturity beyond his years and, above all, by supernatural on-pitch vision and match intelligence. I have zero quibbles with the Spaniard and the Brazilian consistently coming first…
The January transfer window opens soon — England’s Premier League, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 on Wednesday, Jan. 1, with Spain’s LaLiga, Italy’s Serie A and Portugal’s Primeira Liga opening for business 24 hours later — and this January looks set to be busier than in recent years because of several clubs and players needing to negotiate transfers. Injury problems and congested fixture lists mean that clubs including Manchester…