Category: Football

Manchester United’s club-record signing Juan Mata has acknowledged his surprise that Chelsea allowed him to move to Old Trafford.

Cristiano Ronaldo presented the Ballon d’Or to the Santiago Bernabeu faithful ahead of Real Madrid’s 2-0 win on Saturday before firing the club to the top of La Liga.

Spain midfielder Juan Mata is expected to arrive at Manchester United on Friday for a medical ahead of his proposed move from Chelsea.

Fifa has warned Brazil’s World Cup 2014 host city of Curitiba that it could be excluded unless work speeds up.

Manchester United have not bid for Juan Mata, but refuse to rule out making a future offer for the Chelsea player.

MADRID (Reuters) – Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is hoping for a little good fortune when the record winners return to Valencia for Wednesday’s King’s Cup quarter-final, first leg against Levante (2100 GMT).

MADRID (Reuters) – Real Madrid’s record signing Gareth Bale has room for improvement, above all in linking up with his new team mates and adjusting to a different playing style, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.

Barcelona – Barcelona playmaker Xavi came off the bench against Getafe on Thursday to mark his 700th appearance for the club where he has been a key figure in their success in recent seasons.

Manchester United manager David Moyes has accepted a misconduct charge and is expected to be fined by the Football Association.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini stressed the importance of Sergio Aguero after the striker scored on his return from a calf injury to help beat Blackburn in their FA Cup replay.

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery of Bayern Munich to win the 2013 Fifa Ballon d’Or.

Luis Suarez scored twice as Liverpool recorded their first victory at Stoke in the Premier League to move five points behind leaders Manchester City.

Hull have agreed a fee with Everton for Nikica Jelavic and will now discuss personal terms with the Croatia striker.

Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge is close to a return to action after recovering from an ankle injury which has kept him out since 23 November.

Tottenham and England striker Jermain Defoe has agreed to join Major League Soccer side Toronto FC for £6m. The 31-year-old will join the Canadian side on 28 February and will be eligible to play for Spurs until then. The former…

Madrid – Lionel Messi came off the bench and scored twice on his return from injury and Cesc Fabregas also netted a double as Barcelona strolled to a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in their King’s Cup last 16,…

Madrid – Brazil forward Neymar has been withdrawn from Barcelona’s squad for their King’s Cup last 16, first leg at home to Getafe later on Wednesday after coming down with gastroenteritis.

Fifa has moved quickly to play down claims from its own general secretary that the Qatar 2022 World Cup will not take place in the summer.

England forward Theo Walcott may never “truly get over” missing out on the World Cup in Brazil, according to former Three Lions striker Ian Wright.

Foreign airlines may be allowed to operate internal flights during this year’s football World Cup, the Brazilian president’s chief of staff, Gleisi Hoffmann, says.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday said Cristiano Ronaldo has to win the Ballon d’Or and also revealed he expects Xabi Alonso to sign a new contract with the club.

Chelsea duo Frank Lampard and Branislav Ivanovic have been ruled out of action until the end of January.

Tottenham midfielder Paulinho has been ruled out for at least a month after sustaining ankle ligament damage in a tackle with Stoke’s Charlie Adam.

Cristiano Ronaldo received the Globe Soccer prize for the Best Player of the Year at the gala held in Dubai.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani has talked up his side’s friendly clash with Real Madrid and says the game will be an intriguing spectacle despite there being no points at stake. The two clubs go head-to-head at the Khalifa Stadium…

London – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is convinced that his players remain on course in their Premier League title challenge despite having picked up just two points from their last three games.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has described the Premier League title race as “unbelievable” with two points separating the top five teams.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says he is astonished by the situation fellow boss Malky Mackay finds himself in at Cardiff City. Mackay has been criticised by Cardiff owner Vincent Tan for revealing that he hoped to recruit three new players…

World number two Novak Djokovic has appointed six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker as his head coach.