Bowen named West Ham captain ahead of new Premier League season

Oliver Kahn feels incoming Bayern Munich goalkeeper Alexander Nubel has taken a very courageous step by agreeing a move to Bavaria to challenge Manuel Neuer for the number one spot.

Last week Bayern confirmed Nubel, 23, would be joining the Bundesliga champions on a free in July upon the expiration of his contract with Schalke.

That was the very transfer Neuer made in 2011, though his presence as Bayern s number one and captain means Nubel may struggle for playing time initially.

Former Bayern keeper Kahn, who has returned to the club as a member of their executive board, had advised Nubel to remain at Schalke last April because he had not earned his stripes internationally.

Back then I wasn t involved in decisions regarding transfers, Kahn told a n…

Antoine Griezmann has reached the 200-goal mark for club and country after scoring the winner in Atletico Madrid s 1-0 LaLiga triumph over Espanyol on Saturday.

In an otherwise unremarkable game, Griezmann proved decisive from the penalty spot in the 56th minute after Koke had been felled by a wild Esteban Granero kick.

It was Griezmann s 86th LaLiga goal for Atletico in his 160th outing since joining from Real Sociedad in 2013.

He also scored 40 LaLiga goals for La Real across four seasons in the top flight, plus six in the second tier in 2009-10.

The France international finished third in this year s Ballon d Or after helping his country to World Cup glory and Atletico Madrid to the Europa League title.

In total, 26 of Griezmann s goals have co…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed a deal to purchase a stake in Manchester United which will grant his Ineos company control of football operations at the club.

The Ineos founder, chairman and chief executive has completed his acquisition of 25 per cent of the Club’s class B shares and 25 per cent of the club’s Class A shares.

The investment from Trawlers Ltd, a company wholly owned by Ratcliffe, received Premier League and Football Association approval last week and was officially confirmed on Tuesday night.

Manchester United is pleased to confirm that Sir Jim Ratcliffe has completed his 27.7% acquisition of the club, following approval of all conditions, including the FA and the Premier League.

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Sir Jim Ratcliff…

David Silva has played his final game for Manchester City after a decorated decade at the Etihad Stadium. 

He came on as a late substitute as City suffered a surprise 3-1 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Lyon in Lisbon on Saturday, ending a remarkable stay with the club.

Signed from Valencia in June 2010, the Spain playmaker was integral in transforming Roberto Mancini s City from pretenders to contenders and then champions. 

The 2011-12 Premier League title was the first of four Silva won in England s top flight, along with five EFL Cups and two FA Cups – scoring in the 2018 and 2019 finals of those respective competitions. 

But a handsome collection of medals and dizzying stats for assists only tell part of the story, with countless maj…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Tiago Santos from Lille in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Spurs are among the clubs who are looking at the right-back and have been impressed by him.

Santos has been on the books of Lille since the summer of 2023 when he joined from G.D. Estoril Praia. The 21-year-old Portugal Under-21 international is one of the best young right-backs in the French domestic league. The 21-year-old has made 15 starts and three substitute appearances in Ligue 1 so far this season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process.

Tottenham are fifth in the Premier League table at the moment with 47 points from 25 matches, just two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. Meanwhile, Lille currently…

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says his players have earned some easier victories after a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League win over Sheffield United on Saturday.  

After two top-flight games without tasting success, the champions returned to winning ways after Roberto Firmino and Diogo Jota overturned Sander Berge s early penalty for Chris Wilder s side, who remain winless so far this season.  

The result extended the Reds unbeaten run at Anfield in the Premier League to 62 games and Klopp who disputed the decision to award the Blades a spot-kick for Fabinho s challenge on Oliver McBurnie  praised the relentless nature of his side.  

You always have to work hard against Sheffield United. It s hard to take for Chris Wilder, he told BBC Sport. 

…

There is still lots to play for on matchday six as the Champions League group stage draws to its conclusion.

Barcelona and Juventus are already through but Tuesday should see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face off once again, the latter looking to end a dry spell in front of goal against the Catalans.

Kylian Mbappe is another star enduring a comparatively rotten run when it comes to goalscoring, but Istanbul Basaksehir could represent ideal opponents for the Paris Saint-Germain forward.

Elsewhere in a finely poised Group H, RB Leipzig host Manchester United in a critical game for both – and one where Marcus Rashford could earn a slice of history.

Which moment did you love to see? 

Giroud = oldest hat-trick scorer in UCL era 
Adeyemi bac…

Cristiano Ronaldo said he felt embarrassed after being accused of rape.

Kathryn Mayorga claimed Ronaldo raped her in a hotel room in Las Vegas 10 years ago, with German publication Der Spiegel reporting the story last October.

Ronaldo repeatedly denied the accusation and the Clark County District Attorney s Office announced in July that the Juventus striker would not face charges as they could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt .

According to Der Spiegel, Mayorga first made a complaint of sexual assault in 2009 and subsequently reached an out-of-court settlement with Ronaldo. It was claimed by the magazine she was paid $375,000 as part of a privacy agreement, preventing her from going public with the allegations.

The Portuguese, speaking to P…

Joselu scored twice late on as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and progress to the Champions League final.

Having drawn the first leg 2-2 in Munich, Bayern looked set to go through and tee up an all-German final at Wembley when Alphonso Davies sent a rocket into the top-right corner of Andriy Lunin s goal in the 68th minute of Wednesday s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Yet 14-time European champions Madrid came back from the brink thanks to substitute Joselu, whose double sealed a 4-3 aggregate win.

The former Stoke City striker capitalised on a calamitous mistake from Manuel Neuer in the 88th minute before he shinned a second into the Bayern goal from Antonio Rudiger s cross.

That second goal was initially disallowed for offside, …

Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo hopes to have happy news soon regarding contract extensions for star duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

PSG have been in negotiations with both Mbappe and Neymar – who are contracted to the Ligue 1 champions until 2022 – amid reported interest from LaLiga.

Mbappe has long been tipped to join Real Madrid, while speculation continues to link Neymar with a return to Barcelona, where he left for PSG in 2017.

Asked about the pair after Mbappe s brace guided PSG to a 3-2 win at holders Bayern Munich in the opening leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie, Leonardo told Sky Italy on Wednesday: I think we ll have some news that will make us all happy soon.

We will soon get to a more concrete situation for Mbappe…