Manchester United will swoop for Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer as new manager Jose Mourinho's first marquee signing at Old Trafford, Sky Sports has reported.
New US Open tennis champion Rafa Nadal was given a standing ovation by Real Madrid fans when he strolled out on to the Bernabeu pitch before their Champions League match against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.
European champions Inter Milan were grouped with Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur and Twente Enschede in the draw for the Group Stage of the Champions League on Thursday.
Peter Crouch struck a hat-trick to help Tottenham Hotspur complete a great comeback against Young Boys and reach the Champions League for the first time while Luis Suarez led Ajax Amsterdam back to the elite in a 2-1 win over Dynamo Kiev.
Manchester United defender Daley Blind says his team mates are adapting to Louis van Gaal's Dutch style of play and it is only a matter of time before they start reaping the rewards of their new look.
"We are all hopeful that the surgery I have had will ensure I don't have any repeat of the condition in the future."
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Sixteen-year-old Romelo Lukaku scored twice in nine minutes to give Anderlecht a 3-1 victory at Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday, sending the Belgians into the knockout stages of the Europa League.
PSV Eindhoven are still looking for their first win of the season after sharing the points with Twente Enschede in a 1-1 draw in the Dutch league on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
After an even first 45 minutes, strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder stunned the Catalans and left them needing a second-leg comeback at the Nou Camp for the second consecutive round in the competition.
Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal, whose club spent lavishly during the close season, remained upbeat on Wednesday even after his team failed to score for the second match in a row.
Arsenal defender Thomas Vermaelen suffered a suspected broken leg during the goalless draw at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Dutchman Louis van Gaal will take over as coach of Bayern Munich on a two-year contract starting next season, the Bundesliga club announced on Wednesday.
On a good night for English clubs in the Europa League, Manchester United hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0, while Wolverhampton Wanderers also thrashed Besiktas 4-0 in Group K, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Standard Liege and finish first in their pool. The upset of the night came in Group J as Crivelli scored a 90th-minute winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach to send Basaksehir through and knock the Germans out, with AS Roma grabbing the runner-up spot thanks to a 2-2 home draw with Wolfsberger as the Europa League group stage concluded on Thursday.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Neto will sign a four-year deal with Barcelona that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season and he will replace Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen who moved the other way on Wednesday.
Barcelona were third on 648.3 million euros.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back to his irrepressible, boastful best on Sunday as he joked about the landmark 25,000th Premier League goal that signalled a change in his fortunes.
Former Netherlands coach Marco van Basten has discussed the possibility of taking over at AC Milan, the club's assistant manager Filippo Galli was quoted as saying on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Seven-times champions AC Milan, knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the last two seasons, were drawn against the Catalans again in the group stage of this season's competition on Friday.
Manchester United should focus on winning the Europa League this season, which would bring the club a trophy they have never won and secure qualification for next season's Champions League, former manager Alex Ferguson has said.
Does an invitation to visit India bring bad luck to majoritarian demagogues? asks Rahul Jacob.
Poland rested striker Robert Lewandowski and missed his firepower as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Lithuania in a Euro 2016 warm-up in the former capital city of Krakow on Monday. The stalemate before a 30,000 crowd against a determined Lithuania side playing on the counter followed Poland's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in a friendly last week. Poland coach Adam Nawalka fielded an experimental defence with Thiago Cionek in central defence and talented teenage midfielder Bartosz Kapustka deployed at right back to try to beef up the rearguard but they still looked vulnerable. The hosts played with more urgency in the second half against the Lithuanians, who failed to qualify for the finals in France, and almost scored on the hour when winger Jakub Blaszczykowski hit the post after marauding down the right. Despite attacking relentlessly they could not find the net without talisman Lewandowski, who watched from the bench as 'Ajax Amsterdam forward Arek Milik toiled alone up front.
Manchester City have agreed to sign Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong from Hamburg SV pending personal terms, the German club said on Monday.
The PSG striker came second to tennis legend Borg on a list of Sweden's all-time sporting greats.
Inter Milan's aversion to Europa League football continued with a 3-1 defeat at Sparta Prague, while AS Roma ended a continental hoodoo stretching back seven games with a 4-0 home win over Romanian side FC Astra on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo could join Michael Carrick on the sidelines for Wednesday's match against AaB Aalborg as Manchester United aim to equal a Champions League record and qualify for the last 16 as winners of Group E. The defending champions will stretch their unbeaten run in the competition to 19 if they avoid defeat against the Danes -- a record currently held by Ajax and Bayern Munich.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has failed to recover from a calf strain and will miss Tuesday's Champions League Group F match at APOEL Nicosia.
An extra-time goal from on-loan English-born defender Tyrone Mears sent Olympique Marseille into the UEFA Cup quarter-finals Wednesday. Mears headed in from close range in the 110th minute to secure the Ligue 1 side a 2-2 draw at Ajax Amsterdam, putting them through 4-3 on aggregate. Werder Bremen knocked out St Etienne. The Germans, 1-0 up from the first leg, advanced with a 2-2 draw in France.
UEFA elects a new president on Wednesday whose main task will be to stop what European officials say is an inexorable slide towards a breakaway football Super League open only to wealthy clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Messi's first act as Barcelona captain was to tell the club's fans at a pre-season friendly in August against Boca Juniors that he and his teammates "will do everything possible so that beautiful and desired cup returns here to the Nou Camp".
Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is making a brief Dutch comeback for this month's World Cup qualifiers. Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk included Van der Sar, who retired from international football after Euro 2008, in his 22-man squad for the Group Nine games against Iceland in Rotterdam on October 11 and away to Norway four days later. Goalkeepers Maarten Stekelenburg of Ajax and Feyenoord's Henk Timmer, who is in the squad, are both nursing injuries.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi returned to training with his team mates on Monday as he continues his recovery from a thigh strain sustained in a La Liga match at Almeria at the end of last month.
The goal machines of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk cranked into top gear on Tuesday as the Champions League captivated its continental audience with a record 40 goals in one eight-game night.
Tottenham Hotspur reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on away goals after a 4-3 (aggregate 4-4) defeat to Manchester City in a breathtaking quarter-final second leg game on Wednesday.
Dutch soccer star Robin van Persie returned to his home ground on Monday as he signed with Feyenoord Rotterdam hoping for a positive ending to his dwindling career.
Manchester United beat Chelsea 6-5 in the final via the penalty shoot-out after full-time and extra-time ended 1-1.
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