The Chinese Super League might be buzzing after transfer records were sent tumbling ahead of the new season, but a crumbling infrastructure underneath might threaten its long-term prospects.
After CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao sold top scorer Elkeson to Shanghai SIPG for a record €18million in the name of supporting Chinese teams to compete in the AFC Champions League, and for the national glory , the ante was swiftly raised.
Chelsea selling Ramires to Jiangsu Suning (€26m), Jackson Martinez s €42m move to Evergrande and then Alex Teixeira joining Ramires in Nanjing after a €50m move from Shakhtar Donetsk saw the CSL s transfer record demolished four times in under a fortnight as China muscled in on the European market.
The government-backed s…
Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon paid tribute to Claudio Ranieri s Leicester City after the Premier League outfit qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Leicester officially qualified for the Champions League after Sunday s 2-0 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light ensured they could finish no lower than fourth.
It will be the English club s first time in the Champions League, but they did make an appearance in its predecessor the European Cup in 1961-62.
Buffon, who played under Ranieri when the Italian manager was in charge of Juventus between 2007 and 2009, congratulated Leicester on their achievement.
The 38-year-old posted on his official Twitter account, saying: #Leicester @lcfc is no more a fairy tale,…
Argentina star Lionel Messi believes he is beginning to find his feet at Paris Saint-Germain, having required a year to settle in after his move to France.
Messi scored just 11 goals in 34 appearances during his first season at PSG in 2021-22, but has already struck six times in 11 outings for the Ligue 1 giants this campaign.
The former Barcelona man is also enjoying himself on the international stage, scoring twice and adding an assist as Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 34 matches with a 3-0 friendly win over Honduras on Friday.
Messi led his team for shots on target (three), touches in the opposition box (nine), crosses (three) and successful dribbles (two) in Miami, completing the scoring with a sumptuous 20-yard chip in the second half.
Spe…
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola maintains he has no desire to stage a Premier League reunion with Lionel Messi.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner first established himself as the shining light of world football under Guardiola s guidance at Barcelona between 2008 and 2012, while the presence of former Camp Nou figures Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano on the board at the Etihad Stadium has contributed to City regularly being linked with Messi s signature.
The latest round of speculation surrounding the 29-year-old s future this week centred on a potential audacious swoop from Manchester United, but, speaking ahead of City s Premier League trip to Burnley, Guardiola echoed the thoughts of his counterpart Jose Mourinho by stating it would be fitting for Messi to c…
Wales are among the countries to have declared an interest in hosting the 2022-23 Nations League finals.
UEFA confirmed on Wednesday that the football associations of Wales, Belgium, Poland and Netherlands have all declared their interest in making a bid, with the deadline to submit final bid dossiers not until October 5.
The league phase begins in June 2022, and will run until September, with a break between then and June to allow for the remainder of the domestic season and the 2022 World Cup.
The hosts will be confirmed in January 2023, with the finals due to be held from June 14-18.
The draw for the competition took place in December, with 2018 World Cup finalists France and Croatia together in Group A1, Spain and Portugal among those in Group A2, …
Manchester City made history on Wednesday as they cruised to a routine 3-1 FA Cup fifth-round victory at Swansea City.
It was the 15th consecutive win across all competitions for Pep Guardiola s Premier League leaders – setting a new record for any top-flight team in English football.
Sunday s comprehensive 4-1 triumph over Liverpool at Anfield brought them level with Arsenal s 1987 vintage and Preston North End back in 1892, who won 14 in a row.
Goals from Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus in Wales ensured City now hold the record outright.
In 2017-18, they prevailed in 20 consecutive matches, although there was a penalty shoot-out win over Wolves in the EFL Cup during that run and Opta classifies such matches as draws.
Given th…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic misses feeling alive following his retirement from professional football, but distanced himself from a coaching role.
Ibrahimovic, who is now an advisor to Milan s club s board, won 12 league titles during his illustrious 24-year career.
The Swede netted 496 goals in 827 appearances, with his 93 goals for Milan only bettered by his time with Paris Saint-Germain (156).
In an interview with The Athletic, Ibrahimovic quipped he could try his hand at any sport and have success, though conceded the buzz of being on the pitch is hard to replace.
He said: I would be the best in every ball sport. Martial arts — I could challenge. I used to do taekwondo. With my feet, I’m fast, I move well. I had the advantage of being 1.97m tall, but move…
Paris Saint-Germain restored their five-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 ahead of the World Cup break with a routine 5-0 win over Auxerre at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring early on following some good build-up play from Lionel Messi, who returned from injury to join the France forward and Neymar in attack.
A seventh win in a row for PSG in all competitions never looked in doubt when Carlos Soler added a second goal and then assisted Achraf Hakimi for the home side s third.
Christophe Galtier made full use of his squad depth and substitutes Renato Sanches and Hugo Ekitike added gloss to the scoreline with a couple of late goals.
The serene nature of the contest ensured Galtier could replace a number of PSG s Qatar-bound s…
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel hailed extraordinary midfielder Marco Verratti after he wore the captain s armband for Italy during the international break.
PSG star Verratti captained Italy for the first time as the Azzurri routed Liechtenstein 5-0 in Euro 2020 qualifying on Tuesday.
Tuchel was full of praise for Verratti – who joined the French champions from Pescara in 2012 – ahead of Friday s Ligue 1 clash away to Nice.
He deserved it [to captain Italy], Tuchel told reporters. He s a leader. Everybody can be a leader but not the way he does. The difference is in the little things.
The five players I ve been talking about [Marco Verratti, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe] are the leaders of our locker room and …
Eintracht Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner believes the whole of Germany will be behind them as they bid to reach the Europa League final.
Glasner s side hold a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their semi-final with West Ham and will look to finish the job on home soil.
Eintracht won the trophy under its UEFA Cup guise back in 1980, their only other major European final coming in 1960 when they lost the European Cup showpiece to Real Madrid.
Their run to this stage has already included a stunning victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou, with Glasner hopeful their home support can get them over the line against West Ham.
We ll play to win from the get-go with our fans behind us, Glasner told a news conference.
Our strategy must involve causing problems t…