Germany forward Lukas Podolski has confirmed his retirement from international football with immediate effect.
Podolski, who plays at club level with Galatasaray, suggested in January 2015 that Euro 2016 would be his final major tournament with the national team.
The 31-year-old was included in Joachim Low s team and made his only appearance in the 3-0 victory over Slovakia in the group stage.
Germany exited the competition with a 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals, and Podolski has disclosed he informed the coach of his decision to step away from the international stage.
Before the season and the matches start again soon, I wanted to communicate something to you [the fans]: I told the national team coach that I will not play for the team with immed…
Pep Guardiola is adamant that Kevin De Bruyne will stay at Manchester City this transfer window.
The influential midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League.
De Bruyne is going into the final year of his contract with the Citizens and admitted in an interview last month that a lucrative contract could sway his thinking.
Despite the speculation, Guardiola remains confident the Belgian will still be in his squad for the upcoming Premier League campaign.
Kevin isn t leaving, Guardiola told reporters at their pre-season training camp.
Majestic from !
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
If someone leaves, we are going to talk about that and, of course, until the last day [of the transfer window] we have chances…
Carlos Vela scored and provided an assist while Ryan Hollingshead netted two goals, as LAFC came from behind to win 3-1 over Vancouver Whitecaps and move into top spot in the MLS on Sunday.
The Whitecaps took a 12th-minute lead from Tristan Blackmon s instinctive close-range finish, but the 2019 MLS champions rallied, led by former Mexico international Vela.
Vela s 27th-minute corner was met by Hollinghead with a powerful header for the equaliser before the ex-Arsenal attacker struck at the second attempt with a 38th-minute left-foot volley.
Hollingshead wrapped up all three points with the pick of the goals, unleashing a fine low right-foot strike from the edge of the box in the 70th minute.
The result means LAFC have collected 10 points from four games,…
Arsenal made it five consecutive wins in the Women’s Premier League and six in all competitions with a convincing 3-0 victory over Brighton.
Stina Blackstenius opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a shot into the top left-hand corner of the net before Caitlin Foord doubled their advantage with 10 minutes to go in front of a record crowd of 4,921 at a sold-out Broadfield Stadium.
Frida Maanum sealed the three points in stoppage time with her first goal of the season after being teed up by Cloe Lacasse, leaving the second-placed Gunners three points behind leaders Chelsea in the table.
A brilliant win on the road
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC)
Bristol City twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with fellow strugglers Everton at Walton …
Ronald Koeman said Barcelona can t aspire to much without Lionel Messi after the Argentinian scored another landmark goal in Sunday s 2-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.
Messi was headline news earlier in the day when a report by El Mundo claimed the deal he signed at Camp Nou in 2017, which expires at the end of this season, is worth more than €555million.
He proved his worth to Barca with a fine free-kick midway through the first half his 650th goal for the club before Jordi Alba s own goal drew Athletic level early in the second half.
Antoine Griezmann secured all three points with the winner 16 minutes from time, though, to help Barca leapfrog Sevilla and Real Madrid into second in LaLiga, 10 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.
Head coach Koeman was…
As for the visitors, while some around Villa Park were starting to fear that their side was being dragged into a relegation scrap, the Villains picked up a 2-0 win over Newcastle on Monday night and Dean Smith will be desperate to keep the morale in his camp on the rise. Also ending a three-match Premier League losing run with their victory in the Midlands, the former Brentford boss sees his side currently holding a four-point buffer from slipping into the bottom-three. After spending big over the summer, there is no doubt that Sunday s traveling support will be calling on their side to make some much-needed improvements on the road. Losing back-to-back fixtures away from Villa Park, including watching bitter rivals Wolves snatch a 2-1 win a fortnight ago, the Claret and Blues have lost…
Lukaku willing to accept pay cut for permanent Inter transfer
Romelu Lukaku has been moving back and forth between Chelsea and Inter Milan in recent years. He spent last season at Inter on loan from Chelsea, scoring 14 goals and contributing seven assists in 37 appearances in all competitions.
The Belgian striker played an important role as the Nerazzurri, under the command of Simone Inzaghi, reached the Champions League final and finished third in the Serie A.
His loan has now expired and he is due back at Stamford Bridge, but he s reportedly willing to accept a significant wage reduction if that helps him get a permanent transfer to Inter.
Spurs consider Tapsoba and Van de Ven
With head coach Ange Postecoglou keen to stren…
Real Madrid are officially the best team in Europe for the 14th time in their extremely rich history, after a solitary strike from Vinicius Junior just before the hour mark took them to victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Organizational problems
It was with considerable frustration that the people around the world, including those in the stadium and the players of both teams, received the information that the match would start with a 15-minute delay. In the end, the delay was more than 45 minutes, and the problems at the gates which were the root of it all were described differently by different sources.
Some media reports said that the trouble was caused by around 100 Liverpool fans who tried to get in with…
Joachim Low refused to be drawn into a war of words with Michael Ballack as he insisted he felt no undue pressure in Germany s top job.
Speaking to Deutsche Welle on Thursday, decorated former national team captain Ballack expressed surprise that Low remained head coach in the wake of the World Cup debacle.
Germany s defence of their 2014 crown ended in the ignominy of a first group-stage exit since 1938, but the German Football Association (DFB) stuck by the long-serving 58-year-old after extending his contract in May.
Low brushed off Ballack s criticism and claimed to be under no more scrutiny than usual.
I saw the headline, people can say what they want, but I m really not interested, the Die Mannschaft boss told reporters.
This week I have o…
Many people talk about the big two in Spain of Barcelona and Real Madrid. That is understandable considering they have won the majority of La Liga titles in the last two decades.
One other club to have won the Spanish top-flight title are of course Atletico Madrid. Los Rojiblancos won the title against all odds in 2013/14. The victory was Atletico’s tenth league title in their history, making them the third most successful side in the history of the Spanish top-flight.
Diego Simeone’s team have made a bright start to the new La Liga campaign and are the only club to take maximum points from their opening three games. The stellar start has raised hopes amongst the club’s fans that this could be another successful campaign.
A big overhaul in the summer
This…