Football

President Donald Trump on Friday lobbed barbs at protesters who kneel during the national anthem, after NFL quarterback Drew Brees apologized for remarks he made about the practice. Brees said this week he would “never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag,” referring to the possibility of players kneeling during the “Star-Spangled Banner” in the upcoming NFL season. Brees apologized Thursday, saying his words “lacked awareness and any type of compassion or empathy.” The kneeling pose, popularized by NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, has become

Germany striker Timo Werner could be headed to Chelsea from Leipzig. The Premier League club reportedly agreed to a deal in principle to sign Werner after meeting his release clause of around 60 million euros ($68 million), which expires on June 15. The 24-year-old Werner has also been linked with a move to Liverpool. He has scored 31 goals in all competitions this season for Leipzig, which has reached the Champions League quarterfinals. Werner, who moved to Leipzig from Stuttgart in 2016, will

Neymar, the world's most expensive footballer, was approved to receive a $120 welfare payment meant for low-paid Brazilian workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic, in an apparent case of identity theft, a report said Thursday. The Paris Saint-Germain star's name, date of birth and Brazilian ID number were used to register for the 600-real stimulus payment from the federal government, news site UOL reported. The emergency payments are meant to help Brazilians employed in the informal sector -- such as cleaners or cooks

Real Madrid have entered the scene. It was only a matter of time. The best always get linked with the biggest, and Jadon Sancho, at 20 years of age, is one of the best (young) players in the world. According to Spanish newspaper AS, Real Madrid are eyeing the Borussia Dortmund star, and are targeting a big push for next summer. Real, like most teams, are not expecting to make any big moves this summer due to the economic climate. Plus, BVB might

Germany’s Bundesliga is back. Spain’s La Liga, Serie A in Italy and the English Premier League, and maybe even the Champions League, are set to follow soon. This means the likes of Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez and others will once again be on our screens chasing some of the game’s top prizes. As football takes tentative steps back toward normality, we take a look at some of the best Arab talent to make their mark in Europe’s top leagues. Ali Al-Habsi The only

Jadon Sancho scored a hat-trick and revealed 'Justice for George Floyd' message on his t-shirt as Borussia Dortmund defeated Paderborn 6-1 in the Bundesliga on Sunday. The German league saw various tributes for Floyd, a black man who died in a hand-cuffed state after a white police officer pressed his knee on Floyd's neck in the Minneapolis city in America. "#BlackLivesMatter #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd," wrote Borussia Dortmund on their official Twitter profile as the club shared a picture of Sancho with the message. Earlier in

The Bundesliga has stated that Real Madrid loanee Achraf Hakimi is now the fastest Bundesliga player on record. These speed recordings have been official for the league since the 2011-12 season. Achraf initially set the record in December against Leipzig, clocking in at just under 22.5 mph (36.2 km/h). He then broke his own record in February against Union Berlin, this time recording a speed of 22.67 mph (36.5 km/h). French newspaper Le Figaro did a study this season on the fastest players

Giorgio Chiellini revealed he and his teammates didn’t expect much from Paul Pogba when he joined: “Nobody expected such a champion.” Pogba joined Juventus in 2012 on a free transfer from Manchester United and went on to win numerous titles with the Bianconeri before becoming a World Cup winner with France. “I remember when he came. Three or four days into the retreat, my teammates and I looked at each other and said: ‘This guy is really good’, Chiellini recalled in his autobiography

The Germany international has become a complete attacker and is good enough to star for Jurgen Klopp's team, the former Norway forward says Liverpool should do their best to sign RB Leipzig star Timo Werner this summer, according to Jan Aage Fjortoft. The 24-year-old forward has impressed for Julian Nagelsmann's outfit this season and has been heavily linked to a move to Anfield, but Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are all reportedly interested. Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are said to be in the

At 27, the Germany international should be in his prime, but a once promising career has not panned out how most predicted it would It was the kind of stage that was once made for Mario Gotze. Instead, as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich duked it out in their top-of-the table Bundesliga clash on Tuesday night, German football’s one-time boy wonder watched on, his contribution limited to a 10-minute cameo from the bench – and an underwhelming one at that. When you have

Former Barcelona president Sandro Rosell said he would try to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar as he is the second-best player in the world behind Lionel Messi. Neymar left Barca for PSG in a world-record €222 million ($246m) transfer in 2017, but the Brazilian forward continues to be linked with a return to Camp Nou. The 28-year-old failed to make his way back to La Liga champions Barca at the start of the 2019-20 season and he is reportedly a transfer target again.

Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre hinted his future at the club was uncertain following Tuesday's 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich which all but ended their title hopes. Dortmund fell seven points behind Bayern, who now look set to win an eighth-straight Bundesliga title despite struggling this season and changing manager themselves. ESPN+: Stream ESPN FC TV daily and 30 for 30: Soccer Stories "That's what they've said here for months," Favre said when asked on Sky TV about claims he does not know

Hertha Berlin extended their unbeaten record under Bruno Labbadia with Krzysztof Piatek's penalty earning them a 2-2 draw at ten-man RB Leipzig, after Lukas Klostermann and Patrik Schick had cancelled out Marko Grujic's opener. RB Leipzig 2-2 Hertha Berlin Goals: 0-1 Grujic (9'), 1-1 Klostermann (24'), 2-1 Schick (68'), 2-2 Piatek (pen. 82') Red card: Halstenberg (63') True to form since the recent Bundesliga restart, it was the away team who gained the upper hand early on. Grujic stole in ahead of an

The midfielder especially felt the loss of Robin van Persie to Manchester United, which he called devastating Former Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has lamented the star departures at the Emirates in the early 2010s, saying the Gunners would have won the Premier League had the team not been broken up. Arsenal last won the Premier League in 2003-04 and the team put together a streak of 10 seasons finishing either third or fourth between 2005 and 2015. Wilshere believes a number of departures

The Bavarians are now seven points clear, essentially ending the title race just two weeks after play resumed in Germany's top flight. The eyes of the footballing world were on Der Klassiker on Tuesday evening, as Borussia Dortmund hosted Bayern Munich. The two teams produced an entertaining spectacle – but also the most predictable Bundesliga outcome: a Bayern win. In a way, it was a great advertisement for the competition, following on from the many wonderful games we have seen since Germany's top

While the main source of glory in football comes from the action on the pitch, there’s always the bragging rights of how many fans cram into the stands as a secondary ‘competition’ to try and win. And while their efforts on the pitch have been mediocre at best in recent years, Manchester United continue to dominate the Premier League as far as home attendances are concerned. They top the standings as far as all-time league attendance is concerned – with a whopping 94 million

The former Germany international admits a big-money move is likely to happen, but has used a Real Madrid flop as an example of how deals can go wrong Jadon Sancho is “ready to play for Liverpool or Manchester United”, admits Steffen Freund, but the Borussia Dortmund winger has seen Real Madrid flop Luka Jovic held up as an example of how big-money moves can go wrong. Back in the summer of 2019, after starring in the Bundesliga for Eintracht Frankfurt, a Serbia international

As reported by Don Balon, Barcelona are also considering the possibility of having Arkadiusz Milik at Camp Nou. This comes as a surprise since he’s the least favourable striker in comparison to all the others that the Catalan giants are keeping a close eye on. Barca’s current radar includes the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Timo Werner and Moussa Dembele in addition to the latest entrant in Milik. His name goes pale when brought up against these the more established strikers. At 26 years

Ronaldo Nazario has topped a list of the highest goalscorers in football history before the age of 21. The Brazilian exploded onto the scene with Cruzeiro in 1994 before making his way to Europe with PSV when he caught the eye of Europe's elite. In 185 appearances, he managed to net 167 goals for his clubs and the Brazilian national team. For context, Neymar comes in second place and played 42 games more while scoring 27 goals less. Check out the entire top ten below. 10.)

The 32-year-old Barcelona captain has had a heated rivalry with Juventus superstar Ronaldo on the field. When Messi was asked if he would pass to the 35-year-old Portuguese superstar, he admitted that he would eventually do so. "I guess so, in the end, yes," he told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. Ronaldo, who turned 35 in February, has been in fine goalscoring form as he has taken his tally to 25 in 32 appearances this season. And the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star