Chelsea have completed the signing of Asmir Begovic from Stoke City, .
The Premier League champions have been on the lookout for a new goalkeeper to provide competition to first choice shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois since selling Petr Cech to Arsenal last month.
Begovic has spent the last five-and-a-half years at Britannia Stadium, racking up one hundred and seventy-two appearances in all competitions, even scoring in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in November 2013.
Prior to his move to Stoke, the 28 year old spent five years at Portsmouth but played just seventeen times, spending most of his time out on loan with a variety of clubs.
Internationally, he has been capped forty-one times for Bosnia and Herzegovina and was part of their 2014 World Cup squad.<…
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has stressed he is not overly bothered about winning the Ballon d Or, with titles at team level his preference.
The 27-year-old made France Football s 30-man longlist for the prestigious individual award and is regarded as one of the outsiders to win it, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi the inevitable favourites.
Nevertheless, Bale, who signed a new six-year deal at Madrid on Sunday, is adamant lifting the Ballon d Or does not top his priority list by any means.
The Ballon d Or has never been a personal goal for me. I never dreamed about winning the Ballon d Or. I dreamed about winning Champions League and league titles, Bale said at a media conference.
If I win the Champions League and other titles, then individual…
Dru Yearwood was red carded for booting a ball out of frustration into fans in the stands as New York Red Bulls were humbled 2-0 at home by Philadelphia Union in the MLS on Saturday.
The bizarre incident occurred in stoppage time with the Red Bulls trailing 2-0 after Yearwood conceded a foul near the sideline, with the Englishman kicking away the ball in frustration.
Yearwood s errant kick cannoned into two young fans in the front few rows at Red Bull Arena, with a boy seen crying afterwards while a young woman seemed dazed. Yearwood immediately realised his error and attempted to apologise to the fans, by climbing into the stands but that effort was not accepted by those close to the shaken-up supporters.
The Red Bulls crowd could be overheard chanting against Y…
Bernardo Silva s mooted departure from Manchester City did not materialise as it was no longer the right time when a concrete offer was belatedly made, his father Paulo has said.
The Portugal international was strongly linked with an exit from the Etihad Stadium during the transfer window, with Barcelona heavily tipped as a potential destination.
But Silva ultimately stayed put with Pep Guardiola s Premier League champions, revealing afterwards a late bid had arrived from an unnamed suitor.
Silva suggested City s inability to recruit a replacement late in the window halted any move, and his father has added a transfer did not work for everyone at that point.
There [were] a lot of conversations but not really a concrete offer in time that we thought …
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers expects to be fully backed in the transfer market, despite a spike in the club s debt.
The Merseyside club announced an 87.2-million-pound debt on Monday, a rise of 21.8 million over the 10-month period leading into April 2012.
However, Rodgers has been assured by current owners Fenway Sports Group that the will not impact his spending power.
In terms of me building the squad, I ve already got the assurances that it won t affect anything, Rodgers told reporters.
They ve made every promise and every commitment to me that every single penny that they have will go in to regenerate the squad and make it better.
We won t be able to do it like some clubs and throw out masses each year. But we re looking to make sure …
Didier Drogba ruined Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri s return to Chelsea as the Ivory Coast forward sealed a 1-0 win in the Champions League last 16 first leg on Wednesday.
Ranieri spent four years at Chelsea before being cast aside by Roman Abramovich to make way for Jose Mourinho in 2004 and Drogba s first half strike at Stamford Bridge denied him the chance for immediate revenge.
The Italian coach could still have the last laugh though as Chelsea s failure to turn their pressure into more goals leaves the tie on a knife-edge going into the return in Turin on March 10.
While Ranieri is fondly thought of at Chelsea, he was unable to deliver success during his reign.
Guus Hiddink, the latest man to take his turn in the Chelsea hot-seat, was brought i…
Neymar has dismissed speculation linking him with a move from Barcelona to Manchester United.
The Brazil forward is said to be the subject of interest from the Premier League club, although both Barcelona coach Luis Enrique and United manager Louis van Gaal have refused to comment on the rumours.
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, meanwhile, has indicated his club will enter into negotiations over a contract extension for the former Santos star.
And, speaking after a 1-0 La Liga win over Malaga on Saturday, Neymar said: I know nothing of Manchester, I m outside of all this and don t listen to it.
I am happy in Barcelona and the fans of Barca can be calm.
Neymar, who moved to Camp Nou in June 2013, scored 39 goals last season as Barca won …
Francesco Totti turns 40 on Tuesday and age is proving to be nothing but a number for the Roma star as he continues to shine in the capital.
Totti remains a key figure at the Stadio Olimpico, despite dropping out of Luciano Spalletti s starting XI, contributing six goals and four assists in his last 11 Serie A appearances stretching back to last season.
Expected to retire at the end of the current campaign, we examine some of the startling numbers behind one of Italian football s all-time greats, courtesy of Opta.
250 A penalty against Torino on Sunday helped Totti score his 250th goal in Serie A. Only Silvio Piola (274) has more. No player has scored more goals for a single club in the league s history.
23 Totti has scored in 23 consecutive …
Timo Werner may still be waiting for his first goal in Russia but the Germany forward insists no money in the world can replace representing his country at a World Cup.
The RB Leipzig forward has started for Joachim Low s side in their two Group F fixtures, though he failed to find the net against Mexico and Sweden.
However, Werner did play a key role in Germany s thrilling 2-1 victory over Sweden in Sochi, winning a free-kick in stoppage time that led to Toni Kroos match-winning strike.
While keen to break his duck at the tournament, the 22-year-old s main concern is making sure the reigning champions progress through to the knockout stages.
As long as we win games, I don t care who scores, Werner who stuck 13 times in the 2017-18 Bundesliga se…
Olivier Giroud dragged Arsenal back to winning ways as his 86th-minute header snatched a 1-0 win over West Brom at Emirates Stadium.
Tony Pulis visitors held Arsene Wenger s men at arm s length during a dour first period on Monday but were indebted to goalkeeper Ben Foster after the interval.
The 33-year-old marked a fresh contract extension with West Brom by making impressive stops from Giroud, Alex Iwobi and Alexis Sanchez, while the latter also rattled the post.
It meant Arsenal left it late to maintain their record of scoring in each of their 21 Premier League encounters with Albion who ultimately rued Claudio Yacob failing to punish Petr Cech s misjudgement at a 70th-minute corner as Giroud grappled with Gareth McAuley to steer a fine header over Fost…