Liverpool have announced the signing of Xherdan Shaqiri from Stoke City, the Switzerland international joining for a reported £13.75million.
Shaqiri has agreed a long-term contract at Anfield, although Liverpool have not confirmed the length of the deal.
The Switzerland international, who starred at the World Cup, reportedly had a release clause in his Stoke contract that allowed him to leave following their relegation from the Premier League.
Shaqiri completed his medical at Liverpool on Friday and the deal was confirmed by the club later in the day.
I m very happy to be here. It s a huge club with big history, big players and a fantastic coach. So I m really glad and happy to be here, Shaqiri told Liverpool s website.
As a player you always w…
Paul Konchesky s first Premier League goal since 2009 handed Leicester City a vital 1-0 win over Aston Villa.
The 33-year old was on hand to drive home a half-volley on the stroke of half-time to end a wait of over five years since his last top-flight strike and make it three league games unbeaten for the hosts.
Leicester enjoyed the better of the first-half exchanges with David Nugent at the centre of their best chances, the striker hitting the crossbar just before the opening goal.
Matty James saw red late on for a dangerous challenge on Jores Okore, an incident that also saw Villa s Ciaran Clark shown a second yellow for confronting the 23-year old.
Villa again struggled in front of goal, drawing a blank for the 12th time this season to leave Paul …
Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui expects striker Borja Mayoral to leave following the signing of Mariano Diaz, but there will be no more arrivals.
Mariano rejoined Madrid after spending a single season at Lyon, where he scored 18 Ligue 1 goals, pushing Mayoral down Lopetegui s list of forward options.
Sevilla have been linked with a move for Mayoral after their deal with Lyon for Mariano collapsed when Madrid became interested in resigning the striker.
Mayoral, 21, started three LaLiga games last season and scored three times, hitting the net a further three times in the Copa del Rey.
Lopetegui, though, accepts Mayoral will want to move ahead of Friday s transfer deadline after seeing another striker arrive, which will limit his opportunities to pla…
Lille have completed the signing of Sao Paulo midfielder Thiago Mendes in a move said to be worth up to €9million, with Kevin Malcuit also arriving from Saint-Etienne.
Defensive midfielder Mendes has put pen to paper on a five-year contract with Lille and follows in the footsteps of Luiz Araujo, who left Sao Paulo for the Ligue 1 club in June.
Mendes won Brazil s Serie B with Goias in 2012 and, after two seasons in the top flight, moved to the Paulista giants and played a key role in their run to the 2016 Copa Libertadores semi-finals.
The 25-year-old expressed his delight at securing a European move and getting the chance to work under head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Since I was a child, playing in Europe has always been a dream for me, Mendes told Lille s…
Carlo Ancelotti has paid the price for Bayern Munich s stuttering form, with the head coach sacked on Thursday following defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
The ex-Real Madrid boss had been brought in to build on the fine work of Pep Guardiola, who departed for Manchester City, but he ultimately failed as Bayern drifted further away from Europe s elite evidenced in the reverse at the Parc des Princes.
While Ancelotti s reign was not without its successes, his side could not live up to the standards set under Guardiola as Bayern won three straight Bundesliga titles.
Here, we assess the low points of Ancelotti s tenure in Opta numbers.
STANDARDS SLIPPING
Ancelotti, of course, did win a Bundesliga title in his first seas…
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The domestic season may be over but the summer has only just begun. Between the Summer Olympics and the Euros we ve got a whole lot to look forward to and as the countdown to kick-off for the latter continues, we thought we d take a look at a friendly game between two of the teams set to take part. France and Wales will both participate in this year s rescheduled European Championship and while they may not be the favourites to some, underestimating them would be a huge mistake.
France
If France are going to carry forward their success from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, they ll need to do so with some ruthless efficiency because their group is an absolute disaster zone for potential banana skins. They ll be t…
Dele Alli called for Tottenham to use the pain of defeat against Liverpool in the Champions League final to drive them on next season, but admitted that missing out on Europe s top prize was heartbreaking .
The England midfielder missed a number of opportunities at Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, where goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi earned Liverpool glory in the continent s biggest competition for the sixth time on Saturday.
Tottenham will be in the Champions League again next season after finishing fourth in the Premier League and Alli said the memory of losing in Madrid could become a tool they use to better themselves.
It s heartbreaking, no one is really speaking, the 25-year-old told reporters.
We have to keep working, keep improving and t…
Peter Bosz has urged Borussia Dortmund to recapture their early season form when they travel to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Defeat at home to RB Leipzig last weekend left Dortmund a mere two points above Bayern Munich at the summit.
Leipzig are a point further back and a disappointing 1-1 draw at APOEL in midweek for Bosz s side left their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
Our level now is not that of the beginning of the season, the former Ajax boss told a pre-match news conference. It s disappointing and it is up to me as a trainer to turn this around.
When you win, everything is simple. We have already shown we have a good team.
We ll get back there. If we play good football, the results will come. A victory …
Left-back – Ali Adnan (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Adnan s attacking ability from the back has been critical for Vancouver in 2019. He is one of only three defenders to have completed 20 dribbles and create 10 or more chances this term. On top of that, he is one of four defenders with 100 or more duels won, and the Whitecaps concede more than double the amount of goals per 90 minutes with him off the pitch (0.9 goals conceded per 90 with Adnan on the field, 2.1 per 90 without him).
Central midfield – Jonathan dos Santos (Los Angeles Galaxy)
The Mexico international has become arguably the most intimidating midfield force in MLS this year. He has won a league-best 155 possessions and has 94 tackles and interceptions – no other player has more than 75. Look no further tha…
Gary Medel has insisted Inter must continue to improve if they are to be successful in Serie A this season ahead of Sunday s home game against Frosinone.
Roberto Mancini s men have enjoyed a fine start to the 2015-16 campaign and heading into the weekend share top spot in the table with Fiorentina after 12 games, with both sides collecting 27 points so far.
Medel is not getting carried away just yet, though, and has told his team-mates there is still a long way to go before they can start thinking about the Scudetto.
We still have to improve a lot, Medel said at a media conference.
We have a great team, but there is still a lot of work to do and there are many more games left in the league.
Geoffrey Kondogbia, however, is optimistic about Inter…