United States striker Brian McBride said he is retiring from international soccer. McBride, 34, plays for Fulham in the English Premier League and is the second-leading scorer in national team history with 30 goals in 95 games. He is also the only American player to score in two World Cups.
The three-time World Cup veteran has [...]

European champions Barcelona will join this year’s Club World Cup at the semifinal stage, Japanese organisers confirmed.
The Catalan club will receive a first-round bye in Fifa’s six-team tournament in December, along with the eventual winners of South America’s Libertadores Cup.
Barcelona, who beat Arsenal 2-1 in the Champions League final in May, will play their opening [...]

Ashley Cole’s on-off transfer to Chelsea took another twist last night as Arsenal were said to have rejected a £16m offer ­ instead insisting that they want £25m from the Stamford Bridge outfit.
The clubs are finally said to have entered into talks after months of speculation over the England defender’s future, but Arsenal are believed [...]

Arsenal’s new era at the Emirates Stadium has begun. Is this the inspiring, state-of-the-art venue that will ultimately set the blueprint for ambitious clubs moving to new stadiums? Or is this ground just another soulless expression of commercial power? As Arsenal’s crowd is relatively quiet anyway, the latter seems more likely. It is the fans’ [...]

It has been reported that Manchester United are on the verge of tabling an £8million bid for Juventus midfielder Patrick Vieira, who could be part of a mass player exodus from the Turin club following the club’s relegation from Serie A for its part in the Italian match-fixing scandal.
Sir Alex Ferguson made an audacious bid [...]

Reigning Premiership champions Chelsea’s business in the transfer window is almost complete with boss Jose Mourinho targeting just one more signing.
Mourinho wants to add a world class full-back to his squad with Juventus’ Gianluca Zambrotta and Ashley Cole of Arsenal at the top of his shopping list.
Asier del Horno is set to depart Stamford Bridge [...]

Spanish Primera Liga giants Real Madrid have announced the signing of Italy World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Brazil midfielder Emerson from Serie A side Juventus.
The pair, who have signed a two-year deal with a further one-year option, will link up with their former Juventus boss Fabio Capello at the Bernebeu. Spanish radio said the [...]

English Premier League football is bracing itself for its own corruption scandal after Premiership investigators confirmed they have evidence of illicit transfers involving several top-flight Premieship clubs.
Here, a team of specialist bung-busters - headed by former Met Police chief Lord Stevens - has highlighted a series of highly-questionable Premier League transfers. Only this time it’ll [...]

English Premier League team Manchester United has made it clear that star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal is not for sale. The 21-year-old Portugal international’s future has been under a cloud since he made public his intention to leave the English Premier League in favour of Spain.
However, Manchester United has since released a statement indicating [...]

Zinedine Zidane’s World Cup headbutt was sparked by vile insults about his mother, his religion and terrorism, it was claimed after France’s World Cup Final loss against four-time World Cup winners Italy.
The furious French captain attacked Marco Materazzi after the defender allegedly sneered: "All Muslims are terrorist b*****s." And sources claim the [...]