Colin Millar

Guinea’s under-23 football team have secured their place in the 2024 Olympic Games, where they will play the USMNT in Group A. Guinea defeated Indonesia 1-0 in Thursday’s play-off — Ilaix Moriba scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot — in Clairefontaine to become the 16th and final qualifier for the men’s tournament in Paris. The match was a play-off between the sides from the African and Asian federations, with Guinea joining fellow African nations Egypt, Morocco and Mali in the finals. The U.S. will play Guinea in their third group stage match in...

Fluminense president Mario Bittencourt wants to create a link between the Brazilian club and Chelsea following their agreement to sign Thiago Silva. Silva, 39, is rejoining the Rio de Janiero club after 15 years when his contract at Chelsea expires at the end of the season. Bittencourt has praised Chelsea’s role in the negotiations process for the central defender’s transfer and has spoken of his desire for a link to be created between the two clubs, which he hopes will include playing friendlies at both team’s stadiums. “We have a huge affection for Chelsea,”...

Barcelona central defender Pau Cubarsi has signed a contract extension through to 2027. Cubarsi, 17, has enjoyed a breakthrough season at the Catalan club — making 20 first-team appearances having come through the ranks of their La Masia youth system. The central defender’s new contract will include a €500million release clause (£430.6m; $538.9m at current rates). The teenager, who has been capped twice by Spain at international level, has signed a one-year extension to his previous deal with the new contract also granting him first-team status. The defender’s previous deal...

Real Madrid will play Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1. This will be Dortmund’s first Champions League final since 2013, when they lost to Bayern Munich in the decider, which was also staged at Wembley. The German club’s only success in the competition came when they defeated Juventus in the 1997 final. Real Madrid are hopeful of being crowned champions of Europe for a 15th time, and securing their sixth title in the last decade, having won the 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022 editions of the tournament. Focus is now on this year’s final,...

Manchester United have been named the world’s most valuable football club, with 20 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams in the global top 50 list. In figures compiled by Sportico, United are valued at $6.2billion (£4.96bn), with Real Madrid ($6.06bn), Barcelona ($5.28bn), Liverpool ($5.11bn) and Bayern Munich ($4.8bn) completing the top five. Los Angeles FC ($1.15bn) are the highest-ranked MLS club at 15th, with Atlanta United, Inter Miami, LA Galaxy and New York City FC all in the top 20. The Premier League is the second-most represented league on the list with nine clubs in the top 50;...

Outgoing Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has spoken of his “very special time” managing Chelsea and admits he “loved it in the Premier League“. Bayern announced in February that Tuchel was to leave at the end of the season, following an “amicable conversation” that took place to “end the collaboration” with chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen. There has, however, been a petition from Bayern supporters, which nearly has 20,000 signatures, for the club to retain Tuchel as their head coach for next season, saying other candidates “don’t hold a...

Chelsea have won the Under-18 Premier League South Division title after defeating Southampton on Monday. Hasan Sulaiman’s side won 2-1 at Southampton to move eight points clear of West Ham United — who have played one game fewer — at the top of the standings, with one match remaining. Goals from Ato Ampah and substitute Frankie Runham helped secure Chelsea the victory to secure their fifth Premier League South Division title. Chelsea will finish the regular league season on Saturday with an away match at Arsenal before they play Manchester United — who won this season’s...

Three top-flight clubs in Brazil will not play football for three weeks after the country’s football federation (CBF) agreed to postpone their matches due to serious flooding. Internacional, Gremio and Juventude — who all play in Brazil’s Serie A — are based in the nation’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, which has been hit by serious flooding. A statement from the CBF on Tuesday confirmed that all clubs from the region would not have to play again until May 27 due to the circumstances, a period which covers three rounds of league matches and the third round of...

Ipswich Town have been promoted to the Premier League after a 22-year absence from England’s top flight. Kieran McKenna’s side headed into the Championship season’s final day on Saturday needing to avoid defeat to secure the division’s second automatic promotion spot behind champions Leicester City. And goals from Wes Burns and Omari Hutchinson sealed a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town to spark jubilant scenes at Portman Road. We are @premierleague. pic.twitter.com/bHbComlHh2 — I(P)SWICH TOWN (@IpswichTown) May 4, 2024 Ipswich were most recently in the Premier...

Troyes, the Ligue 2 club owned by the City Football Group, saw their home league match against Valenciennes abandoned following supporter unrest with the club on the brink of their second successive relegation. The game was paused in the 89th minute with the match poised at 1-1, after a number of flares and smokebombs were thrown onto the pitch from a section of the home supporters. It was subsequently abandoned by match officials. Troyes — who were relegated from Ligue 1 last season — are on the brink of their second successive demotion; the abandoning of this match leaves them seven...

The fixture treads the line still dividing Northern Ireland as a club with a largely nationalist fanbase confront a mainly unionist rival

USMNT defender Sergino Dest is out of the Copa America after confirming he has suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Dest, 23, suffered the set-back during a training session in April with PSV Eindhoven, where he is on loan from Barcelona. How to follow the Copa America on The Athletic… Copa America news and features Copa America fixtures and schedule The right-back — who has been capped 33 times by the USMNT — will now miss this summer’s tournament in the United States and he could be sidelined for up to nine months. In a video posted on his social media,...

Former striker Ronaldo has agreed to sell his stake in Brazilian club Cruzeiro. In December 2021, the 47-year-old former Ballon d’Or winner bought a controlling 90 per cent stake at Cruzeiro, the club where he started his career, for $70million (£62.2m). Ronaldo’s shares were through his company Tara Sports Brasil, but the club confirmed on Monday that they had agreed to sell the stake to BPW Sports company, led by Pedro Lourenco — owner of the supermarket chain Supermercados BH. Under Ronaldo’s ownership, the club returned to the Brazilian top-flight and their debt of $195m...

Barcelona have provisionally suspended two socios (club members) and banned a third non-socio supporter from buying tickets for matches following alleged “racist behaviour” during the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. It comes after Barcelona were fined €25,000 (£21,400) and handed a suspended one-match ban on selling tickets to away fans for UEFA competitions for the behaviour in Paris. Barcelona won the first leg of the quarter-final tie 3-2 in Paris but were eliminated from the competition following a 4-1 defeat in the return leg...

An independent association of Spanish football fans have requested a court “suspend the electoral process” for the presidency of Real Madrid. Madrid club president Florentino Perez will seek re-election for a sixth term in 2025, having most recently had his stay extended in an unopposed election in 2021. Perez, 77, has been president of the Spanish giants for a total of 21 years over two spells, from 2000 until 2006 and then since 2009. However, the Federacion de Accionistas y Socios del Futbol Espanol (FASFE) — an independent fan network formed by associations of supporters...