World Sports

Manchester United have held initial talks with Ernesto Valverde as they continue their search for an interim manager to take charge until the end of the season. Valverde is one of a number of potential candidates to have spoken with United, and it is understood other prominent managers are in …

Late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho sent Manchester United into the last 16 of the Champions League and gave Michael Carrick the win in his first game as caretaker manager. The first half looked like one might imagine a first half between the 12th-best team in Spain and …

Manchester United have approached Zinedine Zidane about becoming their manager but, according to sources close to the former Real Madrid boss, he is not interested in going to Old Trafford at this point. Ole Gunnar Soskjaer was sacked by United on Sunday after Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Watford. Zidane ended …

MBrazil’s Raphinha mouth bleeds after a knock during a qualifying soccer match against Argentina for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Bicentenario stadium in San Juan, Argentina, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko) Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha and video assistant Esteban Ostojich were suspended Wednesday after failing to …

The president of the Jordan Football Association (JFA) has called for the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to carry out a gender test on Iranian women’s goalkeeper Zohreh Koudaei. Iran beat Jordan 4-2 on penalties in September, with Koudaei saving two spot-kicks. The heroics helped Iran to qualify for the 2022 …

Barcelona have reached an agreement in principle to re-sign 38-year-old defender Dani Alves – five years after he left the Nou Camp for Juventus. Alves, who has won nine top-flight titles with Barca, Juve and Paris St-Germain, will arrive on a free transfer for the rest of the 2021-22 season. …

Steven Gerrard has been appointed as the new Aston Villa head coach on a three-and-a-half-year deal. The former Liverpool midfielder left his role as Rangers manager to replace Dean Smith, who was sacked last weekend after a run of five successive defeats. Compensation of between £3.25-4m agreed with the Scottish …

Rio Ferdinand has called for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to hand over the Manchester United manager’s “baton” after a string of damaging results left the club well off the pace in the Premier League. The Norwegian boss is under intense pressure after a 5-0 home thumping by Liverpool and a one-sided …

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has withdrawn from the France squad due to an injury sustained in training on Monday. The 28-year-old had joined up with his international teammates as Les Bleus prepare for important World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Finland. Unfortunately, Paul suffered a right thigh injury while …

New Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez was unveiled at the Camp Nou on Monday morning. The Spanish club had been pursuing Xavi as a replacement for Ronald Koeman after he was sacked a fortnight ago, and negotiations with Al Sadd had proved trickier than expected. Xavi reportedly had a release clause …