Adam Wharton’s move to Crystal Palace tops list of big-money deadline deals

Kenya faces a second international stadium ban following outbreaks of fan violence during the last World Cup qualifier against Mozambique in June, football officials said on Thursday.

FIFA s Disciplinary Committee is seeking action after home supporters threw plastic bottles on the pitch as they celebrated the national team s 2-1 victory at the Kasarani stadium on June 20.

The world s football governing body has already banned the favoured Nyayo National stadium from staging qualifiers after Kenya failed to implement safety recommendations.

FIFA also imposed a restricted attendance to 60 percent of the 60,000-capacity at the Kasarani stadium during the match against Mozambique in a bid to maintain the safety of the fans.

These incidents appear to be a v…

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has learned from the mistakes of Rafael Benitez in deciding how to handle Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Bixente Lizarazu.

Benitez missed an opportunity to single out Ronaldo as the best player in the world soon after succeeding Carlo Ancelotti at the Santiago Bernabeu in June 2015.

Having made a bad start, the former Valencia and Liverpool boss then reportedly struggled to win the full support of the Portugal captain and was dismissed in January last year.

Benitez s replacement Zidane appears to have been far shrewder in managing his prized asset, while guiding Madrid to Champions League glory last season.

I can … see how clever he s been with Cristiano Ronaldo, unlike Rafael Benitez, who criticised him when he arriv…

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has recalled Chelsea striker Diego Costa for the forthcoming international friendlies against England and Belgium.

Costa was suspended for Spain s Euro 2016 qualifier against Luxembourg on October 9, although he would have been available to face Ukraine three days later.

Del Bosque opted to omit the former Atletico Madrid star entirely, selecting Juventus Alvaro Morata as his main centre-forward, but names both men this time around.

Midfielders Andres Iniesta and Koke return after injury absences but Manchester City playmaker David Silva remains absent due to the ankle problem he sustained against Luxembourg.

Spain host England in Alicante on November 13 before travelling to face Belgium – recently elevated to number one i…

Milan are reportedly leading the race to sign Dominik Szoboszlai, but the Salzburg midfielder insists he has other options available.

Hungary international Szoboszlai is expected to follow in the footsteps of Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino and leave Salzburg in the near future.

Inter, Lazio, Arsenal and Leicester City have all been credited with an interest in the 19-year-old, though it is Milan who are said to be in pole position to secure his signature for a fee in the region of €30million.

Szoboszlai has scored four goals and supplied as many assists in 29 appearances for Salzburg in 2019-20.

Asked whether he could see himself playing at Milan or in Serie A in general, Szoboszlai told Stats Perform: I can t say anything about that. If it is going…

Roberto Soldado is desperate to maintain his goalscoring start to the season when Tottenham face Arsenal in Sunday s north London derby.

The Spaniard who joined from Valencia in August has already proved his worth to the club with two goals from the penalty spot in as many league games so far, sealing 1-0 victories against Crystal Palace and Swansea City.

And with the derby match looming, Soldado insists he understands the significance and is determined to continue his goal streak in the coveted fixture.

It’s always important to score goals, especially if they are important to the team and I hope to keep on doing this for the team, he said.

My team-mates have already told me about playing Arsenal it’s the most beautiful derby, the one with the biggest rivalry…

Marc-Andre ter Stegen has suggested he came close to leaving Barcelona in the close-season.

The 24-year-old hinted he was on the verge of an exit from Camp Nou, before Claudio Bravo departed for Manchester City.

Ter Stegen joined Barca from Borussia Monchengladbach in 2014, when fellow shot-stopper Bravo also signed from Real Sociedad.

However, the German was initially limited to playing in the Copa del Rey and Champions League, with coach Luis Enrique using Bravo as his first choice in LaLiga.

Following the Chile international s switch to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City ahead of the 2016-17 campaign, Ter Stegen has since been the undisputed number one at Barca although he admits he also considered leaving the Spanish champions.

It was tou…

Valencia will appeal against their five-game partial stadium closure and hefty fine following the racist abuse aimed at Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior, calling the sanction “unfair and disproportionate”.

Vinicius threatened to leave the pitch in the second half of Sunday’s LaLiga match at the Mestalla after being subjected to alleged monkey chants from the crowd and Real Madrid, who said the incident constituted a “hate crime”, filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

In response, the club have been ordered to shut the Mario Kempes south stand, where the alleged abuse happened, for five matches and have also been fined 45,000 euros (£39,000) by the Spanish football federation (RFEF).

COMUNICADO OFICIAL | RESPETO POR NU…

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has revealed Zinedine Zidane previously tried to convince him to sign for Real Madrid.

Ribery has established himself as one of the top players in world football since joining Bayern in 2007, helping them become the first German side to win the treble last season.

The France international who is poised to play a key role in his country s upcoming FIFA World Cup play-off with Ukraine was linked with Real and Barcelona before electing to move to Germany, rumours which resurfaced prior to him signing a new deal with the Bavarians in 2010.

And the 30-year-old has now admitted compatriot and Real legend Zidane had attempted to lure him to the Bernabeu.

Barcelona and Madrid are very big teams. There was a moment when both teams were i…

Disbelief. Utter disbelief.

What. A. Game.

This is arguably the craziest UEFA Champions League match we have ever seen in our lives and it is fair to say all of those who missed the opportunity to watch the duel between Manchester City and Monaco will regret it dearly.

We saw eight goals but drew 5 conclusions for you to read:

Games like these are not good for your health

Manchester City and Monaco played one of those games you don’t get to see very often.

The Tuesday night’s clash had it all – starting from the horrendous defending and errors from respective goalkeepers, penalties and denied penalties, all the way to stunning goals and moments of brilliance.

It was Monaco who showed great courage and willingness to go forward and …

Gonzalo Higuain returned from injury to help a Patrick Cutrone-inspired AC Milan come from behind in a 3-1 win over Olympiacos in the Europa League.

Argentina striker Higuain, sidelined with a leg problem for the past two matches, scored in between Cutrone s crucial brace amid a game-changing burst of three goals in nine second-half minutes.

Milan had slipped back into old habits prior to their 70th-minute equaliser, struggling to convert possession into chances as their six-match unbeaten run in all competitions appeared destined to end.

But, having fallen behind to Miguel Angel Guerrero s first-half header, the Serie A side rallied upon Cutrone s introduction and overcame a lacklustre opening hour to stay top of Group F on six points.

Cutrone in 2017…