Coach Flick kept Raphinha playing up front as a makeshift number nine, after the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.

The front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers caught the eye in a 3-2 win at Fulham on Monday to open the Xabi Alonso era at Chelsea with victory.

Co-owners of Argentine sport marketing company Full Play used bribes to secure media rights for matches including World Cup qualifiers and the Copa America

The 56-year-old Swiss chief of world football's governing body gained some respite when UEFA also announced later on Thursday that they were withdrawing, "on a provisional basis", their threat to boycott FIFA tournaments.

The first matches in this season's league phase will be played between Tuesday, September 8 and Thursday, September 10, with the final games in late January. UEFA is expected to announce the full fixture schedule on Saturday.

The 2026/27 season has barely begun and Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe is already on top of La Liga's goalscoring charts ahead of the visit of promoted side Malaga on Sunday.

Saudi Arabia, the hosts of the 2034 men's World Cup, threw their its support behind FIFA chief Gianni Infantino on Thursday as he continues to face criticism over the collapse of the governing body's controversial FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal.

Nottingham Forest have splashed a club record reported fee of £45 million to sign out-of-favour Chelsea striker Liam Delap.

The eastern Indian city of Kolkata will host heavyweights Brazil and Uruguay in international football friendlies against the host nation in October, the All India Football Federation said on Thursday.

Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany confirmed on Thursday midfielder Jamal Musiala would not be back in time for this week's Bundesliga opener against Stuttgart as he continues to manage a neurological condition.

Atletico Madrid hardened their stance over a possible sale of striker Julian Alvarez to Barcelona on Thursday, ruling out any negotiations with the Spanish champions.

The France winger has already agreed personal terms with Liverpool, according to several media reports.

Bangladesh's Under-20 team will leave for Uzbekistan tonight amid an extraordinary cloud of uncertainty, with neither head coach Gerard Jones nor captain or any player attending the team's pre-departure press conference at the Bangladesh Football Federation headquarters.

The seven group winners will join nine teams that have already qualified for the finals through the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026.

Barcelona have signed Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic from Fenerbahce, the Catalan giants said on Thursday.

Matteo Guendouzi was at the centre of chaotic scenes after Fenerbahce secured a dramatic 2-1 victory over Lyon to qualify for the Champions League league phase for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Azerbaijan will have a representative in the Champions League this season after Sabah Baku completed a remarkable journey through the qualifying rounds to reach the league phase for the first time in the club’s history.

Brazilian winger Savio, who joined Spurs for a reported initial fee of £75 million ($102 million) from Manchester City, came off the bench

UEFA, whose clubs and national teams dominate football's global economy, reacted furiously when it emerged in late July that Gianni Infantino's FIFA was aiming to create a commercial subsidiary to run its biggest events, such as the World Cup and Club World Cup.

It was Jose Mourinho's first home match back at the Santiago Bernabeu as the club's coach.