Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

Rangers want former player Lee McCulloch, who is currently talent acquistion manager with Premier League club Brighton and Hove Albion, to join their recruitment set-up at Ibrox. Gauthier Ganaye does not have the CV required to replace Patrick Stewart as Rangers' new chief executive despite his experience with Barnsley and Nice, according to former Aberdeen and Everton and Aston Villa chief executive Keith Wyness.

Local media reported that Pineida was shot on Wednesday by two people on motorbikes who opened fire on him, his mother and another women outside a shop in the north of the city. Ecuador's interior ministry said it has sent a special police unit to investigate. Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence and drug trafficking, with 1,900 murders recorded between January and September - the highest in Ecuador.

Earlier in the year, NBA stars LeBron James and Steph Curry were in China on solo tours, with James's trip done with main sponsor Nike and labeled "The Forever King Tour." Brands in sports are not new. Fred Perry clothing was created by the British tennis player in the 1950s. Air Jordan entered the picture with basketball star Michael Jordan in 1984.

Kylian Mbappe scored twice and Real Madrid beat third-division club Talavera 3-2 in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. Mbappe converted a 41st-minute penalty and sealed the victory late in the second half with a shot from outside the area for his 10th goal in his last six matches in all competitions with Madrid. The French forward was also involved in the play that led to an own-goal by Manuel Farrando in first-half stoppage time.

Per a report by the football kit reporting dynamo Footy Headlines, Bundesliga clubs will feature a debut patch for players in their first Bundesliga appearance. It will serve as a milestone for the player making their first professional appearance in the BuLi as well as add a memorable moment for the fans. Post that, the match-worn patch would be removed and incorporated into a "special" trading card. Topps who are the official trading card partner with the DFL would then release the special debut card.

Because taking their place isn't easy. But that's ultimately the goal. And once I succeed, I want to win the Champions League.

This is the last FPL week before fixture mayhem takes over, with gameweeks starting on December 26, December 30, January 3 and January 6. It's a lot of football to be played in a short amount of time so expect rotation, random benchings and a bit of injury chaos. If you didn't spend all your five free Afcon transfers last week then well done - you'll need them over the next three weeks!

"I think I am in a good direction with the players," he said after his fourth defeat in a row in his new job, a 2-1 loss at struggling Dundee United. "Today you saw we had a good performance," he stated. "We are improving," he insisted. "We were close to winning... keep the faith." All around him now there are football atheists. There really can't be many believers left. As Nancy spoke, it was hard to avoid wincing and wincing and wincing again.

That was tough but your quiz skills can go further. We're sure of that, so we've gathered some of our toughest brainteasers that we know you'll enjoy too, all available courtesy of Kwizly. Our favourite quiz of the lot is FourFourTwo's Big Badge Quiz, which asks you to name 100 club and country crests from all over the world of football. It's one to puzzle over for a while so there's no time limit on that one! And bring your dinner.

Rooted to the bottom of the table with only two points - 13 adrift of safety - winless in the Premier League for 253 days and having conceded 35 goals this season, Wolves' top-flight future looks increasingly bleak. Guaranteed to be bottom on Christmas Day, it is a far cry from the festive gift supporters had been hoping for. But Wolves are not alone in their Christmas wish for a win.

Lewandowski, of course, holds the Bundesliga single season goal-scoring record with 41 goals. Kane, meanwhile, has 18 goals in 14 Bundesliga game so far this season. Kane is clearly on pace to break the Polish Hitman's record and was recently asked about potentially breaking that mark. So...what do you say Bayern Munich fans, do you want to see Kane break the record...or would you rather see Lewandowski continue to be the record holder?

Starting with the hosts, putting in what was a downbeat display away at automatic promotion contenders Middlesbrough last weekend as they eventually fell to a 3-1 loss on Tyneside, QPR will be seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, although the Hoops might have spent the majority of last season looking over their shoulder at a looming relegation scrap, Julien Stephan's side have come roaring back in an eye-catching fashion this time around.

The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality. There are so many of them that have European passports, some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. The rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now but we have submitted our protest to FIFA. There are players that got theirs in just three months. So there is to us, what is considered as a breach of the regulation. That is why took that decision.

It has been a hectic few weeks for the 33-year-old, first being benched for three consecutive games by Liverpool boss Arne Slot, before the winger himself blew the story open by telling journalists he'd been thrown under the bus. That led to the winger being omitted from the Reds' travelling squad to face Inter Milan, before crunch talks between the head coach and Salah saw him readmitted to the first team.

Lionel Messi voted for former Barcelona teammate Ousmane Dembelé as The Best FIFA Men's Player of 2025. Paris Saint-Germain winger Dembelé received the award on Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, after edging out Barcelona teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. Dembelé's France teammate Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid was the other finalist. Previous winner Messi selected his ex-PSG teammate Mbappé as his second choice. Yamal, who inherited Messi's iconic Barcelona No. 10 jersey, was the Argentinian's third pick.

Vincent Kompany has gone from strength to strength in 2025. Starting off the year under a certain amount of pressure at Bayern Munich due to an early DFB Pokal exit and struggles in the UEFA Champions League league phase, he has overseen Bayern reclaiming the Bundesliga title, win the DFL Supercup and build up a phenomenal record throughout the 2025-26 season, at the time of writing.

I love Mo Salah. In fact, shortly after he joined the club in the summer of 2017, my Liverpool fandom reached new heights. Where I'm from, college basketball is king. I'm a born Louisville Cardinals fan. I've lost sleep, broken smart phones, and cried tears of joy in response to Cards basketball. For 25 years, it was unfathomable that any other team could impact my life the same way.

Rayan Cherki recreated teammate Erling Haaland's goal celebrations after curling an exquisite shot into the top corner in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Brentford in the English League Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday. The France playmaker pulled out some robot moves and then sat down cross-legged in a yoga pose after giving a much-changed City team a 32nd-minute lead. With his tricks, skills and wonderful technique, Cherki is already proving a fans' favorite in his first season in Manchester after moving from Lyon.

Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The 48-year-old, widely considered to be one of the Premier League's greatest players, retired in 2014. He will be presented with the award at the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year show on Thursday, live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 GMT. "Football has given me everything and I gave it my all," said Henry. "To be recognised as part of its history with this Lifetime Achievement award and to have made my mark for the fans and my team-mates is something I'll never take for granted."

It's easy to see why. He's 6-foot-1 with a lean build, but strides forward with power and has a remarkable ability to quicken his step just enough to nip in and intercept a pass. He ranks in the 85th percentile in Ligue 1 for dribblers tackled, plus the 78th and 92nd percentiles for progressive passes and successful take-ons, respectively. This is a player who can halt opponents' attacks, then start his own in seconds.

It was a great moment, I appreciate, always thankful. In some moments when you don't win games, they have been not happy, but it's normal. But overall, the fans have always been there. These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games.