Organisers for the virus-postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics said Thursday they have reached "basic agreement" with all domestic sponsors to extend their contracts by a year, securing much-needed additional funds. Keeping all 68 domestic sponsors on board for another year is all the more...

Cristiano Ronaldo and Leonardo Bonucci Wednesday apologized to Juventus fans for the "worst" performance of the season as the Italian champions' fell to their first Serie A defeat this term against lowly Fiorentina. The 'Bianconeri' played most of the match a man down after Juan Cuadrado...

The coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics will cost at least 1.64 trillion yen ($15.9 billion), organisers said Tuesday, unveiling a final budget swollen by the unprecedented postponement and a raft of pandemic measures. The extra costs -- up 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion) from figures...

Lionel Messi has admitted the ill feeling between him and Barcelona over his attempt to leave the club in the close season has affected his form this season, in which he has posted his lowest goal and assist tallies in 13 years. Messi caused consternation at Barca when he sent the club a...

Manchester City's strikers will have to rediscover their scoring touch because reinforcements will not be signed in January, manager Pep Guardiola has said. Guardiola explained that even with the backing of their Abu Dhabi owners, City were subject to the same financial pressures as their...

Manchester United demolished Leeds 6-2 in the first league meeting between the sides for 16 years to bolster their Premier League title aspirations on Sunday. Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes scored twice as United's counter-attacking threat tore apart Marcelo Bielsa's attacking approach...

Brazil soccer great Pele has paid tribute to Lionel Messi for equalling his goal-scoring record for a single club after the Argentine forward netted his 643rd goal for Barcelona in Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Valencia. Messi, 33, hit the milestone goal with a diving header just before...

Mexican driver Sergio Perez will replace Alexander Albon at Red Bull next season, the Formula One outfit announced on Friday. Perez, who was out of contract with Racing Point, will race alongside Max Verstappen for the Milton Keynes-based team in 2021. The popular driver put himself in...

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was named men's player of the year Thursday at FIFA's 'The Best' awards ceremony in Zurich. The 32-year-old Lewandowski, top scorer in Europe and winner of the Champions League with Bayern, came out ahead of the other two nominees, Lionel Messi and...

Karim Benzema spared Real Madrid's blushes on Tuesday with the winning brace which shot the reigning champions to a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao that draws them level on points with La Liga Leaders Real Sociedad. Frenchman Benzema headed home a cross from Dani Carvajal with 16 minutes...

Barcelona will face Paris St Germain while title holders Bayern Munich are up against Italy's Lazio in the last 16 of the Champions League after UEFA's draw was held Monday. Premier League champions Liverpool will play last year's semifinalists RB Leipzig. Atletico Madrid will face...

Mohamed Salah spared Liverpool's blushes as the Egyptian's late penalty rescued a 1-1 draw against struggling Fulham Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's side were punished for a sloppy first half display at Craven Cottage when Bobby Decordova-Reid gave Fulham a shock lead. But Salah rescued the...

Max Verstappen brought the curtain down on the 2020 Formula One season with a lights-to-flag cruise to victory Sunday in the year-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Dutchman led every lap of what turned out to be a processional race in his Red Bull to cross the line 15.9 seconds ahead of...

 Sarah Fuller became the first woman to score in a Power Five conference football game, cleanly kicking a pair of extra points for Vanderbilt in a 42-17 loss to Tennessee on Saturday. The goalkeeper for Vanderbilt's Southeastern Conference women's soccer champs made both of her kicks,...

Real Madrid reignited their La Liga title push on Saturday beating leaders Atletico 2-0 as their city rivals suffered a first league defeat of the season. Real, who salvaged their Champions League campaign in midweek by making the last 16, moved to third in the table, three points...

Fans of an Israeli soccer club long associated with anti-Arab racism gathered Friday in a show of support for an Emirati businessman's purchase of a stake in the organization, welcoming it as a sign of change even as a smaller number of fans protested the move. Beitar Jerusalem is the only...

Neymar played a leading part in the unprecedented anti-racism protest which saw Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players leave the field in their Champions League match this week, and the Brazilian has also been living up to his status as the world's most expensive player in recent...

World champion Lewis Hamilton was Thursday given the green light to return to racing at this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix after recovering from coronavirus. Hamilton, 35, missed last Sunday's Sakhir GP but the FIA and Mercedes both confirmed that he had passed a...

MADRID (AP) — Karim Benzema scored two first-half goals as Real Madrid beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 on Wednesday to avoid an early exit in the Champions League. Madrid needed a victory to guarantee advancement and ended up winning Group B to reach the knockout round for the 24th...

A much-changed Liverpool were left hanging on to deny Midtjylland a first ever Champions League group stage win as the Reds escaped with a 1-1 draw in Denmark Wednesday. Mohammad Salah opened the scoring inside the first minute to become Liverpool's all-time top scorer in the Champions...