Freiburg have completed the transfer of Mike Frantz from Nuremberg for an undisclosed fee.
The midfielder, whose contract was set to expire next year, joined Nuremberg from Saarbrucken in 2008 and helped the club into the Bundesliga in his first season.
Frantz made 109 top-flight appearances for the now relegated Nuremberg, scoring eight goals, and Freiburg sporting director Jochen Saier believes the player will be a perfect fit at the club.
We had very good discussions with Mike Frantz, where it quickly became clear that he fits very well the type and the attitude that suits us, he said. We believe that he will help our team with his quality, experience and versatility.
Frantz himself added: SC Freiburg is a club that has established itself in recent years in t…
Thibaut Courtois is set to hold talks with Chelsea over a new contract, but the goalkeeper hinted he may seek a future move to LaLiga as his heart is in Madrid .
Courtois spent three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid after joining Chelsea from Genk, helping the club to LaLiga glory and the Champions League final in 2013-14.
The 25-year-old subsequently established himself as the number one at Stamford Bridge but, along with Manchester United s David de Gea, has been heavily linked with Real Madrid.
And Courtois, whose Chelsea deal is due to expire at the end of next season, indicated a LaLiga return may be on the cards later in his career.
My personal situation is related to the city of Madrid, Courtois told Sport/Foot Magazine.
My two child…
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was ready to join Paris Saint-Germain back in 2012, according to France Football.
The Portugal international is currently being linked with a move to Parc des Princes, but latest reports reveal he could have moved to Paris some six years ago.
That was the time when Cristiano Ronaldo felt under-appreciated by chairman Florentino Perez and threatened to leave the club if his demands were not met.
France Football has now come into a possession of a text message that the Portuguese supposedly sent to one of his close friends.
“I want to go to Paris. There, they will really love me,” the text message read. “The French will be so happy that I play in their championship that the media will campaign in my favour for …
Presnel Kimpembe has defended team-mate Kylian Mbappe after the forward was criticised by former player Jerome Rothen for putting himself first over the team.
Mbappe failed to score or assist a goal in France s three Euro 2020 group matches, but Les Blues still advanced with draws against Hungary and Portugal after beating Germany.
The Paris Saint-Germain star s eight attempts are the most of any France player in the tournament, but he found the target from just three of those.
Only three players – Gerard Moreno (nine), Burak Yilmaz and Martin Braithwaite (both 10) – had more attempts in the group phase without scoring.
Mbappe is four games without a goal overall, meanwhile, and ex-PSG winger Rothen has suggested the 22-year-old s ego is hindering his…
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has announced he will retire at the end of the season.
The 36-year-old has lost his starting place to Bernd Leno at the Emirates Stadium this season and, after a 20-year playing career, has opted to quit.
In a statement on Twitter, he wrote: This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season.
Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life hold…
Talksport understand that Arsenal are ready to reignite their interest in signing Borussia Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopolus.
The Gunners are in the market for a new centre-back and Papastathopolus is high on their list of targets, with Manchester United and Juventus also interested in securing his services.
The Greece international has been plying his trade with Dortmund since signing from Werder Bremen in the summer of 2013 and during that time has racked up one hundred and ninety-two appearances in all competitions, scoring ten goals.
Prior to his move to Germany he had a spell in Italy turning out for Genoa and Milan having began his career with AEK Athens in his home country.
Internationally he has been capped seventy-eight times at sen…
Market: Middlesbrough win
Odds: 13/10 @
Looking to lay down another marker on Monday afternoon, a high-flying Middlesbrough will make the trip to St. Andrew s when they meet Birmingham.
Starting with the hosts, while Birmingham might hold a six-point buffer over slipping into the drop zone, the Blues are enduring what has been another worrying rut. Last seen signing off 2022 with a toothless display on home soil as they were hit with a shock 1-0 loss against fellow strugglers Hull, John Eustace s men could be looking over their shoulder with some concern. In fact, on a run that is highlighted by a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Burnley last week, fans around St. Andrew s have seen their side muster just a sole Championship win from their last six attempts. With th…
Bayern Munich signing Erling Haaland doesn t make any sense for sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic because they have Robert Lewandowski.
Haaland is believed to be available for €75million due to a clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract and is set leave in one of the upcoming off-season s major transfers.
The Norway international has scored 82 goals and supplied 19 assists in 86 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund since making his debut on January 18, 2020. He has averaged 1.1 goals per 90 minutes, a record that is only bettered by Bayern striker Lewandowski (1.2) among players in the top five European leagues.
Haaland has been touted as a potential replacement for Lewandowski, who Bayern were said to be open to offers for with his contract exp…
Memphis Depay s first goal for Barcelona secured a 1-1 draw for Ronald Koeman s side against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames on Saturday.
Barca started life without Lionel Messi – who joined Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month – with a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad last weekend, but they were well off the pace for much of the clash with Marcelino s side.
The hosts had seven shots to Barca s three in a lively first half and they deservedly went ahead five minutes after the restart when Inigo Martinez steered a header past Neto.
Former Lyon forward Depay ensured a share of the spoils 15 minutes from full-time, though, lashing home from an acute angle moments after Frenkie de Jong had hit the crossbar.
Eric Garcia was then sent off in the final moments…
Jurgen Klopp will take charge of Borussia Dortmund for the final time in Saturday s DFB-Pokal final against Wolfsburg, bringing the curtain down on a successful seven-year stint at the club.
After 18 years at Mainz, where he served as player and coach, Klopp moved to Signal Iduna Park in 2008 and led Dortmund to three major trophies two Bundesliga titles as well as one Pokal crown.
In April, Klopp announced he would leave the club at the end of the season, believing he was no longer the right man to take Dortmund forward, with Thomas Tuchel named as his replacement.
It remains to be seen where his next destination will be with a year s sabbatical a possibility but Klopp is unlikely to be short of potential suitors.
We take a look at his career to date.…