Former Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34.
The former Germany international, who earned 92 caps for his country, also represented Schalke, Werder Bremen, Fenerbahce and Istanbul Basaksehir during his 17-year career.
Ozil was under contract with Turkish side Basaksehir until the end of the season, but he has called time on his playing career due to a number of injury issues.
Thank you
— Mesut Özil (@M10)
Jermain Defoe has returned to the England camp after flying home on Thursday morning to be with his family after the death of his father.
The Tottenham striker arrived back at the team s hotel base in Krakow and will take part in Saturday morning s training session, which will come as a welcome and timely boost to manager Roy Hodgson ahead of his preparations for Monday s opening group game against Laurent Blanc s heavily-fancied France side.
Defoe s father, Jimmy, was thought to have been ill for quite some time prior to his death. Although Defoe s initial statement said that he would rejoin the squad in due course , which many saw as a sign that he would at least miss the game against Les Bleus, the forward has returned earlier than expected.
The 29-year-old g…
Petr Cech has told Arsenal they have to improve or risk failing to qualify for the Champions League for the second season in a row.
The Gunners finished fifth in the Premier League in 2016-17 and they are in danger of having to settle for Europa League action again as they sit sixth this time around, five points outside the top four.
Arsenal have only won one of their last four league games, although last week they beat Chelsea 2-1 to book a date with Manchester City in the EFL Cup final, and Cech called for his side to focus on the battle for the top four.
We are a club that belongs in the Champions League, Cech said ahead of Tuesday s trip to Swansea City.
You don t want to spend years outside of the Champions League spots.
But every year t…
Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang insisted he would only get better after impressing on debut for the Premier League club.
Aubameyang, a £56million arrival from Borussia Dortmund on deadline day, marked his Arsenal debut with a goal in a 5-1 thrashing of Everton Saturday.
The Gabon international may have shown good signs on his debut, but the 28-year-old said he would improve.
Of course I was really happy, Aubameyang said, via the club s website.
We won the game in the first half and the second was a bit different. We are all happy.
Is there more to come from me? I think so.
Arsenal appearance
Arsenal goal
This place is feeling like home already, right ?
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)
Aubameyang arri…
Jurgen Klopp knows Borussia Dortmund still have plenty of work to do to pull away from trouble in the Bundesliga after beating Freiburg 3-0.
Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Kopp insists his side will not be getting carried away after Saturday s convincing 3-0 win over Freiburg moved them off the foot of the table.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was the hero for the visitors, scoring twice and setting up another on what was a largely comfortable afternoon, easing the pressure on the under-fire Klopp.
A shocking season has seen the 2013 UEFA Champions League finalists find themselves in a surprise relegation battle, with the 47-year-old boss forced to dismiss talk of him stepping down at the club after the defeat to Augsburg on Wednesday.
And Klopp was delighted …
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has revealed he should be at White Hart Lane next season amid reports linking him with a big-money to French Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
The France international, who joined Spurs from Olympique Lyonnais for an initial fee of €10 million in August 2012, impressed at this summer s World Cup finals in Brazil, helping Les Bleus reach the quarter-finals.
If Tottenham were to sell Lloris, Lyon would receive 20% of the transfer profit.
When asked if he should be staying in North London, Lloris told reporters: Yes, I should be. I don’t want to speak about my situation now.
I need a few days to recover and after that to relax, have a good rest and come back for next season.
I thi…
Prediction: Scotland to win 3-0
Best Odds: 7
Bookmaker:
Cyprus and Scotland will lock horns with each other in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group A this week. The match between Temur Ketsbaia’s side and Steve Clarke’s team will be held at the AEK Arena – Georgios Karapatakis in Larnaca, Cyprus, and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Friday.
Cyprus
Cyprus are one of the worst teams in European football and do not have much history or too many good players. They are the whipping boys in any group, and it is hard to see them making much of an impact in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group A. No one really expects Temur Ketsbaia’s side to do much of note, and it would be hard for them to even pick up a point in the group.
Temur Ketsb…
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out the possibility of Bastian Schweinsteiger returning to Bayern Munich, but once again took aim at Manchester United s treatment of their former midfielder.
Schweinsteiger won eight Bundesliga titles, seven DFB-Pokals and the Champions League during his time at Bayern before moving to Old Trafford ahead of the 2015-16 season.
However, the former Germany captain has been deemed surplus to requirements by new manager Jose Mourinho and has reportedly been training with the club s reserves.
That raised the possibility of the 32-year-old making a swift move back to the Allianz Arena, but executive chairman Rummenigge, while sympathising with Schweinsteiger s predicament, says a deal is not on Bayern s agenda.
I would like to …
According to reports from the , Croatian midfielder Mateo Kovacic has held talks with AS Roma over a summer return to Serie A.
Having impressed for Inter in 2014-15 season, Kovacic joined Real Madrid but failed to impress in his first season with Los Blancos.
The 22-year-old has made only 11 starts in his first campaign at Santiago Bernabeu and it is reported that Mateo Kovacic is keen to leave Real Madrid having become disillusioned with his role at the club.
As Roma have stepped up their interest in signing the Croatian starlet and have already used their good relations between sporting director Walter Sabatini and player’s agent Mario Mamic to wrap up a deal and beat fierce competition waiting in line to sign Mateo Kovacic.
Croatian international is…
Manchester City have completed the signing of Brazilian defender Maicon from Inter Milan.
Goal.com revealed on Wednesday that the Premier League champions were stepping up their attempts to sign the full-back, with the Serie A club having now confirmed that the 31-year-old is joining Roberto Mancini s side.
Maicon spent six years at Inter, winning four Serie A titles as well as the Champions League, under Jose Mourinho in 2010, during a successful spell in Italy.
The former Cruzeiro star is now reunited with City boss Roberto Mancini, who initially signed the Brazilian from Monaco back in 2006 during his time in charge at San Siro.
With deals for Maicon and Scott Sinclair already completed, City have also confirmed that they have finalised a deal to take…
Tom Cleverley is looking on the bright side of his career, despite missing Manchester United s concession of the title to Manchester City.
But since that dramatic climax, Cleverley has featured for Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics, made England international appearances in World Cup qualifiers and has also made an impact for United on the domestic front.
Playing for Manchester United, Great Britain and England all in one summer I am living the dream, he said.
The midfielder spent a large part of last season on the sidelines but insists he is fit again to compete for the Premier League title.
He told Times of India: It was a frustrating time. It always is if you are injured. You can t do what you love doing. But I am not thinking about that now. I am…