Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery said he regrets getting involved in an affair with under-age prostitute Zahia Dehar in 2009.
The 28-year-old and other members of the France national team were embroiled in the sex scandal, however, after a prolonged and well-publicised trial, the accused escaped heavy sentences.
Ribery believes that he has matured since then, and is now calmer and less naive.
I was the boy next door who always knew what it meant to have no money. That changed when I turned professional. I was crazy, he told L Equipe.
When asked about his affair with Dehar, Ribery was self-critical.
I was such an idiot like never before. Now, however, I am less naive, less spontaneous, he said.
Everything has gone in the right directi…
Emma Hayes has insisted Chelsea’s motivation to reach another Women’s FA Cup final is not driven by her imminent exit.
It was revealed last November that the Blues boss will end her trophy-laden 12 years club at the conclusion of this campaign to take over as United States manager.
Hayes has entered the home straight of her time at Chelsea and missed out on silverware two weeks ago when Arsenal beat them 1-0 in the Women’s League Cup final.
Listen to Emma Hayes live press conference ahead of our semi-final against Man United
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW)
The highly decorated Hayes courted controversy afterwards when she appeared to shove Arsenal counterpart Jonas Eidevall, but ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, the 47-yea…
Juventus have denied they must pay Nike €2million in compensation and criticised the unlawful reporting of the dispute with the company.
On Sunday, numerous publications in Italy stated that a judge in a Geneva court had ruled that the Serie A champions must pay the sum to the American sportswear giant over a violation of a previous sponsorship agreement.
The dispute relates to Nike s refusal to add a third star to Juve s kit in 2012 to mark their 30th Scudetto title, given that the Italian Football Federation had officially revoked two of those championship wins due to the Calciopoli scandal.
A compromise was later reached to allow Juve to release a shirt with 30 on the pitch , but Nike became furious when the club approved the sale of merchandise with the un…
With all eyes on the usual suspects ahead of the 44th edition of the Copa America, we evaluate five young players capable of taking South America s showpiece event by storm:
Angelo Henriquez
Age: 21
Country: Chile
Caps: 6
Club: Manchester United
Position: Striker
Henriquez comes into the tournament with his growing reputation at an all-time high. The former Universidad de Chile prodigy spent the 2014-15 season on loan at Dinamo Zagreb his third spell away from Old Trafford and helped the club to a remarkable 10th successive Croatian title with 21 goals in 25 league matches. The youngster found the back of the net 30 times in 37 games in all competitions. While his future remains up in the air amid reports of a permanent switch to Zagreb, Henriquez who has two…
Arsenal fans can be pretty relaxed about the future of captain and star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, says manager Mikel Arteta.
Gunners boss Arteta has made no secret of his confidence that Aubameyang, whose deal expires in June, will extend his stay at the Emirates Stadium.
Speculation has grown that the Gabon forward has agreed a new three-year deal at Arsenal, where he has scored 71 goals in 110 appearances since joining from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018.
With an official announcement still yet to be made, Arteta was asked if fans should be wary of celebrating too soon at a news conference previewing their Premier League season opener against Fulham.
I can say that I am even more confident than I was at the end of last season when you asked…
Paris Saint-Germain s trip to face Monaco at Stade Louis II on Sunday headlines the action in Ligue 1 this weekend.
With their title rivals all in action earlier in the weekend, Paris Saint-Germain make the trip to a buoyant Monaco on Sunday looking to keep the defence of their Ligue 1 crown on track.
Monaco, fresh from a stunning 3-1 win at Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League, were runners-up last season, but Lyon and Marseille have replaced Leonardo Jardim s side as PSG s closest challengers this time around – with just four points separating the league s top three.
Jardim s men can close the seven-point gap to Marseille in third when they play their game in hand at the Stade Louis II and PSG defender Gregory van der Wiel is wary of the threat Mon…
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon believes coach Cesare Prandelli is behind team-mate Mario Balotelli s maturation as a player.
The mercurial yet erratic striker showcased all of his precocious talent as he scored both of Italy s goals to knock Germany out of Euro 2012 with a 2-1 win in the semi-finals.
Balotelli s brace the first, a powerful header after some deft movement in the box; the second, a thunderous strike from outside the box sees him joint top-scorer at the tournament with three headings into Sunday s final with reigning champions Spain.
Prior to the tournament, Balotelli s antics on and off the pitch almost saw him left out of the squad, but Buffon is delighted the 21-year-old made the final cut.
Mario has been playing very well because be…
Far from their fluent best in an opening-day victory over Tottenham, Manchester United will hope history holds enough to see them over the line in Friday s Premier League trip to Aston Villa.
United have an incredible record at Villa Park, where they have not lost to Villa in the league since 1995, winning 12 of their subsequent 19 meetings.
Louis van Gaal is still shaping his squad for the season to come and David de Gea is once again unlikely to feature, with the Dutchman doubting his number one s ability to perform as speculation over a move to Real Madrid rages on.
Sergio Romero performed capably against Spurs at the weekend and is set to continue in goal, while Bastian Schweinsteiger s declaration that he is returning to full fitness this week will give Van…
Manchester City are ready to sell fringe defender Kolo Toure this summer, .
The 31-year-old has fallen behind Vincent Kompany and Joleon Lescott in the pecking order and he is now looking to leave the club in search of first team football.
The Sun claims Turkish side Bursaspor and several Middle East clubs have shown interest in the experienced defender and it is believed Manchester City will not stand in his way.
The Citizens, however, plan to get back at least some of the money invested in the Ivorian.
Toure joined Manchester City in an €18.7 million move from Arsenal in July 2009 and he quickly become an important player at Etihad Stadium.
The Ivorian then lost his place in the starting line-up to Joleon Lescott and had a small part to play …
Pep Guardiola warmly praised Philipp Lahm as a special person in my life following the Bayern Munich captain s surprise retirement this week.
Lahm, who also skippered Germany to glory at the 2014 World Cup, was under contract at the Allianz Arena until the end of next season but announced he would hang up his boots at the end of the current campaign.
Widely recognised as the premier full-back in world football when Guardiola took the reins at Bayern on the back of Jupp Heynckes treble-winning exploits in 2013, Lahm was redeployed across a variety midfield positions with impressive results by the ex-Barcelona boss.
Speaking to preview his Manchester City side s trip to Bournemouth on Monday, Guardiola praised Lahm extensively as a player and a man.
Philip…