13 h. ago The Fifa Club World Cup, explained: everything you wanted to know about the tournament

What is the Club World Cup, how can you watch it, and who is playing in it? All the key questions are answered hereThe 2026 World Cup is what is technically known as the Proper World Cup, for national teams. This summer’s tournament is the Club World Cup, featuring some (with the emphasis on “some”) of the world’s best domestic teams – Real Madrid, PSG, River Plate and the like. Continue reading...

Society

16 h. ago Arsenal looked set to seal move for midfield star before transfer snub and Real Madrid hijacking

Real Madrid star Federico Valverde was close to clinching a move to Arsenal as a teenager but admitted he declined the transfer before the Spanish giants secured his signature

Sport

17 h. ago Dean Huijsen admits ‘I don’t care’ about being Real Madrid’s most expensive defender

New signing says Spanish giants are ‘club of my life’Huijsen feels he is good fit for Xabi Alonso’s style of play“I don’t care,” Dean Huijsen said and there was a shrug to go with his answer. The former Bournemouth player had just become the most expensive defender in Real Madrid’s history for £50m, but while the 20-year-old talked about “living a dream” on the day he was presented at their Valdebebas training ground, the price didn’t seem to bother him much. Not least because nothing did. “I’m quite calm,” he said. “I am me and I am going to live my life and I do what I like most.”“Madrid is the club of my life, I think,” Huijsen had said when he stepped on to the stage in the basketball arena, tapped the mic and asked: “Can you hear me?” The son of Dutch footballer Donny Huijsen, who was sitting in the front row with Huijsen’s mother Mascha Wijsmuller. The family moved to southern Spain when Dean was five and it was Málaga he was mad about as a boy, although he said here that Serg...

Politics

17 h. ago Dean Huijsen shrugs off pressure of being Real Madrid’s most expensive defender

New signing says Spanish giants are ‘club of my life’Huijsen feels he is good fit for Xabi Alonso’s style of play“I don’t care,” Dean Huijsen said and there was a shrug to go with his answer. The former Bournemouth player had just become the most expensive defender in Real Madrid’s history for £50m, but while the 20-year-old talked about “living a dream” on the day he was presented at their Valdebebas training ground, the price didn’t seem to bother him much. Not least because nothing did. “I’m quite calm,” he said. “I am me and I am going to live my life and I do what I like most.”“Madrid is the club of my life, I think,” Huijsen had said when he stepped on to the stage in the basketball arena, tapped the mic and asked: “Can you hear me?” The son of Dutch footballer Donny Huijsen, who was sitting in the front row with Huijsen’s mother Mascha Wijsmuller. The family moved to southern Spain when Dean was five and it was Málaga he was mad about as a boy, although he said here that Serg...

Events

17 h. ago Xabi Alonso's comments about Arsenal target Martin Zubimendi say it all as phone call emerges

Martin Zubimendi is at a crossroads, with both Arsenal and Real Madrid trying desperately to sign the Real Sociedad midfielder, who nearly joined Liverpool last summer, only for the transfer to fall through

Events

22 h. ago Football transfer rumours: Gittens to Chelsea before first deadline closes?

This stuff is just looking for somethingThe summer’s first transfer window will close on Tuesday night at 7pm UK time ahead of the Fifa Club World Cup so watch out for some last-minute jobs to fill up squads for Gianni Infantino’s folly. Will Manchester City get Rayan Cherki signed in time? Chelsea are after a keeper in Milan’s Mike Maignan and want to add Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund to their winger collection. Both deals may go to the wire.When Bournemouth were flying high in mid-winter there was a fun game to play. Less fun if you were a Cherries fan, of course, but the game was to fit their unearthed gems with the clubs they would end up at. Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid was unexpected but then again Illia Zabarnyi to PSG, actual European champions, may well trump that. The club are prepared to sell, at the right price, but have demanded a £59m fee for the Ukrainian. Continue reading...

Sport

23 h. ago Arsenal transfer news: Martin Zubimendi 'done and signed' after huge Real Madrid U

There has been a huge twist in Arsenal and Real Madrid's battle for Real Sociedad and Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi as the summer transfer window heats up

Sport

25 h. ago FIFA Club World Cup: Supercomputer predicts unlikely winner to scoop £97m prize money

Manchester City, Real Madrid and PSG are among the favourites to claim the newly revamped Club World Cup but one of their fellow European sides has been tipped to land the trophy

Economics

27 h. ago How to watch the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 for free on UK TV and live stream

The revamped FIFA Club World Cup kicks off this week, with Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Miami among the teams competing

Society

28 h. ago Arsenal transfer news: Phone call could cost Martin Zubimendi deal as Ian Wright makes plea

Arsenal have been chasing Martin Zubimendi but Real Madrid are looking to swoop in and steal a march as Ian Wright urges the Gunners to consider a move for Ademola Lookman

Economics

43 h. ago Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal transfer takes fresh twist as Real Madrid hijack explained

Martin Zubimendi to Arsenal transfer takes fresh twist as Real Madrid hijack explained  Football London

Sport

47 h. ago Arsenal transfer news: Benjamin Sesko deal update as Real Madrid plot to hijack move

Arsenal appear to have locked in their striker preference as talks begin, but it's not all good news for Mikel Arteta as Real Madrid plot to hijack one big move

Economics

47 h. ago How every Premier League club’s summer business is shaping up

Aston Villa and Manchester United must shift surplus players while Sunderland and Leeds seek extra squad depthRecruitment was cast as the main reason for the club’s disappointment last season. Mikel Merino playing as an auxiliary centre-forward after Kai Havertz had broken down made that apparent. This will be a summer with a marked difference with Andrea Berta ready to go as the club’s new sporting director. Berta spent 12 years at Atlético Madrid, supplying the players and foundation behind Diego Simeone’s dynasty. Arsenal seek to avoid friction between Arteta dictating as he did previously and Berta wielding the same kind of power that was so effective in Madrid. Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig is heavily linked to the striking vacancy with Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres seen as too costly. Martin Zubimendi is expected to reunite with Merino in Arsenal’s midfield, though Real Madrid may yet turn the midfielder’s head. Kepa Arrizabalaga will come in as a back-up goalkeeper within a squad...

Politics

59 h. ago Jobe Bellingham to follow in Jude’s footsteps as Sunderland agree deal with Dortmund

Potential fee could be most expensive for German clubPlayoff winner Tommy Watson sold to Brighton for £10mJobe Bellingham is poised to swap Sunderland for Borussia Dortmund after the clubs agreed an initial fee of around £28m, potentially rising to £32m.The 19-year-old England Under-21 midfielder, the younger brother of Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham, has just played a key part in helping Sunderland to secure promotion to the Premier League but is now following in his sibling’s footsteps and heading to the Bundesliga. Continue reading...

Economics

66 h. ago Two reasons Arsenal could MISS OUT on £51m Martin Zubimendi transfer as Real Madrid make move

Arsenal have an agreement to sign Spain international Martini Zubimendi but a deal is not yet over the line for the midfielder who is drawing late interest from Real Madrid this summer

Economics

3 d. ago The smell of victory: boom in classic football shirts shows no sign of fading

What was once simply a garment that declared your affiliation to a club is now a global business earning millions from collectors of vintage kitsOn the second floor of an unprepossessing building on the outskirts of Amsterdam, there is a metal cabinet that destroys footballers’ DNA. The contraption belongs to MatchWornShirt and was part of a deal to sell the kits of Real Madrid players to the public. To allay concerns that the genetic material of Cristiano Ronaldo might escape into the wild, the steel wardrobe was built so that every shirt could be blasted by a germicidal lamp.For new, read old, because MatchWornShirt sells precisely what the company’s name suggests: kits that have been stuck to the bodies of professional athletes. Want the jersey Son Heung-min pulled on against Manchester United in the Europa League final? You can have it, if you beat the current auction price of £22,000. The very shirt Cole Palmer had on when he scored four first-half goals against Brighton last s...

Politics

3 d. ago 'I thought I'd never leave Real Madrid – Roman Abramovich changed that and I joined Chelsea'

EXCLUSIVE: Real Madrid is the end goal for most football players, but one midfielder departed the Bernabeu after being convinced to join Chelsea by Roman Abramovich

Politics

3 d. ago ‘I had no idea’: Chris Harper happy to share spotlight after Simon Yates banishes Giro d’Italia demons | Martin Pegan

The Australian cyclist was on the ride of his life to a breakthrough Grand Tour stage win as the decisive story of the 2025 race unfolded behind himAustralian cyclist Chris Harper is yet to properly soak up the ride of his life and first Grand Tour stage victory by watching a replay of his long-range and daring solo attack over the Colle delle Finestre and up the Sestrière. But the 30-year-old climber won’t have to look too hard to find highlights in the future after his ride was a major subplot as the decisive story of the 2025 Giro d’Italia unfolded behind him.Harper arrived in Albania for the opening three stages of the Giro with ambitions to prove himself as a general classification contender. A top-10 placing by the time the three-week race finished in Rome was the realistic goal. But a bout of illness hit the Team Jayco AlUla rider on the second rest day and Harper had to lift himself in the third week just to turn his focus toward chasing a stage win. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Kylian Mbappe bites back over PSG's Champions League win and Luis Enrique dig

Kylian Mbappe left Paris Saint-Germain for Real Madrid last summer in the hope of winning the Champions League, but it was the French side who actually lifted the European Cup this year

Sport

3 d. ago Conor Bradley's exit admission said it all before Liverpool transfer decision

Conor Bradley can take his chance with both hands to become Liverpool's first choice right-back following Trent Alexander-Arnold's move to Real Madrid

Events