Nother CarGuy

Borussia Dortmund have announced that they have sacked head coach Peter Bosz after less than six months in charge, replacing him with former Cologne boss Peter Stoger (pictured). The 54-year-old Dutchman arrived in the summer as the long-term replacement for Thomas Tuchel at BVB, having enjoyed terrific success with an Ajax side he led to the final of the Europa League last season. However, things have not passed nearly so smoothly in Germany, and Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat against Werder Bremen, which has left Dortmund seventh in the Bundesliga standings, 13 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, was the final straw. Stoger has now been appointed as Bosz's replacement for the rest of the season, having been sacked by Cologne at the start of December. The 51-year-old spent four seasons in Cologne, helping Koln qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years. Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke revealed the decision to move on from Bosz after such a short period, sayin...

Kylian Mbappe has won the prestigious Golden Boy award for the best player in Europe under the age of 21. The PSG striker, who has scored four goals and provided four assists in 11 games for the club this season, burst onto the world stage with Monaco last season and is now flourishing in the French capital, having formed a terrifying partnership with Brazilian Neymar. The 18-year-old, who has already won eight France caps, is currently on loan at Parc des Princes, and will officially join the club on a permanent basis next season, for a fee of €180 million. Mbappe wins the award ahead of the likes of Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus, Barcelona's Ousmane Dembele and Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma, and joins a list of illustrious previous winners, including Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba and Isco. The prize is voted on by journalists from across the world, with Italian newspaper Tuttosport confirming the winner on Monday. Mbappe won with 291 votes, ahead of second-placed...

Andrea Pirlo has announced he will retire from professional football when his contract at New York City FC expires in December. The former AC Milan, Juventus and Italy star has won six Serie A titles and two Champions Leagues at club level and played a crucial role as the national team lifted the 2006 World Cup in a successful career. However, Pirlo has played just 15 of NYCFC's 32 MLS games this season and, with the 38-year-old out of contract after December 31, he says the time has come to bring an end to his playing days. "You realise that the time has come," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Every day you have physical problems, you cannot train as you want because you always have some problem. "At my age, that's enough. It's not that you can go on forever until the age of 50. I'll do something else. "At 38, it's just right to give young players room. I'm not angry. Instead, I will give a hand to team-mates and to the co...

Monaco have announced that they have completed the signing of Stevan Jovetic from Inter for a reported fee of €11 million. The 27-year-old failed to make an impression in Italy last season and was shipped out on loan to Sevilla, where he played 26 times and scored five goals. He has signed a four-year deal with Ligue 1 champions and is expected to replace Kylian Mbappe, who appears destined to sign for Paris Saint-Germain. The move comes as little surprise as leaked pictures this week showed Jovetic wearing Monaco's No.10 shirt, which is currently worn by Mbappe at Stade Louis II. Keita Balde of Lazio is also reportedly on the club's shopping list, with a transfer fee of €30m supposedly agreed by the two sides. Goal

FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ousmane Dembélé for 105 million euros plus add-ons. The player will sign a five year contract and his buy out-clause is set at 400 million euros. Dembélé will arrive in Barcelona on Sunday and he will undergo a medical on Monday morning local time. Born in Vernon, France on 15 May 1997, Ousmane Dembélé is one of the best young players in the world. The French winger stands out for his pace, ability to beat men and versatility. He comes to FC Barcelona after having demonstrated his quality with Rennes and then Borussia Dortmund. He can play on either wing in attack and is known for his great dribbling (last season he carried 103 successful dribbles, more than anyone else in the Bundesliga). At 20 years of age he has played a total of seven games with the French national side alongside Barça players Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne. Last season Dembélé scored 10 goals in 49 matches aside from being thi...

Arsenal defeated Chelsea in a dramatic penalty shoot-out at Wembley to open the new English season with silverware. Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata missed from the spot as Arsenal claimed the Community Shield by beating 10-man Chelsea 4-1 on penalties. After a 1-1 draw in regulation time, the shoot-out saw goalkeeper Courtois, an unusual choice to take his side's second penalty, bizarrely fire his attempt way over. That was followed by new signing Morata missing the target on his competitive debut, with Olivier Giroud going on to score the winning penalty. In the match itself, Victor Moses, sent off when the Blues lost the FA Cup final to Arsenal in May, struck early in the second half with what looked like it would be the winner. But Chelsea had Pedro sent off for a rash challenge on Mohamed Elneny and Arsenal substitute Sead Kolasinac, on his competitive bow, scored a header from the resulting free-kick with eight minutes remaining. Alexandre Lacazette, given h...

The fifth edition of the International Champions Cup is winding to a climax after Barcelona were crowned champions with a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid. Earlier in July they had defeated Europa League holders Manchester United 1-0 and Serie A champions Juventus 2-1. Zinedine Zidane's men conquered the Champions League and La Liga last season, but Lionel Messi and Co. got revenge with the first of at least five Clasicos in 2017-18 (two Supercopas and two league games to come). With a footprint in both Asia and the United States, the annual pre-season ICC tournament involving Europe's top clubs taps into the huge fanbases that exist for those teams outside of their local markets. It has drawn huge crowds and sees the clubs involved pocket significant appearance fees - rumoured to be worth up to $20 million - in addition to the longer-term commercial benefits of engaging with supporters across the globe. The downside is the amount of travel involved, with m...

Benjamin Mendy has completed his switch from Monaco to Manchester City, with the English side paying £52 million for the left-back. With the deal, Mendy, who turned 23 on July 17, has become the most expensive defender in football history and eclipses the £45m fee City paid for Kyle Walker last week that made the England star the game’s most expensive full-back. The France international has signed a five-year deal with the Etihad Stadium outfit, becoming their fourth major signing of a window that has also seen them sign Benfica goalkeeper Ederson as well as Mendy’s Monaco team-mate Bernardo Silva. Manager Pep Guardiola is focussing on the long term with City, explaining on Thursday that the players he is targeting this summer “are young players, with the next three, four, five years in mind”. Mendy, who joined Monaco last summer in a €12m deal from Marseille, helped the Stade Louis II side win the Ligue 1 title last season, creating nine goals in only 32 out...

Manchester City have confirmed the signing of Danilo from Real Madrid in a £26.5 million deal. The 26-year-old has joined City on a five-year contract and will immediately link up with Pep Guardiola's squad in the United States, where he may make his City debut in the International Champions Cup. As reported by Goal, City beat competition from Chelsea for the Brazil international and the club are also confident of securing the services of another full-back in Monaco's Benjamin Mendy, with confirmation of his arrival imminent. Danilo's arrival takes City's spending on full-backs past the £70m mark this close-season after they paid an initial £45m for Tottenham's Kyle Walker – a deal that could rise to an eventual £50m. City have seen a number of defenders depart the club since the end of last season. Aleksandar Kolarov was sold to Roma on Saturday, following Pablo Zabaleta, Gael Clichy and Bacary Sagna in leaving. Pep Guardiola is understood to envisage ...

Juventus have completed the signing of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny from Arsenal for an initial fee of €12.2million. The Poland international has signed a four-year contract with the Serie A champions after undergoing a medical on Tuesday. The value of Szczesny's transfer could eventually rise to €15.3m depending on certain conditions being met over the course of his contract. Szczesny has spent the past two seasons in Serie A on loan at Roma. He joined Arsenal from Legia Warsaw as a youngster and went on to make 181 appearances in all competitions before the arrivals of David Ospina and Petr Cech left him looking elsewhere for first-team opportunities. Szczesny's path to the starting XI at Juve is likely to be blocked by an all-time great, with Gianluigi Buffon preparing for a career swansong in 2017-18. "I'm delighted to be at Juventus," he told a news conference. "I've spoken to Gigi Buffon – a true legend of the game. "When you j...

The Brazil international has switched to the Serie A champions from Bayern Munich on a season-long loan with the option of making the move permanent in 2018. Costa admitted last term that he was unsettled in Germany, although Bayern boss Ancelotti suggested that his comments came after pressure from his agent to attempt to broker a new contract at the club. The 26-year-old has now said that he felt he could no longer develop at the Allianz Arena, but feels he has nothing to prove to his old club. "I want to develop and I feel like I've joined the perfect team at the perfect time," he told a media conference at his official Juve presentation. "Problems with Ancelotti? No, he's a good person. I'm thinking about myself, I want to develop and I didn't have these possibilities at Bayern anymore. I'm very grateful to them. "I don't have to prove anything to them. I just want to show that Juve have done well to believe in me." Co...

PSG have confirmed the signing of Dani Alves, much to the dismay of Manchester City. The Brazilian moves to France on a two-year deal from Juventus, having been released from his contract in Turin, but his destination has surprised many. Alves appeared set to move to the Etihad Stadium to become City's third signing of the summer following the acquisitions of Bernardo Silva from Monaco and Ederson from Benfica. The former Barcelona defender will earn a whopping £230,000 per week at Parc des Princes following his second free transfer in as many years. The club have also revealed he will wear the No.32 - following in the footsteps of David Beckham and David Luiz - as he battles for a place in the starting XI with Thomas Meunier and Serge Aurier. "I am extremely pleased to join Paris Saint-Germain," he told the club's website. "In recent years, I had been able to watch from the outside the tremendous growth of this club, which has become a str...

James Rodriguez has signed for Bayern Munich on a two-year loan from Real Madrid. The Colombia international, 25, has been linked with a move away from the Champions League winners since the start of the summer. Manchester United were reported to be keen on James but Bayern have swooped in to secure his services until June 2019. The Bundesliga club have confirmed that they have the option to purchase James outright once his loan deal ends. "We are very happy that we were able to secure this transfer. The commitment of James Rodriguez was the great wish of our coach, Carlo Ancelotti, after both had already successfully worked together in Madrid," said Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "James is a versatile player. He is dangerous, creates many chances and has a great standard of shooting. With this transfer, we have been able to raise the quality of our team." James could subsequently take part in Bayern's upcoming pre-season friendlies agains...

Peter Bosz has left Ajax to take up the role of head coach at Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga club have confirmed. The 53-year-old has signed a two-year contract that will keep him at Signal Iduna Park until June 30, 2019. In his only season at Ajax, Bosz guided the Amsterdam giants to second place in the Eredivisie and the Europa League final, drawing praise for an exciting brand of football with a young group of players. The former Vitesse boss takes over from Thomas Tuchel, whose strained relationship with Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke ultimately cost him his job. Tuchel led BVB to third in the Bundesliga, holding off the challenge of Hoffenheim to ensure automatic qualification for next season's Champions League. Dortmund were heavily linked with a move for Nice coach Lucien Favre, who built an impressive reputation for himself in Germany by turning Borussia Monchengladbach into consistent top-four challengers. However, the Ligue 1 side issued a ...

Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Sead Kolasinac, who will join the club on a free transfer from Schalke. The north Londoners have won the race to sign the Bosnian defender, with Goal revealing back in April that they had beaten competition from the likes of Juventus and Chelsea for his signature. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Gunners announced that the 23-year-old will join the club "on a long-term contract" and will link up for pre-season training in July "subject to the completion of all regulatory processes". In a statement released on Tuesday, the Gunners announced that the 23-year-old will join the club "on a long-term contract" and will link up for pre-season training in July "subject to the completion of all regulatory processes". He scored three goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances last term as Die Knappen finished a disappointing 10th in the table. Born in Germany, Kolasinac played for the country of his birth a...

Jorge Sampaoli has been confirmed as the new Argentina coach after agreeing to part ways with Sevilla. The Casilda native has been linked with the job for months, and speculation only heightened when Edgardo Bauza was relieved of his duties in April after less than a year in charge. On the eve of his announcement, however, there were reports that the deal could fall through due to last-minute financial differences between the two parties. Nevertheless, on Thursday, the first day Sampaoli was officially allowed to discuss terms with his home nation, the Argentine Football Association has confirmed he will be taking the job with immediate effect. Sampaoli will be presented in his new role in a press conference scheduled later on Thursday at the AFA training facilities in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires. The coach, 57, received his first taste of international football with Chile, whom he led to the 2014 World Cup before sealing their first-ever major title the following year with victo...

 Luca Waldschmidt scored one day after his 21st birthday for Hamburger SV to clinch Bundesliga survival with a late 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on the final day of the season on Saturday. Filip Kostic, who dragged Hamburg level, crossed for Waldschmidt to head the home side's winner with two minutes remaining, leaving Wolfsburg to fight relegation. Wolfsburg, which had taken the lead through Robin Knoche's unstoppable header midway through the first half, faces a two-leg playoff against the third-place finisher in the second division - all but certain to be Eintracht Braunschweig - to determine which side plays in the Bundesliga next season. Elsewhere, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's late penalty in a 4-3 win over Werder Bremen fired Borussia Dortmund directly into the Champions League, leaving Hoffenheim, which could only draw at home with Augsburg 0-0, to enter the qualifiers. Bayern Munich, which wrapped up the title with three games to spare, and second-placed Leipzig...

Pablo Zabaleta will leave Manchester City at the end of the season, the club have confirmed. Zabaleta and City have reached a mutual agreement that his contract, which ends in July, will not be extended. The Argentine signed for City from Espanyol in 2008, one day before the Abu Dhabi takeover, and has played a major role in establishing the club as one of the biggest in England. The announcement that he will leave the Etihad Stadium comes five years to the day since City clinched their first Premier League title against Queens Park Rangers, with Zabaleta scoring the opening goal in a famous 3-2 victory. In total the 32-year-old has won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups during his time in English football. "Pablo Zabaleta will leave City at the end of the season, bringing the curtain down on an incredible nine-year association with the Blues," the club wrote in a statement published on their official website. "The 58-times capped Arg...

New Roma sporting director Monchi has claimed that Francesco Totti will retire at the end of this season. The club captain and Italy great will become a director at Stadio Olimpico from 2017-18 onwards, Monchi has said. "In terms of Totti, I already knew that there was an agreement with the club that this would be his final year as a player, then he'd start as a director," said the former Sevilla director, who was presented in his new role with Roma on Wednesday. "Francesco is Roma, I want to be as close to him as possible. I'd love to learn even one per cent of the huge amount that he knows." However, there is yet to be any confirmation from the player himself over his plans for next season. The 40-year-old's future has been the subject of speculation throughout 2016-17 amid mixed messages from within the club. General manager Mauro Baldissoni claimed before the derby defeat to Lazio on Sunday that Totti had agreed a contract to become a...

Chelsea have qualified for next season's Champions League after a 3-0 win at Everton on Sunday afternoon following a year of no European football. Pedro's stunning goal set Chelsea on their way at Goodison Park as they earned more than the point they needed to clinch a return to the Champions League. Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink's Chelsea failed to secure any European football last season after a disastrous season saw the Blues finish in 10th place only a year after winning the title. Chelsea remain favourites to win the Premier League title but Roman Abramovich's minimum expectation for his side this season was to qualify for the Champions League again. Qualification is financially important for Europe's top clubs and Chelsea will compete for a share of the €1.3 billion prize fund for clubs. Chelsea will earn a least €12.7 million from UEFA for their participation next season, but that could rise to a maximum of €57.2 million if they win the competitio...