Allan Saint-Maximin has become the latest player to swap the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League after leaving Newcastle to join Al-Ahli.
The former France youth international spent four years at St James’ Park and leaves for an undisclosed fee.
Saint-Maximin will team up with both Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez at Al-Ahli as the influx of top names to Saudi Arabia shows no sign of abating.
Allan Saint-Maximin has completed his move to Al-Ahli.
Thank you for everything, . Best of luck for the future.
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
The 26-year-old scores 13 goals across 124 appearances for the Magpies, but has struggled with niggling injuries in recent seasons.
The deal to sell Saint-Maximin has drawn criticism as the Sau…
Paris Saint-Germain coach Mauricio Pochettino insists he did not hear the jeers directed at Kylian Mbappe before and during Saturday s 4-2 Ligue 1 win over Strasbourg.
Mbappe – making his 150th Ligue 1 appearance – was a leading light for PSG at the Parc des Princes, getting an assist for Julian Draxler and also finding the net via a massive deflection off Ludovic Ajorque in the first half.
He was a regular threat to the Strasbourg defence but will likely be frustrated not to have added more goals as he was denied by Matz Sels twice in the second period.
Despite consistently being the biggest danger in a PSG side that faded badly in the second half and saw their 3-0 lead cut to 3-2, Mbappe was targeted by certain sections of the crowd.
The France int…
Former Manchester United and England stalwart Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he contacted Arsene Wenger about potentially signing for Arsenal in 2014.
Ferdinand, now a TV pundit, ultimately joined QPR upon the expiry of his United contract before retiring at the end of the 2014-15 season having made just 11 appearances during his time in the capital.
However, the 37-year-old has now disclosed that he also reached out to Arsenal boss Wenger, though a move to the club that represented United s biggest rivals for much of Ferdinand s time at Old Trafford did not materialise.
In response to a poster claiming Ferdinand should have moved to Arsenal on social media site Twitter, the former West Ham and Leeds defender posted: I did reach out to Mr Wenger!!
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The agent of Yuto Nagatomo said it is possible the Inter full-back and Galatasaray midfielder Felipe Melo could be involved in a swap deal.
Inter boss Roberto Mancini has been linked with a move for Melo throughout the transfer window, having coached the Brazilian during his brief stint in charge of Galatasaray.
Galatasaray appear willing to sell Melo, though the Turkish giants want a player in return and Japan international Nagatomo has emerged as a target after Fredy Guarin pledged his future to Inter.
Galatasaray is a distinct possibility for Yuto, agent Roberto Tukuda was quoted as telling FCInterNews.
Turkey is a destination he d like. In fact, I d say at the moment that s the only real solution for him. There aren t any other concrete options that…
Former Chelsea forward Loic Remy has officially sealed a switch to La Liga side Getafe on loan from Las Palmas for the rest of the ongoing campaign.
The 31-year-old striker is thus going on the fourth loan spell in his career, which previously included stints at Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace.
Remy joined Las Palmas in a free transfer from Chelsea in 2017 having won the Premier League title with the Blues in 2015. He made 12 La Liga appearances for Las Palmas this season, scoring five goals in the process.
Despite being the club’s top scorer, Remi did not enjoy the best of relationships with Las Palmas manager Paco Jemez, which was the main reason behind his move to Getafe.
Remy reportedly arrived late to a team meeting back in December and has not …
Gareth Bale has almost matched Cristiano Ronaldo s achievements at Real Madrid and is now targeting the Ballon d Or, according to his agent Jonathan Barnett.
Bale moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in September 2013 and enjoyed a fine first season, scoring in the final of the Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League as Madrid claimed a double under Carlo Ancelotti.
Ronaldo played alongside Bale in both those games to add to a trophy haul that also includes La Liga in 2012 and another Copa del Rey in 2011.
His critics claim that is a poor return for six years in Madrid and Barnett was quick to suggest Bale has made a near-equal impact in a shorter space of time.
Speaking at Soccerex, he said: He s not there to compete with Ronaldo but in terms of what he s …
Ten-man Wydad Casablanca earned an entertaining 1-1 draw with holders ES Tunis in the first leg of the CAF Champions League final on Friday.
Hosts Wydad trailed 1-0 to Fousseny Coulibaly s opener at half-time and the Moroccan side were reduced to 10 men approaching the 50th minute following Brahim Nakach s second yellow card.
However, Wydad – who had an equaliser ruled out for handball prior to the interval – restored parity with 11 minutes remaining in Rabat via Cheick Comara.
It was a fiercely contested clash at Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah, where there was plenty of niggle in the opening exchanges.
STATS | Check out the full-time stats! Which team had the better overall performance?
— CAF (@CAF_Online)
After 2017 champions Wyd…
Zinedine Zidane shot down suggestions Sergio Ramos is not a team player after an apparent recent penalty dispute and is adamant he is the best possible captain for Real Madrid.
Ramos has had an incredible impact at Madrid having joined from Sevilla as a teenager in 2005, and he was made club captain following the departure of Iker Casillas in 2015 – skippering the club to consecutive Champions League titles in the past two seasons.
But it was put to Zidane that his captain could have shown more team spirit by giving Gareth Bale the penalty Ramos ultimately scored to complete a 3-1 win at Leganes last Wednesday.
The reporter highlighted Cristiano Ronaldo s similar gesture against Alaves on Saturday, when the Portugal star allowed Karim Benzema – who has strugg…
Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed Lionel Messi and Neymar will not play against Clermont, while reaffirming that Kylian Mbappe is perfectly happy at Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi, who made his PSG debut at Reims before the international break, and Neymar both played as late as Thursday in respective World Cup qualifiers for Argentina and Brazil.
While Neymar scored and provided an assist in Brazil s 2-0 win over Peru, Messi netted a hat-trick against Bolivia, surpassing Pele as the all-time leading goalscorer for a South American nation in the process. Argentina subsequently celebrated their recent Copa America triumph with fans finally allowed back into the stadium in Buenos Aires.
Angel Di Maria and Leandro Paredes also featured for Argentina and Pochettino sai…
Leeds United have opened talks with midfielder Kalvin Phillips over a new contract, according to . It has been reported that the Premier League club are keen on securing the long-term future of 25-year-old England international midfielder.
Premier League club Leeds want to reward Phillips for his good performances and also want to fend off interest from other clubs. The West Yorkshire club are hopeful of thrashing out a new deal before the end of the year.
Phillips has been superb for Leeds over the years and played a big role in the club winning promotion from the Championship. The midfielder then helped Marcelo Bielsa’s side finish ninth in the Premier League table last season and also played a key role in England reach the final of Euro 2020 final this summer.
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