Dimitri Payet is worth not a penny less that 50 million pounds ($65.3 million), West Ham United co-chairman David Gold has said, but even that might not be enough to prise the France midfielder away from the London club.
Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches has been named as the Young Player of the Tournament at UEFA Euro 2016. The award winner - open to all players born on or after 1 January 1994 - was chosen by the UEFA's technical observers, which included legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Didier Deschamps, who captained France to both World Cup and European triumphs, shared some of his sports psychology secrets on Saturday on the eve of his French side's Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
Briton Tim Henman has pulled out of the Marseille Open because of a sore back.
Following his heroics against world champions Germany in the semifinal at Marseille, France forward Antoine Griezmann has emerged as a clear favourite to bag the Golden Boot award at the 2016 European Championship. Griezmann fired a brace past Germany to take his tournament tally to an astounding six goals. Such has been his dominance that the French magician leads Portugal hero Cristiano Ronaldo (3 goals) by a double margin in the tournament's goal's tally.
Former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa resigned as manager of Lazio after just two days in charge, the Italian Serie A club said in a statement on Friday.
France may have ousted rivals Germany for the first time in 58 years but it will mean nothing if they lose Sunday's Euro 2016 final against a Portugal team that have had more recovery time, said Didier Deschamps.
In the history of football there has been no more devastating nullification of supposed home advantage than Germany's 7-1 humbling of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, so playing France in Marseille holds no fears for the world champions. That astonishing result in Belo Horizonte, particularly the opening 30-minute five-goal blitz that left the world aghast, underlined Germany's unique mental strength and belief in their own ability whatever the opposition or circumstances.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice in the first half as holders Bayern Munich cruised past Schalke 04 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semi-finals.
Coach Didier Deschamps believes his players are ready to write a new page in the history of French football at Euro 2016 on Thursday when the hosts attempt to beat Germany for the first time for 58 years in a competitive match. The French go into the semi-final against the world champions in Marseille as underdogs. Even though they have twice won the European championship, they have not beaten their German neighbours outside of friendlies since the 1958 World Cup.
UEFA believes the 24-team format introduced for the first time at Euro 2016 is a success and will boost soccer in some of the continent's smaller nations, tournament director Martin Kallen said on Tuesday.
Rediff.com presents a flashback of those moments at Euro 2016 that personify pure ecstasy...
The host nation's bulging euphoria over France's Euro 2016 semi-final qualification is added motivation for Germany as they prepare to face them on Thursday, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday. The Germans, who will need to shuffle their lineup due to injuries to Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez and the suspension of defender Mats Hummels, are preparing to face a team brimming with confidence. "Such games are just great," Loew, who led Germany to the 2014 World Cup title in Brazil, told reporters.
Russia was among 14 countries which signed a convention between the Council of Europe and European soccer body UEFA on Sunday aimed at stopping a repeat of fan violence which has marred Euro 2016.
Germany coach Joachim Loew and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer praised the team's less experienced players for stepping up to convert in their dramatic penalty shootout against Italy, firing the world champions into the Euro 2016 final four.
Portugal entered the Euro 2016 quarter-final after defeating Poland 5-3 on penalties in Marseille on Thursday.
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos said his hardest task will be keeping his 'kids' grounded after they advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Poland on Thursday.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos turned to teenager Renato Sanches in a bid to bring some fluency to the midfield in their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Poland on Thursday and was handsomely rewarded for the decision.
Talismanic Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo struggled against Croatia producing just one shot on goal, but coach Fernando Santos defended his "amazing" captain.
'I think it's a 50-50 match. My players know that. They (Poland) are here on their own merit' 'There will be a strong strategic component to this game, because if you concede four goals nobody can ensure you can score five'
The suggestion that Spain need to change their playing style is already meeting resistance even though another disappointing performance at a major soccer tournament suggests that tiki-taka has run its course. In many countries, a defeat as comprehensive as the one Spain suffered against Italy in Euro 2016 on Monday, when they were outplayed and lucky to lose only 2-0, would have led to calls to knock everything down and start again. In Spain, however, where many are proud of having such a distinctive style of play, there are plenty of voices calling for the team to continue trying to pass the ball all the way into the goal.
'If the coach considers it, I am ready to play the next game'
French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet told the country's top clubs on Wednesday to make the quality of their pitches an absolute priority, describing one ground at Euro 2016 as "a failure".
UEFA said it would replace the pitch at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille after Wednesday's final group E match between Italy and Ireland.
France entered Euro 2016 supposedly as an attacking side with defensive weaknesses, yet Les Bleus have confounded that image by conceding only one goal while scoring four in the group phase.
While France and Switzerland largely got what they wanted with a 0-0 draw at Euro 2016 on Sunday, it was a night of shame for ground staff and sports manufacturers.
Manchester United are almost certain to reach the knockout stage of the Champions League after they beat Benfica 2-0 at Old Trafford on Tuesday to make it a perfect four wins in Group A.
Russia striker Fyodor Smolov insists that English and Welsh fans were guilty of antagonising their Russian counterparts during scuffles that broke out in Lille earlier in Euro 2016.
IMAGES from matches played on Day 7 of the French Open at the Roland Garros in Paris on Saturday
Iceland were within two minutes of a famous victory on their first appearance at a major tournament on Saturday only for Birkir Saevarsson to put through his own net to hand Hungary a 1-1 draw that leaves Euro 2016 Group F wide open.
After a couple of solid defensive performances in defeats by Switzerland and France, Albania need to discover some scoring form against Romania, their Italian coach Gianni De Biasi said ahead of Sunday's vital Euro 2016 Group A fixture.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the football hooligan violence at Euro 2016 a "disgrace" but questioned how Russian fans could have overpowered a far larger contingent of English supporters. "The fighting between Russian fans with the English, that is a disgrace," he said at Russia's annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg. "But I truly don't understand how 200 of our fans could beat up several thousand English," he said, to laughs and applause from the audience.
England coach Roy Hodgson, basking in a 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday clinched by goals from two substitutes, said fringe players would be a major factor at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale put Wales in front before Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge replied, the latter in stoppage time, after both came on in the second half. Hodgson said it was hard to remember if he had made a better double substitution in his 40-year career.
A French court jailed three Russian football supporters for up to two years for their role in violence before the England-Russia Euro 2016 match in Marseille. Alexei Yerunov, Nikolai Morozov and Sergei Gorbachev were among 43 Russian supporters detained by French police in southern France on Tuesday after the pitched battles which left more than 30 people injured. Yerunov, 29, who is supporters' liaison officer at Lokomotiv Moscow according to the club's website, received the longest prison sentence of 24 months.
But it was man-of-the-match Dimitri Payet who scored his second goal in as many matches to put the Frenchmen through to the knockouts.
France coach Didier Deschamps was more than just relieved after his team scored two late goals to beat a stubborn Albania team 2-0 on Wednesday and reach the second round of Euro 2016.
Hosts France were made to work hard by Albania but two late goals sealed the Group A match in their favour. Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet scored late to earn the nervous hosts the result they sought.
The move came after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov branded the action by the French police "an absolutely unacceptable incident".
Switzerland edged closer to a place in the knockout stages of Euro 2016 when they fought back to draw 1-1 with Romania in a lively Group A game at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
The scoreline may have been 1-1, but level-headed Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was unable to prevent the word 'victory' passing his lips as the Nordic side held Portugal at Euro 2016.
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