SPORTS

Manchester, United Kingdom | AFP |  Manchester United’s acquisition of Aaron Wan-Bissaka for £50 million ($61 million) in June raised eyebrows for a right-back with fewer than half a century of senior appearances in a far less pressurised environment at Crystal Palace. But the opening two games of the Premier League …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP |  Vincent Kompany might have been seen as the saviour when he returned to Anderlecht as player-manager, but early results suggest it will take time for the 33-year-old to make his mark on Belgium’s most successful club. Anderlecht caused a sensation when they announced in May the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Lionel Messi could be ready to play against Real Betis on Sunday and Barcelona could do with him back. In other circumstances, Messi might have left it another week, having missed the whole of pre-season with a calf injury he sustained in his first training session …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | France football legend Thierry Henry is keen for another chance to prove he can be a successful manager despite his unhappy brief tenure at Ligue 1 side Monaco. The 42-year-old — Arsenal’s record goalscorer — told the Daily Telegraph that although his phone did not …

Shanghai, China | AFP | As the first generation of professional gamers enters retirement, eSports is forced to confront a vexed question: after years spent killing rivals in a virtual world, what next? It is a quandary that comes far earlier than in most sports — in the most frenzied eSports …

Cairo, Egypt | THE INDEPENDENT | Serb coach Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic has spoken out for the first time about ‘a terrible week’ that forced his shock departure from Orland Pirates. He said he ready to bounce back ike a ‘fish in water’, on the football field. The new Zamalek coach …

Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo told Portuguese television on Tuesday that “2018 was the most difficult year on a personal level.” Ronaldo had to deal with rape allegations last year after former model Kathryn Mayorga filed a complaint in September alleging she was sexually assaulted by the footballer in 2009 in a Las …

Milan, Italy | AFP |  As the sole survivor of a coaching shuffle among the leading challengers, Carlo Ancelotti could have the best chance to end Napoli’s 30-year wait for the Serie A title. Yet Antonio Conte’s arrival at Inter Milan has also raised expectations of an end to Juventus’s long …

Paris, France | AFP | Ajax finished with 10 men on Tuesday but moved closer to the Champions League group stage with a 0-0 draw away to APOEL in Nicosia in a playoff round first-leg match. The game was goalless but packed with incident. Ajax, a four-time winner of the competition …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | England women’s manager Phil Neville believes football players should boycott social media in the wake of Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba becoming the latest high-profile figure to suffer racist abuse online. Pogba was targeted after his penalty was saved in United’s 1-1 draw at Wolves …