SPORTS

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Wayde van Niekerk has been hailed as the next poster boy for global track and field, and the softly-spoken South African admits he’s taking on board as much as he can from the outgoing Usain Bolt. Although lacking the showman’s pizzaz of Bolt, who has …

Messi to Neymar: I wish you lots of luck in this new stage in your life Paris, France | AFP |  Neymar is expected to arrive in Paris on Thursday to finalise his world record 222 million euro ($260 million) move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, which will earn him around …

Dublin, Ireland | AFP | A goal in either half from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and his replacement Juan Mata helped Manchester United to a 2-1 victory over Sampdoria at Dublin’s Lansdowne Road in the Reds’ final pre-season game on Wednesday. The pair’s goals came either side of Dennis Praet’s strike to ensure …

Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo said Tuesday his “brilliance” annoys people, a day after he was quizzed by a Spanish judge investigating whether he evaded paying millions of euros in taxes. “What bothers people is my brilliance, insects only attack lamps that shine!!!!” the Portuguese wrote …

Lyon, France | AFP | Arsenal’s new signing Alexandre Lacazette is irreplaceable, according to the coach of Lyon, who sold the forward to the Londoners last month. Lyon have been hit by an exodus of top players during the close season including Corentin Tolisso, Mathieu Valbuena, Maxime Gonalons and Rachid Ghezzal. …

Soweto, South Africa | AFP |  Serb Milutin Sredojevic is expected to succeed Swede Kjell Jonevret, who quit Wednesday, as coach of troubled South African club Orlando Pirates. Jonevret won only six of 18 matches in charge and his fate was effectively sealed during June when Pirates were thrashed 4-1 …

Barcelona, Spain | AFP |  Neymar could be presented as a Paris Saint-Germain player as early as this weekend for a world record fee as Barcelona admitted defeat in convincing the Brazilian to stay at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. The player has travelled to Porto by private jet from …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt labelled himself the underdog as he seeks to round off his glittering individual track career with the defence of his world 100m title this week. “That’s what I keep reading and what my team keeps telling me, so I’ve got …

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Orlando Pirates Head Coach Kjell Jonevret has tendered his resignation from the club. The South African club’s official twitter account has just made the announcement. “I’d like to thank the Club for the opportunity. It didn’t work out as planned. I wish the club and …

Paris, France | AFP |  Brazilian superstar Neymar landed back in Barcelona on Tuesday evening, avoiding making any comment on the ongoing speculation about a possible world record transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. The 25-year-old Barcelona forward was travelling back from China and had earlier posted a video on social media …