League One side Bradford have signed Blackpool goalkeeper Colin Doyle for a fee of just £1 after meeting a release clause in his contract. Doyle made 35 appearances for Blackpool last season but could not help them avoid relegation to League Two. The 31-year-old, who has signed a two-year deal, joined Blackpool in June 2015 after 12 seasons at Birmingham.
Ryan Bertrand has committed his future to Southampton, signing a new five-year contract. Bertrand, 26, has been a regular at Southampton since making the switch from Chelsea in 2014, initially on loan, before the move was made permanent in February 2015 for a reported £10m. The left-back, who was part of the England squad at Euro 2016 and played against Slovakia, said he was “very pleased” with the new five-year deal. “I look forward to many more successful years and really pushing forward as a whole,” Bertrand told the Southampton website.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino will meet senior football association leaders from across Africa on a two-day working visit to Nigeria in July. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said on Monday Infantino will arrive in Abjua on 24 July and will meet “a legion of African FA presidents”. Infantino, elected in February this year, will be accompanied by new FIFA secretary-general Fatma Samoura. NFF president Amaju Pinnick met Infantino for talks in Paris on Sunday. “The FIFA president and secretary-general will arrive in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Sunday 24th July on a two-day working visit to Nigeria,” Pinnick said on the NFF website. The statement said the FIFA officials will meet Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and hold a meeting “with a legion of African FA presidents, who are expected in Nigeria” at the same time. Nigeria is seen as one of the giants of African football even though the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations finals for the second time in succession. The NFF has been dogged by factional disputes over its leadership and FIFA has threatened Nigeria with suspension from international competition because of irregularities in the leadership voting process.
Tottenham have signed Dutch striker Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar for £17m on a four-year deal. The 22-year-old scored 27 league goals in the Dutch top flight last season and netted a penalty on his international debut in March against England. He is Spurs’ second summer signing, after the £11m arrival of Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama. French champions Paris St-Germain and Wolfsburg were also reported to be interested in signing Janssen.
UEFA EURO 2016 Player of the Tournament: Antoine Griezmann (France)
Southampton have signed Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from German champions Bayern Munich for a reported fee of £12.8m. Hojbjerg, 20, was on loan at Schalke last season but his first-team chances at Bayern were reduced by the signing of Portugal’s Renato Sanches. Hojbjerg is the Premier League club’s second signing of the summer after winger Nathan Redmond from Norwich. “They have put trust in me. I want to show them they are not wrong,” he said. After signing a five-year deal at St Mary’s, he added: “When I heard Southampton came in for me I said to my people that this is what I want to do. “I can see myself at Southampton as it’s the way I like to think, the way I like to play and it fits me really well.”
The above players made the EURO 2016 team of the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s day during the final game of Euro 2016 involving his country Portugal and hosts France went from tears of sorrow to tears of joy. These are some of his pictures during the game – from warming up to lifting the cup.
The Portugal team plane was welcomed by coloured water when it landed at Lisbon airport this morning.
Graziano Pelle has left Southampton to join Shandong Luneng, the Chinese Super League side, for an undisclosed fee. The Italy international, who is believed to have been valued at £13million, made 81 appearances for the south coast club, scoring 30 goals. Pelle, who was also linked with a move to Chelsea, arrived at St Mary’s in the summer of 2014 for £8million. The 30-year-old becomes the latest high-profile player to swap a major European league for China’s top flight, following the transfers of Jackson Martinez, Ramires and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Portugal overcame the early loss of captain Cristiano Ronaldo to beat hosts France in the Euro 2016 final and win their first major tournament thanks to substitute Eder’s superb extra-time strike. Real Madrid forward Ronaldo was carried off in tears in the 25th minute at Paris’ Stade de France, eighteen minutes after injuring his knee in a clash with France’s Dimitri Payet. France, the firm favourites, were unable to capitalise on Ronaldo’s absence, although they almost won it at the end of normal time when substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac turned and hit the inside of the post. Raphael Guerreiro hit the bar with a free-kick for Portugal after 108 minutes, but seconds later they were ahead when Eder fired a low, 25-yard drive past keeper Hugo Lloris. Ronaldo, who had given his Portugal team-mates animated encouragement in the break before extra time, was offering as much tactical advice as coach Fernando Santos in chaotic closing moments – and he was reduced to tears once more at the final whistle before lifting the trophy that has eluded his country for so long.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has imposed a two-year doping ban on the Democratic Republic of Congo midfielder, Christian Ngudikama, after the AS Vita Club player produced a positive test during the 2016 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Rwanda. CAF confirmed the 28-year-old was being sanctioned after testing positive for the banned stimulant ephedrine following DR Congo’s group match against Angola in January. DR Congo went on to win the 2016 CHAN.
Andy Murray became Wimbledon champion for the second time with a superb performance against Canadian sixth seed Milos Raonic in the final. The Scot, 29, dismantled the Raonic serve in a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) victory to repeat his triumph of 2013 and claim a third Grand Slam title. “I’m proud to have my hands on the trophy again,” said Murray. “This is the most important tournament for me every year,” added an emotional Murray. “I’ve had some great moments here, but also some tough losses. The win feels extra special because of the tough losses.” Murray was playing his 11th Grand Slam final and for the first time he was the favourite, having faced either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the previous 10 finals. He appeared to relish the role, ignoring the magnitude of the occasion to claim a sixth successive win over Raonic. The 25-year-old Canadian was making his Grand Slam final debut.
The captain of Spanish third division club Linares Deportivo has died after an accident in a hotel gym. Fran Carles, 26, full name Francisco Javier Pardo Garrido, sustained a thigh injury causing a haemorrhage that spread to his kidneys and other organs. His coffin was carried around the club’s ground on Saturday where over 4,000 fans had gathered to pay their respects before his funeral. “There are no words to express the deep sorrow we feel,” said a club statement.
Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard has played down the possibility of former Everton and Portsmouth striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni joining the club after he played in today’s 5-0 friendly loss to Reading. The 33-year-old striker is a free agent after leaving Turkish Super Lig club Kayserispor and played an hour for Wood as they were comfortably beaten by the Royals. “Realistically I think he has offers and ambitions to play at the highest level available,” said Garrard. “I’ll never say never.” The Nigerian international is the second-highest scoring African in Premier League history and has 96 goals to his name for Portsmouth, Everton, Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers. Asked how the powerful forward came to link up with the Meadow Park club, Garrard said: “I spoke to a friend of mine who is friends with Yak and he said where he was at.
Ghana international Mubarak Wakaso has joined Greek side Panathinaikos from Russian club Rubin Kazan on a three year deal. The 25 year old winger completed his move following a medical with the Athens based club. Panathinaikos confirmed that Wakaso would be at the club until the “summer of 2019.” Wakaso had been with Rubin Kazan since 2013, but spent periods on loan at both Celtic and Las Palmas during that time. He played a key role in helping Ghana reach the both the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Gabon next year, as well as the group phase of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Leicester City completed the signing of Nigeria forward Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow on Friday. Musa, 23, sealed a four-year contract with the English Premier League champions after passing a medical. Lecicester did not disclose the transfer fee, though a source said the deal was worth around £16 million, a club record. The Nigeria international who has won multiple titles in his home country with Kano Pillars and with Russian giants CSKA, becomes the fourth signing of the summer for the champions after the capture of goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler, defender Luis Hernandez and Nampalys Mendy.
Papiss Cisse has said he “will never forget” Newcastle’s fans after leaving the club to join Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng. The striker said on Twitter: “I will be back as a supporter alongside them one day. Every goal I scored in that famous number nine shirt was for them.” Cisse, 31, leaves for an undisclosed fee following a four-and-a-half year spell at St James’ Park. A Senegal international, he scored 44 goals in 131 games for Newcastle. Cisse, who joined the Magpies from German club Freiburg, scored three times during the 2015-16 season, which ended with Newcastle being relegated to the Championship despite a late upturn in form under Rafael Benitez. He added: “I hope that the team are quickly back in the Premier League. “We had some great times together and hopefully under Rafa those times will return.”
World number one Serena Williams beat German fourth seed Angelique Kerber to win a seventh Wimbledon and 22nd Grand Slam title. The American, 34, coped with a gusty wind on Centre Court to win 7-5 6-3 and equal Steffi Graf’s Open era record of major titles. Kerber had beaten Williams in the Australian Open final in January but could not produce another shock. Williams ends a losing run at Slams stretching back to Wimbledon last year. Fourteen years since she first won Wimbledon, Williams claimed the title for a seventh time after dropping just one set all tournament.
Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg will take charge of Sunday’s Euro 2016 final between France and Portugal. Clattenburg will officiate at the Stade de France six weeks after refereeing Real Madrid’s Champions League final win over Atletico Madrid in Milan. The 41-year-old Englishman also took charge of the FA Cup final at Wembley on 21 May when Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1. Hosts France beat Germany 2-0 on Thursday to reach the final. Clattenburg will be joined by assistant referees Simon Beck and Jake Collin and additional assistants Anthony Taylor and Andre Marriner.
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