DOHA, Qatar (AP) — English soccer’s two most storied teams are suddenly in play.
Manchester United has joined great rival Liverpool in opening its doors to a potential buyout that could be the biggest in sporting history.
Qatar's decision to launch itself into hosting the 2022 World Cup was a head-scratcher from the start. Why, some wondered, would a Middle Eastern emirate with fewer than 3 million people and little soccer tradition want to host the sport's biggest event?
LONDON (AP) — First its manager, now its head of recruitment.
Two months after bringing in Graham Potter from Brighton, Chelsea has gone back to its Premier League rival to entice the person who built a strong reputation at the south-coast club for finding and developing talent.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Jim Ratcliffe has dropped interest in buying Manchester United, months after considering a takeover bid for the Premier League club.
The billionaire owner of petrochemicals firm INEOS also has no intention of making an offer for Liverpool, whose owner Fenway Sports Group this week confirmed it was open to selling its shares.
For someone with little experience in soccer, American businessman Todd Boehly sure has made some big calls in his first 100 days as the face of Chelsea’s new ownership.
His first major decision really raised eyebrows: Boehly, Chelsea announced early in the offseason, would not just be the club’s new chairman but also its interim sporting director in charge of recruitment.
Chelsea's new American owners are proving to be just as ruthless as the man they replaced.
Thomas Tuchel was fired by the English club on Wednesday, only one month into the season and just days after Chelsea's recently installed ownership — fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly — concluded a Europe-high spending spree of nearly $300 million in the transfer window.
A record spending spree by Premier League clubs in the summer transfer market passed the $2.2 billion mark before the window closed Thursday with Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and — belatedly — Chelsea all signing players to conclude the reshaping of their squads.
LONDON (AP) — Wesley Fofana became one of the most expensive defenders in soccer history after securing a move to Chelsea from Premier League rival Leicester for a reported fee of 75 million pounds ($87 million) on Wednesday.
Nine years, five permanent managers, $1 billion spent on players and zero Premier League titles.
That adds up to a whole lot of bad decisions made by Manchester United as England’s grandest club approaches a decade since the retirement of its greatest manager, Alex Ferguson.
Let's get the bad news out of the way for Manchester City: As it stands, this will be the seventh and final season of Pep Guardiola’s trophy-filled time at the club.
Seeing the back of a coach who has taken English soccer to new levels of excellency in his longer-than-expected time at City will be a relief to the rest of the Premier League.
LONDON (AP) — Maybe the Premier League's “Big Six” should actually be renamed the “Big Two.”
Manchester City and Liverpool have finished as England's top two teams in three of the last four years, the exception coming in the 2020-21 season when an injury crisis in defense saw Liverpool only seal a top-four spot on the final day.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A sleek $156 million superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch and parliamentarian is now docked in Dubai, the latest reminder of how the skyscraper-studded sheikhdom has become a haven for Russian money amid Moscow's war on Ukraine.
Todd Boehly, the American businessman who fronted the recent world-record purchase of Chelsea, will assume the role of club chairman and also take charge of its offseason transfer dealings in an interim role as sporting director.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says Russia has so far turned over the bodies of 210 Ukrainian fighters killed in the battle for Mariupol. It says most of them were among the last holdouts in the Azovstal steelworks.
KYIV, Ukraine — A theater in Ukraine’s capital has reopened for the first time since Russian forces invaded the country, and tickets sold out for Sunday's performance.
Theater on Podil was the latest cultural institution in Kyiv to resume operations.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced new sanctions Thursday on Russian oligarchs and elites, including some of the richest men in Europe and their families, as well as penalties targeting more Kremlin officials, businessmen linked to President Vladimir Putin and their yachts, aircraft and firms that manage them.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Roman Abramovich has filed a lawsuit at the EU's general court against the European Union Council, which imposed sanctions on the former Chelsea owner as part of measures targeting Russia and President Vladimir Putin’s close allies.
The fast-tracked purchase of English soccer club Chelsea for 2.5 billion pounds ($3.2 billion) — the highest price ever paid for a sports team — was completed Monday by a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
LONDON (AP) — The sale of Premier League club Chelsea is expected to be completed Monday after a “final and definitive" agreement was reached with the consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
BERLIN (AP) — Western allies are considering whether to allow Russian oligarchs to buy their way out of sanctions and using the money to rebuild Ukraine, according to government officials familiar with the matter.
Standing by the bar in a small Stamford Bridge hospitality suite was a figure who had had not been spotted at the stadium in three years: Roman Abramovich.
Last November, the Chelsea owner was back in London at his English Premier League club to host the president of Israel.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Portuguese government has given its authorization for the sale of Chelsea by Roman Abramovich, who needed approval because he is a Portuguese passport holder.
LONDON (AP) — Roman Abramovich’s 19-year ownership of Chelsea is ending after the British government approved the sale of the Premier League club by the sanctioned Russian oligarch to a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
LONDON (AP) — The Premier League has approved the proposed sale of Chelsea to a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly, although the British government still needs to sign off on the deal before it can be completed.
LONDON (AP) — Ross Barkley scored in injury time as Chelsea concluded a season of ownership turmoil with a 2-1 win over Watford in the final round of the Premier League on Sunday.
The former England midfielder nodded in Reece James’ cross for Chelsea’s late winner with prospective owner Todd Boehly at Stamford Bridge again to finally see the team win in person.
LONDON (AP) — Prospective new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly saw third place effectively secured with a 1-1 draw with Leicester in the Premier League on Thursday.
Marcos Alonso’s fine volley from Reece James’ diagonal cross recovered the point for Chelsea in the 34th minute after the wingback's failure to track back had allowed James Maddison to fire Leicester in front from 18 yards (meters).
CANNES, France (AP) — The last two times the Russian filmmaker Kirill Serebrennikov had films playing at the Cannes Film Festival, he couldn't attend.
The British government has yet to approve the sale of Premier League club Chelsea to a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
Outgoing Russian owner Roman Abramovich is not allowed to profit from the proceeds of the sale since he was sanctioned and his assets were frozen for his links to President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.
LONDON (AP) — Add the FA Cup to the collection. Jürgen Klopp has now won every major title for Liverpool.
A 6-5 victory over Chelsea on penalties in Saturday's final produced Liverpool's first FA Cup triumph since 2006 and kept it in contention for, potentially if unlikely, a quadruple of trophies.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
The next step in Liverpool’s quest for an unlikely quadruple of trophies is the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Jürgen Klopp’s side is looking to repeat the League Cup final triumph over the same London club in February.
The forced sale of Chelsea is ending after attracting the highest price for a sports team of 2.5 billion pounds ($3.1 billion) from a consortium fronted by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly.
LONDON (AP) — Chelsea’s prospective new ownership watched Romelu Lukaku score his first English Premier League goals in 2022 before the team collapsed to 2-2 against Wolverhampton on Saturday, leaving work still to do to wrap up Champions League qualification.
A late bid to buy Chelsea was launched by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe on Friday even as the sale process was reaching its end-game with the selection of a preferred bidder for the English Premier League club.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Billionaire Moshe Kantor has severed his longstanding ties to Tel Aviv University — joining a growing list of Russian Jewish oligarchs who have scaled back their philanthropic activities after coming under international sanctions for their ties to President Vladimir Putin.
LONDON (AP) — Antonio Rudiger has told Chelsea that he will be leaving the club when his contract expires at the end of the season, manager Thomas Tuchel said Sunday.
“He informed me some days ago in a personal talk,” Tuchel said of Rudiger.
IMOLA, Italy (AP) — If you can’t play soccer, buy a soccer club.
That was part of Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton’s thinking when he joined a consortium that is bidding to buy Chelsea.
Hamilton, along with 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams, is part of a group trying to buy the Premier League club from sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
LONDON (AP) — The crowded field to buy Chelsea now features 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams and seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.
A long-standing fan of Arsenal, Hamilton has seized the opportunity to invest in its London rival as three bidders try to buy the Premier League club from sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
LONDON (AP) — Bukayo Saka scored his first penalty for Arsenal to complete a 4-2 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday that revived the push for Champions League qualification.
After Arsenal twice threw away the lead in the first half, Eddie Nketiah netted for a second time in the 57th minute and Saka converted the penalty in the second minute of stoppage time.
LONDON (AP) — Complete the sale of Chelsea inside four weeks and the new ownership will have an FA Cup final against Liverpool to attend.
Who will be representing the club in the royal box at Wembley Stadium on May 14 is still to be determined.
The owners of the Chicago Cubs dropped their interest in buying Chelsea, leaving three remaining bids for the enforced sale of the Premier League club by sanctioned Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
The bid was being led by Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts but faced opposition from Chelsea fans over Islamophobic comments by his father, Joe, that featured in leaked emails three years ago.
KYIV, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians on Thursday they should be proud of having survived 50 days under Russian attack when the Russians “gave us a maximum of five.”
In his late-night video address, Zelenskyy called it “an achievement of millions of Ukrainians, of everyone who on Feb.