Soccer

5:48 PM ET LUTON, England — Appropriately enough, Chelsea‘s money made the difference in the end. Confirmation that Roman Abramovich will sell the Blues came around an hour before the start of a match in which Luton Town threatened to show them just how far they could fall without their owner’s financial clout. Twice the

7:15 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has emerged as a surprise short-term option as Manchester United explore contingency plans in their pursuit of a new manager, sources have told ESPN. Ancelotti has a close personal relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, someone new United CEO Richard Arnold has sought advice from since

5:09 AM ET Chelsea is up for sale, sources have told ESPN, as the UK government comes under pressure to sanction owner Roman Abramovich. Alexander Hassenstein – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images Roman Abramovich is willing to listen to offers for Chelsea as pressure grows over his ownership amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, sources have told

6:20 AM ET Everton have received an apology from the Premier League’s head of referees, Mike Riley, after the failure to award an injury time penalty against Manchester City on Saturday, sources have confirmed to ESPN. Everton were trailing the league leaders 1-0 when Rodrigo handled the ball inside the area. Match referee Paul Tierney

12:56 PM ET On Monday, FIFA announced that it was indefinitely suspending Russian representative teams (men’s and women’s). (In a joint statement, UEFA announced they were removing club sides from all competitions.) This means Russia will almost certainly not be participating in the Qatar World Cup in November. The previous day, FIFA had condemned the

Feb 22, 2022 There were times on Sunday night when Barcelona‘s football in the 4-0 win against Athletic Club was rapturously good. You know the feeling: when something happens on the pitch that’s so outrageously joyous that the senses take over, completely, from the rational mind — when football transcends your daily woes and your

2:33 PM ET Jeff Carlisle Close U.S. soccer correspondent Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Dan Hajducky Close ESPN Hajducky is a reporter/researcher for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities.

12:26 PM ET UEFA has removed Russia’s teams from this year’s European competitions meaning they will not compete at this summer’s European Women’s Football Championships, while Spartak Moscow have been kicked out of the Europa League. The teams have been removed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s women’s side were set to face

7:28 PM ET Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored from the edge of the 6-yard box in the 90th minute as the LA Galaxy escaped with a 1-0 victory Sunday over visiting New York City FC in a season opener at Carson, Calif. In their first regular-season game since winning last year’s MLS Cup title in a

4:18 PM ET LONDON — The first trophy of the English season was claimed on Sunday, and in some style, as Chelsea and Liverpool played out a Carabao Cup final for the ages at Wembley (stream a replay on ESPN+). The sides combined to put the ball in the back of the net on four

6:03 AM ET Jesse Marsch could replace Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds. Jan Woitas/picture alliance via Getty Images Marcelo Bielsa has been sacked by Leeds United, it was confirmed, and sources have told ESPN that former United States midfielder Jesse Marsch is the leading contender to succeed him. Leeds suffered a torrid week, first suffering a 6-0

2:42 PM ET Man City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko wears jersey with flag of his native Ukraine on front. Getty Images Manchester City and Everton players took to the field wearing Ukrainian flags before their Premier League game on Saturday, while there were anti-war messages at stadiums elsewhere following Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. City players walked out before

2:12 PM ET Associated Press Roman Abramovich has owned Chelsea since 2003. Paul Gilham/Getty Images Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich suddenly handed over the “stewardship and care” of the Premier League club to its charitable foundation trustees on Saturday. The move came after a member of the British parliament called for the Russian billionaire to hand over

11:50 AM ET Manchester United were left to regret a multitude of missed chances as they were held to a 0-0 draw to Watford in the Premier League on Saturday. United enjoyed a couple of glorious early attacks at Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo almost netted on five minutes as he saw his effort hit the

8:00 AM ET Christian Pulisic told ESPN he believes he can take inspiration from Mohamed Salah’s impact at Liverpool as Chelsea prepare to face Jurgen Klopp’s side in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday. Salah is widely considered to be among the best soccer players in the world after taking his game to

It has been just 77 days since New York City FC lifted the MLS Cup in Portland, but the 2022 Major League Soccer season begins this weekend. Much has changed in this short offseason. Some big names have left, some bigger names are en route, there’s a new team, and an old team has a

12:04 PM ET Borussia Dortmund and United States international midfielder Giovanni Reyna said that he’s “pretty positive” he’ll return from his latest injury setback in time to help the U.S. in the last round of World Cup qualifying. In last weekend’s 6-0 Bundesliga win against Borussia Monchengladbach, Reyna suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury

6:22 PM ET LONDON — If Arsenal needed any clarity on the high-wire act they have signed themselves up for on the run-in, Thursday’s dramatic 2-1 win over Wolves was it. Around the same time as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang added another goal to his burgeoning tally for Barcelona at Napoli, the Gunners turned to contract rebel