Atletico ´stronger´ than Barca, Real – Turan

Niko Kranjcar s wonderful late free-kick denied Mark Hughes a winning return to Loftus Road as QPR drew 2-2 with Stoke City on Saturday.

Hughes was sacked after a miserable 10 months in charge of QPR in 2012, but looked to be on course for all three points on his first trip back to the west London club thanks to a goal early in the second half from another former Rangers employee, Peter Crouch.

Crouch, who spent the 2000-01 season at QPR, struck in the 51st minute after Steven Caulker had levelled Mame Biram Diouf’s early opener on the stroke of half-time.

However, Kranjcar rescued Harry Redknapp s side from a fourth Premier League defeat of the season with a superb 25-yard free-kick two minutes from time.

Redknapp looked set to endure a miserable day,…

Mexico defender Rafa Marquez is back home in his native country after signing a two-year deal with Leon.

The move comes just hours after being released by the New York Red Bulls on Thursday.

Goal.com reported earlier this week Marquez was in Mexico City to finalise the deal, but the one major hurdle in completing the move sooner was his contract obligations with the Red Bulls.

I m sure that our fans will give Leon s newest player, Rafael Marquez, the best welcome, Leon president Jesus Martinez posted on Twitter.

Marquez, who was one of the Red Bulls three designated players (a player they can sign outside of the team s salary cap), had been a disappointment since joining the MLS team from Barcelona in 2010. He played just 35 of a possible 73 games whi…

Wayne Rooney has been sacked as manager of Sky Bet Championship club Birmingham.

The former Manchester United and England striker has overseen just two wins in 15 games following his controversial appointment at St Andrew’s in October.

Supporters called for Rooney’s removal as the side slumped to a 3-0 defeat at Leeds on New Year’s Day. The result left the club 20th in the table having been sixth when Rooney took charge.

Club statement: Wayne Rooney

— Birmingham City FC (@BCFC)

A club statement read: “Birmingham City has today parted company with manager Wayne Rooney and first-team coach Carl Robinson.

“Despite their best efforts, results have not met the expectations that were made clear at the outset. Therefore, the board fe…

Borussia Dortmund have confirmed the return of Nuri Sahin on an 18-month loan deal from La Liga giants Real Madrid.

Sahin initially joined Liverpool on a season-long loan but after limited opportunities the Turkish international midfielder has cut short the deal so he can link up with his boyhood club, where he won the 2010/11 Bundesliga title.

Dortmund also have an option to make the deal permanent at the end of the loan period.

The 24-year-old departs Liverpool after a total of just 12 games, with his last Premier League appearance coming in the side s 1-1 draw at Chelsea on November 11.

Speaking at the player s unveiling, club director Hans-Joachim Watzke claimed that they were always interested in bringing the player back to the club.

Back t…

Bundesliga clubs have announced a record turnover of more than two billion euros, with a net income 7.2 percent greater than last season.

The total earnings for the clubs in the league was marked as 2.081 billion euros for last season, which was up from the 2010/11 number of 1.941 billion.

The Deutschland Football League (DFL), also announced that as many as 14 of the 18 teams in the division have enjoyed a profitable year.

The foundations for this successful path are financial good sense as well as targeted investment in sporting efficiency and infrastructure, DFL chief executive Christian Seifert told reporters.

The Bundesliga is well equipped to deal with the challenges ahead.

The figures were inflated by Bayern Munich s run to the Champion…

Anthony Martial was hurt by Manchester United handing Zlatan Ibrahimovic his number-nine jersey, the striker s agent has confirmed.

Martial was handed the coveted shirt number upon his arrival from Monaco in 2015, but had to settle for No.11 instead when Ibrahimovic joined from Paris Saint-Germain.

I am not going to lie about it, it hurt him when Manchester United took the number nine jersey off him. He was surprised by it and he was disappointed for a few days, Martial s advisor Philippe Lamboley told RMC.

But he is a professional. He knew that he had to fight back.

Personally, I did not accept the decision, which I thought was disrespectful and misplaced. I let the United hierarchy know how I felt. You do not do things like that. We have turned the p…

West Ham United are eyeing a move for Manchester United defender Chris Smalling, according to the Metro.

Manuel Pellegrini, who was last month announced as the Hammers’ new manager has been giving the task of refreshing the first team squad and has been handed £70m to help him do so.

Smalling, who missed out on being included in England’s World Cup squad made played forty-six times under Jose Mourinho last season scoring four goals, including the winner in the come-from-behind victory in the Manchester derby.

In total he has played two hundred and eighty-nine times for the Red Devils in all competitions, scoring seventeen goals.

The twenty-eight-year-old former Fulham man has been capped thirty-one times for England with his one and only interna…

Tottenham and Brighton and Hove Albion have each been fined £100,000 for the touchline clash during their Premier League encounter earlier this month.

The incident occurred in the 58th minute of Spurs 2-1 win over the Seagulls, which saw both bosses – Cristian Stellini and Roberto De Zerbi – sent to the stands.

Tempers had become flared during a game in which Brighton saw two goals and a penalty claim denied after VAR checks, before going on to lose to their hosts.

When asked about the incident after the game on April 8, Spurs interim head coach Stellini told Sky Sports: I don t like to be involved when there is a fight or something too aggressive. I m quiet and focused on the game.

I try to do my job. I want to speak only about my team and the game…

Arsenal and Manchester United went away with a share of the spoils on Saturday evening in a 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium.

It was actually an entertaining scoreless stalemate, with both sides going to close to scoring a winning goal but in the end neither were quite able to edge ahead as they each departed with a well-earned point.

Here are three things we learned from North London:

Close but not quite

Despite the scoreline, there were plenty of opportunities for both Manchester United and Arsenal to win the game at the Emirates Stadium. The hosts had 17 shots throughout the game, with Manchester United also having 14 of their own, indicating it was indeed an entertaining clash for supporters.

These efforts were not just pot-shots either but very goo…

The Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) say they will defend Luis Suarez after claims he punched an opponent during a World Cup qualifier.

The incident occurred during Chile s 2-0 victory over Suarez s Uruguay in March, when the 26-year-old allegedly threw a punch in the direction of West Brom defender Gonzalo Jara, who is on loan at Nottingham Forest.

Referee Nestor Patana missed the altercation in the penalty area and was therefore unable to react during the match, and though retrospective action is likely to be taken, the AUF are adamant they will stand by their star man.

Once again we feel Suarez is being persecuted by different football leagues, mainly the English, and we think this is unjust because it s a normal action in football, AUF president Sebastia…