Bayern Munich have confirmed the signing of Joao Palhinha from Fulham in a deal reportedly worth an initial €50million (£42m).

Bayern came close to signing Palhinha last September, only for Fulham to pull the plug on a deadline-day transfer when they failed to sign a replacement.

He has played a key role for Marco Silva s men since their promotion back to the Premier League in 2022, leading all players in the division for tackles won in 2022-23 (84) and ranking second by the same metric in 2023-24 (75).

The Portugal midfielder has penned a four-year deal with the Bundesliga giants, who he says were the only club he wished to sign for.

It s a dream come true for me and I m very proud of that, he told the club s website.

I m looking forward to…

Manchester United are interested in signing Eberechi Eze from Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, according to . The report has claimed that the United scouts are closely monitoring Eze and have been impressed with him.

However, it would not be easy for United to get a deal done for Eze. Football Transfers has noted that the 26-year-old, who can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a winger, has a £60 million release clause in his contract, and that United will have to sell one of their big-name players, such as Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford, to fund a move for Eze.

Eze, who has played nine times for England, has made 119 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. The attacker has scored 27 goals and given 15 assists in those matches. Palace are…

The Republic of Ireland striker Robbie Keane has survived a slight Euro 2016 scare after undergoing successful knee surgery.

Keane, who leads the Ireland charts for all-time scorer and appearances with 67 goals in 143 caps, received good news after completing the operation, as confirmed by his club LA Galaxy.

The Galaxy captain will only miss four to six weeks after going under the knife on Thursday.

The club statement read: LA Galaxy forward Robbie Keane underwent successful surgery on his right knee Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Bert R. Mandelbaum at the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Group and Kerlan-Jobe Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

The Galaxy captain is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Ke…

Gibraltar ended their longest-ever losing run following a 0-0 draw with Wales, a team ranked 174 places above them in the FIFA rankings.

Julio Cesar Ribas side had not won since seeing off Andorra 1-0 back in November 2022.

Since then, they had lost all 13 of their matches by an aggregate score of 0-50.

Yet Gibraltar proved rock solid against a youthful Wales team on Thursday, with Josh Sheehan s inswining corner coming back off the crossbar in the visitors best opportunity.

Indeed, Wales failed to truly trouble Gibraltar goalkeeper Jaylan Hankins otherwise, despite registering 16 shots and having an xG of 1.13.

Wales did, though, equal their longest unbeaten run in Robert Page s tenure in all competitions (W4 D5), the last time they managed tha…

Real Madrid win their 11th European title / Image via instagram.com

Real Madrid were crowned European champions for the 11th time after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid in Milano on Saturday night.

Sergio Ramos scored in the first half from a questionable position to earn Real Madrid a lead before Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty after the break. However, substitute Yannick Carrasco sent the Champions League final into extra-time with a close-range finish in the closing stages of the match.

Both teams were pretty secure from the white spot and it wasn’t before Juanfran’s shot met the post that Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winning goal to win the coveted trophy.

Here are the five things we learned from the…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has become part owner of Manchester United as one of the UK’s richest men has bought a 25 per cent stake in the club he supported as a boy.

The billionaire has bought a share in the Old Trafford club, worth a reported £1.25billion, in a long and drawn-out process after Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani withdrew his early interest in buying the club outright.

The 71-year-old has a reported net worth of £12.5bn thanks to the success of global chemical company Ineos, which has enjoyed exponential growth since he founded it in 1998, and will assume delegated responsibility for the club’s football operations. He will also invest an additional 300 million US dollars (£236.7m) into the club’s infrastructure.

Manchester United is pleased to conf…

An emotional Dimitri Payet was taken aback by his exploits in Friday s successful Euro 2016 opener as his stunning late strike lifted France to a dramatic 2-1 win over Romania.

It was like Payet opened up a release valve and eased the stress and pressure amid the hype of an entire nation when he produced a trademark goal from outside the penalty area to give hosts France the perfect start in Group A at the Stade de France.

A tearful Payet was overcome with emotion as he celebrated the 89th-minute winner and after his dazzling display in Paris, the West Ham star said: There was stress and pressure. If someone told me that it went like that tonight, I wouldn t have believed it.

That emotion came out in the goal.

Romania were determined to spoil the party …

Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal must break records to have any chance of dethroning Premier League champions Manchester City in 2024-25.

Arsenal have finished second to City in each of the last two seasons, leading the table for long periods in both instances, only to fall narrowly short.

The Gunners were just two points away from ending their 20-year title drought in 2023-24, with City clinching an unprecedented fourth straight crown on the final day.

Arsenal have improved their points tally in each of their four full campaigns under Arteta to date, picking up 61 in 2020-21, 69 in 2021-22, 84 in 2022-23 and 89 last term.

The Gunners scored more goals (91) last season than in any other Premier League campaign, while their 29 goals conceded were their fewest…

FIFA have confirmed that the 2022 World Cup will not be moved from Qatar, despite concerns over the country s suitability to host the event.

The tournament has come under increasing scrutiny in recent months amid fears that the sweltering heat of June and July temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius would lead to unsafe conditions for both players and spectators.

International pressure has also been heaped on the country to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers, with World Cup organisers admitting that they were appalled by the findings of an investigation over work conditions in Qatar conducted by a British newspaper recently.

That has led to calls from some quarters to re-open the bidding process as FIFA s executive committee convened for a two-day meeting…

Lazio rather unexpectedly beat Bayern Munich in the first leg of their encounter in the Champions League round of 16 at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, and will have a minimal advantage to take to the rematch at the Allianz Arena on March 5th. The only goal of the game was a penalty converted by Ciro Immobile in the 69th minute, after Dayot Upamecano committed a foul on Gustav Isaksen that resulted in a straight red card for the Bayern defender as well.

The game

Bayern were considered as the favourites to win this game, with their superior quality and track record at this stage of the Champions League. Therefore, it s not surprising that they dominated most of the contest, ending up with 61% of possession and a total of 17 shots, while Lazio had 11. However, not one of those…