Wesley Sneijder says Neymar s world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain had no influence on his decision to move to Ligue 1 with Nice.

The Netherlands star signed what is reported to be a one-year deal with Lucien Favre s side on Monday after leaving Galatasaray at the end of his contract.

The former Inter and Real Madrid man is the latest high-profile name to try his hand in France s top flight, with his move coming just days after Neymar sealed a €222million switch to PSG from Barcelona.

But Sneijder insists that it was Nice s own project, and not the thought of following in the footsteps of Neymar or former PSG striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, that convinced him to move to France s south coast.

Talent and good players help the league to develop further bu…

Christopher Nkunku and Noni Madueke s second-half goals gave Chelsea a 2-0 advantage over Servette in their Europa Conference League play-off tie.

The Blues put the disappointment of their Premier League defeat to Manchester City behind them, taking control of qualifying in the first leg at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea made a slow start to the game, with Gael Ondoua causing an early scare for Filip Jorgensen from a tight angle, though the goalkeeper was equal to it.

The Blues then stepped up the pace after the break – Nkunku darted in behind Servette s defence before being taken out by Jeremy Frick, and he made no mistake with the resulting penalty, emphatically firing it into the back of the net.

Marc Guiu should have doubled their lead moments later, pick…

Thomas Tuchel and Paris Saint-Germain might have ended the season with a dismal run of form, but their 2018-19 Ligue 1 campaign was still mightily impressive.

The capital club wrapped up the title more than a month before Friday s last fixture at Reims, finishing 16 points clear of second-placed Lille.

And given PSG s failings in the Champions League and both domestic cup competitions, it appears it was their Ligue 1 displays that convinced the club to extend Tuchel s contract until June 2021 on Saturday.

Using Opta data, it is clear to see why the board would be impressed, too, even allowing for the late-season run of three wins in 10 matches across all competitions.

Tuchel won 76.3 per cent of his league matches this term, recording 2.39 points per ga…

David Silva will play his final season at Manchester City in 2019-20, the influential midfielder has announced.

Silva, 33, is considered one of the greatest players in the club s history, helping them to win four Premier League titles as well as a brace of FA Cups and four EFL Cups.

But the former Spain international, who joined from Valencia in 2010, has decided the upcoming campaign will be his last with City.

Silva will not, however, sign for another Premier League club once his City contract expires.

This is the last one,  Silva told reporters. Ten years for me is enough. It s the perfect time.

Initially the club were talking about two years [contract] but I decided to sign another one so I finished at 10 years.

It completes the …

Chris Hughton hailed Glenn Murray s dedication after the 35-year-old striker s 100th Brighton and Hove Albion goal earned them a third straight 1-0 Premier League win against Wolves.

One week after being forced off against Newcastle United with a worrying head injury, Murray swept home three minutes into the second half.

Mat Ryan made a key save from Ryan Bennett in second-half stoppage time as Brighton held on to record three successive wins in the top flight for the first time in 37 years.

Murray, who had a spell with Brighton from 2008 to 2011 before returning, initially on loan, in 2016, came in for effusive praise from Hughton after his landmark strike.

He s somebody that is enjoying his football at the moment, he s scoring goals at the highest lev…

Gennaro Gattuso has agreed a new contract with Serie A side Napoli, according to director Cristiano Giuntoli.

Gattuso, 42, is currently contracted to Napoli until the end of the season after replacing Carlo Ancelotti in December last year.

Since taking charge, former Milan boss Gattuso has guided Napoli to Coppa Italia glory in 2019-20 – the club s first piece of silverware since 2014.

Giuntoli was asked about Gattuso s future prior to Thursday s 1-1 Europa League draw at AZ.

 | Gattuso: “It s a good point. We took risks out there”

— Official SSC Napoli (@en_sscnapoli)

I know the lawyers are exchanging the contracts, Giuntoli told Sky Sport Italia.

We have reached an agreement and the paperwork w…

Quique Sanchez Flores has been appointed Watford s new head coach half an hour after Javi Gracia s sacking was confirmed.

Gracia s departure was announced on Saturday with the Hornets bottom of the Premier League table after taking one point from four games.

He led Watford to the FA Cup final and an 11th place finish in the Premier League last term but was dismissed despite captain Troy Deeney publicly backing him to continue.

Watford wasted no time in announcing the club s former coach Flores will be back in the dugout at Vicarage Road for their game against Arsenal following the international break.

announces the appointment of Quique Sánchez Flores as the club’s new Head Coach.

— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC)

Flores spent t…

Michy Batshuayi s late strike earned Chelsea a 1-0 win at Ajax in Wednesday s Champions League Group H encounter in Amsterdam.

The Belgium striker thumped home fellow substitute Christian Pulisic s low cross with just four minutes remaining at Johan Cruijff ArenA to earn the Blues back-to-back way wins in the competition.

Batshuayi had earlier wasted a gilt-edged chance for Frank Lampard s side in a game that had been struggling to get going.

Ajax will feel aggrieved not to have taken at least a point, though, with Quincy Promes on the wrong end of the narrowest of offside calls and Edson Alvarez hitting the post in the second half.

A poacher s finish from close-range! It goes in off the underside of the crossbar to spark brilliant scenes in one corner …

Real Madrid s 11-game unbeaten run in LaLiga came to a surprising end as Enes Unal s strike gave Getafe a shock 1-0 win over the leaders.

It meant Quique Sanchez Flores got the better of Carlo Ancelotti, with Madrid s head coach seeing his team deliver a flat performance in their first game of the new year.

Madrid had won their last five away LaLiga games, scoring at least two goals in each, but they encountered a hard-grafting Getafe side who stretched their own undefeated streak to six games.

Unal took advantage of a defensive aberration from Eder Militao to strike early in the game, with Madrid frustrated in their efforts to draw level.

Militao was woefully caught out in the ninth minute, after collecting the ball from Toni Kroos on the edge of the pen…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic insists he is deserving of his place in the Sweden squad, even if he is no longer the same player he was when last representing his national side in 2016.

The Milan striker was recalled by Janne Andersson for this month s World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo and Georgia, plus the friendly with Estonia, paving the way for him to potentially play at Euro 2020.

He celebrated his first call-up in nearly five years by posting a picture on Twitter of himself in a Sweden shirt with the caption: The return of the God.

Ibrahimovic, who turns 40 in October, is Sweden s all-time leading scorer with 62 international goals, the last of those coming against Denmark in November 2015. 

And having also impressed in Serie A this term with 14 goals in as…