Tottenham defender Ledley King has announced his retirement from professional football.

The former England international has had a career filled with highs and lows due to injury problems.

The 31-year-old lifted the Carling Cup in 2008 and helped Spurs achieve Champions League qualification

But King s problems with injuries saw his appearances limited in recent seasons.

Chairman Daniel Levy proudly spoke of the contribution that King has given at White Hart Lane.

Ledley has made a magnificent contribution to this club as a wonderful player, captain and ambassador, Levy told the clubs official website.

It has been well documented how he has battled against injury over the years and it is testament to the character of the man how he mana…

Italian giants AC Milan have reportedly joined Arsenal and Manchester City in the race for 17-year-old Caen striker M Baye Niang, .

The France U-21 international spent last month on trial at Arsenal, but is currently in Italy negotiating a potential move to the San Siro.

The Gunners launched an official approach to take Niang on a season-long loan, with the option of making the deal permanent, following his successful trial in north London.

Arsenal made me a proposition, but other clubs are interested two in England and one in Italy, Caen president Jean-Francois Fortin told L Equipe.

There will be an issue here for a fortnight before the matter is resolved.

Stade Malherbe Caen are likely to cash in on Niang following their relegat…

FIFA has confirmed the list of candidates to replace Sepp Blatter as president with David Nakhid not among them while suspended UEFA president Michel Platini s candidature remains pending.

A replacement for Blatter also suspended regarding an alleged disloyal payment made by FIFA to Platini in 2011 is to be elected in February next year with the deadline for nominations passing on Monday.

Both Platini and Blatter deny wrongdoing but, the Frenchman s bid to take the role within the sport s governing body will not be processed as long as such a ban is valid and in force .

FIFA s Ad-hoc Electoral Committee confirmed the list of candidates on Wednesday with former Trinidad and Tobago international Nakhid not among them, despite his claims to have received the necessa…

Cameroon may have left Gabon with a fifth Africa Cup of Nations title in the bag, but their preparation was far from ideal.

Less than one year into his tenure as coach, Hugo Broos was already drawing criticism for an overhaul of the squad that saw him place his faith in youth over experience.

Cameroon had failed to qualify for the 2012 or 2013 AFCON editions, while they suffered a group-stage elimination in Equatorial Guinea two years ago. Broos was given little leeway upon taking over in February 2016 and his decision-making was quickly under intense scrutiny.

And when established stars including Liverpool defender Joel Matip and Schalke forward Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting were among a group of eight players who snubbed the chance to represent their country in Gabo…

The United States edged into the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 win over Curacao in Philadelphia on Sunday.

Weston McKennie s first-half header lifted USA past the minnows in their quarter-final clash at Lincoln Financial Field.

The defending champions were comfortable for long periods, with McKennie getting on the end of a Christian Pulisic cross for the game s only goal.

The result saw USA reach the semi-finals of the tournament for the 10th straight time.

USA started well as Pulisic went close twice in the opening four minutes.

The attacker fired wide after a driving run before then being denied by Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room, who made a superb save to tip over a Pulisic effort from close range after Paul Arriola s cross from the lef…

Spain’s World Cup-winning coach Jorge Vilda has criticised suspended football federation president Luis Rubiales, calling the moment he kissed squad member Jenni Hermoso “inappropriate and unacceptable”.

Rubiales, the president of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), has been provisionally suspended by FIFA in the wake of kissing Hermoso on the lips while she collected her medal after Spain’s 1-0 final win over England in Sydney last Sunday.

Hermoso stressed on Friday she did not consent to the kiss and the fallout from incident continued on Saturday afternoon as Spain women’s coaching staff resigned en masse – with the exception of Vilda.

Se acabo#El FÚTBOL es FÚTBOL y ojalá pudiéramos estar hablando de lo conseguido …

— Montse To…

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger believes Barcelona are more than capable of reaching the UEFA Champions League final.

The German side hold a four-goal lead over the La Liga table-toppers going into Wednesday s semi-final second leg, but the midfielder believes they will have to play at their best to reach the Wembley showpiece.

Barca beat Bayern 4-0 in a quarter-final tie in 2009 and Schweinsteiger has told his team-mates to blank out the atmosphere at Camp Nou and focus on the match.

Barcelona can turn the tie around – they are capable of it, he said.

Barcelona have been wounded so that makes them dangerous. The first leg has opened the door but we haven t crossed the threshold yet.

It ll be a difficult match as few teams have stood up to Barc…

Michel Platini does not expect his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) against his six-year ban from all football-related activity to be successful.

Platini was initially handed an eight-year suspension by FIFA in relation to a disloyal payment made by the organisation s then president Sepp Blatter in 2011.

On February 24, the Frenchman had the length of his sanction reduced by the FIFA Appeal Committee, but signalled his intention to continue fighting his case by filing an appeal with CAS on March 2.

However, the 60-year-old former UEFA chief does not hold out much hope of being exonerated.

I have rarely seen someone win against FIFA or UEFA through CAS. My lawyers are optimistic, but I m very sceptical, Platini told L Equipe.

…

Fernando Hierro will take charge of Spain for the duration of the World Cup following the sacking of Julen Lopetegui, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has confirmed.

The 50-year-old former national team captain was appointed within hours of the announcement of Lopetegui s departure.

The RFEF did not specify whether Hierro may continue in the role beyond the finals in Russia.

Lopetegui was sensationally sacked on Wednesday after agreeing to become the next Real Madrid head coach, with RFEF president Luis Rubiales furious that the European champions only informed him of the deal minutes before the news was made public.

Rubiales told a news conference that he was left with no choice but to dismiss Lopetegui, just three weeks after he signed a new…

I have written many times in my editorials about the fact that I like Bournemouth head coach Eddie Howe’s honesty and approach to the game. However, for all he has done for the Cherries, which has been fantastic, they now look to be on a downward turn.

Money wasted in recent years

The Cherries have spent much of their existence as a football club in the lower leagues of English football, some of those years on the precipice of financial ruin. However, their recent years in the Premier League has seen the club from the south coast splash the cash, well relatively compared to previous years.

A good example is the Cherries £16million purchase of winger Jordon Ibe from Liverpool in 2016. Granted at the time he was a highly-rated youngster when he made the move. However,…