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MONTREAL, Que. — CF Montreal president Gabriel Gervais says he’s comfortable with his squad after an off-season that saw several key pieces depart the Major League Soccer club. Star midfielder Mathieu Choinière, attackers Josef Martinez and Matias Coccaro (out on loan) and right back Ruan are among the players who won’t be in Montreal in 2025, leaving big gaps to fill as the club looks to build on a 2024 season that saw it narrowly make the MLS Cup play-in round before losing on penalty kicks to Atlanta United. Montreal has responded by signing six new players — three attackers, two midfielders, and a central defender. Players returning from loan, as well as trialists, draft picks, and youngsters hoping to graduate from the academy, could further add to Montreal’s depth.  “We have a lot of depth now with doubles at nearly every position,” Gervais said Friday afternoon at Complexe Sportif Marie-Victorin, where CF Montreal has been training this week in between training camps in F...

Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of its third straight promotion, Wrexham splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He’s one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed but British media widely reported it to be around 2 million pounds ($2.5 million) — not extravagant but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that Reynolds and McElhenney paid for the whole club in 2021. For cash-strapped Reading, it was, well, an offer they couldn’t refuse. “Whilst the club was not actively seeking to sell Sam, the significant offer payable by Wrexham will help support the essential short-term finances required to run the club,” Reading said in a statement. Smith is a former Manchester United academy player and has 11...

Thanks to a change in format, 2024-25 UEFA Champions League will carry on into February with the complete field for the round of 16 still to be determined. The top eight teams in the final standings of the initial phase of the competition, which concluded earlier this week, automatically booked their spot for the round of 16, while the bottom 12 sides were eliminated. But teams ranked No. 9 to 24 face the prospect of a two-legged playoff next month to determine the final eight clubs to advance.  Friday’s draw conducted by UEFA at its headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland determined the playoff matches and the bracket for the rest of the tournament. The draw for the round of 16 matchups will take place on Feb. 21.  Here are the matches for two-legged playoffs which take place from Feb. 11-12 and Feb. 18-19. Team listed second will host the decisive second leg.  Stade Brestois 29 vs. Paris Saint Germain   This is the only playoff matchup that pits two ...

NYON, Switzerland — Real Madrid will play Manchester City in the Champions League knockout playoffs round in a standout clash of the past two title winners after the draw was made Friday. Man City, the 2023 champion, will host the first leg on Feb. 11 or 12 and the return game in Madrid is on Feb. 18 or 19. Madrid won a record-extending 15th European title last season.  The winner over two legs advances to the round of 16 to face either Atletico Madrid or Bayer Leverkusen, who placed in the top eight of the new 36-team league standings that ended Wednesday.  Teams that finished from Nos. 9 to 24 in the standings dropped into the two-leg knockout playoffs. Madrid placed 11th and Man City barely qualified in 22nd, after rallying to beat Club Brugge 3-1 in a must-win game. By finishing 22nd, Man City knew it would face either No. 11 Madrid or No. 12 Bayern Munich in the playoffs.  Munich was drawn to face 21st-place Celtic, in a matchup featuring a Canadian con...

SAO PAULO — Neymar has confirmed he will sign what is expected to be a short-term contract with his boyhood club, Santos, as the Brazil striker aims to recharge his career ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The 32-year-old Neymar said Thursday that he’s returning to the Sao Paulo club, and local media reported that the deal will extend only to June 30. “Only Santos can give me the love that I need to prepare for the challenges I have in the next few years. All of you, no matter who you support, know well what I am talking about,” Neymar said on his social media channels . “I hope you all follow me in this new phase of my life.” Santos used its social media channels to respond to Neymar’s video: “Your home awaits. Your people awaits.” Neymar left Santos nearly 12 years ago to join Barcelona. The striker’s return follows the termination of his contract with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. Neymar had returned in October from an ACL injury sustained while playing for Brazil only months...

AFC Toronto has signed former Canadian youth international defender Ashley Cathro and American midfielder Colby Barnett, bringing the new Northern Super League’s team roster to 18 players. Cathro, 25, had put soccer on pause to pursue a PhD after playing five seasons at the University of Illinois. “But when this opportunity presented itself, it was one I couldn’t turn down,” Cathro said in a statement. “A professional women’s soccer league in Canada was always in the talks for a long time coming, but seeing it come to fruition is extremely exciting.” Barnett arrives from Santa Clara University where she was named to the All-West Coast Conference first team. Originally from Victoria, Cathro moved to Vancouver during high school to join the Whitecaps Girls Elite REX program.  She went on to represent Canada at the under-17 and under-20 level, including the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Cathro was also invited to two training camps with the senior side in 2017 and 2021. Cath...

York United FC has officially added 17-year-old striker Marsel Bibishkov to its roster, signing the former Juventus under-17 player to a two-year contract with club options for 2027 and 2028.  Bibishkov had trained with the Canadian Premier League side last season. “We’re very happy to officially announce Marsel, as he’s been part of the squad for a while now,” York president Ricardo Pasquel said in a statement. “As soon as he arrived here, we loved his enthusiasm, his work ethic and his ability.” Born in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, Bibishkov moved to the Toronto area at the age of nine, eventually joining the Toronto FC academy. He made his pro debut at 15 for Bulgarian club Pirin in November 2022 in a domestic cup game and made his league debut several months later. Bibishkov, who made one more appearance off the bench, featured in Pirin’s matchday squad on eight occasions in all. Bibishkov scored six goals in 17 appearances for the Juventus under-27 side in 2...

GENEVA — Manchester City flirted with a disastrous exit from the Champions League before rallying to beat Club Brugge 3-1 in a must-win game Wednesday and advanced to the knockout phase. Man City trailed 1-0 at halftime, and sat 26th in the 36-team standings, before the 2023 title-winner was sparked by substitute Savinho to avoid elimination. City finished 22nd. Paris Saint-Germain was also set secure its place in the top-24 teams entering the knockout rounds, leading 4-1 at Stuttgart entering stoppage time. PSG impressed again after a crucial 4-2 comeback win over Man City one week ago.

American forward Shaina Ashouri has traded Iceland for Toronto, signing with the new Northern Super League team. The 28-year-old from Parker, Colo., looks to use the experience gained in Iceland in AFC Toronto colours. “The last two teams I was a part of were both programs in building mode,” Ashouri said in a statement. “They were newly promoted and looking for someone to help propel them forward. What is happening in Canada with the new Northern Super League provides me another opportunity to have an influence, and inspiring young athletes is a goal I value.” After a short stint with Iceland’s Thor/KA, Ashouri joined Fimleikafelag Hafnarfjordur (FH) in 2022, helping the team to an undefeated regular season and promotion to Iceland’s first tier. The following season, as co-captain, Ashouri helped FH finish in the top six and was named to the league’s team of the season. In 2024, Ashouri joined another newly promoted club in Víkingur Reykjavik FC. She led the team in scor...

French winger Yohan Bai, who has played in France’s second-tier Ligue 2 and the Bulgarian top flight, has signed with the Halifax Wanderers through the 2026 Canadian Premier League season with a club option for 2027. The 28-year-old split the 2024 season between France’s SC Bastia and Bulgaria’s Lokomotiv Plovdiv. “Yohan has an incredible ability to do things at a high speed and we felt adding a player who can stretch the game and create individual magic will help take us to the next level,” Wanderers coach Patrice Gheisar said in a statement. “He’s technical, can run at you and combine with other players. He is also a terrific person with a great upbringing from really good clubs in Europe, so we know he will settle in well here in Halifax.” In other CPL news, Atletico Ottawa signed former Canadian youth international defender Noah Abatneh to a one-year contract with a club option for 2026. Abatneh had been with York United. A native of Arras, Bai is a product of Amiens SC’s youth...

The Canadian women will take their first steps under new coach Casey Stoney against China, Mexico and Taiwan at the Pinatar Cup next month in Spain. Canada Soccer had already announced that Stoney would make her Canada coaching debut at the Spanish tournament. But Canada’s opponents were not revealed until Monday.  Sixth-ranked Canada will face No. 17 China on Feb. 19 before facing No. 31 Mexico on Feb. 22 and No. 42 Taiwan on Feb. 25. All three games will be played at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia. They were initially described as closed-door contests but a Canada Soccer spokeswoman said organizers have confirmed that spectators will be allowed in for free.  Stoney, formerly coach of the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and England’s Manchester United women’s side, was named Canada coach on Jan. 13. “I’m really excited to get started. This camp is the first step in building the foundation for what we want to achieve in 2025 and beyond,” Stoney said in a statement. “Each of these team...

MANCHESTER, England — Ruben Amorim says he would rather have Manchester United’s goalkeeper coach in his squad than Marcus Rashford after appearing to question the 27-year-old’s commitment to the club. Out-of-favour Rashford has not played for his hometown club since Dec. 12 and seems firmly out in the cold under the United manager after again not making the squad for the 1-0 win at Fulham in the Premier League. Amorim went as far as saying that 63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge Vital is more likely to gain minutes than the England forward. “It’s always the same reason (why Rashford is not playing),” Amorim said Sunday on the eve of his 40th birthday. “The reason is the training, what I think a footballer should do in training, in life and every day. If things don’t change, I will not change. “It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum and the right things then we can use every player. “Today on the bench we missed a bit of pace to change the game but I prefe...

It’ll be a homecoming like no other for one of soccer’s most beloved superstars. Brazilian forward Neymar is set to return to boyhood club Santos, with soccer insider Fabrizio Romano reporting that the deal is imminent and a verbal agreement has been reached. According to Romano, the formal steps will follow next week as his current club, the Saudi Pro League’s Al-Hilal, will finalize the deal to send him home. Neymar has already approved the move. Neymar, 32, has endured a turbulent stay in Saudi Arabia. After signing a two-year contract for a €90 million ($94.3 million) transfer fee and suiting up for five games for Al-Hilal, he suffered a torn ACL while on international duty with Brazil in October 2023. He returned to the club in October 2024, but soon suffered a hamstring injury that kept him sidelined for the rest of the year. He has not since made another appearance for the club. Al-Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus told reporters earlier this month that Neymar can “no...

MADRID — Barcelona got off to a strong start against Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday, with four different players scoring in the first 24 minutes. Frenkie de Jong opened the scoring in the third minute, Ferran Torres added to the lead in the eighth, Raphinha found the net in the 14th and Fermín López completed the early rout in the 24th at Montjuic stadium. López added the fifth in first-half stoppage time as Barcelona ended the first half with a 5-0 lead. Barcelona looks set to move within three points of second-place Atletico Madrid and seven points off leader Real Madrid, which won 3-0 at Valladolid on Saturday with a hat trick by Kylian Mbappé. Atletico was held 1-1 by Villarreal on Saturday. Valencia was sitting second-to-last in the 20-team standings. Other results Midtable Real Sociedad fell 3-0 at home against 14th-placed Getafe, losing for the third time in a row across all competitions. Randy Nteka scored in the 80th and 83rd minutes as seventh-placed...

PARIS — Striker Othmane Maamma came off the bench to score the decisive goal as Montpellier won 2-1 at Toulouse to move off the bottom of the French league on Sunday. The 19-year-old Maamma headed in a pinpoint cross from creative midfielder Téji Savanier in the 83rd minute. Midfielder Cristian Casseres gave Toulouse the lead in the 59th minute, but central defender Modibo Sagnan equalized three minutes later for Montpellier. A second straight win put Montpellier into 17th place in the 18-team league and dropped Le Havre down to last. Later Sunday, Marseille needed to win at Nice to close the gap on Ligue 1 leader Paris Saint-Germain to seven points. Other results on a low-scoring day Seventh-place Lens beat Angers 1-0 at home, with Facundo Medina setting up Poland winger Przemyslaw Frankowski for the only goal shortly after halftime. Elsewhere, imposing striker Ludovic Ajorque found the net as eighth-place Brest won 1-0 at Le Havre, boosting team confidence before facing Real M...

BERLIN — Adam Hlozek scored in stoppage time for Hoffenheim to end Eintracht Frankfurt’s winning run with a 2-2 draw in the Bundesliga on Sunday. It was Frankfurt’s first game since top-scorer Omar Marmoush left for Manchester City and it looked like Hugo Ekitiké had filled the gap with two goals for the visitors. But Andrej Kramarić chipped the ball forward for Hlozek to equalize with a volley in the fifth minute of second-half injury time. “That wasn’t what we’re used to … We let ourselves get pushed way back and, to be honest, it wasn’t a good game from us,” Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp said. The point lifted Hoffenheim just above 15th-placed St. Pauli before the Hamburg-based team hosted Union Berlin in Sunday’s late game. Frankfurt remained third after the end of its four-game winning start to 2025 across all competitions. Hoffenheim goalkeeper Luca Philipp made his Bundesliga debut in place of injured captain Oliver Baumann, and he faced a penalty earl...

ROME — New AC Milan coach Sergio Conceição dropped down to his knees on the San Siro sideline, unleashed a loud scream and then wrapped his arms around an assistant in an emotional embrace when Samuel Chukwueze bundled in the winner five minutes into stoppage time. Conceição has struggled at times to transmit his desire and grit to a team that has struggled for consistency in Serie A. He was clearly moved by Milan’s ability to stay focused this time, though, as the Rossoneri scored two late goals to secure a 3-2 victory against promoted Parma on Sunday. Conceição also guided Milan to comeback wins over Juventus and Inter Milan en route to the Italian Super Cup trophy to start the month. And a midweek win over Girona left Milan in the top eight of the Champions League standings. “Really we need to show some of this hunger earlier in the game because it seems like we always have this energy at the end, and we’re turning the games around,” said United States intern...

Women’s soccer has its first million-dollar player after United States defender Naomi Girma moved from San Diego Wave to Chelsea on Sunday. Chelsea announced the signing of Girma without disclosing the fee but The Athletic and the BBC were among those reporting the English champions have spent 900,000 pounds ($1.1 million) on the transfer. That surpasses the world-record fee of $788,000 that Bay FC paid to sign Zambia striker Rachael Kundananji from Madrid CFF last year. The 24-year-old Girma was under contract with the Wave until 2026. She was drawing interest from French club Lyon and Arsenal, Chelsea’s rival in the Women’s Super League. Girma was presented on the field in front of Chelsea’s fans ahead of Sunday’s game against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the WSL. “I’m so happy and really excited to be here. It doesn’t feel real,” Girma said. “There are a lot of things about Chelsea that made me want to come here — the culture, the winning mentality, staff ...

PARIS — Maghnes Akliouche scored a spectacular goal and set up an easy one as Monaco beat Rennes 3-2 to move up to third place in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Akliouche put the home side ahead in the 16th minute with a brilliant overhead kick from Vanderson’s cross. But right back Mahamadou Nagida equalized just before the break. Shortly after Mika Biereth scored his first goal for Monaco in the 52nd, latching onto a pass from Lamine Camara and slotting through the legs of the goalkeeper, Akliouche’s pass gave Aleksandr Golovin an open goal for 3-1. Amine Gouiri pulled a goal back for struggling Rennes, starting and finishing the move. Later, new signing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was set for his debut when unbeaten leader Paris Saint-Germain hosted Reims at Parc des Princes. Lille needed to win at Strasbourg in Saturday’s other game to reclaim third spot from Monaco. More from Sportsnet Winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia signs with French champion PSG until 2029 ...

WOLFSBURG, Germany — Relegation-threatened Holsten Kiel scored a late equalizer to draw at Wolfsburg 2-2 in the Bundesliga on Friday and snap a run of five consecutive away defeats. The home side came into the game having scored a club record 40 goals in its first 18 games but it had a frustrating first half and went in a goal down thanks to a 13th-minute header from David Zec. Wolfsburg coach Ralph Hasenhüttl introduced Patrick Wimmer at the break and it took the Austrian winger just five minutes to make his mark, slotting under the advancing goalkeeper after he was put through on goal by Jonas Wind. Three minutes later, Wind put Wolfsburg ahead when he headed home from a corner. But Hasenhüttl’s counterpart Marcel Rapp was also busy, making five changes in the second half, including giving a debut to recent American signing John Tolkin. However, it was another of the replacements who grabbed the equalizer in the 80th against the run of play. Steven Skrzybski squeezed a low shot...

The Vancouver Whitecaps have acquired Canadian forward Jayden Nelson ahead of the Major League Soccer season.  The ‘Caps announced the move Friday, saying the 22-year-old athlete from Brampton, Ont., has agreed to a contract through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029.  Nelson comes to Vancouver from Norwegian club Rosenborg where he contributed eight goals and nine assists across 44 appearances.  The five-foot-nine, 160-pound Nelson came up through the Toronto FC academy and signed with the MLS team in January 2020. He made 50 appearances for TFC, scoring one goal and providing three assists across all competitions, before being transferred to Rosenborg in February 2023. Nelson has made five appearances for the Canadian men’s national team, including during the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup where he scored in the country’s 4-2 victory over Cuba in group play.  The Whitecaps are currently holding training camp in Marbella, Spain, and are set to play ...

Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke is likely to be out for around six weeks because of a knee injury, Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said Thursday. Solanke sustained the injury in training last week and missed the Premier League game against Everton on Sunday and Thursday’s Europa League win against Hoffenheim. “With Dom, the information now is that we are looking at around the six-week mark,” Postecoglou said after his team’s 3-2 win in Germany. “No surgery. Maybe we can get him back a little bit earlier, just see how he progresses. But, at this stage, it’s saying around six weeks.” Solanke was a 55 million pounds ($68 million) signing from Bournemouth in the offseason and has scored 11 goals in 29 appearances for Spurs. More from Sportsnet Europa League Roundup: Son double keeps Tottenham on knockout course Tottenham’s Rodrigo Bentancur provides update after worrying injury against Liverpool

Giacomo Vrioni says his play will do the talking. The recently acquired striker knows CF Montreal will lean on him to perform as the Major League Soccer team’s only designated player, and he’s comfortable with those expectations. “I don’t feel the pressure,” Vrioni said Thursday during a video conference from Montreal’s training camp in Florida. “If you want to give, if you want to push yourself, you have to live with (pressure). But I know in what team I am, I know all the confidence that team president Gabriel Gervais gives to me, the coach gives to me and all my teammates. “Now the pitch is gonna talk.” Vrioni, however, hasn’t quite lived up to the hype since he entered Major League Soccer. The 26-year-old Albanian international joined the New England Revolution from prestigious Italian club Juventus in July 2022 for a transfer fee of US$3.8 million. He also led the Austrian Bundesliga in scoring while on loan at WSG Tirol. In MLS, Vrioni has produced only 16 goals and three a...

WREXHAM, Wales — Wrexham settled for a 1-1 draw with third-division leader Birmingham on Thursday in a match between two clubs with celebrity owners. Wrexham is attempting to earn its third straight promotion under the ownership of actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney but missed a chance to gain ground on Birmingham, which boasts Tom Brady as a minority shareholder. League One leader Birmingham extended its unbeaten streak in all competitions to 15 games. The club leads Wycombe by three points and third-place Wrexham by five points. The top two teams earn automatic promotion to the Championship, and the next four enter a playoff for one other promotion spot. Oliver Rathbone curled in a shot in the ninth minute the Racecourse Ground. Birmingham leveled the score in the 18th when Lyndon Dykes’ header ended up in the net. British media had dubbed the game the “Hollywood derby” due to the celebrity owners, but none of the star owners were in attendance. From Los Angeles, McElhenney...

Son Heung-min scored twice as Tottenham beat Hoffenheim 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday. The South Korea star struck in each half at PreZero Arena to help ease the pressure on manager Ange Postecoglou. It was only Tottenham’s second win in its past nine games overall and kept it on course for the round of 16 in Europe’s second-tier competition. Son doubled the lead in the 22nd minute after James Maddison had opened the scoring in the third. He got his second to make it 3-1 in the 77th. Son was making his 436th appearance for the club — moving up to 10th on Spurs’ list. Anton Stach scored for Hoffenheim in the 68th and David Mokwa sparked hope of an unlikely comeback in the 88th. Tottenham is fourth in the standings, with the top eight teams automatically advancing to the round of 16. Roma lost 1-0 to Dutch club AZ Alkmaar after Troy Parrott’s winner in the 80th. With one game to go, the Italian giant is 21st, with teams from ninth to 24th moving on to a playoff round. Roma,...