Oliver Baumann has left Freiburg to sign a four-year contract with Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim.

The goalkeeper joined Freiburg as a 10-year-old in 2000 and made his first-team debut in the 2009-10, however his 14-year association with the club has come to an end.

Baumann made 131 top-flight appearances for Freiburg after coming through the club s youth system.

However, the 23-year-old will now continue his career with Hoffenheim and is eagerly anticipating a fresh challenge.

After 14 years at SC Freiburg, I m really looking forward to a new environment, he told Hoffenheim s official website.

Hoffenheim has an offensive style in the league. I will try to be a safe backing, so this style of play can be further developed. I am looking forward to this challen…

Thierry Henry should be the man to replace Roberto Martinez as Belgium head coach, according to striker Romelu Lukaku.

Belgium are seeking a new boss after Martinez stood down following a galling group-stage exit from the World Cup, having spent six years and four months in the role.

Former Arsenal, Barcelona and France striker Henry joined him as assistant for two stints, either side of spells in charge of Monaco and Montreal Impact.

If Belgium are seeking a clean break from the Martinez era, then Henry would not be an option, but Red Devils record goalscorer Lukaku believes there should be continuity.

Inter frontman Lukaku also says his country s so-called golden generation deserve another chance to deliver on the big stage, although Eden Hazard has alr…

Antoine Griezmann reiterated his love of playing for Atletico Madrid after scoring his 20th Champions League goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Diego Simeone s side were hammered 4-0 by Dortmund on matchday three, but returned to form in style at the Wanda Metropolitano on Tuesday.

Saul Niguez got them up and running in the 33rd minute and, after a series of quality saves by Roman Burki, Griezmann was on hand to wrap up the points late on.

And the France forward, who publicly rejected a move to Barcelona in the close-season to sign a new deal with Atleti, spoke of his adoration for the club he has played for since 2014.

It s nights like these that I love and why I am so pleased to play at this club, Griezmann told UEFA.com.

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Franck Ribery has ended speculation over his future by signing a new contract with Bayern Munich.

French winger Ribery, who had made no secret of his desire to remain at the Allianz Arena, will spend a 12th season with the Bundesliga champions after penning a one-year deal.

Ribery missed two months of the season with a knee injury but has returned to play a pivotal role in helping Bayern retain their title.

The 35-year-old has now won the league in Germany eight times since joining Bayern from Marseille in 2007, while he also helped the club to Champions League glory in 2013, when they defeated domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the final at Wembley.

Bayern will look to complete a domestic double when they meet Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal f…

Chelsea continued their march to the Premier League title by restoring their seven-point lead at the top of the table with a 3-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Tottenham beat Watford 4-0 earlier in the day to put pressure on the leaders, but Chelsea responded in the late kick-off by scoring twice in three first-half minutes to set up their third successive away league victory.

Adam Smith was unfortunate to deflect Diego Costa s shot into his own net after 17 minutes and Chelsea capitalised on that slice of luck with a quickfire second strike.

N Golo Kante sent Eden Hazard through with a superb crossfield pass and the Belgian winger raced clear to score his 14th Premier League goal of the season.

Slotted. That s s 14th Premier League goal of the seas…

Liverpool are open to selling Joel Matip in the summer of 2021, according to . The defender is named among a number of players that the defending Premier League champions are willing to cash in on at the end of the season.

Matip has been on the books of Liverpool since 2016 and has established himself as an important player in the team. The 29-year-old has played his role in Jurgen Klopp’s side winning the Premier League and the Champions League over the past two seasons. The Cameroonian defender is injured at the moment and will not play again this campaign.

The 29-year-old has had injury problems during his time at Liverpool so far, and the central defender is not always guaranteed a place in the starting lineup when Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are fit and availab…

Market: Manchester City win

Odds: 

Manchester City missed out on Jorginho over the weekend but Pep Guardiola will have to put that to the back of his mind as he prepares to get his players in shape for Saturday s clash with Borussia Dortmund.

Starting with Pep Guardiola s record-breaking Manchester City side, after becoming the first Premier League team to break the 100 point mark, The Sky Blues are arguably the greatest English side in history. Traveling to The States to play Dortmund, Liverpool and Bayern Munich over the next two weeks, although Guardiola has named a young squad, the likes of Leroy Sane, Bernardo Silva and World Cup winner Benjamin Mendy will also travel to Chicago and they will fancy their chances against a Dortmund side struggling to find t…

Nothing but a victory will suffice for Australia when they kick off the Asian Cup against Kuwait in Melbourne on Friday.

After some impressive performances at last year’s World Cup in Brazil, results in friendlies have failed to follow, but it has been all about regenerating the squad for this tournament and beyond for Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou.

Now they have the opportunity to prove things are on the right track in a tricky Group A against Kuwait, Oman and South Korea.

First opponents Kuwait have endured a tumultuous build-up to the Asian Cup after the sacking of Brazilian coach Jorvan Vieira following their disappointing performance at the recent Gulf Cup.

New boss Tunisian Nabil Maaloul – has had just one month to prepare the squad and as su…

Aston Villa are keen to tie Jack Grealish down to a new contract, according to the Mirror.

The midfielder was strongly linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer though Villa refused to do business, stating that he was not for sale.

Now the Midlands club has been taken over and new owners Naseer Sawiris and Wes Edens are keen to secure the services of their prize asset.

The twenty-two-year-old has racked up one hundred and fifteen appearances in all competitions since breaking into Villa’s first team, scoring nine goals.

He also spent the 2013/14 campaign on loan at Notts County, where he played thirty-nine times, scoring five goals.
Internationally, he has been capped seven times for England’s U21s having previously represented th…

Sporting CP have announced the signing of Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao on a season-long loan.

The Portugal international has been a Madrid player for six seasons, but made just three LaLiga appearances last season and startlingly admitted in march that he was in no condition to play for Los Blancos.

With vice-captain Marcelo firmly established as first-choice left-back and Theo Hernandez close to sealing a switch from Atletico Madrid, Coentrao has been allowed to leave.

Coentrao previously played in the Primeira Liga for Sporting s fierce Lisbon rivals Benfica, before joining Madrid in 2011.

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— Sporting CP_en (@SportingCP_en)

Sporting finished third in the Primeira Liga last season, qualifying for the p…