Olivier Giroud has joined Milan in a reported €2million (£1.7m) deal from Chelsea.

Giroud has signed a contract with the Rossoneri – said to be for two years – after they met the modest release clause in his contract.

Chelsea triggered a one-year extension for Giroud last season, which meant a free transfer was not possible, but there were otherwise few obstacles to block the move.

While Giroud was rarely a first-choice option at Chelsea following his arrival from Arsenal in January 2018. He found starts particularly hard to come by following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel.

After the German replaced Frank Lampard in late January, Giroud made only three Premier League starts, none of which came after February 28.

Previously, under Lampar…

Almoez Ali made history as Qatar triumphed against Japan to claim their first Asian Cup title with a 3-1 final win on Friday.

Tournament top-scorer Ali took his tally to a record-breaking nine goals with a sublime overhead kick before Abdelaziz Hatim then curled in a brilliant second before half-time.

Japan dominated possession after the break yet took their time to forge a response, with Qatar who had kept six clean sheets en route to the final finally conceding when Takumi Minamino scored in the 69th minute.

Felix Sanchez s men would not be denied, though, and Akram Hassan Afif punished Maya Yoshida s handball with a coolly taken penalty to clinch the 2022 World Cup hosts maiden triumph.

Ali took just 12 minutes to light up the final, controlling A…

Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha could be one of the most in-demand Premier League players this summer, as reportedly Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham are all eying a move for the Ivory Coast international.

However, it seems he may be set to disappoint his potential suitors by staying with the Eagles for next season. quote Zaha as saying: I have no plans on leaving,

I m enjoying my football, you can see how much I m enjoying it. This is my home and there s no reason for me to leave.

Is maturing into a fine player

Wilfried Zaha has always been one of those frustrating players who have big talent but can never seem to find consistency. However, despite injury problems, Zaha has found a new level of consistency in the past few seasons.

This se…

The Republic of Ireland and Serbia shared the spoils in what was the fifth match of the 2022 World Cup Qualifications in Group A for both sides at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic gave the visitors the lead in the 20th minute with a fine header from a corner taken by Ajax winger Dusan Tadic, but an unfortunate own-goal from Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic set the score back level with just three minutes left on the clock.

Missed opportunity for Serbia

Having topped the table going into the matchday, Serbia went out in search of a win in Dublin with coach Dragan Stojkovic picking a very attack-minded lineup. Fulham s Aleksandar Mitrovic and Fiorentina s Dusan Vlahovic led the line upfront, supported by Milinkovic-Savic and Tadic from j…

James Milner believes Liverpool should have won more trophies in recent years and is desperate to ditch the Reds reputation of being nearly men.

The England international lifted two Premier Leagues, an FA Cup and an EFL Cup during his five seasons at Manchester City but has failed to add to his medal collection since joining the Reds in June 2015.

Now in his fourth season with Liverpool, Milner has been on the losing side of three cup finals and his best Premier League finish in a Reds jersey is fourth.

Jurgen Klopp s side sit second, one point behind Milner s former club City, and will almost certainly improve on recent league campaigns – but that is not enough for Milner.

You know, it s been so long since we won a league title, Milner told UK newsp…

Zinedine Zidane proclaimed he has the Real Madrid DNA and said the club is his life as he prepares Los Blancos for the Champions League final against Juventus.

Madrid are seeking to become the first team to defend the title since the competition was rebranded into the Champions League when they travel to Cardiff for Saturday s showpiece.

Zidane is yet to sign a new contract extension despite leading Madrid to their first league title since the 2011-12 campaign but the Frenchman is relaxed about his future.

I have one more year on my contract but that doesn t mean anything, Zidane told reporters on Tuesday. I want to be at this club but it depends on what you do on the field.

I think the club is happy with what we re doing and I m only interested in that…

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe left Fabio Capello cold with their performances for Paris Saint-Germain against Manchester City.

Italian coaching great Capello sees little prospect of a PSG comeback in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, after City snatched a 2-1 win at Parc des Princes.

The Ligue 1 giants took a 15th-minute lead through captain Marquinhos, but Kevin De Bruyne s cross bounced beyond Keylor Navas and into the corner just after the hour mark to put City level.

The PSG defensive wall then cracked to allow Riyad Mahrez to score from a free-kick seven minutes later.

Neymar had two shots in the first 15 minutes, which both hit the target, but Mbappe did not have a single goal attempt.

Neither reached the heights they are capabl…

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has paid tribute to Marek Hamsik ahead of the midfielder s expected move to China, telling him he is always welcome at Stadio San Paolo.

Carlo Ancelotti confirmed at the weekend that Hamsik had asked to leave Napoli, with reports suggesting he could sign for Dalian Yifang as soon as Monday.

De Laurentiis would not confirm the apparently imminent switch at a news conference, but he explained why he was willing to sanction the departure of a club icon.

Hamsik asked to leave at a time when we are more than consolidated in midfield, said De Laurentiis. This would not give us a problem and Ancelotti gave his approval.

There is a big difference between the Chinese and the Neapolitans and now let s see what happens. I hav…

Eden Hazard does not care about scoring goals as the Chelsea star eyes trophies at Stamford Bridge.

Hazard hit the headlines with a sensational solo goal to lead Chelsea to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Liverpool in the third round of the EFL Cup.

Wednesday s stunning individual effort took Hazard s tally to six goals for the season in all competitions, with five of those coming in the Premier League.

However, Hazard – who has won two Premier League titles, the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup since arriving from Lille in 2012 – is more concerned about silverware and not goals.

Still watching  

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

I don t have [goal] targets to be fair my only target is to win something every year. I want to win trophies,…

Kylian Mbappe denied he almost quit France duty due to criticism of his Euro 2020 displays, revealing it was racist abuse that almost pushed him to retire from Les Bleus.

French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet told Le Journal du Dimanche that Mbappe was angry and did not want to play for his country again after facing flak from angry fans.

The 23-year-old failed to score in any of his four outings in last year s competition, with France surprisingly eliminated by Switzerland in the last 16.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe missed the decisive spot-kick as the reigning world champions suffered a shock defeat on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time.

Mbappe responded to Le Graet s comments by saying on Twitter: Yes, however, I …