A Russian Premier League soccer club sent Burger King s reported interest in a naming-rights deal up in flames.
The fast food giant was rumored to have made a whopper of an offer — €6.8million (almost $7.6 million) — to Zenit if it changed its name to Zenit Burger King.
Amid the social media jokes — Zenit St Petersburger King, anyone? — Zenit settled this unusual beef by unseating The King from his throne.
With a little help from HBO s blockbuster Game of Thrones, the club posted a GIF to its official Twitter account that ensured it gave Burger King a thorough grilling.
Who s the king?!
— ФК «Зенит» (@zenit_spb)
Zenit would not have been Burger King s first foray into soccer sponsorship, after it infamously …
Borussia Monchengladbach have announced the signing of Switzerland international Denis Zakaria from Swiss Super League club Young Boys.
Midfielder Zakaria agreed a five-year deal at the Bundesliga side after passing a medical on Friday, while Gladbach also confirmed the sale of Julian Korb to Hannover.
Zakaria said he consulted with fellow Switzerland internationals who play for Bundesliga teams before opting to make the move and is aiming to help his new club qualify for Europe after they missed out last season.
I feel that the change is a good decision for me and Borussia is the next good step for my career, 20-year-old Zakaria said.
: We will be doing some more business yet in the transfer market.
— Gladbach (@borussia_en)
I s…
Inaki Williams is Mr Reliable for Athletic Bilbao and has now not missed a single LaLiga match for a remarkable six years.
Williams started Sunday s clash with Celta Vigo, partnering Oihan Sancet up front.
That means that the 27-year-old – who seems set to stay at Bilbao for the majority of his career, given he is under contract until 2028 – has now played in 227 consecutive LaLiga matches, far and away a record in the competition.
Williams overtook previous record holder Juanan Larranaga when he played in his 203rd LaLiga match in a row earlier this season.
He last missed a league game on April 17, 2016, when Athletic beat Malaga 1-0.
Williams featured as a substitute in a 1-0 loss to Atletico Madrid four days later and went on to play in …
Frenkie de Jong has expressed his desire to stay at his dream club Barcelona rather than join Manchester United.
The Netherlands international has been strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford for a reunion with Erik ten Hag.
De Jong won the Eredivisie title and KNVB Cup under Ten Hag at Ajax and also helped the Amsterdam giants reach a Champions League semi-final three years ago.
The 25-year-old on Tuesday told ESPN he is eager to remain at Barca.
I prefer to stay with Barcelona, De Jong said.
Barcelona is just my dream club. Also from a young age. I just said it too. I ve never regretted my choice despite the fact that I had hoped for more in terms of prizes than I ve achieved so far. But I have never regretted my choice.
…
Liverpool moved 16 points clear at the top of the Premier League after Roberto Firmino struck a late winner in a 2-1 defeat of Wolves at Molineux.
The Brazil striker s 10th goal of the season in all competitions six minutes from time was enough to seal a 22nd win from 23 league games this season for Jurgen Klopp s runaway leaders.
There was something of a setback for the visitors, though, who lost Sadio Mane to injury in the first half.
Jurgen Klopp s side had gone 725 minutes without conceding a goal in the top flight, stretching back to the 5-2 win over Everton in December, until Raul Jimenez cancelled out Jordan Henderson s opener.
It looked as though Wolves would be heading for what would have been a deserved point until Firmino fired home from inside…
Borussia Dortmund are now nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga after a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen on Saturday.
First-half goals from Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus secured the victory at Signal Iduna Park, despite a stunning strike from Max Kruse.
The result stretches Dortmund s lead over Borussia Monchengladbach, who drew 0-0 at Hoffenheim, with champions Bayern Munich also nine points adrift after their 4-0 thrashing of Hannover.
It also means Lucien Favre s side are guaranteed to head into the mid-season break as league leaders for the first time since 2010-11.
Alcacer headed home Raphael Guerreiro s cross 19 minutes in, taking him to 11 goals in the league for Dortmund in 10 games, one more than he managed in 37 LaLiga appearances for Barcel…
Cristiano Ronaldo has laughed off protests by Atletico Madrid supporters over a potential move to the club, as speculation continues to swirl over the Manchester United star s future.
The Portuguese sat out the Premier League club s pre-season tour of the Far East and Australia for family reasons, amid reports he is attempting to secure a departure from Old Trafford just one year into his homecoming.
Rumours over a move to Atletico have continued to swirl, but a section of their fans have made it clear they are against a move for the former Real Madrid star.
Atletico supporters unfurled a banner stating CR7 NOT WELCOME at their recent pre-season friendly against Numancia.
Ronaldo took to social media to comment on their protests, simply posting a suc…
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As the 2019/20 season slowly draws to its close in the Serie A, AC Milan will travel to Genoa in the round before last to pay a visit to Sampdoria at the Luigi Ferraris stadium on Wednesday. The game itself won t mean much for the hosts at this point, but it could prove vital for the Rossoneri.
Sampdoria
Many years have passed since Sampdoria were reckoned among the more formidable teams in the Italian top flight, and this campaign can hardly be described as a glorious one for Claudio Ranieri s team. The experienced tactician, who s greatest success was probably the Premier League title with Leicester City in 2015/16, took over from Eusebio Di Francesco in October last year, after the latter lasted just over a month in the job, but it…
Santi Cazorla s contract at Villarreal is about to expire at the end of the month and the club have decided not to extend it, head coach Javi Calleja has revealed.
The midfielder started his professional career at Villarreal, and having had stints with Recreativo Huelva and Malaga, he joined Arsene Wenger s Arsenal in 2012 after winning successive European championships with Spain. His time in north London has been heavily hit with severe injuries, but relatively successful nonetheless, with two FA Cups to show for it. He rejoined Villarreal as a free agent in 2018.
Cazorla has recently been linked with Besiktas, though some reports in England suggest a return to Arsenal could happen as well.
Meanwhile, the contract of captain Bruno Soriano is also set to expire…
Bayern Munich and France defender Lucas Hernandez has been ruled out for several weeks with an adductor injury sustained against Barcelona.
Hernandez opened the scoring for Bayern in Tuesday s 2-0 Champions League victory and played a full part at the Allianz Arena.
However, the 2018 World Cup winner suffered an injury during the match and is now facing a spell on the sidelines.
No timeline has been given by Bayern for Hernandez s recovery, but widespread reports suggest he is facing four to six weeks out of action.
Quel bonheur ! Weiter immer weiter…
— Lucas Hernández (@LucasHernandez)
That will see Hernandez miss France s upcoming Nations League games against Austria and Denmark – Les Blues final fixtures ahead of their World…