Barcelona coach Luis Enrique's decision to remove any suspense over his future by confirming he will step down as coach after three trophy-filled but turbulent seasons at the Camp Nou at the end of the campaign was met with surprise on Thursday.

Arsene Wenger said he had no interest in succeeding Luis Enrique as Barcelona coach on Thursday, but admitted his future as Arsenal manager remains up in the air.

Kimi Raikkonen posted the fastest time of a wet fourth morning of pre-season testing in Barcelona for Ferrari as an electrical fault brought Lewis Hamilton's week to a premature end.

German World Cup winner Lukas Podolski has formally joined Japan's Vissel Kobe, the J-League club said Thursday, bucking a trend of big-name players moving to cash-rich China.

Five-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has been given a wildcard to play in the Italian Open in May, organizers said Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pledged to establish an "independent" system to tackle doping in the country, but insisted again that the state had never run a drug cheating program. 

Budapest City Council approved a motion on Wednesday to abandon its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games after a referendum push last month forced the government to withdraw its support.

Liverpool announced a pre-tax loss of £19.8 million ($24.5 million, 23.2 million euros) for last year on Wednesday despite record revenue of £301 million.

Leicester City caretaker manager Craig Shakespeare said he was ready to take on the role full-time after overseeing an impressive 3-1 win against Liverpool in his first game.

Asia's football body on Tuesday urged FIFA to rule whether its candidates can stand for election to the world organization’s top decision-making body, following a walk-out over the issue last year.