A complete unknown only a year ago, Norwegian prodigy Martin Odegaard’s transfer to Real Madrid has set his fledgling career soaring towards the summit. The 16-year-old midfielder had long been courted by some of Europe’s top clubs. Real, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and Liverpool were all, according to press reports, in the race to sign the teenager. Finally, a deal with the Spanish giants was announced Thursday, clearing the way for him to join a numberLearn More

LONDON (Reuters) – Another wildcard has entered the pack of candidates challenging Sepp Blatter for the presidency of FIFA in May’s election — Mino Raiola, a soccer agent whose clients include Mario Balotelli and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The 47-year-old Dutchman with Italian roots needs to prove five football associations support his bid and that he has been active in football for at least two of the last five years before the deadline for submitting bids expiresLearn More

Nice have shared a new Football Association statement supporting their case to be allowed to register recent signing Hatem Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa, 27, capped 13 times by France, is yet to feature for his new side due to article 5.3 of FIFA’s transfer regulations, which prevents players representing three clubs in the same season. The Frenchman spent time on loan at Hull this season and also appeared for Newcastle’s under-21 team, a match FIFALearn More

These Reigning Days track Thrones has been chosen as the soundtrack by EA Games for their “Goals of the Week’ section on Fifa 15. The band also play three amazing dates in India this week. Jan 22 : The Emerge Festival, India, Bluefrog, Mumbai Jan 23 : The Emerge Festival, India, The Hummingtree, Bengaluru Jan 24 : Summerhouse Cafe, The Emerge Festival, India, New Delhi You can see the new video to Thrones below. TheseLearn More

London: FIFA have rejected suggestions that major sponsors were cutting their ties with the organisation because it was a “toxic brand”, saying on Friday that they were in advanced negotiations with new sponsors eager to replace the old. Britain`s Daily Telegraph revealed on Friday that three major sponsors, Continental, Castrol and Johnson & Johnson, were not renewing their contracts with world soccer`s governing body. Emirates Airlines and Sony announced last year that they were alsoLearn More

  Oil manufacturers Castrol, tyre and car parts business Continental and healthcare company Johnson & Johnson have each chosen not to extend deals with FIFA, the Daily Telegraph reported. The three companies were among a group of eight businesses identified as ‘World Cup sponsors’ by FIFA, which also had six top-tier ‘partners’ at the time of the 2014 tournament. It was confirmed in November that two of the elite group of backers, Sony and Emirates,Learn More

The development team at EA Sports is announcing that it is now commencing the winter transfer process for FIFA 15, which is designed to reflect the real world moves that are taking place during the January window and get all the important players to their new teams so that fans can use them in a variety of modes. The official announcement explains that the studio wants to implement the changes as fast as possible, possiblyLearn More

Lionel Messi’s late goal earned Barcelona a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final on Wednesday. Barcelona, who secured their last-eight place with a 9-0 aggregate victory over Elche, started the Nou Camp clash with all-star triumvirate Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez but were thwarted for long periods by Diego Simeone’s Spanish league champions. Those in the crowd were treated to a fiercely contested cup tie, withLearn More

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his players’ reaction from their Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid in midweek to move four points clear at the top of Spain’s La Liga with a 3-0 win over Getafe. Victory ensured the European champions will top the table at the halfway mark of the campaign and Ancelotti believes they are well on course for just a second league title in seven years. “ThisLearn More

Real Madrid have beaten off fierce competition from Europe’s other top clubs to sign 16-year-old Norwegian wonderkid Martin Oedegaard from Stroemsgodset, the Spanish giants confirmed on Thursday. Oedegaard had been linked with Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Liverpool and Ajax amongst others after visiting the training facilities across Europe in recent months. However, he has opted for a move to the Santiago Bernabeu which will cost the European champions up to a reported €4 million (USD $4.6Learn More