Sadio Mane had to be helped off the pitch in tears after being booed by his home crowd during Senegal’s 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea last week. He had missed a gilt-edged chance to double his side’s lead, and was jeered for the rest of the game. Mane has never been able to win over fans of the national team back home. Mohamed Salah enjoys cult-hero status in Egypt and he is the undisputed darling of the Kop, but at Anfield there is plenty of love for Mane, too. It’s therefore surprising that Mane has been stalling over signing a…
Author: David Folami
The agent of Simon Mignolet has said that it is going to be “very difficult” to get Liverpool to grant the goalkeeper’s wish of a move in the January transfer window. Mignolet has only played once for Liverpool so far this season following the arrival of Alisson for £65 million and is eager for regular game-time. But with Loris Karius and Danny Ward leaving in the summer, Liverpool only have youngsters Kamil Grabara and Caoimhin Kelleher beneath Mignolet — both of whom have never played a competitive first-team match. “We have to be realistic,” Nico Vaesen said. “There are not…
Jose Mourinho is facing selection problems ahead of the clash with Crystal Palace on Saturday but the club’s medical staff are hopeful Paul Pogba will be fit, sources have said. United will definitely be without Luke Shaw, who is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season during the 3-1 defeat to Manchester City, while there are injury concerns regarding a string of first-team regulars. Pogba and Anthony Martial both withdrew from the France squad ahead of the international break while Romelu Lukaku was sent back to Manchester by Belgium after failing to recover from a hamstring problem.…
Juan Mata plans to take his time before deciding whether or not to commit his future to Manchester United, sources have said. The Spaniard is in talks with the club about extending his stay at Old Trafford and has been offered a new contract, with his current deal due to expire at the end of the season. The 30-year-old would like to stay at United, where he has made 199 appearances since joining from Chelsea for a then club-record fee of £37.1 million in January 2014. However, the former Valencia forward is prepared to wait before making a final decision,…
Egypt head coach Javier Aguirre has said it “may be better” for Mohamed Salah to leave Liverpool sooner rather than later if they do not start winning trophies. Salah’s record-breaking first season at Liverpool, in which he scored 44 times in all competitions, saw him linked with Real Madrid before signing a new five-year contract in July. Liverpool — beaten by Madrid in last season’s Champions League final — have won only one trophy since 2006, and Aguirre said Egypt star Salah wanted major honours. “It may be better for him to leave within a season or two if Liverpool…
Didier Drogba announced his retirement on Wednesday, calling time on a 20-year career in which the bullish centre forward won four Premier League titles and the 2012 Champions League. Drogba, who had been playing in the United States for Phoenix Rising, had two spells at Chelsea, scoring 164 goals in 381 games having spearheaded the west London club’s revival under owner Roman Abramovich. “When I think of the last 20 years of my professional career, looking at this picture can’t make me more proud of what I have achieved as a player bu most importanly how this journey has shaped…
Unai Emery has told Marca that Arsenal were in decline when he took over, having lost their defensive structure under Arsene Wenger. Emery became coach in May after Wenger ended his 22-year reign, inheriting a team that finished sixth in the Premier League last season, and said his predecessor’s focus on attacking football had led to defensive weaknesses. “Before Wenger arrived, Arsenal celebrated the 1-0 wins and were based on defensive solidity,” he said. “With Arsene, they became an attacking team, with players who were good on the ball, and the perfect combination came with The Invincibles [when an unbeaten…
Mauricio Pochettino has said he hopes Christian Eriksen will sign a new contract as the midfielder heads into the last 18 months of his Tottenham deal. Harry Kane and Dele Alli have already signed long-term extensions at Spurs, and Pochettino wants Eriksen, who scored 10 goals and assisted 10 more in the Premier League last season to follow suit. The midfielder has been linked with moves to Real Madrid and Barcelona “He knows and we know what we’re doing and of course we’re working hard,” he said. “The club’s working to try to take the best decisions. Christian is going…
Radja Nainggolan has said he won’t play for Belgium again and has hit out at the “pathetic” excuses behind his international exile. The Inter Milan midfielder, 30, was left out of Belgium’s World Cup squad last summer and has said he won’t return even if Roberto Martinez was replaced as coach. “I’m not going back to the national team again. I said that if I don’t go to the World Cup, I’ll quit, and I’m a man of my word,” Nainggolan said. “I play my football here [at Inter], with lots of love for what I do, but I have…
The Premier League is the worst competition in the world for young referees to refine their skills and learn from their mistakes, former top-flight official Peter Walton has said. Retired official Keith Hackett tweeted this week that “this is the worst group of professional refs in the life of the PGMOL [Professional Game Match Officials Limited]” and that “no accountability exists” for errors. “The Premier League is the worst in the world for [criticism], because of the exposure they have, because of the publicity it affords, and because of the rewards on offer for successful teams and individuals,” Walton, who…
He recently wrapped up a whirlwind tour with his wife Beyonce. And Jay-Z, 48, was living it up on one of his nights off, swinging by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Monday for a football game. The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in front of a crowd that also featured Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Columbus Short. Floyd, who hails from Grand Rapids, Michigan, zipped on a gleaming gold and black hoodie and modeled a matching cap. In spite of the fact he was born in Kansas City, Columbus declared his allegiance to the Chiefs’ rivals with…
To say 2018 was an eventful year for Eminem would be an understatement. After missing the mark with 2017’s Revival, Em faced a wave of criticism from hip-hop heads and fans, in general, over the project’s pop-centric sound. Thankfully, he redeemed himself with the release of his surprise album, Kamikaze. The release of Kamikaze came with a wave of its own criticism and controversy, but it marked the return of Slim Shady to his die-hard fan base. Today, the rapper continues to push the project with a brand new line of merch. Eminem fans can cop themselves a new line…
Last fall, Jhené Aiko unveiled her truly unique new tattoo to the world: a giant portrait (in color!) of her romantic partner and frequent collaborator Big Sean. Perhaps I’ve never known a love so strong that I would feel compelled to get a portrait of someone else on my body (though Drake has done it several times), but as permanent as it seemed at the time, Aiko has since decided to cover the affectionate ink with an even larger, new tattoo of a dragon with a phoenix wing. Why not? This move sparked new rumors that the couple was in…
Meek Mill is gearing up to release his long awaited fourth studio album, Championships, next Friday (Nov. 30). With the release date creeping closer, the Philadelphia heavyweight has announced a new partnership with Tidal, Foot Locker and Puma for a collaborative pre-sale package. The pre-sale plan, a first of its kind, goes live today (Nov. 21). To participate, fans are encouraged to visit their local Foot Locker location and purchase a special collector’s booklet for $3.50. From there, fans will be given instant access to the album once it drops next week and will be given six months of free…
Drake, Pusha T, and everyone in their orbit may insist that their feud is over, but the beef that dramatically boiled over when Push dropped the seismic “The Story of Adidon” in May has officially transcended the artists. During a set in Drake’s hometown of Toronto on Tuesday night, the Daytona rapper saw his set interrupted by a gang of troublemakers who eventually stormed the stage, resulting in a massive brawl with Push’s security. As for the Push, he evaded harm, returning afterward to spit Drake diss track “Infrared” before police put a stop to the show. According to WTHR,…
Mr Eazi has officially kicked off his Empawa program, an initiative created to help talents across Africa by sponsoring their music videos. The Banku Music boss who recently released his second studio project, ”Lagos To London” is moving to a new phase with his career, which involves providing a platform for emerging talents to get introduced to a wider community via music videos. At an exclusive event held on Tuesday, November 20, Mr Eazi gathered members of the press, label executives and talent managers, where he unveiled the inspiration behind his Empawa project and rolled out the timeline of events.…
Davido wants you all to know that everything about him changes from today as he turns 26. The music star and one of Africa’s finest artist made this known via his Instagram page on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. According to him, we all have to watch him go higher. Whatever Davido wishes for himself is what we all wish for him. Just like he has themed the day ‘World OBO Day’ we can’t wait to see the surprises that would happen today. As for the things Davido says will be changing today, do you think he will be proposing to…
Olamide has visited the Lagos state All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Sanwo-Olu played host to the rapper and members of the YBNL crew ahead of the governorship campaign kick-off in Lagos. In a tweet on Tuesday, November 20, 2018, Sanwo-Olu promise to include the media and entertainment sector in his plans to take Lagos to a greater height should he win the governorship elections. He said “@olamide_YBNL stopped by the office today for a visit with the YBNL crew. It was a good visit. Media and entertainment will not be left out in our plans of taking…
Burna Boy is a prodigious musical talent and he has proven overtime that he is not careful to speak candidly especially when the topic has to do with Afrobeat. While it was easy to write off Burna Boy a year ago, much has been said about him this year, as he bounced back heavily onto the scene. From the release of his album ”Óutside” to the global reception of his hit single, ‘Ye’, 2018 has featured Burna Boy’s name prominently in the news and this time, it has been for the right reasons. Sometime in October, Burna Boy took his…
Today November 21, 2018, is Davido’s birthday and the messages have started pouring in and his girlfriend, Chioma Avril has some really cute words to say to him on this special day. The Chef took to her Instagram page on Wednesday, November 21, 2018, where she posted a video. She went on to caption the video with a funny and cute birthday message. “Happy birthday hubby if you leave me water go carry you o God bless you, my love. You’re so annoying but I’d choose you to annoy me for life @davidoofficial,” she wrote. This is one day we…