Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is delighted to receive the backing of Jose Mourinho and says he has worked hard to get in the manager’s good books. The 19-year-old is United’s second-highest goalscorer with 11 in all competitions and Mourinho has lauded the England international’s work ethic, saying he was one of his most trusted players at the club. “It’s a massive thing when a manager like him says that,” Rashford told Premier League Productions. “The best thing about it is that you’ve earned it. He didn’t just come in and say ‘there you go – play every game’. He’s…
Author: David Folami
Manchester United’s squad has been stretched to the breaking point by the demands placed on the club by an extended run in Europe’s second-tier club competition, according to manager Jose Mourinho. United, who are destined to finish outside the top four in the Premier League this season, have reached the final of the Europa League, where beating Ajax Amsterdam on May 24 will grant them qualification for next season’s Champions League. Mourinho said he would try to rest players for United’s last two Premier League games starting with Wednesday’s trip to Southampton – but added that the current fixture congestion…
Spanish prosecutors said on Tuesday they had filed lawsuits against Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao for allegedly hiding millions of euros in income from the tax office. AS Monaco’s Falcao is suspected of failing to correctly declare €5.6 million of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while he was at Atletico Madrid, Madrid’s regional prosecutor said in a statement. Coentrao, who plays for Real Madrid, is accused of hiding nearly €1.3 million in income earned from his image rights between 2012 and 2014, it added. The two players are suspected of using a…
Jose Mourinho says the Premier League’s unwillingness to help Manchester United prepare for their Europa League final will force him to pick youth players against Crystal Palace on Sunday. United finish their league campaign against Palace at Old Tafford before facing Ajax in the Europa League final in Stockholm next Wednesday, a game they must win to qualify for next season’s Champions League. With nothing riding on Sunday’s game for either United or Palace, who are assured of avoiding relegation, Mourinho believes it should have been moved forward a day. “In any country in the world, the match would be…
Real Madrid moved to within one point of winning La Liga as Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to beat Celta Vigo 4-1 on Wednesday. The European champions lead Barcelona by three points at the top of the table and now need to just avoid defeat at Malaga on Sunday to secure their first league title in five years. “We will go there to win the game,” insisted Ronaldo. “We are Real Madrid, we are the best and we want to be champions.” Once again Ronaldo made the difference as he took his tally to 13 goals in his last eight games…
Midifelder Marouane Fellaini is doubtful for Manchester United’s last league game and next week’s Europa League final after sustaining an injury in Wednesday’s goalless draw at Southampton. Belgian international Fellaini was substituted in the 75th minute and had a brief talk with manager Jose Mourinho before walking straight down the tunnel with what appeared to be a muscle problem. “Fellaini, on top of his experience, he says it’s not a tear,” Mourinho told the club’s website (www.manutd.com). “He says it was a minimal thing but minimal can be a big thing. Let’s wait for tomorrow but he needed to play.”…
Manchester United are currently pursuing other targets despite being offered the chance to sign Real Madrid midfielder James Rodriguez, sources have said. Colombia international Rodriguez, 25, is expected to leave Madrid this summer after failing to secure regular football under head coach Zinedine Zidane, who declined to comment on his player’s future earlier on Tuesday. United have been made aware that the former Monaco playmaker, who cost Real £63 million in August 2014, is available for a fee in the region of £50m, but manager Jose Mourinho has yet to sanction any move for the player. Rodriguez appeared to wave…
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has reiterated Federal Government’s plan to support small businesses, noting that inauguration of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Clinics is to facilitate easy interactions between small businesses and regulatory agencies. Osinbajo stated this, in Katsina, at a gathering of small scale businesses, industry and stakeholders across the public and private sectors involved in developing micro, small and medium scale enterprises at the launching of the Katsina State’s MSMES Clinic. According to him, the MSMEs Clinics that is now going round major cities in the country was designed to give small businesses the opportunity “to meet…
THE Senate has given Acting President Yemi Osinbajo a two-week ultimatum to direct all government agencies that have failed to submit their 2017 budget proposals to the National Assembly in line with extant laws for consideration and approval, to do so or the affected agencies would be made to face the full wrath of the law. The Senate also promised that once it gets the budget, it will make it public, work on it diligently as well as turn it around as quickly as possible. Similarly, the senate has summoned the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Central Bank of Nigeria,…
THE Office of the Acting President yesterday cleared the air over the assent of the 2017 budget affirming that it would be singed into law when and if the Acting President expresses satisfaction with the bill. Fielding questions from State House Correspondents earlier after the Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed also disclosed that ministers were studying the budget as passed by the National Assembly. Spokesman to the Acting President, Mr. Laolu Akande in a tweet late last night said “Just so we are clear: when the time…
Drake escorted his younger cousin Jalaah and her date to their high school prom at the weekend. The rapper made sure they attended the event at Fairley High School in Memphis in true superstar style. He ordered the couple a white Rolls Royce to transport them, and paid for their matching rose gold outfits. Apparently he even stayed and hung out at the prom to keep an eye on what was happening, but sadly for her classmates he didn’t perform. She was wearing a floor-length sequin ball gown and her boyfriend was wearing a sparkling suit and bow tie. The…
Forbes said Wednesday that the superstar couple’s net worth has climbed to $1.16 billion dollars. Jay Z accounts for most of it: $810 million, according to the magazine’s latest “Richest In Hip-Hop” ranking. Beyoncé’s wealth is put at $350 million in Forbes’ “America’s Richest Self-Made women” list. Neither of them comes top of their respective rankings: Jay Z was beaten to the top spot by Sean “Diddy” Combs, while Beyoncé is 46th on a list topped by Little Caesars co-founder Marian Ilitch (who’s worth $5.1 billion). On top of their wildly successful music careers, Jay Z and Beyoncé are known…
Don’t believe everything you hear. In her diss track “No Frauds,” Nicki Minaj accuses Remy Ma of getting work done, rapping, “I got before and after pictures of your surgery. Rah took you to her doc, but you don’t look like Rah. Left the operating table, still look like ‘nah.'” Nicki’s clearly referring to Remy’s ex-friend Rah Ali, claiming that they used the same surgeon, but during an interview with The Cruz Show on L.A.’s Power 106, Remy said it’s all bunk. “I’m still waiting to leave the country. Maybe I had a doctor flown in from Columbia,” she joked.…
Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has said manager Jose Mourinho has made his players “work for his trust and respect” this season. Mourinho took over from Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford last summer and has had a mixed debut campaign at the club, with the side struggling for consistency in the Premier League. They did, however, win the League Cup in February while they are also in the Europa League final against Ajax on May 24. Rashford has been on the receiving end of praise from Mourinho this season, and the 19-year-old told Premier League Productions: “It’s a massive…
Juventus won their first trophy of the season as they defeated Lazio 2-0 on Wednesday to lift the Coppa Italia for the third consecutive season. A team that simply cannot be overcome in Italy, Juventus played with physicality and fluidity, taking complete control of the game in the first half. Dani Alves and Leonardo Bonucci scored the goals and imposed their superiority to allow for a more relaxed second half. Lazio tried to create chances and improved in the second half, but their lack of efficiency coupled with Juve’s game management resulted in the Turin giants lifting the Coppa Italia…
Arsene Wenger can pretend otherwise, but the thousands of empty seats at the Emirates on Tuesday showed there is still a widespread feeling among supporters it’s time for him to step down. Wenger’s dismissive comments about the boycott after the game did little to change their opinions. Wenger had a chance after the 2-0 win over Sunderland to address the fact that nearly 20,000 seats were empty during the game as fans who had paid for their tickets opted not to use them. He could have offered an olive branch to the section of the Arsenal fans who don’t want…
No manager in football history has had as much spent on their team as Jose Mourinho. A grand total of £883 million (€1.08 billion) has been lavished on his Chelsea, Inter Milan and Manchester United teams, and this summer United will add even more to the total. This is the summer Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward must deliver a set of players good enough to compete for the Premier League title. Can Mourinho build the team he says his current crop is incapable of being? It is by no means certain, even if the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Andrea…
When Martin Atkinson puts the whistle to his lips for the final time this season on Sunday, there will be few Middlesbrough fans sorry to see the curtains fall on their Premier League campaign. With just a paltry five wins and 27 goals to show for their 37 game in the top flight so far, the thoughts of the faithful have long since moved on to how a promotion push can be mounted next term. Developments at the brighter end of the table, however, have offered Boro a final chance to make an impact. Liverpool are desperate for victory and…
Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest double kept Real Madrid on course for the Liga title on a dramatic night at Balaidos that saw Los Blancos again ride their luck at times but win 4-1 and move three points clear at the top of the table with just one game left to play. The result means Barcelona now need to beat Eibar on Sunday and hope Malaga can upset Madrid, or Los Blancos will secure their first Primera Division title in five seasons. Just eight seconds into the game, Celta made it clear to Ronaldo and Madrid that they would have to battle…
Ajax coach Peter Bosz says Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho can have no excuses about fixture pile-ups going into the Europa League final. Mourinho has often complained this season about United being at a disadvantage to their Premier League rivals given their participation in the Europa League and EFL Cup success. Mourinho has highlighted how Ajax will have had 10 days’ rest before the Europa League final on May 24, with United’s last Premier League fixture just three days before the clash in Stockholm. However, Bosz says that given United’s squad, they are not at a disadvantage to his Ajax…