In many ways, it is difficult to argue with Jose Mourinho’s blunt assessment of the steps Paul Pogba must take to be the player for Manchester United that he was so impressively for France during the World Cup. At Old Trafford, the 25-year-old remains a player who under-performs, one capable of moments of brilliance but also a hugely expensive acquisition who too often fails to justify his price tag or reputation. Yet while playing for his country in Russia, Pogba was the driving force from midfield for Didier Deschamps’ team, scoring stunning goals, playing game-changing passes, covering acres of the…
Author: David Folami
Lothar Matthaus has said that Mesut Ozil will not be missed following his international retirement, adding “his time to play in the national team is over” based on his recent performances. Ozil, 29, stepped away from the Germany squad on Sunday, citing racism and lashing out at the president of the German football federation. The Arsenal midfielder will not add to his 92 caps, 23 goals and 40 assists for his country following political tensions regarding his Turkish roots and his omission from the starting XI during this summer’s World Cup as the defending champions embarrassingly crashed out in the…
Andreas Pereira wants to stay at Manchester United this season rather than head out on loan. And despite speculation he could again agree a temporary move, the Brazil youth international insists he wants to stay at Old Trafford. “It’s my intention to stay here and help the club and help the team,” Pereira told a news conference at UCLA on Tuesday ahead of United’s clash with AC Milan at the StubHub Center in Carson. “That’s my first intention, so I want to do everything that I can to stay at the club and help United this season.” He made 23…
James Rodriguez has said he is happy and feels loved on loan at Bayern Munich, but said that the best years of his career so far have been at parent club Real Madrid. Asked on Colombian YouTube programme “The Suso’s Show” whether he would stay at Bayern, the 27-year-old said his first year in Germany had been “spectacular” and he felt a close bond with the club and its fans. “At the moment, yes,” James said. “I had a spectacular first season there. They love me a lot, the club, the fans.” Asked during the show to name the best…
Pep Guardiola believes it is “almost impossible” for Manchester City to break any of the records set in last season’s Premier League title triumph. But the Catalan said he is expecting a much tougher challenge in the defence of their title as he prepares for Wednesday’s International Champions Cup clash with Liverpool, who could emerge as City’s biggest rival this season. “We are not going to break any more records in the Premier League, it is impossible… it is almost impossible,” he told a news conference. “I have to see the faces of my players in the next two weeks…
Manchester United were joined by a familiar face as they continued their preseason preparations in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon. Indeed, ex-United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in attendance at the open training session at UCLA, watching on intently as his former colleagues limbered up — and it would appear that the Swede was impressed by what he saw. “I’ve been watching United train and I see a lot of quality — not quality like me, but it’s okay,” Ibra said with a wry smile as part of his Instagram story. “Great to see the guys again, and to see them…
Gareth Southgate is among the nominees for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Coach award alongside Pep Guardiola, Didier Deschamps and Zinedine Zidane. Southgate guided England to their first World Cup semifinal in 28 years in Russia this year with a young squad before eventually finishing fourth behind Belgium, whose coach Roberto Martinez also makes the 10-strong shortlist. Deschamps, Guardiola and Zidane will be considered front-runners for the award after respectively claiming title triumphs for France at the World Cup, Manchester City in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the Champions League. Deschamps became only the third person to lift win…
Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric are among the contenders to end Cristiano Ronaldo’s hold on FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player award after the shortlist was announced on Tuesday, but Neymar was not among the nominees. Ronaldo, who has won this honour in both years of its existence, is once again nominated, but faces arguably his toughest challenge yet, following so many impressive performances in Russia. The award, created in 2016 following FIFA’s split with the Ballon d’Or, will this year honour the standout player from July 3, 2017 to July 15, 2018 — and in that period, Modric won the…
Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “unacceptable” treatment of Mesut Ozil by the Germany football federation on Tuesday. Ozil, 29, withdrew from international football on Sunday, saying that “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish heritage directed towards himself and his family were major factors behind his decision. “Such racist treatment towards a young man who has given his all to the German national team for his religious beliefs is unacceptable,” Erdogan told reporters in parliament. “Furthermore, how do you explain being unable to tolerate Mesut, Ilkay [Gundogan] and Cenk Tosun taking a photograph in London out of respect of…
Questions revolving Rick Ross’ alleged past as a cocaine trafficker intensify after we secured information confirming the rapper was, in fact, a correctional officer. After Rozay vehemently denied having worked as a correctional officer—which was originally spotlighted when Media Takeout posted images of the rapper graduating from the Department of Corrections as a 19-year-old—TSG served some definitive proof in the form of personnel records from DoC spokesperson Jo Ellyn Rackleff. In the records, we can see that Ross became a prison guard in December of 1995, at which point he was given a salary of $22,913.54. He resigned from his…
She is known for her ability to plug a product. And when she fired up her Instagram page this Sunday, Kim Kardashian made a stirring go of it even when she had nothing to promote. Showing off her cleavage in a slinky white dress, the 38-year-old rode down an escalator while gazing at an imaginary phone in her hand. The reality TV superstar, businesswoman and sex tape icon drolly captioned the snapshot: ‘Trying out this new phone for apple lol’. Kim’s dress featured a high neck and neatly cuffed full sleeves, and the outfit was exquisitely fitted to emphasize her…
Kim Kardashian’s wedding guest style: Glittering and somewhat vintage. On Saturday, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star and husband Kanye West attended the wedding of rapper Pusha T, the president of Kanye’s G.O.O.D. Music record label, and his longtime partner Virginia Williams in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Kim posted on Instagram videos of her and Kanye getting ready. In a mirror selfie, she is wearing a long sleeve, glittering gold Balmain mini dress and carries a matching Judith Leiber clutch in the shape of an ’80s brick cell phone. “I got the vintage Balmain look for Pusha’s wedding in Virginia,…
For a third straight week, Drake’s Scorpion holds at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The set earned 260,000 equivalent album units in the week ending July 19, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 29,000 were in traditional album sales. Wiz Khalifa’s Rolling Papers 2 is the only debut in the top 10, as it starts at No. 2 with 80,000 units. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums…
Nicki Minaj has lent her talents to the new song “FEFE” from rapper 6ix9ine, who is known as much for his technicolor hair and body-covering “69″ tattoos and swagger as a very long and very bad string of charges against him. Most recently, he was accused of choking a 16-year-old in a mall; in 2015, he pled guilty to using a child in a sexual performance, posting video of a 13-year-old girl performing sexual acts on another person and, at one point, according to the incident report, “making a thrusting motion with his pelvis and smacking her on her buttocks.”…
Kiss Daniel says CDQ co-wrote the song, ‘Wait’, off DJ Neptune’s recent album, ”Greatness”. In an industry where songwriting is usually looked down upon, and openly crediting another artist for writing your song is quite rare. The Flyboi Inc boss made this known in a post on his Twitter page. The singer also took to his Twitter page to announce that his second studio album is ready and will be released in September or October. Kiss Daniel had released his debut album, New Era on May 14, 2016 under his former label, G Worldwide Entertainment, he has since been involved…
Charly Boy and his wife, Lady Di didn’t accept the choice of their daughter, Dewy Oputa, being a lesbian so easily as many think. Dewy made this known in a chat with Punch six days after Charly Boy replied critics to defend her daughter’s choice of sex and relationship. “I can’t pinpoint the exact age I found out about my sexuality, but I was much younger. When I came out to my parents, it took them a while to adjust but my happiness comes first. I don’t feel bad about the negative comments my sexuality post has generated. I knew…
Nollywood actor, Bolanle Ninolowo says he has no favourites amongst Nigerian actresses. In a recent chat, the actor said, “I enjoy working with many of them. I have never really seen anyone as special because we simply go and get the job done. I do not have a favourite.” The Picture Perfect star also confessed to have been turned on while filming with an actress. Bolanle didn’t reveal the actress he was acting alongside when he got turned on but said he had gotten turned on twice on movie sets. He said, “Believe it or not, it probably happened to…
Basketmouth played a host to Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s billionaires and Chairman of Forte Oil, at his home in highbrow Lekki, Lagos. The comedian took to his Instagram page to share a picture of himself and his guest, who looked happy visiting the Okpochas. “Boss!!!! @femiotedola thank you so much for coming through sir, na man you be. #Ote$$$$$,” Basketmouth wrote as caption for the picture of himself and Otedola on Instagram. Reciprocating, Otedola posted the same picture and captioned it “Catching a laugh with @Basketmouth at his home.” In 2017, Baskemouth won a recognition in the Pan-African Comic…
DJ Cuppy has gotten a brand new 2018 edition of Range Rover Sport valued at N24 million from her billionaire dad, Femi Otedola. The celebrity DJ made the announcement on Saturday, July 21, 2018 on her Instagram page with a picture of the new automobile. DJ Cuppy posed with the white automobile which has a special plate number CUP 9Y in the United Kingdom. She wrote, “Out with the old, in with the new! THANK YOU @FemiOtedola,” as caption for the picture. The new car is coming a month after Cuppy’s sister, Temi Otedola, got a brand new Range Rover…
Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with renowned Pharmacist and community leader, Alhaji Dahiru Wali, who turns 83 on July 23. According to him, this has been lined with many years of achievements and recognitions for his contributions to knowledge and an extensive practice to ensure a healthy country. The president commended the exceptional brilliance of the pharmacist, whose training predated the Nigerian independence. He noted that Wali had maintained a rising influence in his field by working for a long period and setting up a pharmacy, Tsamiya, since the 70’s that had continued to cater for many with quality drugs. Buhari…