Roberto Mancini has said Gianluigi Buffon has revealed his future plans to him and could even play again for Italy. “I’ve spoken with him on the phone and he’s told me what his intentions are,” Mancini said at a news conference in Coverciano. “He wants to carry on playing and anybody who is playing and is one of the best can be called up to the national team. “I have just respected his wishes [not to be called up]. He told me a few days after I became Italy coach.” Buffon could still be part of Mancini’s plans for their…
Author: David Folami
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has hailed new head coach Unai Emery and said the club had “stagnated” under Arsene Wenger. “He’s a really good coach,” Aubameyang said. “In Paris, it’s never very easy. There’s a huge amount of pressure… I know he did really good work with Sevilla and with PSG too.” Aubameyang only joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund in January and admitted that there is always “apprehension” when there is a change of manager. But he said he is looking forward to hearing the Spaniard’s ideas and revealed that he is excited for the future. “I think it’s a little bit…
Manchester United are determined to resist attempts by Tottenham to include Anthony Martial in any deal for Toby Alderweireld, sources have said. United are keen to take advantage of Alderweireld’s contract standoff with Tottenham to bring the defender to Old Trafford this summer. Spurs, meanwhile, hold an interest in 22-year-old Martial, who has become frustrated at a lack of opportunities following Alexis Sanchez’s arrival in January. But while sources have confirmed Tottenham are resigned to losing Alderweireld, United are hopeful of keeping hold of Martial and will only listen to offers if he pushes for a move. Martial, who started…
Cristiano Ronaldo is sure he never sets out to celebrate goals by whipping his jersey off and flexing his muscles, despite that becoming one of the most iconic images of the Real Madrid star. One of the most memorable scenes in Ronaldo’s self-made 2015 documentary featured him removing his jersey for the camera after scoring a late penalty in the previous year’s Champions League final, with the same topless celebration repeated when he hit the winning spot kick in the 2016 decider. “The women like it,” he said with a laugh on Spanish radio show El Chiringuito de Jugones. “My…
Brazil midfielder Fred said he is fully focused on the World Cup despite admitting talks over a summer move to Manchester United are at “an advanced stage.” Fred has revealed his representatives, including former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva, have been in contact with the deal-makers at Old Trafford. “Talks have been at an advanced stage since January, if I am not mistaken,” he said. “There was a possible transfer to City. Shortly after, both clubs, City and United talked with Shakhtar and with my agents about a possible transfer. “And if I am not mistaken, there was news of a…
Ivan Gazidis has promised to back new head coach Unai Emery with “all the resources of the club” in the transfer market, and said the Spaniard earned the job with the help of an “extremely impressive” interview and “a chemistry between us.” “All the money has always been available for our manager. And that will continue to be,” said Gazidis, who presented Emery to the media on Wednesday after leading the effort to find Wenger’s successor. “All of the resources of the club will be available for Unai to develop the team.” The Arsenal CEO outlined the search by saying…
Arsenal’s three-man committee used a silent ballot to pick Unai Emery as their top choice for the head coach job, chief executive Ivan Gazidis has revealed. Gazidis said the meeting between himself, recruitment head Sven Mislintat and director of football relations Raul Sanllehi ended with them ranking their preferred candidates on a piece of of paper — and all three picked Emery as No. 1. “All the way going through the process, Raul and I and Sven spoke to each other as little as possible, because we didn’t want to pollute each other’s viewpoints from the discussions we had,” Gazidis…
Roberto Firmino has said he is targeting more despite being Liverpool’s joint-top scorer in the Champions League and recording his best season ever as a professional. Firmino, along with Mohamed Salah, has scored 10 times on the road to the Champions League final, with no Liverpool player having ever scored more in a single campaign in the competition. “However, you cannot beat yourself up about these things all the time and you must always keep moving forward. “It is my first season in the Champions League and I am one of the leading scorers, alongside Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Salah. This…
Nasser Al-Khelaifi has taken a swipe at anybody who feels that they are bigger than the club, following a 0-0 draw against Caen to end the Ligue 1 season. Al-Khelaifi told L’Equipe: “Nothing and no single person is bigger than the club — that goes for coach and players. The club comes and always will come first.” “I am very satisfied with these four titles,” the 44-year-old said. “We performed incredibly well and did a great job to complete a third domestic clean sweep in four years. Aside from the Champions League, obviously, we are very satisfied. “It takes time…
After sources said that Spurs defender Toby Alderweireld could be on his way to Manchester United, fresh reports says United “are now confident they will win the race” for him. It reports that the Old Trafford club “are ready to spend in excess of £40 million” on Alderweireld, with Tottenham poised to bring in Ajax’s Matthijs de Ligt as a replacement. Spurs have been unable to agree to a new contract with the Belgium international, whose deal expires in two years, and Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have been suggested as other potential destinations. But reports elsewhere says United are…
Paris Saint-Germain have offered a contract to Gianluigi Buffon, a source close to the French club has said. Buffon has announced that he will leave Juventus at the end of the season but not retire, and will play his final match for the club against Hellas Verona on Saturday evening. According to the source, PSG have put a two-year contract on the table and the 40-year-old is believed to be tempted to continue his playing career, therefore doing a U-turn on his original retirement plans. The French champions already have goalkeepers Alphonse Areola and Kevin Trapp on the books but…
Manchester United supporters have voted Cristiano Ronaldo as their greatest Premier League player. Ronaldo topped a fans’ poll of players from the Premier League era, beating Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. The vote was organised to mark United’s 1,000th game in the Premier League — the 1-0 win over Watford last weekend. Ronaldo moved to Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon in 2003. He left for Real Madrid in 2009 after scoring 118 goals in 292 games. He won eight major trophies, including three Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. Wayne Rooney’s overhead kick against Manchester City during…
Massimiliano Allegri has paid tribute to departing goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon following the 40-year-old’s emotional final game for the club. “Today it was right that Gigi Buffon was honoured for all he did, there was no better way to finish this year,” Allegri said in quotes reported on www.gazzetta.it. “I was moved by him — in these four years [that Allegri has been Juve boss] I saw him doing impressive things and he deserved a goodbye like that. There was a wonderful atmosphere.” Allegri sad: “The team had an extraordinary season and it’s always wonderful to win. “We fought with Napoli…
Antonio Conte has insisted that he cannot change and warned that Chelsea will be losing a “serial winner” if they decide to let him go after winning the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United. “I think after two years the club knows me very well,” he said when asked what he hopes to hear when he and Chelsea discuss his future. “If they want to continue to work with me, they know me. I can’t change. I can’t change. My way is always the same. Hard work and to build a strong mentality with my players. I…
Niko Kovac has said “football writes the best stories” after his Eintracht Frankfurt side beat future employer Bayern Munich 3-1 in a dramatic DFB Pokal final. “Football writes the best stories and that’s what make this sport so interesting. I’m really pleased for the club, for the brilliant fans and for my excellent team,” Kovac told German broadcaster ARD. “This team has always worked so hard for me over the two and a half years I’ve been here. This year we’ve crowned our hard work with success and in the end, I don’t think it was undeserved. “Obviously, I’m very…
Frank Lampard has said he doesn’t know what kind of player Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba can be because he focuses too much on his flair rather than being tactically sound. “I don’t know what Paul Pogba quite is,” Lampard said at a sponsor’s event ahead of the teams’ meeting in the FA Cup final on Saturday. “He makes bad decisions as a midfield player — bad basic decisions — and then he does something really fantastic, and I can imagine that wrecking Jose Mourinho’s head, because he’s going, ‘Well, I want you in my team for that fantastic stuff,…
Real Madrid blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Villarreal in their final La Liga match ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool. Real coach Zinedine Zidane handed a debut to his 20-year-old son Luca as first-choice goalkeeper Keylor Navas was rested ahead of the European clash in Kiev on May 26, but otherwise named a strong side. Gareth Bale, deployed in a more central role, broke the deadlock after 11 minutes to score for the fourth La Liga match in a row, with Cristiano Ronaldo adding a second just after the half-hour to put the visitors in…
Embattled Kogi lawmaker, Senator Dino Melaye has accused the Police of owing him N10 million as damages awarded him by an unnamed court. Melaye who was granted bail by the Court on Wednesday, made the disclosure via Instagram on Friday, May 18, 2018. The lawmaker accused the Police of illegally arresting and harassing Nigerians for a long time. “Police illegal arrest and harassment did not start now,” Melaye said. “This was four years ago. Where Court awarded 10-million -damage to me that Police is yet to pay. Fear not him that can destroy or damage the body, fear only Him…
Yakubu Dogara has said Nigeria cannot compete favourably with other countries without an advancement in science and technology. “Our nation cannot compete favourably without innovation,” Dogara said. “We have also seen that it is innovation in the area of science that drives communities, even nations to thrive. They are exporting their intellect; we have seen that. “That is why the ten most advanced nations, or richest nations on the earth, some of them do not have the kind of resources that we have. It is in this area: advancement in science and technology that the true potential of this nation…
Yemi Osinbajo says the N-Power Graduate Skills Acquisition Programme will be expanded and made better to benefit more Nigerian youths. Addressing the trainees, the vice president said the N-Power programme was very important to the Federal Government because of its focus on empowering the youths through capacity building. “The programme will be expanded, enriched, made bigger and better and we will improve the welfare of those in the programme. “The Federal Government wants to demonstrate through you that Nigerian young people are not only competent, but can with the best training become the best available anywhere in the world. “You…