Jupp Heynckes has said Real Madrid have no chance of signing Robert Lewandowski from the Bundesliga club, reiterating that the Poland international will still be at the Allianz Arena next season. Lewandowski, 29, scored a hat trick in the 6-0 win over Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and currently has 26 league goals — 13 more than any other player. He is only the third player in the Bundesliga to have scored 25 or more goals in three consecutive seasons and the first in 43 years. Having won all trophies and titles in Germany more than once, Lewandowski switched agents earlier…
Author: David Folami
Virgil van Dijk has said an in-form Mohamed Salah is capable of doing damage to any team — even a dominant Manchester City — and could still beat Blues midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to the player of the year award. “He’s that kind of player that you just need to be on your best. When he is 100 percent and in the zone then he can beat anyone. “There are ways to stop him but I’m not going to tell you because I don’t want our opponents to think about it!” Van Dijk would not disclose whether the Liverpool players…
Javi Martinez has said his team will have to “fight” and give their all to go past Sevilla in the Champions League. “Maybe people think they’re not as good as Barcelona or Real Madrid but I think they are,” the 29-year-old said ahead of Tuesday’s first leg in Spain. “If we are not at 100 percent, they can beat us.” “It’s a good example [of what might happen]. I think Sevilla deserved to win both games, in Sevilla and in Manchester,” Martinez added. “They scored two goals in the most difficult moments of the game [at Old Trafford]. They acted…
Giorgio Chiellini has said Champions League quarterfinal opponent Real Madrid are about more than just Cristiano Ronaldo, while adding that revenge is not the main objective for his side on Tuesday night. “Sergio Ramos is the best defender in the world, but it’s not just me saying this,” Chiellini said. “It’s the same with Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the best No. 9 in the world. “When you face champions like these, it’s great to try to beat them. We’ll try our best to contain [Ronaldo], but Real Madrid are not just about him. If you think you can eliminate him,…
Iker Casillas made his 1,000th professional appearance on Monday in a 2-0 Primeira Liga defeat to Belenenses. Casillas made his debut for Real Madrid in 1999, when he came out of the club’s youth system, and went on to make 725 appearances with Los Blancos, winning five La Liga titles and the Champions League three times. Casillas’ former Real Madrid and Spain teammate Sergio Ramos congratulated the goalkeeper on Twitter, stating he is also targeting his milestone. “I already see myself getting close to surpassing your caps record with Spain,” he wrote.”Getting to 1,000 matches as a professional might have…
Jurgen Klopp has tipped Mohamed Salah to win the Player of the Year Award in recognition of his goal scoring. Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne is likely to be Salah’s biggest competitor for the award, with Klopp fully aware of the midfielder’s role in helping put Pep Guardiola’s side on course for the Premier League title. “I think Mo would deserve it 100 percent,” Klopp told his club’s website. “As his manager, I’d say: ‘Come on, prove it by playing at this level for the rest of the season.’ That’s how it is. “Both players have played an outstanding season…
Andrew Robertson believes Liverpool enter Wednesday’s Champions League meeting against City full of confidence having exploited some weaknesses of Pep Guardiola’s side during January’s win. The two teams were then drawn together in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, with the first leg being played at Anfield on Wednesday evening. “It doesn’t get much harder than Man City, arguably one of the best teams in Europe just now,” Robertson told Liverpool’s official website. “But we managed to get the better of them at Anfield a couple of months ago and if we can take anything out of that performance then…
Hugo Lloris has said criticism of Dele Alli is unfair and has compared the midfielder to his France teammate Paul Pogba. Pogba has also found himself out of favour this term and Lloris says both need time to mature. “It is not easy for [Alli and Pogba] because you need to give time to them to get to the right age, to be mature,” Lloris is quoted as saying by the I newspaper. “But I think [Alli] has done so well for us, [the criticism] is a bit unfair. To see or to hear criticism, he is so talented –…
Gov. Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa has said Mubi would soon be granted approval by the Federal Government to establish a Free Trade Zone (FTZ). The governor said the Federal Government was considering Mubi to host the FTZ due to its commercial potential in the North East region. According to him, the area generates huge revenue running into millions of naira and has also generated about N4 billion weekly in the past. He also said the Mubi Cattle Market was the largest in the whole of the West Africa sub region. Bindow noted that countries from the Central Africa region had…
Muhammadu Buhari admitted that the country is going through “very turbulent” times under his administration. “Nigeria’s journey in the last three years has been a very turbulent one. The country’s need for critical job-creating sectors which has been ignored for decades is now beginning to yield results”, he said. He added, “We shall also develop new programmes and projects that will protect and indeed, create more jobs in farming, fisheries, animal husbandry and forestry. “We will also not lose sight of the other issues that will impact our food production ambitions such as; population growth, ubanisation, industrialisation, rural infrastructure development…
Bola Tinubu has said that President Muhammadu Buhari, by kicking against elongation of the tenure of the APC National Working Commitee (NWC), was steering the party back to the correct path. Tinubu said: “President Buhari’s action saves the party from serious legal turmoil. ”If the elongations were deemed illegal, then all subsequent party actions, including the nomination of all of our candidates for elective offices, might also be of questionable legality. ”Such a predicament would constitute an unnecessary and mortal blow to the party and its role in promoting progressive governance to Nigeria. ”Moreover, President Buhari has affirmed for all…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Nigerians may forgive the sixteen-year misrule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) but may not forget easily. Bolaji Abdullahi said this in a statement recently. Uche Secondus had apologized to Nigerians for the mistakes of the party leading to its defeat during the 2015 general elections. “The All Progressives Congress (APC) acknowledges the apologies by the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) for the damage the party has wrought on the country’s democratic fabric during its sixteen-year rule,” he said. “However, despite this belated grovelling apology, PDP will need to come clean, confess to their…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has fired back at the minister of information, Lai Mohammed for calling on the party to return the money which was looted when they were in power. Kola Ologbondiyan said “It is, to say the least, despicable that the APC and its Federal Government, in their arrogance, would always try to play the saint when they were elected with stolen fund and have continued to reek with filth and sleaze. “Nigerians are aware that prior to the 2015 election, President Buhari had informed that he was insolvent. “He however took Nigerians by surprise as he…
Samuel Ortom of Benue has said that government and people of the state remained committed to a united Nigeria. He was in the villa to thank the President for the condolence visit he paid to Benue State after the recent killings in the state, said he also intimated him of socio-economic situation in the state. “I also reminded him about the request of Benue people when he paid that visit and to assure him that Benue remains committed to a united Nigeria and to work with him in ensuring that we collaborate with the Federal Government to provide security for…
Alhaji Umar Kukuri has said the admittance of past mistakes by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was healthy for Nigeria’s democracy. “When you have glaring shortcomings, there is no point denying and insisting that you are right; the admittance of shortcomings indicates political maturity and democratic growth in the party. “The admittance of PDP to its past mistakes has turned a new page in the political life of the party,” Kukuri said. “As Nigerians, we should collectively encourage any government that has performed irrespective of our political differences and not just to criticize because we are in the opposition. “The…
Muhammadu Buhari has said extension of tenure of All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) recently approved by the party´s National Executive Committee (NEC) was illegal and unconstitutional. He noted that the decision was already causing acrimony within the party. He said that the development was especially so as some party members who were not comfortable with the decision had already taken the party to court. He said that with the decision, some party members were already feeling that they had been deprived the right to aspire to executive positions. “Some other party members are now of the opinion…
Asari Dokubo has hailed retired General Theophilus Danjuma over his recent comments. Danjuma recently asked Nigerians to defend themselves against killers. The former minister of defence also said that the security apparatus in Nigeria has been compromised. Dokubo said “I’m so happy with Danjuma’s comment. Few weeks ago, I talked about some of our political elites including Danjuma and he has roared, there is an earthquake, everywhere is unsettled. “We have to appreciate some of this people that have conquered their fears. He spoke the mind of those who are too afraid to speak. “This is a challenge to people…
Eden Hazard has said he is “good” at Chelsea and “for the moment, I’m there” despite speculation over his future. He has previously indicated that he would welcome a switch to Real Madrid to play for Zinedine Zidane, also suggesting he would be open to a reunion with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho at Manchester United. He said he remained focused on his club’s Premier League and FA Cup campaigns. “I have always said I have two years left on my contract, that I’m good there,” he said ahead of Belgium’s friendly against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. “There are two…
David De Gea is excited about facing fit-again Lionel Messi in Tuesday’s friendly against Argentina. “We want to face the best players and Messi is one of them,” the Manchester United keeper said in Monday’s news conference.”As a goalkeeper it’s a challenge to face Messi.” “We are going through a good spell,” De Gea said. “We have to maintain this line and hope to arrive in the best form possible at the World Cup. “We have a wonderful group, we get on well together and that is also transmitted on the pitch. We have ambition, enthusiasm and a great group.”…
Lothar Matthaus is of the opinion that Jurgen Klopp can end Manchester City’s stranglehold on silverware in much the same way he did when Borussia Dortmund broke Bayern Munich’s dominance. Matthaus believes Klopp proved his methods have worked before and can do so again. “Maybe City has more money but I know the mentality of Klopp, I know the mentality of his team. They work very hard,” said the former Bayern midfielder after a 5-5 draw in the Legends match at Anfield which is set to raise more than £1 million for the LFC Foundation, Liverpool’s official charity. “Liverpool has…