Usain Bolt will not achieve his dream of playing for Manchester United by the hamstring injury suffered in his farewell race. United Legends take on their Barcelona counterparts in a charity match at Old Trafford on Sept. 2, with the event raising money for the Manchester United Foundation and its work in the local community. Ruud van Nistelrooy, Denis Irwin and Dwight Yorke are among those signed up for the Bryan Robson-managed United side, who had hoped to be able to play alongside the fastest man in history. Bolt has long dreamed of playing at Old Trafford and had been…
Author: David Folami
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has urged Nigerian leaders to voice out against hate speech in the country, calling it another form of terrorism. Yemi Osinbajo stressed that it is vital for leaders to always condemn hate speech as silence could be misinterpreted as an endorsement. “The Federal Government has today drawn the line on hate speech. Hate speech is a specie of terrorism. Terrorism as it is defined popularly is the unlawful use of violence or intimidation against individuals or groups especially for political ends. “The law, that is the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended), defines terrorism as inter…
Monaco coach Leonardo Jardim has said his decision to keep Kylian Mbappe on the bench is to “protect him from the storm” over a potential move to Paris Saint-Germain. “We’ve never been in the habit of punishing our players,” he told reporters. “It’s not the right word. It’s rather to protect him. With all these things around an 18-year-old kid, it’s our responsibility to protect him from the storm. It’s a decision of the club. “That means me, Vadim [Vasilyev, Monaco vice-president] and the sporting director [Antonio Cordon]. It’s our decision for the player, the squad, the club. “I’m always…
Arsene Wenger is still remaining “optimistic” that Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will both sign contract extensions — but only if Arsenal deliver success on the pitch this season. “I am optimistic on both [signing extensions],” Wenger said. “Look, both players are happy at the club. After, you have to meet their needs. Their needs are their desire for success and their needs are as well financial. I think if we can meet their needs on the pitch, there is more chance to extend their contracts.” “Look, every club has a different policy and you have to respect that. You…
After taking their wing wizard frm them just oone week ago, Paris Saint-Germain appeared to troll Barcelona during the latter’s terrible Spanish Super Cup defeat against Real Madrid on Wednesday. Already losing 3-1 from the first leg, another early goal from Marco Asensio saw the Catalans eventually go down 4-1 on aggregate at the Bernabeu as dominant Real showed their might as quickly as possible. While Lionel Messi & Co. were still trying to salvage the result, PSG used their official Twitter account to post a photo of a smiling Neymar, along with a suitably smug emoji. Of course, the…
Jurgen Klopp says Philippe Coutinho will still not be available against Crystal Palace on Saturday with a back injury and claims the club’s medical department have reported no attitude concerns with the midfielder who wants to leave the club. Coutinho handed in a transfer request last week after Liverpool, who still say the player is not for sale, rejected two offers from Barcelona. The Brazil international did not travel with the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League playoff first leg at Hoffenheim, with Klopp saying in Germany the player “cannot play for Liverpool in this moment.” “Phil is not available. He’s…
West Ham vice chairman Karren Brady has said that the majority of Premier League clubs support the closing the transfer window before the start of the season. Reports have it that Manchester United are one of the few clubs who have reservations, with Watford likely opposing it, with concerns over the edge it gives to European clubs who will continue to work to the end-of-August deadline and would still be able to sign players from English clubs. “We’d started debating this around March 2017 at the Premier League and 17 clubs were broadly in favour of the window being closed,”…
Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre has come out to say the board would prefer “respect not insults” after the club unveiled Paulinho as their fourth signing of the summer on Thursday. Paulinho joins Barcelona from Guangzhou Evergrande for €40 million in a transfer most Barcelona supporters despise and has led to calling for president Josep Maria Bartomeu to resign. The campaign comes after a series of poor management decision fans feel the club have made, with the signing of a 29-year-old for such a high fee from the Chinese Super League deemed the “can’t take it no more” moment. “Fans are…
Barcelona have confirmed that Luis Suarez will be out for the next month but hope to have Gerard Pique fit and ready for Sunday’s La Liga curtain-raiser against Real Betis at Camp Nou. Both players finished Wednesday’s Spanish Super Cup defeat to Real Madrid with knocks, and tests at the club’s training ground on Thursday showed the extent of Suarez’s knee problem. “Luis Suarez will be out of action for around four weeks,” the Catalan club said in a statement. “Tests carried out on Thursday confirmed that the Uruguayan has a distension in the posterior articular capsule in his right…
Bayern Munich centre-back Mats Hummels has followed Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata’s lead in giving part of his salary to charity. Germany international Hummels, 28, joins Mata in donating one percent of his wage — around €75,000. Earlier this month, Mata became the first footballer to join Common Goal, a collective fund that supports football charities around the world. Mata also begged his fellow professionals to follow suit, and it enabled Hummels to make the pledge after seeing the Spain international’s announcement on social media. Hummels said: “As soon as I heard of Common Goal I knew this was a…
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of 24 players to have been nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award. The award, which was voted for football actions around the period of Nov. 20, 2016, to July 2, 2017, is determined for by national team coaches, captains, selected media and fans and will be handed out at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on Oct. 23 in London. Ronaldo faces competition from long-time rival Lionel Messi, who finished up as La Liga’s top scorer with 37 goals — 12 ahead of Ronaldo — and helped Barcelona to Copa del Rey success in…
Jesse Lingard says the mood in the Manchester United dressing room has risen and has welcomed talk of winning the title. United are currently top of the Premier League following a 4-0 win over West Ham in the opening round of fixtures last weekend, with new £90m signing Romelu Lukaku scoring twice in the victory. “There’s a lot of confidence flying around at the moment and it’s good that we can stick together and be a part of it,” Lingard, who came on as a substitute in United’s win over West Ham, told Sky Sports News. “Even the lads who…
Antonio Conte has been given a timely boost after summer signing Tiemoue Bakayoko confirmed he had returned to Chelsea training. The France international is yet to play a game for Chelsea following his £40million move from Monaco earlier in the summer due to a knee injury. Nemanja Matic’s exit to Manchester United has left the Blues short of midfield options and Conte’s squad was further depleted at the weekend after Cesc Fabregas was shown red. The Spaniard has been suspended for Saturday’s trip to Tottenham but Conte received better news regarding 22-year-old Bakayoko. The former Monaco sensation uploaded a picture…
Pablo Zabaleta must have felt a lot older than his 32 years. The veteran Argentine will not have been the only West Ham player who was causing referee Martin Atkinson to blow his whistle but his team-mates were at least spared the task of trying to hack Marcus Rashford down throughout the game. Zabaleta, on the other hand, never got a breather. One former player who knows a whole lot about cutting in at pace from the left and wreaking havoc against defences is Thierry Henry, and from his position in the pundit’s chair on Sunday, the former Arsenal striker’s…
Steven Davis insists Southampton’s players would happily welcome back Virgil van Dijk. Davis insists the squad would welcome Van Dijk back into the fold, despite the Dutchman expressing a desire to leave. “It’s a situation Virgil has got to deal with himself,” says Davis. “Nobody else is living in that moment so nobody knows what’s going through his head. “But we’re all there to support him and we’d welcome him back with open arms. That goes without question because of the quality that he’s got.”
Liverpool midfielder, Philippe Coutinho, has told manager Jurgen Klopp, that he will never play for the club again. The Brazil international submitted a transfer request last week and is not ready to change his stance, even if it costs him a place at next year’s World Cup. Coutinho is desperate to quit Anfield and move to Barcelona, who have already seen two offers turned down. Mundo Deportivo reports that Coutinho, who is currently sidelined with a back problem, has now told Klopp he will never play for the club again. It is suggested he is so intent on leaving the…
Ousmane Dembele turned down a move to Barcelona last summer because he believed he wasn’t ready to play for one of the ‘absolute top clubs’, according to former Bayern Munich director Michael Reschke. Dembele opted to join Borussia Dortmund after leaving French side Rennes in May 2016, despite interest from European giants Bayern Munich and Barcelona. And Reschke claimed that Dembele’s decision was motivated by doubts that he was ready to play for one of Europe’s elite. ‘I can assess the situation of the player very well, because we were also interested, from Munich’s point of view,’ he said. ‘Last…
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets recently talked about his call for the club’s board to strengthen in the transfer market on Tuesday, but warned replacing the departed Neymar will be almost impossible. The Brazilian’s presence was missed as Barca fell to a 3-1 Spanish Super Cup, first leg defeat at home to Real Madrid in the Catalans first game since Neymar moved to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record 222 million euro fee ($262 million). However, the Spanish international believes the only way to move on from Neymar’s decision to join the French giants is for the Barca squad to be…
British boxer Amir Khan has apologised to Anthony Joshua after accusing the Nigerian born boxer of sleeping with his wife Faryal Makhdoom. Khan posted on Twitter in an ugly rant on Friday, August 4 to accuse Joshua of having an affair with his wife, also announcing that his marriage to his wife is over. Joshua denied the accusation sharing a short video clip of Shaggy’s song ‘It wasn’t me’. The English boxer a week later has apologised to Joshua claiming that there was no truth to the allegation. Joshua replied writing “Apology accepted.” “I’ve been quiet for some time… because…
Neymar has been named Handicap International’s first-ever ambassador at a ceremony at the United Nations in Geneva. Paris Saint-Germain’s new golden boy told reporters the honour to work with the organisation that advocates for the rights of disabled people marked “a unique moment” in his life. The event saw the 25-year-old forward elevated to the top of the giant “Broken Chair” monument, which sits in the main square outside the UN’s European headquarters. Neymar said his precise role with Handicap International had not yet been ironed out, but voiced hope it would “be a successful partnership”. Neymar earned rave reviews…