“Careful what you wish for.” It’s the motto of accepted wisdom, most recently offered in the direction of “Wenger Out” Arsenal fans, the general gist of which is that some individuals are very hard to replace. For Chelsea fans this summer, their similar issue may well be beyond the discussion stage: Diego Costa’s time is up. The final chapter of Antonio Conte’s handling of his only remotely troublesome squad member was completed in just 13 text-messaged words: “Good luck for the next year but you are not in my plan.” Conte’s keenness for clarity is one of his finest characteristics,…
Author: David Folami
Liverpool reached the heights of fourth in the Premier League season and, while they did not find cup success, they will be in the hat for the Champions League playoff draw on Aug. 4, 2017 and will be one of the seeded teams. A year ago, Jurgen Klopp was pondering his first summer in charge of the club and was putting into practice some of the unique training plans that has made them so successful this season. Now, with a full year of fitness behind them and an increased transfer budget due to participation in Europe’s top club competition for…
The star’s dad and former manager told students at Howard University one thing the singer isn’t great at Beyoncé‘s one weakness has been revealed by her father, Matthew Knowles. Knowles, who used to manage the singer and her old band Destiny’s Child, gave a speech at Howard University on artist management recently. In his talk, the star’s father spoke about the importance of identifying an artist’s weaknesses. “Everybody thinks that they’re the greatest and they should,” he said. “We as label executives, we have to know the limitations of the artists.” He continued: “I can tell you all my artists,…
Lee “Scratch” Perry hasn’t been too hot on Kanye West recently. The innovative reggae producer spoke on the Canadian radio show The Strombo Show to talk about a variety of topics when the intrepid star came up near the end of the conversation. West, who’s remained dormant after his photo op with Donald Trump, doesn’t have Perry’s empathy apparently. Perry philosophized that he’s sold his soul and is suffering from a sickness of “batty” (that’s Jamaican slang for “booty” for all you squares). “Him sell his mother’s soul to get rich—sell his mother’s soul, sell his soul to get the…
Beyonce is due to give birth to twins any day now. And while she is no doubt resting at home and counting down the days, her husband Jay Z made a quick trip to Jamaica over the weekend to work on new music. Jay, 47, was spotted in Kingston on Friday where he is recording with Damien Marley in Bob Marley’s legendary Tuff Gong studio. The rapper was also spotted hanging out with cricketer Marlon Samuels as the duo posed for pictures at the Trench Town Culture Yard. Jay was seen in a white t-shirt, camouflage jacket and baseball cap…
Fresh off one video shoot and on to the next one, Kendrick Lamar and Rihanna recently shot the visual for their collab, “Loyalty,” off K. Dot’s latest album, Damn. Footage from the shoot has made its way to the internet, and it doesn’t reveal a whole lot about the upcoming visual. It does show some scantily clad women in a room lit by red light. They sensually move around in a group while cameras record their actions and “Loyalty” blares through the speakers. “Loyalty” is the third single of Kendrick’s platinum album, following “Humble” and “DNA.” The TDE rapper talked…
Kylie Jenner is set to share her more vulnerable side in her upcoming reality show, Life Of Kylie. In a new trailer for the E! series, Kylie can be seen sharing the struggles of fame as she prepares to let fans into her world when the show premieres in August. Speaking candidly about her life in the clip, the 19-year-old admits: “For so long I’ve been putting on this different persona to the world. “When you grow up on camera, everybody feels like they know you.” She continues: “There’s two sides to me. There’s an image I feel constantly pressured…
Rihanna is not really angry about Chris Brown beating her up. It’s sad, but true. Following a period of contention and awkwardness after this very unfortunate and disturbing incident in 2009, Rihanna and Brown started talking again. Heck, there’s even been chatter that Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together, which is just gross and depressing to think about. But just because Rihanna is pretty much over the time her ex-boyfriend turned her face into a punching bag doesn’t mean that she wants Brown to bring this ugly topic back up for public consumption. And yet that’s exactly what the…
A Kogi group known as Uja-Ache Igala has condemned Governor Nyesom Wike’s comment that the rate of crime in Kogi state is high. Wike had earlier claimed that Rivers state is safer than some states, including Kogi where kidnappers have a field day. According to the group, Rivers state is a breeding ground for cultists who have made it their duty to terrorise innocent workers of multi-national companies. It also said that Rivers ranks high in the list of states with high level of crime. The group in a statement signed by its National Chairman, Chief Goodman Akwu, said “In…
Femi Falana Human Right lawyer says June 12 should not be seen as a Yoruba struggle but a national movement that gave birth to the 18 years of uninterrupted democratic in Nigeria. Falana made this known at a public lecture to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 12 presidential election tagged: ‘Hope ’93: Dream Deferred’ on Monday in Akure. The event was organised by the Ondo State Government on the presidential election presumed to be won by the late Moshood Abiola, which was annulled. He described June 12 as a national movement, saying, “it is wrong for any Nigerian…
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Monday urged Nigerians to keep the spirit of June 12 alive and strong by remaining united and hopeful of a more prosperous future for the country. Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, made the call at an event organised to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 12, 1993 annulled presidential election. It was organised by the State’s Office of Civic Engagement in collaboration with June 12 Coalition for Democratic Formations in Lagos. The 1993 presidential election, adjudged free and fair, but annulled by the then military President, Gen.…
The EFCC has debunked alleged molestation of staff of The Sun Publishing Limited, publishers of The Sun Newspapers, by its operatives. The newspaper had earlier alleged that “heavily armed’’ EFCC operatives invaded its Lagos office on Monday morning and subjected its workers to molestation and intimidation. It claimed that the raid lasted for one hour during which the workers were subjected to “crude intimidation, psychological and emotional trauma’’. “At gunpoint, they ordered our security personnel to take them round the company premises, after which they proceeded to prevent staff from either entering or leaving the premises, and disrupted our circulation…
The Federal Government has directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to spend more of their budgets on locally produced goods. Acting President Yemi Osinbajo gave the directive when he signed the 2017 appropriation bill into law on Monday. He said the directive was to support the government’s policy on investment in critical infrastructure. Osinbajo said: “beyond the huge provisions for investments in critical infrastructure, we have mandated government agencies to spend more of their budgets on locally produced goods. “This will open more opportunities for job creation with benefits for government in form of tax revenues. “We are also working…
Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State says the ideals of the late Chief MKO Abiola were yet to be realised 24 years after his victory in the annulled presidential election of June 12, 1993. A statement issued by the governor’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Mr Yomi Layinka, quoted Ajimobi as saying that the June 12, 1993 election was a turning point for the country. He said the supreme price paid by the acclaimed winner of the election could never be forgotten. Ajimobi described the late politician and business mogul as a symbol of democracy, praising him for his…
Manchester United have agreed to sign Benfica’s Swedish international centre-back Victor Lindelof, pending the 22-year-old agreeing personal terms. The deal is also subject to a medical and international clearance. The 22-year-old was thrown in at the deep end during 2015-16 after injuries to club captain Luisao and Lisandro Lopez, and responded magnificently. Benfica had to be nigh-on perfect to reel in bitter city rivals Sporting Lisbon and, after Lindelof’s introduction against Moreirense on Jan. 31, the Eagles won 14 of their remaining 15 games to clinch a titanic title race by two points. Here are five things you should know…
It probably deserved more of a fuss, but with one line on the Premier League’s retained and released list, Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Manchester United career was over. For now, at least. The Swedish forward will be a free agent when his contract expires on June 30. He has accepted an offer from the club to complete his recovery from a knee injury at the Carrington training complex, and, indeed, there remains a possibility he could re-sign once fit, but that’s a long shot. The truth is that it did not make economic sense to renew Ibrahimovic’s contract at this point. United…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has not been handed a new deal at Manchester United and one of the icons of world football is now in limbo, perhaps never to grace the top level again. He suffered a cruciate ligament injury in United’s Europa League quarterfinal win over Anderlecht on April 20, and now his future is uncertain. From Ajax to Juventus, Barcelona to Milan, the super Swede has starred for the biggest teams in world football. He had a big impact wherever he played. Here, we track Ibra’s career, with ESPN FC’s correspondents reflecting on the mark he made at every club.…
Manchester United’s marathon 64-game season didn’t finish until May 24 with victory in the Europa League final. The bulk of the squad headed off on holiday immediately afterwards, while 12 first-team players met up with their national teams. United are due back at Carrington for medical tests on July 8 before flying to Los Angeles on July 9 for their US tour. They are set to have a week-long training camp in California before playing their first game against LA Galaxy on July 15. Jose Mourinho’s team will play five games in 12 days in the US before friendlies against…
Swedish minnows Vasteras are set to receive a substantial windfall that will wipe out their debts after Manchester United agreed a deal to sign Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelof. United will reportedly pay around £30.75 million (€35m) for Sweden international Lindelof, 22, and his former club Vasteras, who play in Sweden’s third tier, could now receive a payment in the region of €5m after resolving a dispute with Benfica. Vasteras agreed to sell Lindelof to Benfica in 2011, with the transfer taking place the following summer. The Guardian, in a detailed report into the dispute published last year, said the two…
A majority of Swedes responding to a poll in newspaper Aftonbladet say they do not want to see Zlatan Ibrahimovic return to the national team, despite the striker hinting that he may be considering a comeback. Ibrahimovic, 35, retired from international duty after Euro 2016 but stoked speculation about a return with a cryptic video on Instagram in which the injured forward pulls back the covers on his bed to reveal that he is wearing football boots with the Swedish flag on them. The video was posted after Sweden stunned France 2-1 on Friday to climb atop their World Cup…