Cristiano Ronaldo has told France Football he believes he might have won the Ballon d’Or more times than Lionel Messi if they had played in the same team but described his rival as “a great player.” Barcelona forward Messi, 29, came second to Ronaldo, 31, in the 2016 vote, but has five Ballons d’Or to the Real Madrid man’s four. Portugal captain Ronaldo polled a massive 745 points — over 400 more than Messi — in this year’s poll, which canvassed a handpicked panel of journalists worldwide. On whether he would have claimed the award more times had they played…
Author: David Folami
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is staying calm despite his side’s first wobble of the season. The Reds have taken just five points from their last four matches, with a 4-3 defeat to Bournemouth and a 2-2 home draw against West Ham in their last two outings. That has seen them slip from top of Premier League in early November to six points off the pace set by Chelsea. Klopp said there was little he could opt for in the way of major changes, with their next match coming on Wednesday at Middlesbrough. “There are a lot of things to analyse…
Villarreal leapfrogged Atletico Madrid and up to fourth in La Liga after a commendable 3-0 victory at El Madrigal. Manuel Trigueros and Jonathan dos Santos struck to give the Yellow Submarine the reward their first-half endeavour deserved as they went in at the break two goals to the good. In a battle of the two sturdiest defences in the Spanish top-flight, it was Atletico’s which creaked under pressure as Bruno added a third late on to give Villarreal a first win in four as they moved above their opponents and into the Champions League qualifying places. Fran Escriba’s men came…
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has defended Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola after his defensive tactics were questioned following a 4-2 loss to Leicester, saying criticism of the Spaniard has been “unfair.” Guardiola was criticised by pundits for dismissing the importance of tackling after his side fell to a second straight league defeat following a 3-1 loss to Chelsea the previous weekend. “I’m not a coach for the tackles, so I don’t train the tackles,” Guardiola said after the Leicester game. But Wenger said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach should be applauded for his attack-minded style of play, and…
Manchester United defender Phil Jones has admitted the team had been “clumsy” with conceding soft goals recently — so it was important for them to keep a Premier League clean sheet against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. United held on to a 1-0 lead against Spurs at Old Trafford after Henrikh Mkhitaryan had struck in his first home goal for the club. Jose Mourinho’s team had previously tossed away 1-0 leads late on against Stoke, Arsenal and Everton this season, with all three matches ending 1-1. Jones said: “It was in the back of my mind at 1-0, with 10 minutes…
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat rival Lionel Messi to win the prestigious Ballon d’Or award for a fourth time. The 31-year-old is now one behind Barcelona’s Messi, who took the honour for a fifth time last year. Atletico Madrid’s French forward Antoine Griezmann finished third in the vote. Ronaldo helped Real Madrid win last season’s Champions League and scored three goals as Portugal won Euro 2016. He has now won the Ballon d’Or in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016, with Messi the only other recipient of the award since winning it for the first time in 2009. “I never…
Dec. 12, 2016 (NAN) The President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, has advocated the review of Procurement Law in states, as part of measures to tackle to the nation’s economic downturn. Saraki made the call at the launch of an empowerment scheme in Offa, Kwara, sponsored by Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim, representing Kwara South Senatorial District. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the occasion also climaxed with Sen. Ibrahim’s 50 years birthday celebration. Ibrahim also used the opportunity of the empowerment programme to launch his foundation – Rafiu Ibrahim Bilal Foundation (RIB Foundation). Saraki said there was the…
Big Brother Africa 8 finalist, Melvin Oduah has been robbed of a number of valuables in an incident that happened last night, December 11, in Lekki, Lagos. This comes almost three months after ex-beauty queen Omowunmi Akinnifesi had her car window smashed in September at an event centre in Victoria Island. ‘I parked my car just opposite the HOUSE ON THE ROCK CHURCH, they smashed the rare window of my car and took away a lot of valuables,’ Melvin shared on his Instagram. ‘As a matter of fact, they stole my bag containing clothes, shoes, a phone, my wallet, wrist…
Governor, Ayo Fayose has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of tampering with the affairs of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Fayose also said that Buhari is not sincere about preserving Nigeria’s democracy. The governor made the comments via a statement released by his media aide, Lere Olayinka. The statement reads in part: “Any President that looks the other way while the rights of his people to freely elect their leaders are being snatched at gunpoint by his own party men is not worthy of being associated with democracy.” “Free, fair and credible election is dead in the country and whatever…
Dr Dakuku Peterside, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), on Monday said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would reject the result of Rivers East Senatorial District rerun election. Peterside told a news conference in Port Harcourt that the collation of the district’s election results was marred with irregularities. He said that information available to the party showed that results of some local government areas in the district had not been collated. Peterside, the Deputy Leader of the party in the state, also alleged that due process was not followed in announcing the results. “ You…
The minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has denied using the Army and police to hijack results during the Saturday, December 10, 2016 rerun election. Governor Nyesom Wike had earlier alleged that Amaechi used security operatives during the election to rig the poll, reports say. Responding to the allegation, the minister called on Wike to stop disgracing the office of the Governor with his allegations. “Wike must allow INEC to collate and announce the results of the rerun elections. As governor, Wike cannot be INEC or dictate to INEC how and when to announce election results. “It’s sad, very sad that…
Manchester United will take on Saint-Etienne in the last 32 of the Europa League, with Jose Mourinho’s side hosting the French club in the first leg, after Monday’s draw. The tie will see United and France midfielder Paul Pogba, the world’s most expensive player, come up against his elder brother Florentin, the Guinea international defender. “That’s a nice thing,” said Mourinho at a press conference on Monday. “Paul was already laughing about it and for sure his brother is also laughing. “It has happened a few times in the history football and it’s a nice thing.” The teams met in…
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp bemoaned his side’s defending and lack of composure after they fell behind in the Premier League title race with a 2-2 draw at home to struggling West Ham. Divock Origi scored for the fourth consecutive match after Darren Randolph’s blunder to save a point for frail Liverpool, who sit third, six points behind leaders Chelsea. Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius last week gifted Bournemouth a winner and Klopp’s side — so good going forward and top of the table last month — are being regularly undermined by their defensive failings. Karius’ positioning on Sunday for West Ham…
Jose Mourinho admits he was scared when he saw Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan stretchered off the field during his team’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Tottenham Hotspur. Mkhitaryan scored the winning goal against Tottenham on Sunday and is finally displaying the sort of form that had convinced United to sign him from Borussia Dortmund in the close-season. But late in the game at Old Trafford, the Armenian went down under a foul from Spurs defender Danny Rose and had to be carried from the field with what appeared a nasty injury to his ankle. Speaking on Monday about the…
Rapper, Lil Kesh, comes through with the visuals of his recent song, ‘Shele gan gan’. The YAGI head honcho gives fan a different feel in the party themed video directed by Unlimited L.A. Check it out!
Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy has urged Nigerian youths to challenged the government. The entertainer who has never minced words when it comes to corruption, made the call, on Monday, December 12, 2016. He wrote, “My dear Nigerian youths, jungle Don mature my people. GET off Social Media and Make your Country Proud. I challenge Docile Nigerians to Take the Battle to Every Arm of Government, Every State Capital and Every Banking Office in Nigeria and See if our President will not Fight with us for the Greater Good of NIGERIA. I think therefore I am; I fight…
Chika Ike has opened up on the reasons for her failed first marriage and her hope for another which would be successful this time atound. During a recent interview with The Nation, the Nollywood actress was asked if she regretted getting married at the time that she had, and if it had led to the tragic end of the union. Ike said, “I think it has to do with so many reasons; one of them might be being young. Some people get married that young and have been able to make their marriages work. But if you’re young, you’re young.…
Nigerians have been urged not to lose faith in the current administration led by President Muhammadu Buhari. President Buhari made this known on Sunday, December 11, 2016 in his 2016 Eid-el-Maulud message to the nation. “As we use the memorable occasion of this celebration to reflect on our current challenges, I urge you not to lose faith in the ability of this administration to make a difference in the lives of our people,” he said. The president further said the reality of the temporary challenges should not undermine the hopes of Nigerians and neither should it reverse the collective will…
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State will on Tuesday host the 10th Edition of the annual Town Hall Meeting on Security under the auspices of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF). The Executive Secretary of the LSSTF, Dr Abdulrazaq Balogun, said in a statement in Lagos on Sunday that the Town Hall Meeting would focus on the theme “Optimising Security Funding in a Recession.” “Sustaining the funds in the face of recession might be a tough task, hence the need to fashion out new strategies to help donors and partners continue to see the need for supporting the organisations,”…
The Police Command in Niger has commenced aggressive mop-up of criminals in the state with a view to providing safe atmosphere during the forth-coming Christmas and New Year festivities. Mr Zubairu Muazu, Commissioner of Police in Niger disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Monday. He said that various forms of security measures have been put in place to guarantee safety of lives and property of the people. He explained that the command would intensify its community policing to enable it gather intelligence reports towards apprehending criminals. He said that already Area Commanders…