Borussia Dortmund attacker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has admitted that Paris Saint-Germain tried to sign him during the summer transfer window but that talks “ended quickly.” The Gabon international said that the French champions made contact in their unsuccessful search to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic but he stayed with Thomas Tuchel’s men because of their lack of negotiating skills. “Yes, they happened,” Aubameyang confirmed to RMC radio’s Team Duga show with former player Christophe Dugarry when asked if talks happened over the summer. “They ended quickly though. Not because I did not want to join PSG but because they handled things poorly. “PSG…
Author: David Folami
Arsene Wenger admitted his surprise at Granit Xhaka’s penchant for scoring spectacular long-range goals. Xhaka blasted home a strike from outside the area for the second time in four days on Tuesday to set the Gunners on their way to a 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the EFL Cup. Fellow newcomer Lucas Perez also grabbed his first two goals for the club on a near-perfect evening for Wenger’s team, which was mainly made up of backups and academy players. Xhaka and Perez have yet to cement regular starting places at Arsenal, but both made a case for their inclusion…
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte praised two-goal Cesc Fabregas but insisted reputations mean nothing after their comeback victory at Leicester. The Spain midfielder scored twice in extra time to cap the visitors’ recovery in the EFL Cup third round as they won 4-2, having fallen 2-0 down inside 35 minutes. Fabregas is yet to start in the Premier League under Conte, with his only other start in the EFL Cup win over Bristol City last month, with Nemanja Matic, N’Golo Kante and Oscar preferred. But a gritty display from the 29-year-old — ahead of Saturday’s visit to former club Arsenal –…
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique insists Neymar’s skills should be enjoyed rather than criticised after the Brazilian’s penchant for showboating once again came under the spotlight. Former Barca and Real Madrid midfielder Michael Laudrup controversially slammed Neymar for displaying his full range of tricks towards the end of Barca’s 5-1 thrashing of newly promoted Leganes on Saturday. “Ney has his own style, a style I think is spectacular for football. We enjoy it a lot at Barcelona,” Enrique said on the eve of Barca’s blockbuster La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. “There are many players that interpret football like…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck twice on Tuesday as Borussia Dortmund romped to another big win with a 5-1 victory at VfL Wolfsburg to provisionally top the German Bundesliga. Having hammered both Legia Warsaw and Darmstadt 6-0 in their previous matches, Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund handed out another drubbing with Gonzalo Castro setting up two of their goals. “Despite going 2-0 up early on, we were still made to suffer, but we got a grip and took our chances,” said Tuchel. “It’s an unbelievable result, which we worked hard for, and we’re very happy.” The thrashing left Dortmund top on goals scored, with…
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Tuesday that striker Harry Kane has damaged his ankle ligaments, but did not say how long he is expected to be sidelined. “He got a ligament ankle problem and we need to assess every day and see,” Pochettino told a press conference at the Tottenham training ground. “Today it’s impossible to give a time for a recovery. I am not a doctor. I can only explain what the doctors said to me.” Kane, 23, had to be carried from the pitch on a stretcher after rolling his right ankle during Tottenham’s 1-0 win…
“I will apologise to Guardiola if he will apologise to Pellegrini for what he did to him,” Seluk told Sky Sports News. “If you are a gentleman, this just does not happen. He signed a new contract last year then he gets pushed out for Guardiola to come in. Pellegrini was a gentleman. “Guardiola also needs to apologise to Joe Hart. It’s not right to come to England and then get rid of a few English players. “Guardiola wants a new future for Yaya, for Hart, and they won’t be the last.” Toure, who is in the final year of…
Yaya Toure will not play again for Manchester City until the player’s camp apologises for comments made by his agent, manager Pep Guardiola vowed on Tuesday. Dimitri Seluk accused the City manager of “humiliating” Toure, 33, by leaving him out of the club’s Champions League squad at the start of this month. The Ivorian midfielder, who announced his retirement from international duty on Tuesday, has not figured in a single City match-day squad since then. “The day after that, his agent spoke and in that moment, Yaya is out,” Guardiola told a press conference. “Unless Mr Dimitri Seluk comes back…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is under pressure to drop Wayne Rooney, with the captain’s clanking performances emblematic of the team’s struggles. United have lost their last three matches and there is clamour among supporters and journalists for Rooney to be removed from the starting XI. In an online poll by the United fanzine Red Issue, over 99 percent of respondents called for him to be axed. “Where do you want Wayne Rooney to play? Or should he be playing at all?” former England captain Alan Shearer wrote in The Sun after United’s 3-1 defeat at Watford on Sunday. “Not…
Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has sacked Mr Michael Akindele, the General Manager, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) with effect from Sept. 14, 2016. The Head, Public Affairs Unit of the agency, Mr Adebayo Kehinde, disclosed in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Lagos, that Akindele had been replaced by Mr Tiamiyu Adesina. Kehinde said that the governor appointed Adesina, as the Acting General Manager of the agency with effect from the same date. Adesina’s appointment was contained in a letter written by the Head of Service, Public Service Office in the State, Mrs Olabowale…
The former Chairman of the House committee on appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin has revealed that he is not bothered by threats that he might be suspended from the Green Chambers. Jibrin said he will take it as the sacrifice he has to pay to ensure that corruption is stamped out of the country. The lawmaker also promised to pursue the budget padding allegation till justice is served and the truth comes out. Jibrin said “On the issue of suspension I am less bothered. Perhaps that is the sacrifice I will have to make for the country and for us to be…
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that community policing had become necessary to tackle internal security challenges facing the country. Osinbajo made the call at the 20th Memorial Service of the first female industrialist in Nigeria and third Iyalode of Egbaland, late (Mrs) Esther Bisoye Tejuoso. The Memorial Service and Symposium at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, was organised by the Tejuoso Royal Family in conjunction with Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission. Osibanjo noted that the Nigeria Police have not been able to “resolve” the puzzle behind the murder of the matriarch of Tejuoso dynasty…
Wife of Nigeria President, Aisha Buhari has met with the U.S. First Lady, Michelle Obama in New York, United States of America. The two first ladies met during the broadway event which focused on the empowerment of the girl child. Mrs Buhari met Michelle Obama, who joined broadway stars and Stephen Colbert in a charity event which was created to coincide with the gathering of world leaders in New York for the opening of the 71st UN General Assembly. At the event, Michelle pledged to keep pushing for women’s right even after leaving the White House before an audience of…
President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed past leaders for the current economic state of Nigeria saying they lacked foresight and uprightness. The President made this known to the public at the 20th memorial service of Iyalode of Egbaland, late (Mrs) Esther Bisoye Tejuoso, where he was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal. In the speech read by Lawal but credited to the President, Buhari stressed that the economy would have been better if the past leaders had demonstrated managerial skills and uprightness. He said: “If our leaders had demonstrated the foresight, uprightness and managerial skills…
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has shared one of his most cherished moments in life as he visits members of his constituents in Kwara State. In a video, which he shared on Twitter, Saraki noted that the simple things matters more to him than what many think. The video shows the Senate President enjoying a dance with an aged woman and obviously, a supporter of the Saraki scion. Saraki was in Ilorin, Kwara State to celebrate the sallah celebrations last week but has since returned to his office in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has said that President Muhammadu Buhari doesn’t care about Nigerians’ suffering. He also called for the destruction of “Islamist terror” in Nigeria and throughout the entire world. The former minister made the comments via an article titled “The Bloody Legacy of Usman Dan Fodio (Part 1)”. The article reads: On 19th September 2016 after the latest bombing in New York, Mr. Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, said “In the 20th century the United States of America defeated fascism, Nazism and communism. Today the United States of America must destroy (radical) Islamism”. Mr.…
Former special adviser to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Doyin Okupe, has urged former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to help the Muhammadu Buhari government in its quest to end the current recession in the country. Okupe made the call via a post on his Facebook page titled “National Economic Emergency”. Read the post, published on Monday, September 19, below: It is a fact that Nigeria as a country is in dire straits in terms of its economy. It is not too important how we got here or who or what brought us here. We need an exit plan desperately. Sadly, there…
Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Senator Babafemi Ojudu has criticized the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) group over its frequent protest marches to the Presidential Villa. Ojudu also said that the group is conducting itself as if Buhari is detaining the abducted Chibok girls. “Since the President came to power, he has met with them thrice. And it is looking like look, you are making this thing appear as if I am the one detaining those girls. I am not detaining them. You are only going to protest to me if I am the one detaining…
Former Sokoto state governor, Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa has said that President Muhammadu Buhari has failed as a leader. According to Bafarawa, Buhari’s “failure” is due to the fact that he doesn’t have a listening ear. “Buhari has failed because he does not have a listening ear, he does not heed to advice at a time Nigerians are wallowing in poverty and deprivation,” Bafarawa told the Hausa service of Voice of America (VOA). “I’ve written several letters to President Buhari, seeking to have an audience with him on the way forward but he remains indifferent in granting me the opportunity,”…
Despite the fact that his current deal with Mavin Records is set to expire in a few months, Korede Bello is not considering leaving the label anytime soon. The singer made this known in a new interview, saying that when the deal expires, he will sign a renewal. ‘Of course I will renew, Mavin is like a family to me,’ he confidently said. Korede, alongside Reekado Banks and Di’Ja, signed three-year deals with Mavin in February 2014 but is yet to release an album with the contract nearing its end. The ‘Godwin’ singer however maintains he will still release his…