League
La Liga chief: Impossible for Barca to keep Lionel Messi without departures
Barcelona must considerably reduce their wage bill in order to keep Lionel Messi, LaLiga chief Javier Tebas said on Thursday, adding that the club would not be shown any leniency when it comes to obeying the league’s strict financial control rules. Messi, Barca’s all-time top scorer and appearance maker, ended his 21-year association with the club last month and is currently a free agent as the Catalans cannot offer him a new deal due to their financial predicament. President Joan Laporta said last month that Messi was keen to remain at the club but giving him a new deal was being held up by the league’s Financial Fair Play regulations. Spanish media reports had suggested LaLiga could relax the rules to allow the six-time Ballon d’Or winner to stay at Barca but Tebas said there was no chan...
Watford begin talks with Genk for Paul Onuachu
Premier League new boys Watford have opened talks with Genk for striker Paul Onuachu. Onuachu has been linked in recent times with several Premier League clubs, from Arsenal to Brighton, after he scored 35 goals in all competitions in Belgium last season. And now the Watford Observer has reported that Watford, who won promotion back to the English top league this past season, have opened talks to sign Onuachu. The report further said the talks have not yet reached an advanced stage. Onuachu’s transfer market value is put at 20 Million Euros, but Genk hope they can get far more for the giant striker, who cost them six Million Euros two years ago. Recommended Stories You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with...
Yobe governor: No plan to retrench workers
Gov. Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe on Tuesday said his administration has no plan to retrench civil servants in spite of the state’s meagre resources. Mala-Buni gave the assurance in Damaturu on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed permanent secretaries and board members. He said he would continue to attract investments to Yobe from both state and non-state actors in order to meet the financial obligations of the state. “People accuse me of frequenting Abuja; the truth is, if I remain in Damaturu, we cannot pay even our salary bills. “And that means we will have to join the league of states that are retrenching workers; we don’t have such plan. “You are aware of the projects we started, including the four modern markets we are building, the ongoing 3,600 houses, the over 87...
Euro 2020: UEFA name German referee for England vs Ukraine
German referee Felix Brych will take charge of England vs Ukraine – just days after the Three Lions dumped his nation out of Euro 2020. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane grabbed the goals as Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Germany 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday. That was enough to fire England into the quarters where they are now preparing to take on Ukraine in Rome. And the man in the middle will be someone who would have wanted England to lose two days ago. Brych is Germany’s representative at Euro 2020 and one of the best-known referees in the world. He took charge of Portugal’s last 16 exit to Belgium, a match in which he dished out five yellow cards. He’s already refereed Ukraine at this tournament, overseeing their thrilling 3-2 defeat to Holland. That match saw Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchen...
Napoli to extend Victor Osimhen’s contract, insert release clause
Serie A club Napoli are planning to add one more year to Victor Osimhen’s contract and also insert a release clause. The Nigeria international signed a contract until 2024 worth €4.5M per season when he joined from Ligue 1 outfit Lille last summer. According to Corrmezzogiorno, the Partenopei are determined to extend the forward’s contact, whilst also inserting a release clause. Osimhen scored 10 goals in 24 league appearances for Napoli in the 2020/21 campaign. The 22-year-old missed over two months of action after sustaining a shoulder injury while on international duty with Nigeria. While recovering from the injury , the former Wolfsburg striker was authorized to spend time in Nigeria and tested positive for Covid-19 upon his return to Naples. The positive test, together with his should...
Imama Amapakabo: Why Andre Onana should consider Arsenal move
Andre Onana leaving Ajax and joining Arsenal would be “a good move” for the Cameroon international, according to former Nigeria U23 coach Imama Amapakabo. The Gunners have held discussions with the 25-year-old’s representatives, albeit, they have yet to decide whether they will step up their chase of the goalkeeper. Arsenal was on the lookout for a keeper following the departure of Emiliano Martinez in September 2020 and the underwhelming form of summer recruit Alex Runarsson. Despite technical director Edu and Mikel Arteta being big admirers of Onana, financial issues prevented the North London outfit from making a firm offer, instead they opted to sign Mat Ryan on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion. Amapakabo – who was a goalkeeper during his active career – and was part of the Nigeria...
Inter Miami owner ‘optimistic’ that Leo Messi will join in the future
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas believes his side will be able to land Barcelona star Lionel Messi in the future. Messi’s contract with Barcelona will expire at the end of this month and the club is desperately trying to tie down the 33-year-old to a new deal. Various reports have stated that Messi’s potential Barca extension would include a provision for him to play two more seasons in Spain, then move to Inter Miami in 2023. Mas confirmed that he and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham have been involved in talks to bring Messi to Florida. “David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Leo Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time,” Mas told the Miami Herald. “I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami sh...
Manchester United ready to listen to offers for Dean Henderson
Manchester United are willing to listen to offers for goalkeeper Dean Henderson amid concerns over his attitude, Football Insider claims. The England international started last season as the back-up goalkeeper behind David de Gea, but he became a regular during the back end of the campaign. Despite this, he was ignored for the Europa League final against Villarreal. The club lost via a penalty shoot-out, with De Gea failing to save any of the 11 spot-kicks. Ahead of next season, the club are planning a radical overhaul of the goalkeeping department, and they have already released Sergio Romero and Joel Pereira. The club are also open to offers for Henderson and De Gea but acknowledge that they may struggle to offload the latter due to his hefty £350,000-a-week wages. Henderson is said to b...
Gary Lineker expects Manchester clubs or PSG to win Harry Kane race
Gary Lineker believes that both Manchester clubs and Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites to land Harry Kane in the summer, although he expects Daniel Levy to fight hard to keep Tottenham’s star man. Kane recorded 22 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League last season to secure both the golden boot and the playmaker award, despite Spurs finishing in seventh place in the table. As reported by Goal on May 17, the Spurs forward, who will captain England at the upcoming European Championship in the summer, wants to leave the north Londoners and Lineker can understand his desire for trophies. “I think that it would be worrying [to see him dominate the league if he joins Manchester City],” Lineker told Goal. “I would love to see him at Barcelona but they are going for [Sergio] Aguero and ar...
Darren Bent: Arsenal need a manager ‘better’ than Mikel Arteta
Ex-Tottenham striker Darren Bent believes Arsenal need to appoint a ‘better’ manager than Mikel Arteta. The Gunners fan thinks his boyhood club should try and attract the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte. Discussing the North London club on talkSPORT, Bent said: “I think we could get better if I’m honest. “I’m not quite sure about the Zidane appointment because he fell into a situation with the best players in the world and won three Champions Leagues. “Pochettino is never going to go to Arsenal because of his Spurs ties. “Conte is probably someone where you go, ‘Yeah, I wouldn’t mind him, but I think he’d end up taking a bigger job because he’s a top manager. read also:Arteta demands Arsenal improvement after missing out on Europe “He won the league in Engla...
Lille win French Ligue 1 title for fourth time
Lille won the Ligue 1 title on Sunday thanks to a 2-1 victory over Angers which ensured they were crowned French champions for the first time since 2011. An early Jonathan David strike and Burak Yilmaz’s penalty in first-half stoppage time ensured that Christophe Galtier’s Lille finished one point ahead of second-placed Paris Saint-Germain, who won 2-0 at Brest. Angelo Fulgini pulled one back in added time at the end of the match, but the hosts couldn’t stop Lille becoming champions for the fourth time in their history. The title triumph came after another away success for Lille, who finish the season unbeaten on the road since November, and ends a three-year league winning streak for PSG. Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG will have to content themselves with the French Cup in a disappointing seas...
Dennis Bergkamp named Premier League Hall of Fame inductee
Dennis Bergkamp is the latest former player to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. The Dutchman joins ex-Arsenal team-mate Thierry Henry as well as Alan Shearer, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane and Frank Lampard in receiving the League’s highest individual honour. “It feels special to be part of a small group of players who got the recognition of playing in the strongest league in the world,” said Bergkamp. “I’m honoured.” His arrival at Arsenal in 1995 from Inter Milan was the catalyst for a transformation of the Premier League, the playmaker adding a new level of technical ability and skill that elevated the competition and attracted other stars from overseas. ‘THE PL MADE ME A BETTER PLAYER’ “I’m extremely proud if people say that I was one of the first foreign players who added s...
