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Transfer: Chelsea decide on Willian’s move to Barcelona, Atletico
Madrid
Chelsea have
finally decided not to allow forward Willian to leave Stamford Bridge in this
summer transfer window, after rejecting a £35million offer from Barcelona and
Atletico Madrid for the winger, Sky Sports reports.
The report claimed
that Chelsea are willing to offer Willian a new two-year deal after declining
bids from Barca and Atletico.
Willian has drawn
interests from both the Spanish La Liga giants in recent months.
The Brazilian
joined the Blues from Anzhi Makhachkala in 2013 and has made over 250
appearances for the West London club.
His current
contract at Chelsea will expire next year.
The 30-year-old has
helped Chelsea win two Premier League titles, the Europa League, FA Cup and EFL
Cup during his time at the club.
AFCON 2019: Aghahowa sends strong message to Rohr over team selection
Former Nigeria
striker, Julius Aghahowa, has advised head coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot
Rohr, to maintain a consistent selection, as the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations
kicks off this weekend.
Aghahowa also urged
the team to get their acts together in Egypt.
“As we head into
this tournament, a lineup filled with a consistent selection from the coach
will be an integral decision to posing a huge threat of winning the title.
“I know frequent
changes would be made but fielding players who are familiar with playing each
other would be key and will also give us the edge over any team in the African
Cup of Nations,” Aghahowa told AOIfootball.
The former Wigan
Athletic striker also gave a few thoughts on the Gernot Rohr’s final squad
selection.
“I am happy with
the final 23-man list made by the coach. He knows why he dropped others, and we
must respect that.
“They were all good
players but of course, some had to be dropped because you can’t go with
everyone,” he concluded.
Transfer: Real Madrid to unveil Zidane’s fifth signing today
Real Madrid will
unveil their latest summer signing, Rodrygo Goes, on Tuesday after the
18-year-old’s loan deal at Santos was brought to an end, AS reports.
Madrid paid the
Brazilian club 40 million euros for the under-20 international last summer and
then loaned him back for a season as part of the deal.
Santos were keen to
extend the arrangement, but the LaLiga giants want the attacker to join up with
the squad as soon as possible, as Zinedine Zidane continues to overhaul his
squad following the arrivals of Eden Hazard, Éder Militão, Ferland Mendy and
Luka Jovic.
Rodrygo is set to
be presented at the Bernabéu at 13:00 CEST on Tuesday after arriving in Madrid
from São Paulo.
He will undergo the
obligatory medical, before giving his first press conference as a Madrid player
later in the day.
“It motivates me to
go to Madrid. It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“For the sheer size
of them, it is scary, but it’s a good fear. It motivates me even more and it
means I have to show why they have confidence in me to sign me,” Rodrygo said
as he bade farewell to Santos.
Nigeria vs France: How Nigerians reacted to Super Falcons defeat
Different reactions
from Nigerians have trailed Super Falcons of Nigeria 1-0 defeat to France in
their final Group A fixture at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday.
We reported
that Nigeria, on Monday night, was
defeated 1-0 by the host nation at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
The Super Falcons
came into the game, needing at least a point to give themselves a good chance
of qualifying for the Round of 16.
However, having
held on for most of the game, the African champions conceded a penalty in the
75th minute.
Wendie Renard
missed her first kick, but referee Melissa Paola Borjas Pastrana ordered for it
to be retaken, while showing a yellow card to Chiamaka Nnadozie for not keeping
a foot on the line.
Renard made no
mistakes the second time, as the hosts finished top of the group with nine
points.
However, reacting
on social media, some Nigerians lamented about racism against Super Falcons
during their match with France.
Here are some
reactions gathered by Naija Voice from Twitter:
@Akaebube “France 1
– 0 Nigeria that Referee did her youth service in Buhari’s NBC. She was looking
for anything in the rules to gag us. Any small thing, she will say we’ve
crossed the “RED” Line.”
@Lesegodebaks “We
are fighting racism and Injustices” said someone from FIFA, but what happened
to Nigeria it was a clear practice of racism and Injustices activities. Super
Falcons you are the best. Africa the best producer of Sports.”
@JenaaitUtsteeds
“Dear Nigerians, @LMCNPFL Dutch TV discovered that the second French penalty is
INVALID because French player Amandine Henry was too soon into the box. Nigeria
football should LODGE an official protest! It’s an outrage!
@realdanielemeka
“Appreciation Tweet to this Falcon, well done Nnadozie.”
@SirLeoDaSilva “How
can that be a penalty when she didn’t have the ball under control?
@Jibolaojelade
“#NGAFRA,Truly, it is FIFA;
F- Football
I- Isn’t
F- For
A Africa
@Abiodunmatthe18
“Despite the day light robbery against FIFA, referee, VAR, Commentator, they
can only achieve a goal.
Nigerians are very proud of Super falcons. I pray we qualify.”
@ChijokeUchev
“Sadly, the Super Falcons were playing against the French team, the commentator
and the referee. At a point, VAR and FIFA sided with their opponents. It’s a
miracle that we only lost by one goal.”
@Aracb1 “In marxist
terms, I would say the penalties in this world cup are a tool for the big teams
to oppress the poor teams.”
@SlothyST30
“Nigeria’s whole team put up an excellent fight and managed to keep a team like
France 0-0 until The refs ruined it for them. Sorry Nigeria deserved that win.”
@Tonyoboh4 “The
referee for the France Nigerian match was so bad, why red card the Nigerian
player, they both where inside the 18 and struggling for the Ball then the
France player just fell I feel so bad and will not watch FIFA tournament again
never!
@Kedrabrown “Player
of the match is the Goalie from Nigeria! She is incredible at only 18 yrs! They
should make a rule that you can’t STOP mid run and fake out goalie to make her
move early… she made the stop. This rule sucks bc kicker has total advantage.”
@Officilmaxwin “It
been long we saw this kind of passion in the Nigeria football team.”
@communitykeb “So
VAR can see the Nigerian goalkeeper and inch off the line, but can’t see a
French player a meter into the box? #NGAFRA VAR is not for this purpose!
@Chiefowuo “FIFA
rules, it’s such a shame that they couldn’t abide by some of their own rules in
Nigeria vs France.”
@Coolnab2 “FIFA don
show us pepper again, but the girls tried, I wish them a safe best loser
position so that they will have the opportunity to prove themselves to the
world.“
@Temitopeomoniyi
“Great job, Chiamaka!
We’re proud of your spirited performance for Super Falcons and Nigeria as a
whole.You deserve some accolades!
Super Falcons’ coach blows hots after 1-0 loss to France, blasts
officials
Head coach of the
Super Falcons, Thomas Dennerby, was an angry man, following their 1-0 defeat to
France, in their final Group A fixture on Monday night.
Nigeria, who needed
at least a point from the match to stand a good chance of progressing to the
Round of 16, held on for 75 minutes before a controversial penalty was awarded
to the hosts.
Les Bleus skipper,
Wendie Renard, stepped up and missed her first kick.
But the referee
ordered a replay, claiming that goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie stepped off her
line.
Renard redeemed
herself with the second opportunity, as France ran out 1-0 winners and topped
the group.
But decisions were
given after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) checks.
Addressing the
media after the match, Dennerby fumed that their opponents were obviously the
better side, but needed no help from officials.
“My [Nigeria]
players are the heroes.
“I am disappointed
with the result. France is a really good team and does not need support from
anybody to win games.
“I feel so sorry
because the girls were fighting so well and followed the match plan but it’s
getting destroyed by people.
Nigeria vs France: Oliseh reacts to Super Falcons’ loss at World Cup
Nigeria’s ex
international and former Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has commended the
Super Falcons of Nigeria following their 1-0 defeat to France in their final
Group A fixture at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday.
We reported
that Nigeria, on Monday night, was
defeated 1-0 by the host nation at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
The Super Falcons
came into the game, needing at least a point to give themselves a good chance
of qualifying for the Round of 16.
However, having
held on for most of the game, the African champions conceded a penalty in the
75th minute.
Wendie Renard
missed her first kick, but referee Melissa Paola Borjas Pastrana ordered for it
to be retaken, while showing a yellow card to Chiamaka Nnadozie for not keeping
a foot on the line.
Renard made no
mistakes the second time, as the hosts finished top of the group with nine
points.
Reacting, Oliseh on
his verified Twitter page commended Super Falcons despite their loss.
According to him,
he is sad, disappointed but proud of Super Falcons’ performance.
Olusegun wrote:
“Extremely proud of our Super falcons of Nigeria vs France at the world cup.
“These girls gave
it everything against a French side cheered on by a near full stadium and a
doubtful retaken penalty.
“I am
sad, disappointed, but proud of these girls!”
AFCON 2019: NFF president, Pinnick lists expectations for tournament
President of the
Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria’s Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has given assurance that
this year’s competition, will be a huge success.
The stage is set
for this edition of the continental showpiece, which holds in Egypt between
June 21 and July 19.
Pinnick, who is the
first–ever Nigerian to head the organizing committee for the biggest football
championship in the continent, flew into Cairo on Sunday ahead of the opening
ceremony.
“I am delighted at
the general arrangements. The variables and specifics we agreed on in our
meetings over the past months have been brought to life by the local organizing
committee and the staff of CAF. Everything looks great.
“Of course, there
have been concerns in several quarters over the little time that the Egyptians
had to prepare for the competition, but we could all see from the show they put
up hosting the Draw Ceremony that they are always ready for the big event. I
have confidence that all will go pretty well,” Pinnick, who is also the
president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) told thenff.com.
Egypt 2019 is the
biggest AFCON in history, with 24 teams to battle for honours over a period of
28 days.
Transfer: Coutinho snubs Man Utd move ‘because of Liverpool’
Barcelona
midfielder, Philippe Coutinho, will turn down a move to Manchester United this
summer out of respect to former club Liverpool, Sky Sports reports.
Coutinho is widely
expected to leave Spain in the transfer window, after a below-par season at
Camp Nou.
United were thought
to be the frontrunners for the 27-year-old and were weighing up a move for the
Brazil playmaker.
However, Coutinho
is unwilling to consider a move to Old Trafford, after his spell at Liverpool
from 2013-2018.
After a loan spell
in Espanyol, Coutinho left Inter Milan permanently in January 2013, to join
Liverpool for £8.5m.
It was at Anfield
that Coutinho’s career really began to take off, with the Brazil international
quickly becoming a key figure for the Reds.
Coutinho eventually
left for Barca in January 2018 for a reported fee of £142m.
Head coach of
Belgium national team, Roberto Martinez, has urged Romelu Lukaku to leave
Manchester United.
Lukaku’s future at
Old Trafford is in doubt, following a difficult second season.
The 26-year-old
fell out of favour under new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with Marcus Rashford
being preferred upfront.
Lukaku netted 15
goals in 45 appearances for United in all competitions, a drop from the 27
goals he scored in his debut campaign following his £90million move from
Everton in 2017.
That dip in form
has sparked rumours of a potential summer move, with Serie A outfit Inter
believed to be leading the chase for the striker
“It is clear that
he has to leave Manchester United.
“It would be a good
thing for both parties. It is now important that Romelu finds the right club,”
Martinez told Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws.
Transfer: Barcelona open talks with PSG over Neymar return
Barcelona have
opened talks with Paris Saint-Germain, over a deal to re-sign Neymar, according
to Globoesporte.
There have been
intense speculations about the future of the 27-year-old in recent months and
now it seems a return to the Camp Nou after a two-year absence is edging
closer.
The fee is believed
to be in the region of €100million (£90m/$112m).
However, some
players believed to be Samuel Umtiti, Ousmane Dembele and Ivan Rakitic, will
also be offered in exchange.
PSG will consider selling
Neymar this summer, if they receive a substantial offer.
Chairman and CEO,
Nasser Al-Khelaifi, told France Football: “Players will have to be more
responsible than before.
“It must be
completely different. They will have to do more and work harder. They are not
there for their own amusement.
“If they do not
agree, the doors are open – Ciao! I do not want star behaviour anymore.”
Nigeria vs France: Presidency reacts as Super Falcons lose at Women’s
World Cup
Garba Shehu, Senior
Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has
commended the Super Falcons of Nigeria despite their 1-0 defeat to France in
their final Group A fixture at the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday.
We reports
that Nigeria, on Monday night, were
defeated 1-0 by the host nation at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France.
The Super Falcons
came into the game, needing at least a point to give themselves a good chance
of qualifying for the Round of 16.
However, having
held on for most of the game, the African champions conceded a penalty in the
75th minute.
Wendie Renard
missed her first kick, but referee Melissa Paola Borjas Pastrana ordered for it
to be retaken, while showing a yellow card to Chiamaka Nnadozie for not keeping
a foot on the line.
Renard made no
mistakes the second time, as the hosts finished top of the group with nine
points.
Reacting, Shehu on
his official verified Twitter page wrote: “Super Falcons deserve commendation
for their performance against France. In soccer, refereeing can mean everything
as we saw in today’s match, #NGAFRA.”
Nigeria will now
have to wait on the results from other groups, to know if they will progress
into the next round, as one of the best third-placed teams.
Transfer: Man Utd to offer Pogba £500,000-a-week deal to snub Real
Madrid move
Manchester United
are willing to offer Paul Pogba a stunning £500,000-a-week contract, to stop
him from moving to Real Madrid this summer, SportsMail reports.
Pogba admitted his
intention to leave, after saying “it could be time for a new challenge” last
weekend.
Real Madrid and
Juventus have shown an interest in him, but United are determined to keep their
record signing next season.
Senior officials at
Old Trafford, are also set to address the issue by offering Pogba a pay rise,
that will up his current £290,000-a-week pay to nearer the £500,000 being
picked up by United’s top earner Alexis Sanchez.
Pogba has two years
left on his deal, which United have the option to extend by 12 months.
Real Madrid are
believed to have made an opening offer of £90m, but know that it will take
considerably more than that to test United’s resolve.
Nigeria vs France: Super Falcons lose final Group A fixture
Nigeria were
defeated 1-0 by France, in their final Group A fixture at the ongoing Women’s
World Cup.
The Super Falcons
came into the game, needing at least a point to give themselves a good chance
of qualifying for the Round of 16.
However, having
held on for most of the game, the African champions conceded a penalty in the
75th minute.
Wendie Renard
missed her first kick, but referee Melissa Paola Borjas Pastrana ordered for it
to be retaken, while showing a yellow card to Chiamaka Nnadozie for not keeping
a foot on the line.
Renard made no
mistakes the second time, as the hosts finished top of the group with nine
points.
Nigeria will now
have to wait on the results from other groups, to know if they will progress
into the next round, as one of the best third-placed teams.
Transfer: What Sarri said about bringing Pogba back to Juventus
Maurizio Sarri has
said he can “succeed” with Paul Pogba at Juventus, if the Italian champions
re-signed him from Manchester United, according to Calciomercato.
Sarri was confirmed
as Juventus’ new manager on Sunday, following his exit from Chelsea after just
one season.
The Italian has
reportedly already been in touch with Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici
via his agent and has chatted about the many transfer targets on the club’s
wishlist.
It is reported that
one name that has caught Sarri’s attention more than any other is Pogba’s.
The France
international used to play for Juventus and while Sarri has never worked with
him, he knows of him from his time in the Premier League.
Upon learning of
Juve’s interest in the Manchester United midfielder, he reportedly said: “I
succeeded with [Eden] Hazard, I can also do it with a phenomenon like Pogba.”
Pogba is keen to
leave Manchester United this summer as he publicly
confirmed this to reporters in Japan on Sunday.
Rio Ferdinand confirms he has spoken to Woodward about Man Utd job
Rio Ferdinand has
revealed that he has spoken to Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed
Woodward, about the sporting director role.
United have been
looking to overhaul football operations, allowing Woodward to focus on the
commercial side.
Despite lots of
speculations linking people with the role, things have gone cold in recent
months with a report claiming that the club have stalled on hiring someone.
Woodward set to remain in charge of transfers for the time being.
However, former
United captain, Ferdinand has not been shy in declaring his desire for the
position and says he has discussed the job with Woodward.
“I’ve always spoken
to Ed since I left, anyway. I had that type of relationship with him.
“I’ve not seen him
at a game, so all the chats I’ve had with him have been on the phone or I go
and see him when I’m in London.
“I’m not the type
to dilly-dally around. I’ve seen the stuff in the papers. ‘What’s that role
about?’ I’ve asked that question – so yes, I have spoken to him.
“I’m very honest
and Ed’s open and honest with me. Manchester United and the powers that be will
decide as and when they are going to put someone into that role.
“If I am the person
on that list and the person they are going to talk to, then that time will
come.
“It’s nice to be on
a list in such a responsible role at such a prestigious club. If the call comes
I will say, ‘thank you very much for that’, but if that call doesn’t come, I’ll
not lose sleep over it,” Ferdinand told BBC Sportsweek.
AFCON 2019: Dalung, NFF clash over Super Eagles’ budget
The Nigeria
Football Federation (NFF) has dismissed the statement made by former Youth and
Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung, at the weekend that the Federation omitted the
budget for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations from its 2019 programmes sent to the
Ministry.
“There is no truth
to the claim that the NFF omitted the AFCON from its budget.
“The truth is that
major competitions are never part of the regular budgets since, in most cases,
qualification campaigns are still on course while budgets are being prepared
for the following year. Thus, they are always sourced from intervention funds.
“We qualified for
the 2019 AFCON in November 2018, after the 1-1 draw with South Africa in
Johannesburg. That was too late to include in the budget for 2019, which we had
submitted around September/October 2018. So, we knew the grace would be for the
AFCON fund to be sourced from special intervention, and not from the proposal
that had been submitted earlier as regular program.
“For instance, the
2018 FIFA World Cup budget was also sourced from intervention fund. We
qualified for that competition in October 2017 and we could not have included
it in the regular program for the year 2018,” NFF Executive Committee member
and Chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee, Hon. (Dr) Suleiman
Yahaya-Kwande told thenff website.
Kwande, who
actually defended the NFF budget for the year 2019 at the Ministry of Budget
and National Planning, said that the Federation at this time is only interested
in ensuring that the National Teams (male and female) excel at their respective
tournaments in which they are representing Nigeria.
According to him,
NFF would ordinarily not respond to Dalung’s statements, but noted that it is
important to put records straight to avoid misleading the public.
“For the regular
annual budgets, we put together our budget for every competition and send to
the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports, which then puts a covering note and
recommends to the Presidency, from where the document heads to the Finance
Ministry and then onwards to the Budget Office.
“Since this NFF
administration came into office, as was the case for some time before it, the
Federation usually received what is called an ‘envelope’. So, the only way to
prosecute major competitions is to depend on the grace of intervention funds.
“Few weeks after we
qualified for the AFCON 2019, we sent a budget to the Ministry. We sent this
same budget about three times as we were always being told to re-submit.
“Mr. Dalung was
Minister of Sports for three-and-half years and not once did the NFF bypass the
Ministry to submit a budget to the Presidency or the Finance Ministry. Facts
are sacred,” he added.
Kwande also denied
that the NFF wrote any story to curry sympathy as alleged by Dalung.
“We have no time
for those kind of spins. Another deliberate misleading statement by the former
Minister was the allegation that the NFF leadership has been saying that it can
do without government funding. We have never said so; we have only ever stated
that the NFF has attained about 60 per cent self-funding from the analysis of
our 2017 audited accounts that we published, and that we are determined to
drive towards total self-funding which would be a delight to the Government, as
it will free resources for other critical sectors.
“It is however
interesting that Mr. Dalung now considers the NFF as a self–accounting
parastatal, when several times during his tenure he refused to accept such.
“We are not sure
what the intentions of Mr. Dalung are regarding the so-called ‘feelers’ he said
he is having about possible unrest in the Super Eagles’ camp. There is nothing
of such; it is statements such as those being made by Dalung at such
inauspicious times that, but for the absolute discipline and concentration of
the Super Eagles, is capable of truncating harmony in the camp.
“The players are
focused on the noble assignment of doing Nigeria proud and told representatives
of the Nigerian ambassador to Egypt (the representative of His Excellency,
President Muhammadu Buhari in that country) as much when they visited the camp
some days ago.
“The ‘feelers’ we
are getting are all positive, and we are confident the team will do the country
proud at the end of the day,” he said.
