Tag: players

Arsenal reportedly set to offload three players

Reports suggest that Arsenal are planning to sell Mohamed Elneny, Nuno Tavares, and Cedric Soares in the January transfer window. The Gunners are willing to make the move as part of efforts to strengthen their squad in the current transfer market. Arsenal to offload some players – Getty image Manager Mikel Arteta is keen on bolstering his team, but financial fair play (FFP) regulations require the club to balance their books by offloading some players. Emerging reports indicate that Elneny, Tavares, and Soares are among the players who could be on their way out of the Emirates Stadium.

Super Eagles coach to drop 16 players from provisional list to CAF

Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, will drop 16 players from his 41-man provisional squad for the upcoming African Cup of Nations. According to a source close to the team, the move aims to streamline the team for the tournament scheduled from January 13 to February 11, 2024, in six Ivoirian cities. Teams are allowed to register up to 27 players for the tournament, but Peseiro is opting for a “manageable 25” to ensure tactical flexibility during the tournament. The team is scheduled for friendlies against Burkina Faso and DR Congo in a pre-games competition in Abu Dhabi before heading to Cote d’Ivoire.

Super Eagles coach to cut down squad for AFCON 2024 The source, as reported by The Guardian, stated, “Everything is set for the team’s departure for Abu Dhabi, where we will play tune-up matches against Burkina Faso and DR Congo in a three-nation pre-games competition.” He added, “As we speak, the chosen players’ clubs have been notified and have agreed to their departure for Abu Dhabi starting from this weekend.”

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Nigeria becomes first African country to produce male, female Best Players same year

Nigeria became the first African country to produce both male and female Best Players of the Year in the same edition of the CAF Awards. The prestigious ceremony held in Marrakech, Morocco, saw Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala claiming the top prizes. Nigerian sensational striker Osimhen, secured the CAF African Player of the Year in the men’s category, marking his first. Osimhen’s outstanding performances, notably in Italy and representing the Super Eagles, earned him the coveted prize.

Nigerian stars Osimhen and Oshoala However, the competition was fiercely contested for, with strong contenders like Moroccan full-back Achraf Hakimi and Egyptian striker Mohammed Salah, making the list of the final three. On the women’s front, Asisat Oshoala added another to her tally, clinching the CAF Women’s Player of the Year for an unprecedented sixth time. Oshoala was instrumental to Barcelona women’s Champions League victory last season, finishing as the club’s top scorer with 27 goals across all competitions. The ceremony also saw the Super Falcons emerge as the Best Team of the Year, and Chiamaka Nnadozie emerging as the Best Goalkeeper of the Year. Nigeria’s double triumph reflects the nation’s prowess in football, celebrating the outstanding achievements of both male and female footballers on the continental stage.

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Nemanja Matic on recent attitudes of Man Utd players

Former Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has revealed details of disciplinary issues in the club’s dressing room. Matic, who joined Manchester United from Chelsea in 2017, drew comparisons between the two clubs’ standards, especially as it concerns the recent attitude of Erik ten Hag’s men. “At Chelsea, players acted professionally, they were punctual and were never late for training, but at United, it happened almost every day,” he told YU Planet YouTube channel. Matic recalled disciplinary issues involving players like Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba, who he described as” habitual latecomers”.

Nemanja Matic and other United players during his time at the club – Getty image He said, “Among the players who would always be late were Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho and a couple of other players.” Sancho’s situation at Old Trafford has been complicated, with a public fallout with manager Erik ten Hag leading to the winger’s isolation for months now. The 23-year-old is reportedly considering a move, with a potential reunion with Pogba at Juventus in the next transfer window. Speaking further, Matic highlighted the disciplinary committee formed by players, to charge other players who were in the habit of coming late for trainings. “The rest of us who were always on time were angry, so we decided to form a kind of internal disciplinary committee with me serving as its president.” The committee collected fines, accumulating around £75,000 in one season, initially intended for a party in London, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Matic’s statements come in the wake of public scrutiny over the attitude of Manchester United players following a poor performance in their recent 1-0 loss to Newcastle.

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Ten men PSG players secure 2-0 victory over Le Havre after goalkeeper Donnarumma’s red card

Paris Saint-Germain secured a 2-0 victory over Le Havre in a Ligue 1 clash on Sunday, despite early red card awarded Gianluigi Donnarumma. The match which held at the Stade Oceane stadium in Le Havre, saw Donnarumma pick a red card for a bizarre high foot challenge 10 minutes into the game. The 24-year-old goalie misjudged the movement of the ball before landing his foot high on Le Havre’s Josue Casimir. The deadlock was broken in the 23rd minute when Kylian Mbappe struck a maestro to give Parisiens the lead.

Mbappe opened scoring for PSG – PSG on X Vitinha capped it all in the dying minute to full-time, to seal all three points for Luis Enrique’s side. PSG’s win keep them at the top of the Ligue 1 table, with 33 points, while Le Havre remain in the ninth position.

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We have good local league players fit for Super Eagles

After several abroad-based call-ups, Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa has called for the inclusion of star players in the local league. Speaking at the launch of the ‘Let’s Do It Again‘ campaign in Lagos, Musa urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to also prioritize homegrown talent in the country’s national team selections. He emphasized the importance of supporting local players to strengthen the foundation of the national team. Musa, who is a product of Nigeria’s youth development system, believes that while overseas-born players of Nigerian descent contribute quality to the team, adding home-based players is essential for long-term success.

Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa – Getty image He urged the NFF to encourage coaches to scout for domestic talents, stating, “I started from the local league and grew to play overseas.” Expressing concern about players’ motivations to move abroad, Musa pointed at the need for Nigerian league clubs to meet their financial obligations to players. He noted the impact of timely payments on retaining talents, “If they get their salary regularly, they will not think of going outside because they have everything they need here.” Regarding criticism and pressure on the national team, Musa called for an all round support, urging fans and journalists to be more encouraging than overly critical. He revealed that the negativity affects players’ performance and even influences premature retirements. Meanwhile, the ‘Let’s Do It Again’ campaign aims to rally support for the Super Eagles in their quest to win the Cote d’Ivoire 2024 African Cup of Nations, which the Nigeria skipper believes is achievable, with the right support.

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Newcastle players Guimaraes, Willock subjected to racist abuse after Arsenal win

Newcastle stars Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock were subjected to racist abuse on social media, after their match against Arsenal. In a statement, Newcastle United strongly condemned the racist abuse directed at the players on Saturday. Guimaraes and Willock played vital roles in Newcastle’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal, although the goal have since been subject of controversy. Both players were targeted with vile messages on social media, as reported by The Sun UK. Bruno Guimaraes – Getty image In response to the incident, Newcastle released a statement that read in part, “There is no room for racism in football or society. We are providing support to Bruno and Joe.” “We will work with relevant authorities and social media platforms to identify those responsible so that they can be held to account.” Guimaraes, who played the full 90 minutes in the match, was involved in various contentious moments. He escaped punishment for incidents involving Jorginho and Declan Rice but received a yellow card in the 88th minute for a handball. On the other hand, Joe Willock who came off the bench, was heavily involved in the match, and his role was crucial in Anthony Gordon’s match-winning goal. NigezieXtreme reported that the controversial VAR decision to allow the goal, left Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta fuming, as he expressed his frustration after the match, calling it an “absolute disgrace.” Off the pitch, the incident continued, as both Guimaraes and Willock received racist abuse across social media platforms. Willock shared the abusive messages on Instagram and called for action against the perpetrator.

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FIFA bans Al-Nassr from registering new players over Ahmed Musa deal

Saudi Arabia club, Al-Nassr have been hit with a FIFA ban preventing them from registering new players. The Saudi Arabian team, which has won the Kingdom’s league title nine times, made headlines when they signed the former Manchester United forward, Cristiano Ronaldo last season. Ronaldo’s high-profile move to the Gulf state has attracted other stars to the region.

Cristiano Ronaldo at a match for Al-Nassr. Source: Getty Al-Nassr have continued their spending spree this summer by acquiring Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan. There have also been rumours linking Italy international Domenico Berardi and Chelsea’s Hakim Ziyech to the club. It has however come at a cost, as they’ve now been banned from registering new players by FIFA. The Sun reported that the ban stems from the club’s failure to pay Championship side Leicester City add-ons related to the transfer of Nigerian forward Ahmed Musa. Musa joined Leicester immediately after their historic title win in 2016 but struggled to make an impact in England, scoring only five goals in 33 appearances. He was subsequently loaned back to his former club CSKA Moscow before being sold to Al-Nassr for a reported fee of £14 million in 2018.

Ahmed Musa at a match for Super Eagles. Source: Getty During his time at Al-Nassr Musa played 60 games and won the league title but was released as a free agent two years later. FIFA’s ruling states that Al-Nassr failed to pay €460,000 (£390,000) plus interest in performance-related add-ons owed to Leicester City. The initial ruling was issued in October 2021, with Al-Nassr being warned that a transfer registration ban would be imposed if they failed to settle the outstanding amount. It appears the club has not complied with the ruling, resulting in the registration ban being enforced. This ban applies to both domestic and international transfers, meaning Al-Nassr cannot register players from abroad at the moment. FIFA’s original ruling stated the ban would cover three consecutive transfer windows. Al-Nassr have also been warned that the matter would be referred to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee if Leicester City remained unpaid by the end of the ban. Al-Nassr has since indicated that the issue arose before the club’s acquisition by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). They have reassured that such issues will not occur again under the new club structure, and the payment owed to Leicester for Musa’s transfer will be promptly settled to lift the ban.

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Manchester United confirm departures of 6 players as free agents

Manchester United have confirmed that six players will leave the club this summer as free agents after their contracts expire. The players’ contracts have now expired and they are now formally available on free transfers. Manchester United stadium, Old Trafford. Source: Club Website Three of the players have largely featured in youth and academy teams, the other three have been, at one time, prominent in the first team set-up. The club’s coach, Erik ten Hag has reportedly given his blessing to see Phil Jones, David de Gea, and Axel Tuanzebe leave. Ethan Galbraith, Charlie Wellens and Di’Shon Bernard are the others leaving. A lot of focus will be on De Gea and former United star Rio Ferdinand bemoaned the way the saga around the Spaniard’s future has been handled to this point. De Gea’s previous contract had a one-year extension clause which United declined to trigger due to concerns over his £375,000-a-week wages. De Gea, who becomes a free agent on the day of his wedding, could remain with United as the Red Devils have extended an offer and are planning to continue negotiations with the 32-year-old.

Erik ten Hag with Manchester United players. Source: Getty Jones, now 31, joined from Blackburn in 2011 but struggled greatly with injuries and leaves United with 229 appearances to his name, having managed over 20 Premier League appearances in just four of his 12 seasons at Old Trafford. Academy graduate Tuanzebe also says goodbye to his boyhood side with 37 appearances under his belt. 22-year-old midfielder Ethan Galbraith has been released alongside 20-year-old right-back Charlie Wellens and 22-year-old centre-back Di’Shon Bernard. Of the young trio, both Galbraith and Bernard managed a solitary appearance for the senior team under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November 2019’s Europa League clash with Astana. The players released by Manchester United will now be on the lookout for a deal with any club that looks towards their direction as free agents.

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Italian FA bans players from wearing number 88 jersey

The Italian Football Association (FA) has banned players from wearing the number 88 as part of an initiative aimed at fighting anti-Semitism in football across the country. No. 88 is a numerical code for “Heil Hitler”; H is the eighth letter of the alphabet. Lazio’s Toma Basic, in a number 88 shirt, celebrates scoring a goal. Source: Getty The initiative, which is being coordinated between the Italian government and the Italian football federation (FIGC), includes the addition of a code of ethics in accordance with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. The initiative also calls for games to be suspended in case of antisemitic chants or acts, similar to the way cases of racism are supposed to be handled. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi who spoke at Tuesday’s ceremony where the letter of intent to implement the measures was signed said; “It is an adequate and effective response to an intolerable prejudice that still too often manifests itself in our stadiums. “Anti-Semitism must be strongly fought, together with everything that excludes, despises, and discriminates against every human being, every social group, every minority. “The declaration of intent signed is only the first step of a broader strategy that will result in a new document on preventing and combating all forms of racism and discrimination in sport.”

Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic celebrates a goal with his teammates. Source: Getty FIGC President Gabriele Gravina said; “The world of football is united in the fight against antisemitism and all forms of discrimination.” Following the ban on jerseys with number 88 by the Italian FA, two popular Serie A players will now need to look for a new number. Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic and Toma Basic of Lazio are the players in question. Each player will now be assigned a new shirt number for the upcoming season. There have been several racist and antisemitic incidents in Italian football stadiums in recent years, including fans booing or shouting abuse at Black players, using the word “Jew” as an insult, and displaying Nazi or fascist symbols. One of the most prominent came in March, during Lazio’s 1-0 win over AS Roma in the Rome derby. A Lazio supporter wore a jersey with the name “Hitlerson” and the number 88 on the back, while two other fans performed “Roman salutes,” which are associated with fascism. Lazio later announced that it had banned all three fans from its stadium for life. There have been cases of Italian players wearing number 88 including legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who did so for a short time with Parma during the 2000-2001 season. Following complaints from Italy’s Jewish community, Buffon, who said he didn’t know the significance of the number, agreed to change it.

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