Zlatan Ibrahimovic has inisted that he’s not ready to retire from professional football at the age of 40.
The Swedish striker turns 41 next month and had promised to bring the curtain down on his 23-year professional career after undergoing knee surgery in May.
But Ibrahimovic promised to keep playing’ after signing a one-year extension with Milan in July. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Swede said:
‘I will be back soon. I’m not going to retire, I’m coming back and I won’t give up.’ Milan have won four and drawn two of their opening six games. They currently sit on 14 points, joint with Napoli and Atalanta.
On his retirement plan, Ibrahimovic vowed that he would eventually retire when he sees a player ‘stronger’ than himself emerge.
‘If I see a player stronger than me, I will be ready to retire. But I haven’t seen any player stronger than me yet,’ he said. ‘AC Milan have signed a top player with Charles de Ketelaere – give him some time.’
The Premier League and the Football Association have postponed all matches this weekend following the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) held a call with all major sports at 9.30am to determine the plan of action for the rest of this weekend’s calendar and left the decision over events up to the individual organisations.
However, the Premier League and EFL released a statement saying they had made the decision to postpone this weekend’s fixtures to honour Queen Elizabeth’s ‘extraordinary life and contribution to the nation’.
The Premier League released the following statement: ‘At a meeting, this morning [Friday], Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
‘To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game.’
Richard Masters, Premier League Chief Executive, added: ‘We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.
‘As our longest-serving monarch, she has been an inspiration and leaves behind an incredible legacy following a life of dedication.
‘This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.’
According to the Daily Telegraph, there are now concerns about football taking place next week with police set to be redeployed to the Queen’s funeral in London.
Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly called for Manchester United captain Harry Maguire to be dropped last season because he was “part of the problem”‘ at the club.
The Portuguese striker returned to Old Trafford last season but failed to help the club avoid a sixth-place finish in the Premier League.
Details have now emerged surrounding the Portuguese striker’s demands, from team selection to formation tweaks.
According to the Athletic, Ronaldo was part of a group of players who went up to Rangnick at Carrington in February this year. Among them were Raphael Varane and Paul Pogba but Ronaldo’s message came through clearly when he said:
‘Maguire is part of the problem.’ Rangnick is said to have told the players including Ronaldo that it was ‘inappropriate’ to speak about Maguire when the player himself was not present.
A few players from the group subsequently apologised to the interim boss, who departed the club in the summer.
Ronaldo also had a view on the team’s formation and during the impromptu meeting told the manager in no uncertain terms how he wanted them to set up.
The 37-year-old wanted to play alongside Edinson Cavani up front but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The report helps shed light on the summer of discontent at Old Trafford – which has largely been overshadowed by Ronaldo pushing to leave.
Ironically, Maguire, who Ronaldo called to be dropped, has also been out of the team during their recent games with the striker only starting from the bench.
A woman who claims that a Premier League footballer raped her yesterday admitted she felt ‘pressured’ by police to press charges.
She said she had not initially considered her encounter with Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy, 28, to be rape and told officers she didn’t want to get involved in the case.
The woman, aged 22, is one of three who claim the French international raped them at a two-day pool party at his £4.8million mansion in Prestbury, Cheshire, last summer.
Testifying from behind a screen, she told Chester Crown Court that she was contacted by officers five months later and felt like she was ‘being dragged into the situation’ and it was the police who first called what happened to her ‘rape’.
The footballer allegedly forced himself on her during a ’20-second’ attack, which left her feeling ‘dirty and ashamed’.
She told the court: ‘I felt the word rape meant like a stranger or in an alleyway. But he was my friend and it was his house.’
She added: ‘It was not any different to what I had experienced before. I felt there was pressure on me but boys can be quite pressuring.’
She accepted that before giving her police interview she had Googled: ‘How much is Benjamin Mendy worth?’ and that she kept in touch with him on social media following the alleged rape.
She also agreed that there was a group of people, including some of the alleged victims, known as ‘the Manchester circle’ in the city’s clubs. She claimed that after Mendy’s arrest, his co-accused and alleged ‘fixer’, Louis Saha Matturie, 41, messaged her: ‘Ben’s done a lot of crazy stuff.’ Mendy denies eight counts of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault.
Saha, of Eccles, Greater Manchester, denies eight rapes and four sex assaults.
Chelsea have banned a season ticket holder indefinitely for alleged racist abuse of Tottenham player Heung-min Son during their 2-2 draw last Sunday.
Chelsea have banned a season ticket holder indefinitely for alleged racist abuse of Tottenham player Heung-min Son during their 2-2 draw last Sunday. pic.twitter.com/YPnZNJquv9
Eager Manchester United fans have tweaked British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Wikipedia page to incorrectly name him as owner of the club.
Ratcliffe, the billionaire owner of chemicals company Ineos, on Wednesday, August 17 announced plans to take over at Old Trafford amid calls for current owners, the Glazers, to depart.
The Glazers have faced protests from supporters ever since their arrival in 2005 over financial constraints they have placed on the club, while withdrawing millions of pounds in dividends payments for their own personal profit.
Coupled with Manchester United’s dismal start to the season, the pressure on their unpopular owners to sell the club has increased.
The club’s supporters have now taken their eagerness to another level as they have doctored the Wikipedia page of the 69-year-old.
After being tweaked by an eager fan, Ratcliffe’s occupation on Wikipedia briefly read: ‘Chairman and CEO, Owner of Manchester United’ before being swiftly deleted.
Super Falcons and Barcelona striker, Asisat Oshoala has missed out on the final three-woman shortlist for the 2022 UEFA Women’s Player of The Year award.
Last week Oshoala was named in a 20-woman list of nominees for the 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or, making her the first-ever African woman to achieve the feat. UEFA has now announced Beth Mead, Lena Oberdorf and Alexia Putellas as the final three contenders for the accolade.
Oshoala, who missed about seven weeks due to injury last season, finished as the Spanish topflight league’s top scorer, netting 20 goals in 19 games, tied with Madrid CFF’s Geyse Ferreira.
Last month, Oshoala was named CAF Women’s Player of The Year for a record fifth time, surpassing fellow country-woman Perpetua Nkwocha’s four awards.
Gunmen have kidnapped five grassroots female footballers and owner of Itugbe Queens football club, Precious Agbajor in Uronigbe, Orhiomwon Local Government Area of Edo State.
The victims were kidnapped at the border town between Edo and Delta State while returning from a football tournament at Owa-Alero in the Ika North-East Local Government Area of Delta State on Friday, August 12, 2022.
A source from the locality, who confirmed the incident, said that the abductors had contacted the families of the victims, demanding a sum of N5m ransom each for the victims.
“They (footballers) went to Owa-Alero to play a football match. On their way back, they were kidnapped at the Uronigbe area, the boundary between Delta and Edo states,” the source disclosed.
“The victims include Mrs Precious Agbajor, one Abraham, Nancy, Beatrice, and the driver. They are six in number that are in the kidnapper’s den. The matter has been reported to Uronigbe police station. The kidnappers have contacted the family of Agbajor and asked them to pay N5 million for his wife”, the source added.
Spokesperson of the Delta State Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, confirmed the kidnapping incident, adding that the abduction happened in Edo.
But his Edo State counterpart, Chidi Nwabuzor, when contacted, said from the record available at the State Command, that there was no information about the incident.
“You know, we transmit our records to Force Headquarters everyday. There is no record of that before us. From the Command’s record, no such incident happened yesterday (Friday), so the police will not give an account of anything unreported.” said Nwabuzor.
Piers Morgan has slammed Arsenal coach, Mikel Arteta’s decision to allow star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club for Barcelona after they fell out earlier this year. This comes as Barcelona is planning to sell the Gabonese striker this summer after just six-month stint at the Spanish club. Reports suggest that Chelsea is interested in Aubameyang’s services, with Thomas Tuchel having worked with the 33-year-old during their time at Borussia Dortmund.
Morgan also replied to another tweet suggesting the player’s time-keeping shouldn’t be an issue.
Romelu Lukaku has opened up on his difficult season at Chelsea as he vows to show his critics what he is ‘capable of’ while on loan at Inter Milan.
The Belgian striker has returned to the Serie A giants on loan, just one year after leaving them for Chelsea for a massive £97.5million fee and failing to replicate his fine form.
Speaking to DAZN, as per Football Italia, Lukaku revealed he wanted ‘revenge’ at Chelsea after leaving as a youngster, and didn’t become the ‘hero’ at Stamford Bridge like he had expected. He said:
‘The season at Chelsea gave me extra motivation to do even better than before. I think in one year everyone has forgotten about the things I am capable of doing on the pitch. ‘That is a kind of anger that I have inside me. That now the team has it too, which didn’t win last year, all together we hope to do better and bring something home.’ When asked what went wrong at Stamford Bridge, he responded:
‘So many things. I think before, when I left, I wanted to take revenge at Chelsea because when I was young it was my team for 11 years. I had the opportunity to go back there and thought I would be a hero, but that wasn’t the case. ‘In March, when I heard there was an opportunity to come back here, slowly I didn’t say anything, but toward the end of the season we did a very good job with the club and I was able to come back here. ‘I make reflections only at the end of the season, so after the last game I put myself to think what my situation was. ‘I saw that as a player with Inter I did well, the season at Chelsea for me was difficult. I had no doubts, that’s why I made the decision to come back here.’ Lukaku was at Chelsea from 2011 to 2014, before he joined Everton following loan spells at the Merseyside club and West Brom. After that he had a difficult spell at Manchester United, before returning to his best form during a two-year stint at Inter Milan.
In his second season at the San Siro, Lukaku fired the club to the title, scoring 24 league goals in 36 Serie A matches. He then made a club-record move to Chelsea, where he scored just 15 goals in 44 appearances.
Lukaku also told DAZN that he doesn’t care about being the top scorer in Serie A and his main focus is to lead the club back to the title after they missed out to city rivals AC Milan last season.
A Sierra Leonian footballer missed his wedding day in order to finalise a transfer to a new team and instead sent his brother to represent him.
Mohamed Buya Turay signed for the Swedish outfit after a spell playing in the Chinese Super League both Hebei China Fortune and Henan Songshan Longmen.
His wedding was set for July 21 but Swedish club Malmo wanted the 27-year-old to join up with them as soon as possible. So Turay missed the ceremony and travelled to Sweden to be unveiled as a Malmo player on July 22. It has now been revealed that his brother switched places with him at the wedding to walk the aisle alongside bride, Suad Baydoun.
Turay told Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet: ‘We got married on July 21 in Sierra Leone. But I was not there because Malmo asked me to arrive earlier.’ Turay who had posed for pictures with his wife in their wedding outfits before he left for Sweden and posted them on Twitter.
‘We took the picture beforehand, so it looks like I was there, but I was not. My brother got to represent me at the actual wedding,’ he said on Twitter.
Turay, who signed for Malmo after spending two seasons in China’s top flight, played against Luxembourg’s Diddeleng on Thursday in a 3-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie. He has not been reunited with his wife since the marriage but promised they would honeymoon together – eventually.
‘First, we are going to win the league, and then I will go on a honeymoon,’ Turay said with a smile.
Despite winning the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup and earning a whooping £180,000, Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed he still lives with his parents and helps with chores at home.
Aged 23, Trent Alexander-Arnold has developed into one of Europe’s elite right-backs, and is arguably the best in the world at his position.
According to the player, being around family has helped him remain level-headed, knowing fully well many athletes in his position might prefer spending their wealth on cars, houses or entertainment.
He says the habits he learns helps keep his life “clean and healthy.”
“I always think young players rush things,” he told CNN Senior Sport Analyst Darren Lewis.
“You start getting paid some money and young players always think the first thing is to move out, get a new car, stuff like that.
And then the environment is just not the same. You’re living at home. You’ve got your parents to keep you in line and make sure things are clean and tidy, the dishes aren’t stacking up and you’re going home to a nice, clean environment and things like that.
“Whereas living at home (on your own), breakfast and dinner, you just think: ‘I’ll do that later.’ And then you come in from training and then you’re just not in a clean, nice environment. So I’ve never felt a rush to leave home. I’ve always had the right messages.
I’ve just always enjoyed having family around me. And they’ve kept my feet on the ground and pushed me to the levels that I’ve got so far. So I don’t think there’s any rush for me to make a decision.”
In his 161 appearances in the Premier League, he’s scored 10 goals, provided 45 assists and has a remarkable record of winning 114 games and only losing 19 times.But despite that record, such has been the brilliance of Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, Alexander-Arnold and Liverpool’s trophy winning has been halted.
Liverpool left it late to secure a 3-1 win over Manchester City in the 100th Community Shield at the King Power Stadium.
New boy Julian Alvarez had initially cancelled out a stunning opener from Trent Alexander-Arnold, but Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez struck in the dying embers in front of the Reds faithful.
Liverpool looked the much fresher of the two sides in the early exchanges, and it only took 21 minutes for their dominance to pay off courtesy of Alexander-Arnold’s sublime first-time finish into the far corner from a good 20 yards.
With Alisson Becker and Caoimhin Kelleher sidelined, Liverpool’s third-choice goalkeeper was called into action to save from Erling Braut Haaland before the Norwegian’s acrobatic attempt from close range failed to come off.
Fans got to see a glimpse of Nunez and Alvarez on the King Power turf in the second half, and Liverpool fans wanted a penalty when the former went over following a challenge from Ederson, who got just enough of the ball.
However, it was City’s South American who would have the bigger impact, as Alvarez followed up on Phil Foden’s saved effort to poke home a 70th-minute equaliser, which was initially disallowed before a lengthy VAR check allowed those in sky blue to celebrate.10 minutes later, Liverpool fans were the ones demanding the intervention of VAR after Nunez’s header struck Ruben Dias on the arm, and Craig Pawson awarded a penalty after checking the monitor. Salah stepped up and found the bottom corner to put Liverpool 2-1 ahead, despite Ederson going the right way.
Nunez missed a good chance to make it three for Liverpool in the 87th minute after heading wide from James Milner’s cross, but the Uruguay international made no mistake in second-half injury time, as his diving header nestled into the back of the net to wrap up an emphatic Liverpool win.
The new strikers were taking centre stage all afternoon, and there was time for Haaland to crash a late effort against the bar from only a few yards out before the celebrations started for Liverpool.
Custard brand manufacturer, Checkers Africa Limited, has promised to continue to encourage talent hunt for footballers among its employees and members of the public.
The firm’s Managing Director, Mr Karan Checker, according to a statement on Thursday, made the commitment at the 2022 edition of the company’s one-day football tourney tagged Checkers Custard Football Cup, recently.
With the maiden edition held in 2021, Checker said it became evident that the football competition, among other activities, was a panacea for employees’ bonding, good health and general wellness.
He said the competition not only induced more beneficial interaction among the workforce, but also helped promote quality work environment for better output.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Thursday achieved a 2-1 victory over Sierra Leone in a Day 1 encounter of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification series at the MKO Abiola Stadium on Thursday. The Leone Stars, who fought gallantly to come back from four goals down to tie the match 4-4 in an AFCON qualifier against Nigeria in Benin City in November 2021, showed they mean business as early as the 4th minute when a rasping shot from Mohamed Turay was tipped over the bar by Francis Uzoho. Two minutes later, a good pass by Aribo was followed by a teasing cross from Calvin Bassey but Victor Osimhen’s header failed to find the target. In the 10th minute, a brilliant pass from Sadiq Umar found Osimhen, whose shot drifted away. At the other end, just a minute after, Jonathan Morsay scored a stunning goal with a diving header from a beautiful cross by Musa Kamara.
Four minutes later, the advantage could have been stretched for the visitors when they hit the upright on another counter-attack. However, in the 16th minute, Nigeria were level when an exchange of passes between Alex Iwobi and Moses Simon ended with the former emphatically finding the far corner of goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara’s post. Three minutes later, Kamara saved a strong Moses Simon header, and in the 35th minute, Musa Kamara came close with a stinging grounder as the visitors swarmed forward once more. Four minutes before halftime, Osimhen scored Nigeria’s second when he drove the ball into the roof of the net from a Simon header off Ola Aina’s cross from the right. In the second half, the game flowed from one end to the other, but Nigeria should have made it 3-1 in the 58th minute when Iwobi ansd Osimhen carved open the visitors’ defence, only for Samuel Chukwueze to get too much purchase on his shot and drag it wide. Aribo, Osimhen and substitute Ademola Lookman all missed chances as Nigeria pushed for another goal, but in added time, it took Aribo’s last-second intervention to deny the Leone Stars. The Eagles pocket three points and are top of Group A, as they head to Agadir, Morocco for their Day 2 encounter against the ‘The Falcons and True Parrots’of São Tomé and Príncipe on Monday evening.
Manchester United are considering their options as the Red Devils are set to storm the transfer market to bring in world-class players to massively improve the overall quality of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad as they look to challenge for the Premier League title.
According to recent reports, Manchester United Board are ready to make a massive move to complete the signing of Borussia Dortmund’s superstar ,Erling Haaland, as the Norwegian international striker has been identified as a major attacking target.
Manchester United boss , Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to further improve his attacking ranks and has now decided to drop his interest in Jadon Sancho in order to complete the massive signing of Erling Haaland , who has been linked with a move to Manchester United for a long time.
Erling Haaland was linked with a move to the Old Trafford whilst he was still at RB Salzburg but the Striker opted for Dortmund. However, Manchester United are now set to move all out in order to complete the signing of the attacker this year.
20-years Old Erling Haaland is already regarded as one of the most feared strikers in Europe as his impressive and scintillating goalscoring form for Dortmund has continued to attract the interest of several top clubs around the continent.
However, Manchester United will have to pay a massive transfer fee in the region of £77million if they are to complete the signing of Erling Haaland this year. Although, Dortmund are unlikely to accept any transfer bid for Haaland in this winter transfer window, the Norwegian international striker will have a release clause in the region of £55million which is a lot cheaper if he stays at Borussia Dortmund till the summer of 2022.
The Manchester City and Atletico Madrid strikers appeared topless in the bed with the same woman in the photos which were discovered last week.
According to the UK Sun, the Bible was in one of two bags handed in by a woman to a charity shop in Marylebone, Central London.
The report said the two bags were handed in in May, but the photos were not spotted until staff started sorting them last week.
A source said: “The pictures were instantly recognisable as Jesus and Costa – and both were with the same woman.
“They were both laughing and seemed incredibly relaxed in her company while larking around on pillows without their shirts on. The pictures appear to have been taken at different times.
“The charity shop normally gets jigsaws and second-hand clothes, so this was certainly a change from that.”
The source said: “A woman of Spanish or Latin appearance dropped off the bags.
Diego Costa
“She said a friend left the UK and wanted to get rid of a few bits and pieces. The woman who brought the bags in has never been back so no one knew what to do with the pics.”
One photo showed a heavily tattooed Jesus pulling a face for the camera.
Intimate photos of football stars Diego Costa and Gabriel Jesus in bed with the same mystery woman found in a bible at a charity shop
However, It’s unclear when the intimate photos were taken.
Diego Costa, 32, who played for Chelsea for three years is now at Atletico Madrid. He is married with two daughters
Gabriel Jesus
Gabriel Jesus, 23, who joined Manchester City in 2017 from Palmeiras, broke up with his ex-girlfriend, model Fernanda Queiroz earlier this year.
Ajax football star, Quincy Promnes has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing a relative during a family party in the Netherlands.
According to De Telegraaf, the 28-year-old Dutch footballer was arrested by police on Sunday over the incident which occurred in late July.
The report said the family member was left with serious injuries after a fierce argument during a family party at a warehouse in Abcoude, just outside Amsterdam.
The relative is believed to have pressed charges last month and police spokesperson Jelmer Geerds confirmed a 28-year-old man had been arrested on Sunday.
“We only heard about the incident a month ago,” Geerds added. “An investigation was then started and this morning led to an arrest.”
The arrest occurred the day after Promes, who has made 49 appearances for the Netherlands, scored in Ajax’s 4-0 Eredivisie win over PEC Zwolle on Saturday.
The Dutch report adds the alleged crime of “assault resulting in serious physical injury” carries a maximum jail sentence of four years if the defendant is found guilty.
Promes, who previously played for Twente, Go Ahead Eagles, and Spartak Moscow, joined Ajax from Sevilla last year in a £14million deal.
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