Barcelona president Joan Laporta fired at opposition as he defended his handling of the registration of Dani Olmo in a fierce speech on Tuesday. Midfielder Olmo and striker Pau Victor both missed two games after LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] declined the Blaugrana new licenses to play, saying the Catalan giants had failed to meet the deadline at the end of 2024. Struggling with finances, Barcelona sold VIP boxes at their Spotify Camp Nou stadium – which is still under construction – to investors from the Middle East to aid passage of LaLiga’s strict financial fair play restrictions…
Author: Somto Isaac
Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has called on his players to stay humble after extending their winning run to 14 games which saw them move to the summit of the LaLiga table above rivals Real Madrid following their 1-0 win over Osasuna. Julian Alvarez netted in the 55th minute to take Atleti’s points tally to 44, one ahead of second-placed Real — with the current winning streak as their longest across all competitions in history. Antoine Griezmann’s short and clever corner routine to Clement Lenglet who headed down to Alvarez who slotted from close range. “We had been talking with…
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insisted he remained proud of his players’ performance despite exiting the FA Cup after defeat to 10-man Manchester United on penalties on Sunday. Arteta’s men had the advantage for almost the entire second half of the game after Diogo Dalot was sent off following two cautions early after the interval. Bruno Fernandes had given the Red Devils the lead, but the Gunners equalised immediately after Dalot’s sending off thanks to Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal. However, missed chances was the subject matter of the day as Arteta’s men bottled their chance to end a five-year trophy drought. Captain…
Simeone Inzaghi showered praise on the character shown by his Inter Milan team following their 1-0 win over Venezia on Sunday, a positive result following their Italian Super Cup final loss to rivals AC Milan last Monday. Matteo Darmian’s early goal handed the Inter maximum points, taking them second on the Serie A standings and a point behind leaders Napoli. “If we analyse the second half, all our moves could’ve come to a second goal and when you don’t kill the game off, it stays open, especially with great [Filip] Stankovic saves. It was not simple, but we won and…
Brazil superstar Neymar has admitted the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be his last appearance at the biggest showpiece in world football while also exhuming confidence his nation would qualify. Speaking to CNN, the 32-year-old who has not featured for the Selecao in more than a year stated he would give his best to feature in the tournament. “I know this will be my last World Cup, my last shot, my last chance and I will do everything I can to play in it.” Neymar also said to the American news outlet that he would not totally rule out a…
Arne Slot blasted the decision not to show Lucas Bergvall a red card before the midfielder scored the winning goal for Tottenham in the 1-0 win against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday. Slot expressed his anger that Bergball escaped a second yellow card after tripping Kostas Tsimikas with a tackle. Tsimikas had to go off the pitch after the challenge but Stuart Attwell decided to give Liverpool the chance to hit on the counter — when they lost possession seconds later, the advantage went to Spurs who used the space vacated by Tsimikas to score…
Harry Maguire has been banned from driving after the Manchester United defender was caught speeding twice in three days. He has been fined £1052 and suspended from driving for 56 days. The 31-year-old was caught on camera driving his Range Rover at 85mph in a 50mph limit area, in March 2024, coming out of a tunnel on Wilmslow Road, under the runway of Manchester Airport. Gwyn Lewis, who appeared on behalf of Maguire in court, pleaded guilty to the offence. “Of course, the speed is wholly excessive and I fully accept that.” The court heard at the time of the…
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta sighted his team’s failure to adapt to the Carabao Cup match ball as part of what affected them in their semifinal first leg loss to Newcastle United. The North London side conceded goals from Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon as the visitors gained a healthy advantage at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. However, Arsenal fluffed at a number of opportunities in the game, registering six big chances from 23 shots, with just three on target. Majority of Arsenal’s chances sailed over the crossbar and Arteta admitted the tournament’s Puma ball, in comparison to the Premier League’s Nike…
The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed the appointment of Eric Chelle as the new head coach of the men’s senior national team, the Super Eagles. Chelle replaces the interim gaffer of the team, Augustine Eguavoen who filled in for Finidi George, who resigned less than two months into the job. The Technical and Development Sub-Committee, who recommended Chelle’s appointment during its meeting on January 2, 2025 in Abuja, was successfully approved by the NFF Executive Committee on Tuesday. The former RC Lens defender will resume his role with immediate effect and will lead the side through the remaining games of…
France coach Didier Deschamps has confirmed he will leave his role as head coach of the men’s senior national team, stating the time has come for him to stop. The 56-year-old, who is France’s longest-serving coach, is set to step aside after the 2026 FIFA World Cup as he will not renew his contract which expires in the year. Although, Les Bleus are yet to book their place in the 2026 World Cup. “In 2026 it will be over. In my head it’s very clear. I’ve done my time, with the same desire and passion to maintain France at the…