Category: Sports

Ex-Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has claimed Paris Saint-Germain were willing to pay €250 million for Lamine Yamal.

Laporta, speaking at the launch of his new book on Tuesday, said people thought they were crazy for turning it down.

Yamal caught the eyes of top clubs around Europe, after he burst into limelight during the 2023/2024 season.

PSG at the time, were looking to bring in a replacement for Kylian Mbappe who had joined Real Madrid as a free agent.

If Barcelona had accepted the €250 million offer for Yamal who was 17 at the time, it would have surpassed the €222m world-record fee PSG paid for Neymar in 2017.

“When PSG offered us €250 million for Lamine Yamal, and we rejected it, he was 17 years old; some people thought we were crazy,” Laporta said.

Transfer: Ex-Barcelona president, Laporta reveals club that bid €250m for Yamal

Former Manchester City legend, Sergio Aguero, has said that Arsenal is in a good position to win the Premier League title.

Aguero has been part of several title battles in the past few years and believes Arsenal is doing well in the competition.

The Gunners beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 at the weekend, helping them get back to winning in the league after two straight draws.

They are now five points ahead at the top, having played one more game than second-placed City, which has 56 points.

Recognizing the strength in the Gunners’ squad, five-time Premier League champion, Aguero spoke to Stake through Football 365:
“It’s not about having a weak mindset. Not now, at least, because the team has a very complete and balanced squad that has much more experience compared to the recent past.

“They’ve faced this situation before and came really close to succeeding. And today you can see that they have a stronger mindset. The young players have matured, and they’ve added some excellent talent, which is clear to see.

The former City striker added, “Arteta has shown he’s a top manager. He has put together a strong group of players who know how to compete and are consistently in the running for the championship.

“Let’s think about how many years have passed since Arsenal last won the Premier League. How close they have gotten to achieving that in recent years. I think if you talk to Arsenal fans, they would really hope Arteta stays at the club for a long time.”

Arteta’s team has finished as runners-up in the league three times in a row, losing out to Manchester City twice and to Liverpool last year. They’re trying to end their 22-year wait for a league title.

EPL: ‘Strong group of players’ – Aguero names team to win title

Werder Bremen defender Felix Agu is set for another spell on the sidelines, DAILY POST reports.

Agu recently returned to action for the Greens after spending around four months on the sidelines due to a syndesmosis ligament injury.

The injury also forced the left-back to miss the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

The Nigeria international injured himself during warm-up ahead of Bremen’s Bundesliga clash with St. Pauli last weekend.

Bremen confirmed he suffered a muscle injury in his adductor area, and will be sidelined for the time being.

The 26-year-old has made nine league appearances for the Greens this season.

Bundesliga: Werder Bremen confirm Agu’s latest injury

Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi has been named in the Premier League Team of the Week, DAILY POST reports.

Iwobi earned his position in WhoScored’s Team of the Week following his superb performance in Fulham’s 3-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

The 29-year-old scored, and also registered an assist in the game.

Iwobi’s corner-kick was nodded home superbly by Raúl Jiménez for the game’s opening goal.

The Nigeria international netted Fulham’s third from a counter attack five minutes from time.

It was Iwobi’s third goal of the season for Marco Silva’s side.

His teammate Jiménez was also included in the selection.

EPL: Iwobi included in Team of the Week

Turkish sports commentator, Ibrahim Seten has insisted that Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen refused to grant manager Okan Buruk’s wishes to play against Konyaspor in the Turkish Super Lig over the weekend because he was in pain as a result of a knee injury.

According to Seten, Buruk wanted Osimhen to travel with the team for the Konyaspor match, but the Nigerian international didn’t go because he needed to rest.

Galatasaray ended up losing 2-0 away against Konyaspor in Osimhen’s absence.

Speaking on the 343 Digital YouTube channel, Seten said: “Information from Okan Buruk’s team indicates that Victor Osimhen did not want to come to Konya due to knee pain.

“Okan Buruk wanted him to come, but Osimhen said that despite Okan’s wishes, he was in pain and needed to rest,” he stated.

Buruk will now hope Osimhen recovers on time to play against Juventus in the return leg of their Champions League Round of 16 playoff on Wednesday in Italy.

Galatasaray: Osimhen refused to play because of injury – Ibrahim Seten

Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, has criticized Benfica manager for his remarks on the Vinicius Jr racism row.

The incident happened in last week’s Champions League play-off first leg, after Vinicius Jr accused Gianluca Prestianni of calling him a “monkey”.

After the game, Mourinho claimed the Brazilian winger incited the home fans with his goal celebrations.

He also pointed to Benfica’s legend Eusebio as proof that the Portuguese club is not racist.

Mikel Obi, who played under Mourinho in his two spells as Chelsea boss, said on his Obi One Podcast: “What I expected to hear from my old boss, from my gaffer [was] “Yes it is under investigation, but there is not place for racism there, there is no place for such thing, but let’s wait until it is concluded, there is no place for that”.

“So for him to come out and say “Oh yeah, Vinicius Jr shouldn’t have celebrated the way he did”, that was a clumsy, clumsy comment from Jose Mourinho.

‘He will be the first, he knows, he will be the first to know “I’ve f***ed up here”. He is a smart, smart guy, a very smart guy, he knows.”

UCL: He messed up – Mikel Obi slams Mourinho over Vinicius racist incident

Manchester United will be without Lisandro Martinez, for Monday’s Premier League clash at Everton.

Martinez has reportedly suffered a calf discomfort and is unavailable for the game.

Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, wrote on X: “Lisandro Martínez will miss tonight’s game vs Everton with calf discomfort.

“Medical tests show a minor issue, and he’s expected back in training this week, as The Athletic reports.

“United have 7 wins in 18 games without him, 5 in 9 when he started.”

Martinez’s injury is believed to be minor and he could return to training later this week.

EPL: Man Utd suffer major injury blow ahead of Everton clash

Arsenal star Eberechi Eze, on Sunday, equalled the goals record scored against Tottenham Hotspur by the club’s former players Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.

Eze put his name alongside Henry and Van Persie after a brilliant display in the North London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The England international scored a brace as the Gunners defeated Spurs 4-1 at the weekend.

His teammate Viktor Gyokeres also netted a brace against the hosts to give Mikel Arteta’s side all three points.

However, according to OptaJoe, Eze matched Henry and Van Persie’s Premier League goal tally against Tottenham Hotspur during Arsenal’s victory.

His brace against Tottenham means the former Crystal Palace star has now taken his tally to five goals in just two league appearances against Spurs since joining the Premier League North London club last summer.

Eze is now only the second player to score 4 goals plus in North London derbies in a league season, after Arsenal’s Ted Drake in 1934-35 (5 goals).

Only Robert Pirès (7 goals) and Emmanuel Adebayor (6 goals) have scored more Premier League goals for Arsenal against Tottenham than Eze (5 goals), who now boasts the same tally in this fixture as Henry and Van Persie.

EPL: Eberechi Eze equals Thierry Henry, Van Persie’s record at Arsenal

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has said that Eberechi Eze is Arsenal’s best number 10, ahead of the Gunners’ captain, Martin Ødegaard.

Eze played for the Gunners in their 4-1 Premier League victory against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The £67.5 million summer signing from Crystal Palace scored two goals as Arsenal dominated at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, winning both encounters against their north London rivals.

Rooney told BBC Sport, via Arsenal Insider, that he thinks Eze is a better player around the penalty area, but slightly further back, Ødegaard is superior.

Rooney also praised Ødegaard, who returned from injury in the Spurs match and helped set up Viktor Gyökeres’ second goal of the game, but he explained why he would choose Eze for that position.

“I believe Ødegaard is a very smart player, and he knows how to get into good positions. His movement is very good. You’re hoping to see a bit more from him in the final third.

“So if you could bring the two of them together into one, then you would have a really good player. I believe they are different types of players for that position. But yeah, for me, I’d choose Eze over Ødegaard.”

Coming on late for Eze against Spurs, Ødegaard showed what he is capable of by helping the team return to winning ways in the league after two draws against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

EPL: I will choose Eze over Odegaard – Wayne Rooney

Rep Aminu Jaji (APC–Zamfara) has called on the National Secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to cancel the just-concluded ward and LGA congresses of the party in Zamfara over alleged irregularities.

Recall that the APC National Secretariat committee for the party congresses in Zamfara on Sunday announced the conclusion of the peaceful ward and local government congresses across the 147 wards and 14 LGAs in the state.

The committee said the exercise was conducted successfully without any irregularities.

But Jaji, who represents Kaura-Namoda/Birnin-Magaji Federal Constituency, at a press briefing in Gusau on Monday described the ward and LGA congresses in the state as null and void over alleged irregularities.

Jaji alleged that the committee sent from the APC national headquarters conspired with some members and other elements and abused the dignity of APC members in the state during the just-concluded “kangaroo” ward and LGA congresses.

He further alleged that some participants in the congresses were members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other opposition parties, undermining the party’s guidelines.

He added, “Some members were denied equal opportunity to participate in the party’s congresses at ward and local government levels, in spite of paying for the nomination and expression of interest forms via party-designated accounts.

“Members approached the state Organising Secretary to obtain the forms but were denied.

“The state Organising Secretary pursued their complaints, but the National Secretariat of the party has not responded.

“We are much concerned about the reported kangaroo congresses held without APC members’ participation, contradicting our party constitution,” Jaji insisted.

Jaji continued, “We call on the National Chairman to address and cancel the kangaroo congresses of the party in the state.

“We are also appealing to the National Working Committee of the party to dissolve the state working committee for inclusivity and fairness.

“We are expecting the National Secretariat to announce a new date for a free and fair congress in Zamfara.

“We appeal to the Minister of State for Defence and immediate past governor of Zamfara, Bello Matawalle, as party leader in the state, to intervene and save the party.

“We also urge the committee constituted by the President to reconcile APC members to intervene and resolve the lingering crisis in the state to avert a repeat of the 2019 incidents.”

Zamfara: Rep member fumes, alleges PDP infiltration of APC Wards, LGAs congresses