It's PluxTIME: sports

$194m Coutinho in Barcelona debut today

$194m Coutinho in Barcelona debut today

Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been named in the Barcelona squad for Thursday’s Copa del Rey clash against Espanyol, his fir...

Google honours Stephen Keshi

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Google has honoured former Nigerian coach and player, Stephen Keshi, with a doodle on its search engine page for Nigerian loggers.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The honour came on Keshi’s 56th birthday. Keshi died suddenly in Benin on 7 June, in 2016, to the shock of his compatriots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was born in Azare, Bauchi. But his parents hailed from Delta state.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keshi was educated at Saint Finbarr’s College in Akoka, Lagos and Saint Gregory’s College.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His wife of 30 years, Kate Aburime had died six months before his own death. They had four children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">During his playing career as a defender, Keshi earned 60 caps for the Nigerian national football team, making him the nation’s second-most capped player at the time of his retirement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He represented the country at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations, captaining the Super Eagles to victory in the latter. He also played club football in five countries, most notably Belgium, where he won the Belgian league championship with R.S.C. Anderlecht in 1991.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a manager, Keshi achieved success by qualifying Togo for the only FIFA World Cup appearance in its history in 2006.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, he left the position prior to the tournament and was replaced by Otto Pfister. He later coached  Nigeria’s Super Eagles , where he became one of only two persons, along with Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the Africa Cup of Nations as both a player and a coach. This was in 2013, two years after he was appointed the coach.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The following day Keshi handed in his resignation, only to reverse his decision the day after. Keshi led Nigeria to the 2013 Confederations Cup, defeated Tahiti 6–1, and lost 1–2 to Uruguay in the second game, and also lost 0–3 to World Cup winners, Spain in their final group game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On 16 November 2013, Keshi’s Nigeria secured qualification to the 2014 World Cup by beating Ethiopia 4–1 on aggregate in a play-off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Keshi set a record in African football by being the first African coach to successfully qualify two African nations (Nigeria and Togo) to the World Cup Finals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Bio data from Wikipedia.</span></div>
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Google honours Stephen Keshi

Google has honoured former Nigerian coach and player, Stephen Keshi, with a doodle on its search engine page for Nigerian loggers. The h...

Arsenal fans blame Thierry Henry for Sanchez move

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Arsenal-Thierry-Henry-to-return-to-Emirates-and-end-his-career-as-a-Gunner-699.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is being savaged on Twitter by Arsenal fans for advising Chile international Alexis Sanchez to move to Manchester United.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In Twitter posts, fans called Henry all sorts of names for being ‘unpatriotic’ to Arsenal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was blamed for Arsenal loss at Bournemouth after the coach disclosed that he got a pep talk from Henry before the match, that undermined Arsenal’s fight for a top four place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The posts also showed Henry fraternising with several Man United players, including fellow Frenchmen Pogba and Martial.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One fan even wanted Henry statue at Emirates pulled down. Another fan based in Lagos, Nigeria, said if he had gotten wind of Henry’s ‘betrayal’, he would have slapped him when he visited Lagos for a Guinness event.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Henry, who had a stellar career at Arsenal before he left to join Barcelona and later going to the United States to play in the MLS, is now a pundit on Sky TV.</span></div>
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Arsenal fans blame Thierry Henry for Sanchez move

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is being savaged on Twitter by Arsenal fans for advising Chile international Alexis Sanchez to move to Manc...

Manchester United signs Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Finally, Manchester United?announce the signing of Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal" src="https://alexis.lindaikejisblog.com/photos/shares/5a663a2ad3e0f.JPG" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Manchester United</span> have signed <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Alexis Sanchez</span> from <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Arsenal</span>, in a swap deal with midfielder <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Henrikh Mkhitaryan.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Chile forward Sanchez, 29, who almost joined Manchester City last summer signed a four-and-a-half-year deal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Speaking about his transfer, Alexis Sanchez said: <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">“I am thrilled to be joining the biggest club in the world. I have spent three-and-a-half wonderful years at Arsenal and I bring with me very positive memories of that great club and its fans. The chance to play in this historic stadium and to work with Jose Mourinho was something I could not turn down. I am very proud to be the first Chilean player ever to play for United’s first team and I hope I can show our fans all around the world why the club wanted to bring me here.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jose Mourinho commented:<span style="box-sizing: border-box;"> “Alexis is one of the best attacking players in the world and he will complete our very young and talented group of attacking players. He will bring his ambition, drive and personality, qualities that make a Manchester United player and a player that makes the team stronger and the supporters proud of their club dimension and prestige. I would like to wish Henrikh all the success and happiness that I am sure he is going to get. He is a player that we will not forget, especially for his contribution to our Europa League victory.”</span></span></div>
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Manchester United signs Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal

Manchester United have signed Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal , in a swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Chile forward Sanche...

Pele collapses, hospitalised

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Football greatest, Pele is in hospital after collapsing due to exhaustion, preventing him from travelling to London for an engagement this weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to the English Football Writers Association (FWA), the 77-year-old, a three-time World Cup winner, collapsed on Thursday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is being monitored in hospital in Brazil,  FWA said. <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The FWA were due to host a dinner in his honour at the Savoy Hotel.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pele “has undergone a series of tests which appear to point to severe exhaustion”, said the FWA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“He is on fluids while doctors monitor his recovery. Thankfully there is no suggestion of anything more serious.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pele helped inspire Brazil to wins in the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cups.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He has become increasingly frail in recent years and was unable to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Games due to ill health.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during his 21-year career, including 77 goals in 91 appearances for Brazil.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was a guest in Moscow on 1 December, 2017, where the draws for the World Cup matches were made. President Vladimir Putin and Diego Maradona took photographs with the legend on wheelchair.</span></div>
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Pele collapses, hospitalised

Football greatest, Pele is in hospital after collapsing due to exhaustion, preventing him from travelling to London for an engagement t...

Real Madrid won first match in 3 games

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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgaVXjHxA_OjnaBjBu2XlK6dMNw16YFDK7hYmhk_yj2XvifXJ_B-VmJC0QYShP8Ty38UezFMMrwSOt3FKRFnLLkK0TktfrU1Oz5m-lH5ui5G3OvHCNV9dCKkvFSj8RrLXSUOFNNloC6BLmKqCACxvTn5Azmkan9bE55G65w7EwqRrGYUKrvdw531O-A0Go2VZzQmPBYRZeUPNf99n46d2Sm17c=" /><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">A last gasp goal from Marco Asensio gave a virtually second string Real Madrid a 1-0 first leg Spanish Cup quarter-final victory at Leganes on Thursday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The 21-year-old midfielder converted a cross from French full-back Theo Hernandez from the centre of the box.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That ended a run of three matches without victory for Zinedine Zidane’s struggling galaxy of stars, even though the likes of world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, Welsh winger Gareth Bale and French striker Karim Benzema were left out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Leganes were organised in defence and willing to launch counter-attacks, with the European champions struggling to cause them problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But Asensio’s late intervention gave Real a much needed boost following last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to Villarreal that left them 18 points behind arch rivals Barcelona in La Liga.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And unlike Barca, who lost 1-0 to their city rivals Espanyol on Wednesday, and Atletico Madrid, beaten 2-1 at home by Sevilla, Real are at least in charge of their quarter-final tie in the competition that looks likely to offer them their best chance of silverware this season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The second leg will be played next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">AFP</span></div>
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Real Madrid won first match in 3 games

A last gasp goal from Marco Asensio gave a virtually second string Real Madrid a 1-0 first leg Spanish Cup quarter-final victory at Lega...

Real Madrid won first match in 3 games

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_5800-e1516321324747.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A last gasp goal from Marco Asensio gave a virtually second string Real Madrid a 1-0 first leg Spanish Cup quarter-final victory at Leganes on Thursday.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 21-year-old midfielder converted a cross from French full-back Theo Hernandez from the centre of the box.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That ended a run of three matches without victory for Zinedine Zidane’s struggling galaxy of stars, even though the likes of world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, Welsh winger Gareth Bale and French striker Karim Benzema were left out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leganes were organised in defence and willing to launch counter-attacks, with the European champions struggling to cause them problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But Asensio’s late intervention gave Real a much needed boost following last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at home to Villarreal that left them 18 points behind arch rivals Barcelona in La Liga.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And unlike Barca, who lost 1-0 to their city rivals Espanyol on Wednesday, and Atletico Madrid, beaten 2-1 at home by Sevilla, Real are at least in charge of their quarter-final tie in the competition that looks likely to offer them their best chance of silverware this season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second leg will be played next week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AFP</span></div>
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Real Madrid won first match in 3 games

A last gasp goal from Marco Asensio gave a virtually second string Real Madrid a 1-0 first leg Spanish Cup quarter-final victory at Lega...

Lionel Messi's penalty miss led Barcelona to their first lost of the season

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVI6s7DPsFEMupqy28hDTeW794e_vQB_G2JARJJoSQL-Ks66KHYcYL3VM2jAYH2NLCSZ_0OKl8FAOYI6vTgLNyPiHYjXTwmR6PmTK_BG9NqUm03rQjAvZ3mgJ7-6nJZCenH-TG5y321k/" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVI6s7DPsFEMupqy28hDTeW794e_vQB_G2JARJJoSQL-Ks66KHYcYL3VM2jAYH2NLCSZ_0OKl8FAOYI6vTgLNyPiHYjXTwmR6PmTK_BG9NqUm03rQjAvZ3mgJ7-6nJZCenH-TG5y321k/" /></a><br><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">A late minutes goal by Oscar Melendo of Espanyol consign Barcelona to their first defeat since August last year. Earlier, Lionel Messi had missed a penalty.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The 1-0 loss by the Spanish giants occurred in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Wednesday.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span style="font-size: 18px;">In a match of few chances Barca’s penalty, which came after a foul on Sergi Roberto, looked to be the decisive moment for the away side, but Espanyol keeper Diego Lopez dived superbly to his left to push Messi’s powerful shot wide.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Oscar Melendo slotted home a neat finish with two minutes remaining of a temperamental derby cup tie, racing onto Marc Navarro’s low cross to punish Messi for missing a 62nd-minute penalty and send the home crowd into raptures</p>

Lionel Messi's penalty miss led Barcelona to their first lost of the season

A late minutes goal by Oscar Melendo of Espanyol consign Barcelona to their first defeat since August last year. Earlier, Lionel Messi had m...

Ronaldo demands £36m from Madrid or he quits

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorA0COb3qGVYRoPJ8p5L5_wX59BjOzvAjCCaaH-qqtdwatOfO_waeYjje9zytA7xVeFLTueTWNSneK6absm332t2xBe748xs-nhPpBRiHmTw3bTfpzKzUNwdCz3rRs8C5GlsYvl2D1PQ/" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorA0COb3qGVYRoPJ8p5L5_wX59BjOzvAjCCaaH-qqtdwatOfO_waeYjje9zytA7xVeFLTueTWNSneK6absm332t2xBe748xs-nhPpBRiHmTw3bTfpzKzUNwdCz3rRs8C5GlsYvl2D1PQ/" /></a><br><br><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Real Madrid to cough out £36m as his yearly salary, to bring him at par with his Barcelona rival, Lionel Messi or he will leave the club.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">At present Ronaldo earns £18.6m a year, but reports from multiple sources said the Portuguese star wants a pay rise of  close to  £17million, which will make his pay packet swell to £35.6 million.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to Sport, the Portuguese forward has made it clear to Real’s hierarchy that he wants monetary parity with Messi or he will leave the club.</p><p id="ext-gen104" class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to reports, Messi got a fatter pay  at the Nou Camp following his recently signed deal.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronaldo, who signed a new contract in November 2016, has been left frustrated by Real president Florentino Perez who has stalled on offering him an improved contract.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Reports in Spain have said that the 32-year-old was promised one after spearheading Real to a La Liga and Champions League double last season.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">However, without fruition of one; Los Blancos’ No 7 feels undervalued and has cited this as a reason for his goalscoring woes at the moment.</p><p class="mol-para-with-font" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Ronaldo, who has been linked with a return to Manchester United, signed his current five-year contract – which runs until 2021 – in November 2016.</p>

Ronaldo demands £36m from Madrid or he quits

Cristiano Ronaldo has asked Real Madrid to cough out £36m as his yearly salary, to bring him at par with his Barcelona rival, Lionel Messi o...

Usain Bolt on a football trial at Dortmund

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man may have retired from sprints, he is turning his passion elsewhere: professional soccer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The eight-time Olympic gold medalist, says he has a trial set with Borussia Dortmund in March.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the possibility of playing for the German club, despite it being one of the most popular in Europe, is not what’s drawing the Jamaican sprinter to the sport.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“One of my biggest dreams is to sign for Manchester United,” Bolt said in an interview with The Express.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“If Dortmund say I’m good enough, I’ll crack on and train hard. I’ve spoken to (Man United coaching legend) Alex Ferguson and I told him he needs to put in a good word. He told me if I get fit and ready, he will see what he can do.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dortmund and Bolt share a sponsor in Puma, which makes the tryout an easy match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bolt, 31, a longtime Man United fan, retired from the track after damaging his hamstring at the World Championships in London in August. However, he told The Express that the injury is “now fine and I’m back to fully fit.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still, Bolt admitted that the swagger he showed throughout his four Olympic Games and record-breaking runs has yet to transfer on the soccer field.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“It makes me nervous,” Bolt said of the upcoming trial. “I don’t get nervous but this is different, this is football now. It’ll take time to adjust but once I play a few times I’ll get used to it. It was the same when I started track and field. I was nervous for a while until I started getting used to the crowd, people and everyone around and it falls into place.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bolt has for years shared his goal of crossing over into soccer, but no matter how far he takes it, he’ll always be remembered first and foremost as the greatest sprinter of all time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Originally Reported by <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/usain-bolt-hold-trial-dortmund-dreams-man-united-article-1.3744324" rel="noopener" style="background: transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #1193f6; line-height: inherit; outline: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: opacity 0.2s ease-in-out, color 0.1s ease-in-out;" target="_blank">New York Daily News</a></span></div>
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Usain Bolt on a football trial at Dortmund

Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man may have retired from sprints, he is turning his passion elsewhere: professional soccer. The eight...

Coutinho to wear jersey No 14 in Barcelona

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0et0_V4TBEwjqmaxUTEIGE9fKwZ3eordha4K7Yv8NiOeqXHRt46B0-FqyaClaCynt8b0ShluL9iSOH1MC6vE3htZYuYwsallAMiKOF2-7spY4vzCrtUqvyUxtw0G9y2KzNOlFUCOq1I/" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0et0_V4TBEwjqmaxUTEIGE9fKwZ3eordha4K7Yv8NiOeqXHRt46B0-FqyaClaCynt8b0ShluL9iSOH1MC6vE3htZYuYwsallAMiKOF2-7spY4vzCrtUqvyUxtw0G9y2KzNOlFUCOq1I/" /></a><br><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Barcelona record breaking new signing, Philippe Coutinho, may likely wear jersey number 14 for the spanish giat. The $192m new signee by Barcelona did not wear any numbered jersey during his presentation to about 7,500 fans at Camp Nou today. But multiple reports said the Brazilian playmaker who is nursing a thigh injury  will most likely wear the No 14 shirt.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">According to The Independent of London, the shirt was recently  vacated by another former Red, Javier Mascherano, who will complete a move to China imminently.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The British paper said the shirt was also made famous by the late Johan Cruyff, who made it his trademark throughout his career and played for Barcelona between 1973 and 1978, switching between No 14 and No 9, scoring 48 goals in 143 games and winning both La Liga and the Copa del Rey in the process.</p><div class="line textcontent_img watermark" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(24, 24, 24); font-family: "Open Sans"; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); backface-visibility: hidden !important;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">At the presentation,  Coutinho said he is targeting titles at Barcelona.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">According to a report on Barcelona’s website, the new player was careful in juggling the ball, due to an  injury on the anterior rectum of his right thigh.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">Nevertheless, he  participated in a rondo with eight young players from FCBEscola, and was handed the keys to a new Audi car.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">Coutinho commented: “I am very happy about the affection from the fans. It is a dream come true and I hope to answer all their expectations on the field.” Before leaving the Camp Nou pitch, the player had photographs taken with several fans</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33);">The Brazilian signed a five-year contract in a ceremony sitting alongside Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, making him the third-most expensive player in history.</p></div><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“It’s an honour for me, a great honour, but also a dream to be here,” Coutinho said after posing on the Camp Nou pitch in a Barcelona shirt.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; line-height: 24px; text-rendering: optimizeLegibility; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“I have my goals; to get here, to be happy, win titles and have fun — I only think about that.</p>

Coutinho to wear jersey No 14 in Barcelona

Barcelona record breaking new signing, Philippe Coutinho, may likely wear jersey number 14 for the spanish giat. The $192m new signee by Bar...

PSG star Neymar becomes the most valuable player in Europe ahead of Lionel Messi; Cristiano Ronaldo ranked 49th (See full list)

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBNJ2EVo02ZEg7ZAxH8Z9Euy8XUYFpCWnclTzQncSoAVPjC_4sQOZmwXcerOkbdr1WEAsPKpwJCqEYDQpG8o-R9HhO5MLTRldnUKX3_FmPnfsPqaUJN-vo6Bdgm-ZZ8akp8pGZa-VqLE/" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwBNJ2EVo02ZEg7ZAxH8Z9Euy8XUYFpCWnclTzQncSoAVPjC_4sQOZmwXcerOkbdr1WEAsPKpwJCqEYDQpG8o-R9HhO5MLTRldnUKX3_FmPnfsPqaUJN-vo6Bdgm-ZZ8akp8pGZa-VqLE/"></a><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The CIES Football Observatory has published its annual rankings of most valuable players in the top five European leagues (the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Bundesliga).</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The list is made up based on their worth, factors including age, position, contract duration, performance and international status.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">On the list, Brazilian and PSG superstar, Neymar piped his former Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi to the top of the list with a value of €213million, while the Argentine footballer scooped the second spot with €202.2m worth.</p><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">One of the shocking disclosure on the list was Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who surprisingly is the 49th most valuable player in Europe, according to the Football Observatory. </span><br><br><p style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">See the full list of the top100 most valuable footballers in the World.</p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">1.    Neymar (PSG) -  £188m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">2.    Lionel Messi (Barcelona) - £178.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">3.    Harry Kane (Tottenham) - £172m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">4.    Kylian Mbappe (PSG) - £170m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">5.    Paulo Dybala (Juventus) - £154m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">6.    Dele Alli (Tottenham) - £151.25m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">7.    Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) - £148m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">8.    Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United) - £145.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">9.    Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) - £132m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">10.    Paul Pogba (Manchester United) - £130m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">11.    Leroy Sane (Manchester City) - £124m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">12.    Mo Salah (Liverpool) - £124m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">13.    Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) - £122m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">14.    Luis Suarez (Barcelona) - £113.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">15.    Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) - £112m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">16.    Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona) - £108.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">17.    Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City) - £108.25m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">18.    Eden Hazard (Chelsea) - £105.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">19.    Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus) - £99.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">20.    Alvaro Morata (Chelsea) - £95.3m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">21.    Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) - 95m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">22.    Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan) - £92.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">23.    Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) - £91m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">24.    Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli) - £90m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">25.    Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona) - £89.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">26.    Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) - £88.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">27.    Bernardo Silva (Manchester City) - £87.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">28.    Sergio Aguero (Manchester City) - £87.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">29.    Christian Eriksen (Tottenham) - £86.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">30.    Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) - £86.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">31.    Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) - £85m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">32.    Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona) - £84.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">33.    John Stones (Manchester City) - £82.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">34.    Ederson (Manchester City) - £82.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">35.    Eric Dier (Tottenham) - £82.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">36.    Edinson Cavani (PSG) - £81.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">37.    Dries Mertens (Napoli) - £79.3m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">38.    Koke (Atletico Madrid) - £78.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">39.    Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid) - £78m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">40.    N'Golo Kante (Chelsea) - £77.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">41.    Timo Werner (RB Leipzig) - £77.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">42.    Kyle Walker (Manchester City) - £76.9m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">43.    Tiemoue Bakayoko (Chelsea) - £76.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">44.    Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) - £75.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">45.    Isco (Real Madrid) - £75.4m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">46.    Ciro Immobile (Lazio) - £75.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">47.    Nicolas Otamendi (Manchester City) - £74.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">48.    Anthony Martial (Manchester Utd) - £72.4m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">49.    Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) - £71m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">50.    Fabinho (Monaco) - £70m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">51.    Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City) - £68.3m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">52.    Radja Nainggolan (Roma) - £68m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">53.    Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) -  £67.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">54.    Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea) - £66.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">55.    Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) - £66m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">56.    Son Heung-Min (Tottenham) - £64.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">57.    Thomas Lemar (Monaco) - £64m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">58.    Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona) - £63.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">59.    Marquinhos (PSG) - £63.4m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">60.    Elseid Hysaj (Napoli) - £62.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">61.    Andrea Belotti (Torino) - £62.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">62.    Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) - £61.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">63.    Hector Bellerin (Arsenal) - £60.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">64.    Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham) - £60.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">65.    Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Liverpool) - £60.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">66.    Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) - £60.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">67.    Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) - £60m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">68.    Niklas Sule (Bayern Munich) - £59m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">69.    Sadio Mane (Liverpool) - £58.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">70.    Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal) - £57.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">71.    Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina) - £57.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">72.    Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund) - £57.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">73.    Edin Dzeko (Roma) - £56.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">74.    Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal) - £56.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">75.    Julian Draxler (PSG) - £56.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">76.    Florian Thauvin (Marseille) - £55.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">77.    Casemiro (Real Madrid) - £55.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">78.    Marco Verratti (PSG) - £55.4m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">79.    Corentin Tolisso (Bayern Munich) - £55.3m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">80.    Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) - £54.75m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">81.    Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea) - £54.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">82.    Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) - £54.1m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">83.    Nabil Fekir (Lyon) - £53.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">84.    Nemanja Matic (Manchester United) - £53.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">85.    Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan) - £51.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">86.    Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) - £51.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">87.    Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio) - £51.4m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">88.    Jemerson (Monaco) - £48.9m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">89.    Nathan Redmond (Southampton) - £48.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">90.    Piotr Zielinski (Napoli) - £48.3m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">91.    David Silva (Manchester City) - £48m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">92.    Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich) - £47m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">93.    Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham) - £46.5m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">94.    Marco Asensio (Real Madrid) - £45.2m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">95.    Gianluigi Donnarumma (AC Milan) - £45m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">96.    Harry Maguire (Leicester City) - £44.9m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">97.    Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - £44.8m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">98.    Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) - £44.7m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">99.    Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma) - £44.6m<br style="box-sizing: border-box; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;">100.    Andreas Christensen (Chelsea) - £44.3m </p><br>

PSG star Neymar becomes the most valuable player in Europe ahead of Lionel Messi; Cristiano Ronaldo ranked 49th (See full list)

The CIES Football Observatory has published its annual rankings of most valuable players in the top five European leagues (the Premier Leagu...

Barcelona and Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho

<p dir="ltr">Barcelona on Saturday confirmed that they had agreed to sign Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, promising to give the details later.</p>
<p dir="ltr">But multiple reports said the transfer deal is worth up to $192 million.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“Barcelona and Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho. The player will sign a contract for the rest of the season and five more years with a release clause of 400 million euros,” said a Barcelona statement.</p>
<p dir="ltr">On their website, Barcelona ran the headline, ‘Coutinho a Barca player’, displaying the ex-Liverpool player in photo-shopped Barcelona colours.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The deal for the 25-year-old attacking midfielder will be the third richest in history after the 222 million euros that Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for Brazilian star Neymar last year and the 120 million euros that Kylian Mbappe will cost PSG from Monaco once the French player’s loan period with the Ligue 1 champions is completed.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1wV5voFEZwr1R2L0Vm-dZtKqGe3kltWNRpFQZOS_KQl_0rLT57onAK07WalY7jO3t7K1ilBPWXQLSvq8DTqVMRQe3b_qTrPeNjQUU8RHCAFkmj4g7p6cwhm_E_OXkm3kLkJ-LQ2MuzY/s1600/Coutinho-in-Barcelona-colours.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1wV5voFEZwr1R2L0Vm-dZtKqGe3kltWNRpFQZOS_KQl_0rLT57onAK07WalY7jO3t7K1ilBPWXQLSvq8DTqVMRQe3b_qTrPeNjQUU8RHCAFkmj4g7p6cwhm_E_OXkm3kLkJ-LQ2MuzY/s640/Coutinho-in-Barcelona-colours.jpg"> </a> </div>

Barcelona and Liverpool have reached an agreement for the transfer of Philippe Coutinho

Barcelona on Saturday confirmed that they had agreed to sign Brazilian star Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool, promising to give the details ...

Jose Mourinho is a little man- Chelsea coach says

<p dir="ltr">The feud between Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho of Manchester united deepen as it results into name calling. </p>
<p dir="ltr">Mourinho and Conte have never been friends but their relationship deteriorated this week after Mourinho spoke about some managers behaving “like a clown” on the touchline.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Mourinho further made a comment about match-fixing during the week, in reference to the four-month suspension Conte was handed in the 2012/2013 season, when he managed  Siena in Italy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">His offence was his failure to report the match-fixing at the club. He was later cleared by an Italian court of any wrongdoing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I think when you try to hurt a person, especially if you know very well the truth of what happens, the court proved my innocence.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“When you do this it means you are a little man,” Conte said after Chelsea’s 0-0 FA Cup third-round draw at Championship side Norwich City.</p>
<p dir="ltr">“But this is the not the first time. He does this in the past and he continues to do this in the present.”<br></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiByanzgNkl6ov8WLCUWj2H95LdOQNct-lrJWO6AtNFPkqOroik-cCzhpUqPOd8zQ4e4-arOr9VvYyEdTmQgELXOxl-z3S8kWEgOGNyuIxt3T8zFahEcPkryLzQek8ktlKj_hOIATtSYY/s1600/2016-10-23T152227Z_120237747_MT1ACI14650056_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-CHE-MUN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiByanzgNkl6ov8WLCUWj2H95LdOQNct-lrJWO6AtNFPkqOroik-cCzhpUqPOd8zQ4e4-arOr9VvYyEdTmQgELXOxl-z3S8kWEgOGNyuIxt3T8zFahEcPkryLzQek8ktlKj_hOIATtSYY/s640/2016-10-23T152227Z_120237747_MT1ACI14650056_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-ENGLAND-CHE-MUN.jpg"> </a> </div>

Jose Mourinho is a little man- Chelsea coach says

The feud between Chelsea manager Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho of Manchester united deepen as it results into name calling. Mourinho and ...

Nigeria wins Women Afrobasket for 3rd time

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Afrobasket.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nigeria’s senior women basketball team, D’Tigress, on Sunday restored the nation’s lost glory in the Women Afrobasket having defeated defending champions, Senegal to clinch the title for the third time after 12 years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The News agency of Nigeria reports that in the competition’s final played in Bamako, Mali, the D’Tigress walloped their Senegalese counterparts 65-48 points to beat them a second time in the championship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to report, the team recorded no loss in all their games to the final in the 2017 edition after they had won it last in 2005. They first won it in in 2003.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the victory, the team has qualified for the 2018 Women FIBA Championship in Spain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">They had earlier in the semi-final defeated hosts, Mali 48-47 to set up the final against Senegal which they had earlier beaten 58-54 points on Thursday in the group stage of the tournament.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the first quarter of the match, Senegal enjoyed the privilege of 18-12 points’ victory but Nigeria powered past with 21-10 points in the second quarter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Senegal then struggled to reverse their loss in the third quarter only to suffer additional loss of 7-15 points to D’Tigress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Evelyn Akhator, Dallas Wing forward, in the Women National Basketball Association (WNBA), has earned a reputation as top performer for the umpteenth time in the competition, scoring 13 points and seven rebounds for D’Tigress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Akhator also made two assists and one steal even as she made no successful block during the final game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But D’Tigers Captain, Aisha Muhammed, Adaora Elonu and Ezinne Kalu contributed seven rebounds, four assists and two steals respectively during the match.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, Astou Traore, the top performer for Senegal, scored 17 points which was the highest score in the match, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and no block, all in vain to stop D’Tigress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nigeria’s return to glory in women basketball in the continent began on July 21 immediately Musa Kida-led NBBF was inaugurated by Solomon Dalung, Minister of Youths and Sports.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kida had announced the opening of camp for D’Tigress in Florida U.S, and Lagos for the invited foreign and home-based players respectively.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It will be recalled that Kida said the players and officials’ welfare was prioritised by the management board of the NBBF to get the best of the team.</span></div>
</div>

Nigeria wins Women Afrobasket for 3rd time

Nigeria’s senior women basketball team, D’Tigress, on Sunday restored the nation’s lost glory in the Women Afrobasket having defeated de...

McGregor blames referee for his loss

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<img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IMG_5267-e1503812187398.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In his words:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I took the early rounds pretty handy, he adjusted. He’s composed – not that fast or powerful, but boy is he composed and he was making me throw.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Fair play to him, what a career he’s had. I thought it was a little early with the stoppage. I would have liked to have hit the floor, he (the referee) should have let me keep going. I was just a little fatigued. He was a lot more composed under the shots – that’s what 50 professional fights will give you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I’ve been strangled on live TV and came back, so I would have liked him to have let it go. It was some buzz. I thought we were close. It was fatigue. The referee could have let it keep going, let the man put me down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“No one is taking these kind of risks. I’ll take it on the chin, it’s another day for me.”</span></div>
</blockquote>
</div>

McGregor blames referee for his loss

In his words: “I took the early rounds pretty handy, he adjusted. He’s composed – not that fast or powerful, but boy is he composed an...

Mayweather: I have had my last fight

Mayweather: I have had my last fight

Floyd Mayweather said he is not going to fight again after winning his 50th professional bout against Irishman Conor McGregor in Las Veg...

Breaking: Mayweather wins, referee saves McGregor

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<img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/IMG_5266.jpg" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818;">Floyd Mayweather has won the fight against loudmouth Conor McGregor in the 10th round, with the referee having to save the Irish challenger from further punishment. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #212121;">The American now has a 50-0 record.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Boxing pundits never expected the fight to go the distance, but McGregor lived up to his promise to shock the boxing world. But in the end Mayweather was just to good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The end came early in the 10th round. Mayweather attacked again and referee Robert Byrd dived in to save McGregor from any more punishment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The fight which was delayed because of pay-per-view issues started 5.14 am.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conor McGregor had control of the first three rounds, doing most of the footwork, with his more experienced opponent Mayweather being overly cautious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He took control in the 4th round as McGregor appeared to have tired himself out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In round eight McGregor already looked like a man whose energy had been sapped out of him, and his punches did not cause even a flinch of pain from Mayweather, who appeared to be toying with his opponent at that moment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Floyd Mayweather has won all 50of his professional fights, so far.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Conor McGregor has never boxed professionally before today and won 21 of 24 MMA fights.</span></div>
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Breaking: Mayweather wins, referee saves McGregor

Floyd Mayweather has won the fight against loudmouth Conor McGregor in the 10th round, with the referee having to save the Irish challenge...

Dangote hopes to fire Arsene Wenger after taking over Arsenal

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Aliko Dangote" src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/dangote2-e1491731481137.jpg" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is unrelenting in his desire to to take over Arsenal Football Club of England.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But he stated clearly that long serving coach, Arsene Wenger is out of the planned swoop, which may be sometime in 2019.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dangote, valued at £10billion by Forbes earlier this year, added that he would fire Arsenal’s Manager, Arsene Wenger if his takeover bid is successful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dangote has always expressed his desire to take over at the Emirates for several years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An Arsenal fan since the mid-1980s, he had been in talks with then-shareholder Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith about a deal seven years ago but saw a deal fall apart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In an interview with Bloomberg, the billionaire once more affirmed his desire to invest in the north London side once he completes a major oil refinery project in the Nigerian capital of Lagos.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“The first thing I would change is the coach,” Dangote said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“He has done a good job, but someone else should also try his luck.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority shareholder Stan Kroenke, in May, rejected a £1billion takeover bid from Alisher Usmanov, who owns a 30 per cent stake in the club, insisting that he was a committed, long-term investor in the club.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dangote, however, believes that he could tempt Kroenke and Usmanov into selling up the club which is valued at £2bn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“If they get the right offer, I’m sure they would walk away,” he said.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Someone will give them an offer that will make them seriously consider walking away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“And when we finish the refinery, I think we will be in a position to do that.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">*Culled from The Will.</span></div>
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Dangote hopes to fire Arsene Wenger after taking over Arsenal

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is unrelenting in his desire to to take over Arsenal Football Club of England. But he stated clea...

Ronaldo’s 5-match ban upheld, Zidane in trouble

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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img src="http://18694-presscdn.pagely.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Ronaldo-to-miss-match-against-Barcelona-e1502895411488.jpg" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Disciplinary Committee of the Real Spanish Football Federation has upheld the five match ban slammed on Real Madrid’s star Cristiano Ronaldo.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It means the player will be missing in action from today, when Madrid host at Santiago Bernabeu, Barcelona in the second leg of the Spanish SuperCup.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">According to multiple sources, the Committee turned down the appeal by Real Madrid.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The club had expected that the committee would review the sanction, following the red card earned by Ronaldo at the first leg of the SuperCup at Camp Nou on Sunday. The player got the five match ban because he also pushed the referee, Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coach Zinedine Zidane had hoped that Ronaldo would be spared when he on Tuesday reviewed tonight’s clash with Barcelona.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And reports said he may also be in soup as well, as the committee is scrutinising his comment about the ban, especially after he said: “I hope they’ve not got something against Cristiano Ronaldo and people do their job with integrity”. His statement is being interpreted as a challenge of the referee’s authority.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is what Zidane said Tuesday about Ronaldo and the ban:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I am and we are very upset. I’m not going to get involved with the referees but, after what happened, to think that he’ll not play for five games, makes you think that something isn’t right. It’s too long for him. I’ve been very clear in my response. What happened happened, but when you look at the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo has got five matches, you have to admit that it’s a lot”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Revoke the suspension?<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“I hope that when they meet, they look at it thoroughly. I’m upset that he’s been suspended for five games after what happened. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m telling you how I feel after watching the match again. How is it not going to bother me. I don’t interfere with the work of the referee, we can all make mistakes, but it’s annoying that he’s got five games after what happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cristiano Ronaldo’s mood<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />“Everyone can have their opinion but Cristiano Ronaldo is upset because he wants to play and when he doesn’t play he’s not happy, I hope they’ve not got something against Cristiano Ronaldo and people do their job with integrity. We’re upset that we are not going to have him with us for a long time. We’ll wait to see what happens tomorrow(today). The disciplinary committee is going to meet tomorrow(today) and after that we’ll see what we’re going to do”.</span></div>
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Ronaldo’s 5-match ban upheld, Zidane in trouble

The Disciplinary Committee of the Real Spanish Football Federation has upheld the five match ban slammed on Real Madrid’s star Cristiano...