Sports

Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes, has won the Football Writers' Association's Men's Footballer of the Year award. The Portugal international has scored eight goals and provided 20 assists in 34 games across all competitions for the Red Devils this season. The 31-year-old received 45 per cent of the vote from the FWA’s membership of more than 900 members. "This means everything," Fernandes said at the FWA dinner in London. "This has been the best season of my life." United are on course to finish third in the Premier League and secure a place in next season's Champions League. Fernandes is the first United player to win the FWA men's award since Wayne Rooney in 2010. He edged out Arsenal's Declan Rice and Manchester City's Erling Haaland to win the award....

Real Madrid have confirmed that the club has fined both Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni the sum of €500,000 each. It is the biggest ever fine in the history of Los Blancos. This follows an altercation between the two midfielders in training. The fight led to Valverde being taken to hospital after suffering “a traumatic brain injury”. Tchouameni was back in training on Friday, but Valverde is expected to miss this weekend’s LaLiga clash against Barcelona. The club’s statement read: “Real Madrid C.F. announces that, following the events that led to the opening of disciplinary proceedings yesterday against our players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, both appeared today before the investigating officer. “During their appearance, the pl...

AFC Bournemouth have announced that right-back Alex Jimenez will be suspended for their clash with Fulham this week, as they investigate his activity on social media. The 21-year-old has allegedly been messaging and underage girl.  Screenshots of the alleged messages from Jimenez to a 15-year-old girl on social media have been circulating on social media. In the screenshots, Jimenez acknowledges that the girl is underage, but continues ahead with a desire to meet up with her, and ‘do adult things’. So far Jimenez has not commented on the incident.On Friday, Bournemouth announed that they were investigating the incident, based on the social media posts. AFC Bournemouth are aware of posts circulating on social media involving right-back, Álex Jimenez. The club understand the serio...

For the first time in football history, English clubs have secured a place in the finals of all three major European competitions in a single season.  The  milestone was confirmed on Thursday night following semi-final victories for Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, joining Arsenal who had already qualified for the Champions League final. This achievement makes the Premier League the first league ever to have representatives in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League finals simultaneously. Aston Villa overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit against Nottingham Forest, storming back with a 4-1 aggregate victory. Under the guidance of Unai Emery—who is chasing his fifth Europa League title, Villa will face German side SC Freiburg in the final on May 20. This mar...

Rayo Vallecano has achieved more than just reaching a historic European final; the Madrid-based club has handed Spanish football a major boost in the race for continental qualification. Following Rayo’s qualification for the UEFA Europa Conference League final, Spain has officially secured an additional Champions League spot for the 2026/27 campaign via UEFA’s performance-based coefficient rankings. This development means that the team finishing fifth in La Liga will now qualify directly for the Champions League, significantly raising the stakes for clubs in the top tier. As the season enters its final stretch, Real Betis currently occupies that fifth position, holding a six-point lead over Celta Vigo. Rayo sealed their place in the final after defeating RC Strasbourg Alsace 1-0 in F...

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been named Premier League Manager of the Month for April after leading City to an unbeaten run featuring key wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and Burnley. City edged Arsenal 2-1 in a crucial title showdown, thrashed Chelsea 3-0 and secured a 1-0 victory over Burnley to complete a perfect month. The latest recognition marks Guardiola’s 13th Manager of the Month award, placing him third on the all-time list behind Arsène Wenger with 15 and Alex Ferguson who leads with 27. It is Guardiola’s second monthly award this season following his February success and the first time in a year that a manager has won the prize twice in one campaign since Nuno Espírito Santo achieved the feat with Nottingham Forest between 2024 and 2025. Manchester City could...

Tobi Amusan World record holder Tobi Amusan headlines Nigeria’s 45-athlete team for the CAA Senior Athletics Championships in Accra. The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) confirmed a squad of 25 women and 20 men for the championships, scheduled for May 12 to 17 at the University of Ghana Sports Complex. Amusan is set to contest the women’s 100m hurdles alongside Adaobi Tabugbo and Janet Sunday. Sprint sensation Rosemary Chukwuma returns after missing the World Relays in Gaborone and will run the 100m and join the 4x100m relay quartet featuring Miracle Ezechukwu, Maria Thompson-Omokwe and Tejiri Ugoh. The women’s squad also includes Patience Okon-George in the 400m, Ruth Usoro in the long jump and hammer thrower Oyesade Olatoye. Notably absent are long jump star Ese Brume...

Former England captain, Wayne Rooney has criticised England boss Thomas Tuchel for leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold out of the squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup, describing the decision as “mind-boggling”. Alexander-Arnold has been overlooked in Tuchel’s last four England squads despite returning to regular action for Madrid after recovering from a thigh injury earlier this year. Speaking on the Wayne Rooney Podcast on Thursday, the former England captain questioned why Ben White was selected ahead of the former Liverpool defender. “No disrespect to Ben White – I think he’s a fantastic player – but for him to be in the squad and playing ahead of Trent is mind-boggling,” Rooney said. England included Tino Livramento, Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa among their defensive options for...

The Nigeria Football Federation has officially appointed Abdu Maikaba and Eboboritse Uwejamomere as head coaches of Nigeria’s U20 and U17 male national teams respectively. The appointments were approved by the federation’s Executive Committee following recommendations from the Technical and Development Committee. Maikaba will lead the Flying Eagles, while Uwejamomere takes over the Golden Eaglets. Maikaba returns to Nigeria’s youth football setup with extensive experience, having previously coached the Golden Eaglets and served as assistant coach of the Flying Eagles under Paul Aigbogun. Over the years, he has managed several Nigeria Premier Football League sides, including Enyimba FC, Wikki Tourists FC, Kano Pillars FC and Plateau United FC. One of his major achievements came in ...

Tension is reportedly rising inside the Real Madrid dressing room following a series of confrontations among players in recent days. According to reports from Marca, midfielder Federico Valverde was taken to the hospital after a heated altercation with teammate Aurelien Tchouameni. The incident reportedly prompted head coach Alvaro Arbeloa to hold an emergency meeting as concerns grow over unrest within the squad. Sources claim the confrontation between Valverde and Tchouameni was more intense than previous disagreements involving players. The dispute allegedly started during Wednesday’s training session after the pair argued over a challenge during play. Valverde is said to have sustained a cut from an accidental blow during the confrontation and later visited the emergency ro...