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Mbappé missed Real Madrid’s trip to Saudi Arabia for Thursday’s semifinal against Atlético Madrid due to a knee sprain sustained earlier in the week. Despite his absence, Madrid secured a 2-1 victory over city rivals Atlético in Jeddah, setting up a Clasico clash with Barcelona. Speaking to reporters after the win, Alonso stated: “Mbappé is feeling much better and has the same chance to play as his teammates.” The coach added that the French forward would join the squad in Jeddah on Friday. At 27, Mbappé remains a key figure in Madrid’s attack, leading the club’s scoring charts with 29 goals in 24 appearances across all competitions this season. His return comes at a crucial time, as Barcelona cruised past Athletic Bilbao 5-0 in Wednesday’s first semi-final. Beyond Mbappé, Madrid’...

Liam Rosenior begins his reign as Chelsea manager with a potentially tricky FA Cup third-round tie away to second-tier Charlton, a fixture that carries classic giant-killing danger. Elsewhere, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank is under intense pressure as he fights to save his job, while Manchester United remain in disarray, with caretaker boss Darren Fletcher attempting to steady the ship. AFP Sport highlights three managers under scrutiny as Premier League clubs turn their attention to the FA Cup this weekend. Rosenior set for Chelsea debut Rosenior’s last experience managing in English football came in May 2024, when his Hull City side suffered a 1–0 defeat at Plymouth, ending their push for a Championship play-off place. He was dismissed just days later, making his rise to the...

Benfica head coach José Mourinho kept his squad at the club’s training facility following their 3–1 defeat to Braga in the Portuguese League Cup semi-finals, insisting the players should reflect on the setback rather than enjoy time off. Benfica were eliminated on Wednesday, finishing the match with 10 men after defender Nicolás Otamendi was sent off. The loss ruled the Lisbon side out of the final and prolonged a difficult run under the Portuguese manager. According to BBC Sport, Mourinho said at his post-match press conference that the team would stay at Benfica’s Seixal training base for the next few days, with training sessions scheduled despite having no fixture this weekend. “The players will sleep in Seixal. On Thursday there is training, and the following day there is trai...

Super Eagles players have been banned from talking to journalists during their open training on Thursday. This was confirmed by the team’s media officer, Promise Efoghe, in a terse statement. Efoghe however noted that reporters will have a 15-minute access. According to him, this is due to the events of the past few days, including the bonus row that lead to the team’s late arrival in Marrakech, where they will play Algeria in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final. Efoghe said: “Interactions with the players earlier scheduled for today have been called off in the wake of recent developments, including the late time of arrival time to Marrakech. “I urge us to respect the decision of the players not to speak at this time.”

Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has offered to personally pay the team’s unpaid match bonuses at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco if the Federal Government does not clear the arrears before Saturday’s quarter-final clash against Algeria. Speaking on Thursday, January 8, to BBC journalist Oluwashina Okeleji, Ndidi said he made the pledge to ensure the bonus dispute does not disrupt preparations. “I’ve been encouraging the team to train and focus on the game against Algeria since the second match. I’ve now assured the staff and players that I’ll personally settle the bonuses if the authorities fail to do so before Saturday,” he wrote on X. “I don’t want these unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations. I told players and coaching staff that I’d cover the payments per...

Former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, has criticised the continued non-payment of match allowances owed to Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, describing it as a national embarrassment that undermines the country’s image and morale.  Obi made the remarks in a post on his official Facebook page, expressing concern that Nigeria continues to generate troubling narratives even at moments when citizens need unity and positive distractions.  \ According to him, the Super Eagles have been a major source of national pride, lifting the spirits of Nigerians at home and abroad through their recent performances, yet are now facing avoidable distractions due to the failure to pay their agreed match bonuses.  ...

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has said he would not mind if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the Red Devils job permanently, as long as he does a good job as a temporary boss. He thinks the club is making the same error as Liverpool did in the 1990s, which was choosing former players as managers instead of proven managers. After the draw against Burnley, Neville talked to Sky Sports and said that Manchester United are doing the same things they tried over ten years ago, when they signed Ryan Giggs after David Moyes was fired. He said (via M.E.N): “I wouldn’t. I think there’s something that happened at Liverpool, didn’t we see this for about 25 or 30 years, when they were going through a time where they weren’t winning. “You go through cycles where, and United have been doing t...

Nigerian-British boxer, Anthony Joshua, has said losing two of his close friends in a car crash is “tough” for him. Joshua survived the road accident which happened on December 29 along the Lagos-Ibadan Motorway and claimed the lives of his friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. ‘In a post shared on Instagram on Thursday, the boxer described the loss as deeply painful, while noting that the impact was even greater on the families of the deceased. He wrote, “Thank you for all the love and care you have shown my brothers. “I didn’t even realise how special they are. I’ll just be walking with them and cracking jokes with them, not even knowing God kept me in the presence of great men. “100% it’s tough for me, but I know it’s even tougher for their parents ❤️ I have a strong mind, ...

Sacked Premier League referee , David Coote has been sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to making an indecent image of a child. Entertainment center The court heard that police seized the disgraced former Premier League referee's electronic devices and an explicit two-minute video of a 15-year-old boy, initially in a school uniform, from January 2, 2020, was found on his laptop. Coote was charged in October with an allegation relating to a category A video, the most serious kind, recovered by police in February. The 43-year-old appeared for his sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, where prosecutors said a clip was found after a separate probe into comments he made about ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in...

Cyriel Dessers has broken his silence following his injury-induced exit from the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The striker was forced to return to his club in Greece after sustaining a thigh injury during a Super Eagles training session last week. The former Rangers forward did not make any appearance for Nigeria at the tournament before suffering the setback. Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle had earlier disclosed, ahead of Nigeria’s Round of 16 clash with Mozambique, that Dessers would be sidelined for between 10 and 12 weeks. Reacting to the development, the Panathinaikos striker took to social media to express his disappointment. “Unfortunately I sustained an injury at AFCON. It’s extremely difficult to accept that I will miss the remainder of the tournament and...