Sports
Man City’s Pep Guardiola Responds To José Mourinho Jibe
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was only joking when he referred to winning twice as many Premier League titles as José Mourinho, after the former Chelsea boss said that he had won his titles fairly.
The Spaniard also said City were innocent until proven guilty, responding to Mourinho’s allusions to their alleged violations of Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018, which the club has always denied.
Guardiola, who held up six fingers to Liverpool fans on Sunday, a gesture similar to Mourinho holding up three fingers in 2018 before getting sacked by Manchester United, had made the comment when asked if he could suffer a fate similar to the Portuguese.
“I hope not in my case … He won three, I won six … but we are the same like that,” Guardiola answered.
Mourinho responded to Guardiola’s comment on Friday, ahead of his team Fenerbahce’s clash with Besiktas.
“I won fairly and cleanly … I don’t want to win by dealing with 150 court cases,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Mourinho as saying.
City did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mourinho’s statement.
Guardiola, speaking to reporters later on Friday, said he had no bad intentions when making the comment about Mourinho.
“If I have offended him, I am so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three and I have six, it is a fact. But the intention was completely fine,” he said.
“I think both with our teams – he with Chelsea, myself with Man City – we can sit in the table with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger right? For the many, many titles we’ve won. I’m pretty sure sooner or later they will congratulate us.”
Guardiola said there were many people around the world who wanted to see City at the bottom.
“We are innocent until proven as guilty. After that we’ll see what happens, but it is what it is,” he added.
Mourinho has taken shots at City before, saying in October that he was hoping he could add a fourth Premier League medal to his cabinet if City are stripped of their titles and United, who finished second in 2017-18, are awarded the Premier League trophy.
Chelsea, where Mourinho won his three English top-flight titles in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2014-15, are being investigated by the Premier League for potential financial rule breaches between 2012 and 2019.
Sports
CAF Confederation Cup: Enyimba bow out after defeat to Zamalek
Enyimba have been eliminated from this year’s CAF Confederation Cup following a 3-1 loss to holders Zamalek in Cairo.
Forward Seifeddine Jaziri bagged a brace for Zamalek, while Mustafa Shalaby scored the other goal.
Enyimba got their goal through Ifeanyi Ihemekwele.
Enyimba finished third in Group D with five points from six games.
Another Egyptian club, Al Masry, joined Zamalek in the quarter-finals of the competition after they beat Black Bulls of Mozambique 3-1 to record nine points.
No Nigerian club has won the CAF Confederation Cup in the past.
News
Haaland signs 10-year contract with Manchester City
By Francesca Hangeior.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has signed a new 10-year contract that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2034, the club announced on Friday.
The 24-year-old Norwegian, who joined City from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, has been a pivotal figure in the club’s recent successes.
His initial contract was set to expire in 2027, but the new deal reflects the club’s confidence in Haaland’s importance to their future.
“Erling Haaland has signed a new 10-year Manchester City contract, keeping him at the Club until the summer of 2034,” the statement said.
Reflecting on the new contract, Haaland expressed his delight at extending his stay.
“I am really happy to have signed my new contract and to be able to look forward to spending even more time at this great club.
“Manchester City is a special club, full of fantastic people with amazing supporters, and it’s the type of environment that helps bring the best out of everybody,” he said.
Haaland thanked his teammates, manager Pep Guardiola, and the City staff, stating, “They have made this such a special place to be, and now I am City no matter what. I want to keep developing, keep working to get better, and help us achieve more success going forward.”
Since his arrival, Haaland’s impact has been nothing short of extraordinary. In his debut 2022/23 season, he scored 52 goals across all competitions, the highest-ever tally by a Premier League player in a single season, breaking the previous league record of 36 goals.
His goals were instrumental in City’s historic treble-winning campaign, which included the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League titles.
In addition to collective success, Haaland garnered numerous individual accolades in his debut season, including the PFA Player of the Year, Premier League Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, and the Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year awards.
Despite an injury that sidelined him for nearly two months during the 2023/24 season, Haaland continued his prolific form, scoring 38 goals in 45 appearances, including 27 in the Premier League, securing a second consecutive Golden Boot.
Sports
SAD: Footballer slumps, dies during match in Osun
By Francesca Hangeior.
Osun State Police Command has confirmed the death of Adeyemi Adewale, a football player for the Ilesa West Local Government Area team, who slumped during a match in Osogbo, the state capital.
Adewale, 29, was participating in the Adeleke Memorial Cup Final match at the Ataoja School of Science on Thursday when he collapsed on the field.
Efforts to save him proved futile as he was rushed to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, where doctors confirmed him dead upon arrival.
Spokesperson for the Osun Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed the incident in a statement, adding that investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death have commenced.
“Today, (Thursday) while the Adeleke Memorial Cup Final match was going on at Ataoja School of Science, one Adeyemi Adewale ‘M’ 29yrs, a player of Ilesa West Football team, slumped on the pitch.
“He was rushed to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital, where he was later confirmed dead by a doctor,” the statement said.
The remains of the deceased have been deposited at the teaching hospital’s morgue.
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