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English-born Nigerian footballer Jordan Chiedozie is currently in a coma after being hit by a car on the motorway.
The 30-year-old had played for non-league side Bashley FC against Tavistock at the weekend.
While on the way back from the away game, Chiedozie, alongside Bashley physio Reighan Taylor, suffered a flat tire on the motorway.
The player sustained “life-changing, and potentially life-threatening” injuries after being struck by another vehicle on the M27 when he stepped out to assess the flat tire situation.
Reacting to the incident, the club, in a statement, wrote: “Everyone connected with Bashley Football Club is devastated by the news of our player Jordan Chiedozie, currently in the hospital with life-changing, and potentially life-threatening injuries, after a serious car crash.
“Jordan was taken to Southampton Hospital with multiple broken bones and other physical injuries. At this time, he remains in a controlled coma.”
[DailyPost]
Former Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, has opened up about the harrowing experience of learning about his father’s kidnapping just two hours before Nigeria’s crucial FIFA World Cup match against Argentina.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast published on Monday, Mikel revealed that he received a call from his brother informing him that their father had been kidnapped in Nigeria. It was the second time such an incident had occurred.
“Kidnappers love my dad,” Mikel said, adding, “No, they love my money.”
The midfielder, who was set to captain Nigeria in a high-stakes knockout clash against Lionel Messi’s Argentina, had to make a difficult decision—whether to inform his teammates or keep the distressing news to himself.
“I didn’t want to let the team down. I was the captain. I thought about it in my room, and then I went out there and played the game,” he said.
Despite the emotional turmoil, Mikel took to the pitch, all while dealing with threats from the kidnappers, who demanded ransom.
“They called me, knowing I was going into the game. They thought it would push me to pay whatever they wanted. I spoke to them, and they said, ‘We’re going to shoot the [expletive] out of him if you don’t pay.’ My dad was on the phone saying, ‘Just give them the money, they are beating me up,’” Mikel recounted.
After the match, Mikel reached out to Chelsea officials, who informed then-club owner Roman Abramovich about the situation.
“Roman being Roman said, ‘Just give me 24 hours. Let me send my people down, and I’ll find your dad.’ I thought, how the [expletive] are you going to do that? Nigeria is a massive country. But he said, ‘Don’t worry about it, just give me 24 hours.’”
Despite Abramovich’s offer, Mikel eventually had to negotiate and pay a hefty ransom to secure his father’s release.
“I didn’t know, but I had to negotiate, and I had to pay a lot of money to get him out. But my dad was safe,” he said.
Mikel described the ordeal as a life-changing experience, adding that such challenges had made him mentally stronger.
At some point this week, it felt as if Victor Boniface was destined to leave Bayer Leverkusen to Al Nassr.
The two clubs opened talks over a possible transfer, as the Saudi Pro League side sought to replace Anderson Talisca, who has since signed for Fenerbahçe.
The news came out of nowhere, as Boniface only signed a contract extension with the Bundesliga champions until 2026 last week.
The deal made the Super Eagles forward one of the top earners at Leverkusen.
Despite renewing his contract, the 24-year-old was, however, not considered unsellable by the Bundesliga champions.
Boniface even missed Tuesday’s training session and some reports claim his bags were packed to travel to the Middle East.
All that was left was for Al Nassr to proceed with the final processes of the deal, after agreeing a transfer fee of more than €60m.
The 24-year-old was set to earn an eye watering €15m net per season.
But the deal eventually collapsed.
Al Nassr were also in negotiations with Aston Villa for Jhon Duran and opted to splash €77million on the 21-year-old.
The Colombian striker was officially unveiled on Friday, as the Saudi transfer window slam shut.
“Transfer rumours are normal in football,” Boniface, who has since returned to Leverkusen training, told SportsBoom.
“It’s always flattering when big clubs show interest, but my focus right now is 100% on Bayer Leverkusen.
“A lot of calculations have also happened here and there, but I love playing here, and I want to give my best to the team.
“What happens in the future will happen, but for now, my mind is only on helping Leverkusen achieve our goals.”
The saga has triggered a lot of conversations on and off social media, as to if Boniface should have even considered the move.
“It’s understandable. As much as I don’t like it, the reality is that football is a job for many,” Deji Faremi, co-owner of Busy Buddies and a sports analyst, tells DAILY POST.
“Especially considering where a guy like Boniface is coming from, you can see how and why that sort of move would interest him.
“An opportunity to earn more than three times what you currently earn is very tempting.
“Unless you have great belief in yourself to maintain a certain level that would make you attractive (and in line to earn that much) for years, you have to think about it,” he added.
But why did Al Nassr pick Duran over Boniface.
“Hard to tell. Duran is a younger option,” Faremi explains.
“But maybe he was also more interested in joining them. Boniface is easily the better player though. They have missed out on an excellent player.”
There are insinuations that a move to the Middle East would have affected Boniface’s chances of playing for the Super Eagles.
In the absence of Victor Osimhen, Boniface has failed to impress for the national team. And leaving Europe might have seen his stocks drop further.
“I don’t think so,” Faremi responds sharply.
“The level in Saudi is quite good and we’ve seen many players like Ronaldo, Kante remain important members of their national teams despite playing in Saudi Arabia.
“That’s another reason why it would have made a lot of sense if he moved. There was nothing to lose, except maybe a chance to be the best player in the world.”
So what next for Boniface?
Faremi adds: “If he’s turned down the offer – and not the other way round – it could suggest he would rather play in Europe, hunt for bigger and more prestigious trophies, and make a name for himself at the highest level.
“He could still make all that money Saudi are offering if he can find the form he had at the start of last season, and make a big money move to England or even Italy.”
[DailyPost]
Chelsea midfielder, Cesare Casadei has left the Blues to become new Torino player on a permanent transfer deal.
This was disclosed by football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano in a tweet via his X account in the early hours of Sunday morning.
“Cesare Casadei has left Chelsea and becomes new Torino player on a permanent deal,” Romano tweeted.
“€15m package, 25% sell-on clause, saga over.”
Recall that Casadei was attracting strong interest from Serie A clubs Torino and Lazio.
Chelsea are said to want £12.6million for the Italian, who has made just six appearances this season for the Premier League west London club.
Casadei is down the pecking order of midfielders in manager Enzo Maresca’s squad at Stamford Bridge.
He is behind the likes of Moises Caicedo, Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez.
[DailyPost]
Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya was knocked out by Nassourdine Imavov on Saturday night.
It was the Stylebender’s third consecutive defeat.
Adesanya was sent tumbling to the canvas by a huge right hand from Imavov.
Imavov finished off Adesanya with some heavy ground and pound midway through the second round.
Adesanya had overcome his demons by knocking out Alex Pereira in April 2023 at the fourth time of asking.
That win saw the Nigerian-New Zealander regain the UFC middleweight title before suffering back-to-back losses to Sean Strickland and Dricus Du Plessis.
Heading into his fight with Imavov, Adesanya needed a win to remain at the middleweight top table.
But Imavov denied him that opportunity in devastating fashion.
Adesanya appeared to briefly protest the stoppage, but there was no denying things would have only got worse if the referee hadn’t waved it off.
Everyone in the AnB arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was stunned by the stoppage, including Adesanya, who banged the canvas in anger as the result sank in
Aston Villa have made an enquiry over the possibility of signing Marcus Rashford on loan from Manchester United.
Sky Sports News reports that Unai Emery’s side are considering a move for the England forward after selling Jhon Duran to Al Nassr.
The report added that Aston Villa are also interested in Paris Saint-Germain’s Marcos Asensio and Chelsea’s Joao Felix, as confirmed by the club’s president of football operations Monchi earlier this week.
Rashford’s preference is still to move to Spanish LaLiga giants Barcelona.
But the Catalan club have yet to make any formal arrangements to take him on loan.
Meanwhile, in another development, Manchester United on Friday confirmed that midfielder Dan Gore has joined League One club Rotherham United on loan for the remainder of the season.
It’s a second senior loan spell for the Giro, who played for Port Vale in the same division last season.
The 20-year-old made his Reds first-team debut in September 2023, when he appeared as a substitute against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
“Best of luck with the rest of the campaign, Dan!” Man United’s statement partly read.
[DailyPost]
![[FULL LIST] Champions League Play-Off, Round Of 16: Man City To Face Real Madrid](/media/k2/items/cache/7fbb91427ffb5c2ff7e3112870a2111c_S.jpg)
Reigning champions Real Madrid will face 2023 winners Manchester City in the plum tie of the play-off round of this season’s Champions League, following Friday’s draw.
It is the fourth year running in which the sides have been drawn against each other in a knockout tie, with Real emerging victorious in a penalty shoot-out in the quarter-finals last season.
City, who scraped through after finishing 22nd in the league phase in this first season of the new format for Europe’s elite club competition, will be at home in the first leg before going to Spain for the return.
Elsewhere, Celtic will face six-time European champions Bayern Munich, after the Scottish champions reached the knockout stage for the first time in 12 years.
Paris Saint-Germain will play surprise package Brest in an all-French tie, while Juventus play PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord take on AC Milan in two ties between former winners of the competition.
Last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta, who finished one place outside the top eight which offered a direct path to the last 16, will face Club Brugge of Belgium.
Sporting of Portugal were drawn against last season’s runners-up Borussia Dortmund, while Monaco will take on Benfica having lost at home to the Portuguese club in the league phase.
The play-off ties will take place next month, with the eight winners going through to the last 16 along with the eight highest-placed sides from the league phase.
Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille and Aston Villa are the sides already through to the last 16.
See full list of play-off and round of 16 draws below:
Draw for the Champions League knockout phase play-offs, made on Friday:
Brest (FRA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Club Brugge (BEL) v Atalanta (ITA)
Manchester City (ENG) v Real Madrid (ESP)
Juventus (ITA) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Monaco (FRA) v Benfica (POR)
Sporting (POR) v Borussia Dortmund (GER)
Celtic (SCO) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Feyenoord (NED) v AC Milan (ITA)
First legs to be played February 11/12, second legs February 18/19
Draw for the last 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals will take place on February 21
Draw for the last 16 is based on a pre-determined bracket:
Brest or PSG v Liverpool (ENG) or Barcelona (ESP)
Club Brugge or Atalanta v Lille (FRA) or Aston Villa (ENG)
Man City or Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (ESP) or Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Juventus or PSV v Arsenal (ENG) or Inter Milan (ITA)
Monaco or Benfica v Barcelona (ESP) or Liverpool (ENG)
Sporting or Dortmund v Aston Villa (ENG) or Lille (FRA)
Celtic or Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen (GER) or Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Feyenoord or AC Milan v Inter Milan (ITA) or Arsenal (ENG)
Cristiano Ronaldo might be the Great Of All Times (GOAT) to many fans across the football world, but not everyone in his household agrees, with the Portugal star admitting that his own son prefers Real Madrid star’s Kylian Mbappé.
Ronaldo has scored a club-record 450 goals for Los Blancos between 2009 and 2018.
Mbappé has the chance to continue his hot streak later on Wednesday against Brest, while Ronaldo is next in action against Al Raed on Thursday.
Ronaldo who scored twice in Al Nassr’s comfortable Saudi Pro League win at the weekend to move to the top of the division’s goal-scoring charts, but that was not enough to impress his 5-year-old, Mateo.
In an excerpt from an upcoming interview with Spanish outlet La Sexta, Ronaldo admitted the France captain has surpassed him in his son’s eyes.
“Mateo, he really likes Mbappé,” Ronaldo said. “He sometimes tells me: ‘Hey dad, Mbappé is better than you,’ and I reply by saying: ‘No, I am better than him, I have scored more goals.”
Mbappé, who is known to have idolised Ronaldo in his youth, has started to emulate some of his feats at the Bernabéu in recent weeks after his high-profile move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
It was reported that after his hat-trick against Real Valladolid on Saturday, Mbappé now has 15 goals in LaLiga, second in the Pichichi race behind Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.
Pep Guardiola said he cannot see Manchester City winning the Champions League on current form, but believes his side will be better when they face the might of either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich next month.
City needed a second-half fightback from 1-0 down to beat Club Brugge 3-1 on Wednesday to avoid crashing out before the knockout stages for the first time since 2012.
Their reward could be just a stay of execution against either the defending champions or Guardiola’s former club Bayern.
City have also been a diminished force in the Premier League this season, where they sit fourth — 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.
But Guardiola is hopeful they will be strengthened by the return of key players from injury and new signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis in the coming weeks.
“Right now no. I’m so realistic,” said Guardiola when asked if the 2023 champions could win the competition again.
“Madrid is back in terms of results, Bayern played an incredible season so far with (coach) Vinny (Kompany). If we have to play tomorrow it will be difficult but in two weeks we don’t know.
“We are going to prepare well, be fit and try it and see what happens.”
Despite their struggles, City have won six and drawn one of their last eight games.
“At least lately we are getting results,” added Guardiola. “We are fourth in Premier League, not in the title race, no way, but still we are there.
“FA Cup we are there. Sometimes it is impossible today but tomorrow the mindset, the vibes change and I’m pretty sure we will try and create problems for Madrid or Bayern.”
City’s narrow escape played a central role on a dramatic final night for the first season of the Champions League’s new Swiss model format.
Guardiola said he could appreciate the change has made the early stages of the competition more appealing to fans, even if it caused him far more tension.
And he believes other big clubs will face similar struggles in the future.
“As a spectator how many things (were still to be decided) is nice. The problem is we play more games in October, November, December and in the future important teams will live what we lived this season.
“We were on the verge, 45 minutes from being out. It is an incredible lesson for me, the club that nothing is (taken) for granted.
“Congratulate the team because still they have pride and we’ll see how we arrive in two weeks.”
[Vanguard]
Uganda head coach, Paul Put, has acknowledged the strength of the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
The Cranes are drawn in Group C of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria, Tunisia and Tanzania.
The East Africans defeated the Super Eagles 2-1 in their only meeting in the competition at the 1978 edition hosted by Ghana.
Put admitted that his team will need self-belief to pull through in the group.
“There are no easy games in Africa. We are going to face Nigeria, the last edition’s finalists, and Tunisia, a team that consistently reaches the latter stages of this tournament,” the Belgian said after the draw ceremony in Rabat,
Tanzania adds the derby element, which is always intense. However, we must believe in ourselves.”
Tanzania will face the Super Eagles in their last group game in Fez on Tuesday, December 30.
More...
Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface has completed his medicals ahead of a high-profile move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr.
Bayer Leverkusen have since agreed to a €60 million transfer deal for the 24-year-old striker, reports SkySport Germany.
Boniface is set to earn a staggering €15 million net per season with the Riyadh-based club.
Reports of Al-Nassr’s interest in the Akure-born forward gained momentum recently, with the club seeking a replacement for the outgoing Anderson Talisca.
Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso confirmed on Tuesday that negotiations were progressing between the two clubs, with Boniface central to the transfer talks.
The move comes just a week after Boniface extended his contract with Bayer Leverkusen until 2026. Upon confirmation, he will become the second most expensive player to leave the Bundesliga club following Kai Havertz’s €80 million move to Chelsea in 2020.
Boniface will join an elite squad at Al-Nassr, featuring global stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte.
The striker initially joined Leverkusen in July 2023 for €20.5 million. He had a remarkable debut season, scoring 14 goals in 23 Bundesliga matches and helping his team clinch the league title without suffering a single defeat. Boniface’s stellar performances earned him the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year award, having won the monthly equivalent four times.
Despite being sidelined with a thigh injury since November, Boniface has managed to net eight goals in 15 games this season for the German side.
Nigerian international Ademola Lookman will miss his Atalanta side’s Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday after he suffered a knee injury during a training session.
The Serie A club, in a short statement on their website, said the 27-year-old forward hurt the lateral joint in his right knee in training Tuesday morning and would not travel to Spain where on Wednesday the club will seek to secure direct qualification for the last 16 of the Champions League.
Atalanta did not say how long the Nigerian winger would be out of action, but Italian media reported he could be sidelined for up to a month.
Lookman will be a huge loss for Atalanta as he has scored 14 goals and set up six more this season.
He also scored a hat-trick in last season’s Europa League final triumph over German champions Bayer Leverkusen.
Atalanta have punched well above their weight both in Italy and abroad in recent seasons, with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side still hanging on in the Serie A title race and riding high in Europe’s elite club competition.
The Bergamo-based outfit sit seventh in the 36-club league phase of the Champions League, but with a host of clubs within a point of them anything but a win at already-qualified Barca will likely mean a play-off spot.
Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon has announced the birth of his third child with his wife, Ibukun Moses-Simon
The footballer took to his official Instagram account to announce the arrival of their bundle of joy, expressing gratitude to God.
He celebrated his wife of 10 years for her strength, stating that he is proud of her.
Moses Simon in a jointly shared post with his wife shared various photos of his family ranging from her maternity shoot with their two daughters as well as a photo of the whole family at the hospital with their newborn.
The Nantes of France star wrote on both his X and Instagram page:
“I find no words strong enough to express my exact feelings, I’m sincerely grateful to GOD. GOD has blessed my home with a baby boy.”
“Thanks my Queen for this marvelous gift to our family, you are indeed a strong woman and I am always proud of you ❤️ ?.”
The 28-year-old married his wife, Ibukun Sarah Adenuga in 2015.
The couple are also parents to two daughters.
Al Nassr are making efforts to sign Nigerian striker, Victor Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen before the end of the winter transfer window.
The Saudi Arabian club is looking to bring in Victor Boniface to fill the void left by Anderson Talisca, who is set to transfer to Fenerbahçe in Istanbul, football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano shared this on his official X page on Monday, January 27.
Romano wrote, “Al Nassr have initiated official talks for Victor Boniface as their new striker! Negotiations are underway with Bayer Leverkusen to secure the Nigerian talent to succeed Talisca. Another potential candidate is Jhon Durán, but Aston Villa remains determined to retain him.”
Despite recently extending his contract with Bayer Leverkusen until 2026, making him one of the top earners at the club, Boniface is not deemed unsellable. It’s anticipated that Leverkusen will seek at least €50 million for the 24-year-old striker from prospective clubs.
Meanwhile, Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers has said he is not rushing to leave the Light Blues this month.
After losing his starting position to Hamza Igamane, Dessers has been the subject of transfer speculation. However, he remains focused on his performances, having scored six goals in his last four matches for Philippe Clement’s team.
In an interview with Daily Record, Dessers indicated he has not yet engaged with senior figures at Rangers about a potential departure. “I have not had any talks. I’m focusing on my football and the events on the pitch,” he said.
“What I can control is my performance. I’m enjoying being on the field with my teammates, fighting for points, and contributing. I have unfinished business at Rangers, which is why I’ve been pushing hard in training and maximizing my minutes.”