News

Neymar to stay put at PSG this summer despite transfer rumours

Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar confirmed he will stay at the club this summer despite continued links to Chelsea.

Speaking in an interview with CazeTVOficial, Neymar addressed the disconnection from the Parisians but admitted that he expects to be with the team.

“I hope it’s at PSG (next season). I have a contract with PSG and no one has informed me of anything. Even if there isn’t much love between the fans & the player, I will be there (at PSG), with love or without love,” the 31-year-old said.

Undergoing surgery on his right ankle in early March of this year, Neymar has returned to the squad amid the start of training camps.

Neymar has been singled out for his lack of performance this year and has faced harsh criticism by French pundits and PSG Ultras.

In May, ultras expressed fury at the South American outside the club’s headquarters and during matches, reportedly telling Neymar to “get lost.”

Sports pundit Daniel Riolo called out Neymar for his lack of effort, describing his transfer to the club as undeserved for the Parisians despite scoring 18 times in 29 games last season.

“[Neymar] had half a good season because he was preparing for the World Cup. He was just in training,” the French journalist said at the beginning of the year.

“Do we realise that Neymar, in terms of recruitment and salary, is the biggest flop in the history of football? I can’t think of a bigger flop for what it cost, it’s horrible,” he said.

A farewell to Neymar was expected to be in order, especially after it was reported that Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly recently met with PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi for a potential trade.

PSG has yet to voice any conversations on Neymar’s future as they have been occupied with the Mbappe contract saga.

However, on his return to the pitch, the team stated, “After participating in individual training on the pitch last week, Neymar is expected to partially participate in collective training this week.”

Qatar World Cup
In the interview with CazeTVOficial, Neymar admitted that he considered retiring from the Brazilian National team after the World Cup in Qatar but ensured that he will return and aspires to play at the 2026 World Cup.

“It was one of the worst weeks of my life. Besides me being hurt, nobody knew it, but, I got really sick. Very, very sick. I did the treatment lying in bed, sleeping the whole day. I only had my foot out of bed, and the physiotherapist was there doing all kinds of treatments. It was bizarre, you know?” Neymar voiced.

“First day, I stayed until 10:30 am doing treatment, and Marquinhos gave me company. It was very intense, I didn’t know how I was going to come back. I came back without any pain, 100%. I wasn’t 100% because I was sick. (..) What hurt was the defeat more than the ankle,” the Brazillian added.

With Carlo Ancelotti becoming the new Brazilian national team head coach starting in June 2024, a partnership with Neymar has left some fans excited.

News

King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

News

FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

News

Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”