News

I don’t care about social media bullies – Alex Iwobi blasts critics

Super Eagles and Fulham midfielder, Alex Chuka Iwobi, has revealed that the cyberbullying he faced after Nigeria lost the AFCON 2023 final to Ivory Coast has left no scars on him, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 27-year-old played in all of Nigeria’s seven games at the AFCON tournament in Ivory Coast, but didn’t have the best of the games in the final, sparking angry reactions from fans on social media, with Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina suffering the same fate.

The former Arsenal man revealed on his newly launched Project 17 podcast that he didn’t see any of the criticisms. If they were thrown at him, it didn’t matter, because he simply followed the coach’s instructions.

“The whole competition I didn’t see it. I remember in a press conference they said, ‘Where is the creativity? ‘ and I had to address the role I was given and I said I am the kind of guy who will listen to my coach and try to do the job I’m told to do.”

After the loss to Ivory Coast, Iwobi was instead reading messages of support from friends and family rather than scrolling through any abuse on his social media accounts.

“The game is done now, obviously I’m disappointed I’m on my phone but I don’t check Twitter. I’m on Snapchat and WhatsApp with all my people telling me I’ve done my nation proud.”

The former Everton midfielder revealed that it was Napoli’s talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen that called his attention to the online abuse he’d been getting, and reached out just to make sure Iwobi remained in a good head-space.

“At two o’clock there was a knock on the door, I was like, I don’t want room service, but I looked through the keyhole and it is Victor Osimhen. I’m half-asleep with my hair everywhere but he said, I’m not going to lie to you, they’ve been talking about you a lot on social media and I want to make sure you’re good. They’re saying you’re going to retire, you’re depressed.”

Iwobi took down all but one of his posts on Instagram, just like he did after Nigeria got knocked out of the AFCON 2021 tournament in Cameroon so as to prevent the vile comments on his page.

“It is what it is, it is not the first time. The first AFCON where I got sent off it happened, at Arsenal it constantly happened, at Everton when I signed for two years it happened, that is football. I would rather be off social media, I don’t want to see that and I don’t care. They wanted to put out a statement saying cyberbullying is wrong and I said we are just going to create a bigger scene but they said we needed to stand as one. They were standing up for me but I said no because the world would think I was down, I’m calm, just listening to music.”

Iwobi returned to Fulham, and with the support of Marco Silva, has been on fire for the Cottagers, scoring a last minute winner at Old Trafford, alongside creating numerous chances, doing his talking on the pitch rather than letting the social media comments deter him.

“I’m really tired of socials, really and truly. I would rather just be real in real life. I have seen people come off socials, like Stormzy and Jay-Z don’t have it and I feel they are living life peacefully. I don’t want people to think I am affected because I’m not. We came to the conclusion I needed to jump back on socials and it was important for people to see how I felt, rather than a statement where I thank you for the support and say that cyberbullying is wrong,” the Arsenal Hale End Graduate concluded.

Iwobi, alongside Calvin Bassey are in Nigeria’s camp, and could be called into action as the Super Eagles take on Ghana later today in Morocco.

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.”