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Raphinha admits he ‘thought about’ leaving Barcelona

Raphinha admitted that he “thought about” leaving Barcelona amid a “complicated” period before he was linked to Manchester United & Al-Nassr.

Raphinha’s resurgence has been significant under Hansi Flick and the Brazilian is finally living up to the form that convinced Barcelona to pay a hefty £55m ($72m), with add-ons, to secure his services from Leeds United in 2022. He was in sensational form against Real Valladolid as he led the charge with three goals and two assists to inspire Barcelona to a 7-0 triumph in La Liga.

However, Raphinha’s journey in Spain has not been without its difficulties. He often struggled to find his rhythm in attack and had been pretty inconsistent which had put his future at the club in jeopardy. And the winger admitted in a candid interview with RAC1 that there was a time when he seriously considered leaving the club.

“Did I consider leaving? Yes,” Raphinha confessed. “The first six months were complicated for me and my family. After the World Cup, I improved and managed to finish the season well, but at the beginning, it was very challenging.

“My adaptation to the club was difficult. I knew it was something that had to happen, but not that it would be so difficult on a personal level. This moved my head a little, I sometimes thought about leaving. Not at the end of the season, but in the first half of the season. Barça is a huge club and it is normal for it to be difficult. I wasn’t used to that, but it happened quickly.”

As one of Barcelona’s most valuable assets, Raphinha has often been the subject of transfer speculation, particularly when it comes to potential moves to the Premier League or lucrative offers from Saudi Arabian clubs like Al-Nassr. The Brazilian, however, has expressed his frustration with the constant rumours and again asserted his commitment to staying at Barcelona.

“It’s annoying to see rumours, it’s normal,” he said. “I’m not active on social media, but my wife and friends do see it. Every day there’s a different piece of news, whether I’m going here or there, and that ends up bothering you. The first six months were very hard. I learned that in every transfer window, my name will be there. My head has always been here. Every season I think about doing more than the previous one and showing that I’m capable of being here for many years.”

With Barcelona enjoying a strong start to the new season, Raphinha is already setting his sights on achieving big things with the club. The Brazilian winger is not shy about his ambitions, stating that the minimum objective for Barcelona should be to win the Champions League.

“The minimum objective is to win,” he said. When asked if he was talking about the Champions League, he replied: “Of course. It has to be this one. Playing for Barca makes the main objective to win all the titles: the League, the Champions League, the Cup, the Super Cup… If you are in a club like this and you don’t set yourself that objective, you are in the wrong place.”

Raphinha will look to replicate his scorching form with the Brazilian national team when the Selecao will take on Ecuador and Paraguay in the next set of World Cup qualifiers during the upcoming international break. Bazil are sixth in the CONMEBOL standings and are in desperate need of some individual inspiration to climb up the table. After completing his international commitments, he will return to action with Barcelona on September 15 against Girona.

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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.

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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.

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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.”