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Mo Salah Finally Speaks On Dumping Liverpool, Next Move Revealed

The contract standoff between Liverpool and Mohamed Salah might be tense, but it doesn’t seem to be stressing the Egyptian out.

With only five months remaining on his existing contract, speculation surrounding Salah’s future continues to run rife. If he fails to agree an extension in the coming weeks, he will leave Anfield for nothing at the end of the season.

If that happens, there will presumably be plenty of offers on the table for the 32-year-old, though a move to the Saudi Pro League looks likeliest. Last month, when visiting Liverpool’s training ground to interview Arne Slot, Gary Lineker bumped into Salah, who offered the Match of the Day host a little insight into his thinking ahead of a potential summer exit.

“He’s a lovely guy,” Lineker said on The Rest Is Football podcast. “I spent 10 minutes with him when I went to visit Arne Slot.”

Co-host Alan Shearer asked: “Did you not get it out of him whether he’s staying or going or not?” Lineker replied: “I didn’t, no. He was just being funny. He asked me, ‘how old were you when you finished?’ And I said, ‘well, English football I finished when I was 32 and then I went to play in Japan for a couple of years’.

“And he went, ‘ahh, you went for the money did you?’ And I said, ‘well yeah I suppose so’. And he went, ‘…Yeah, I might do the same’. He [then] winked at the press guy that was there. It was just a joke. But he has got that cheeky sense of humour.”

Despite the possibility of a summer departure, Liverpool supporters are clinging to the hope that Salah will decide to prolong his tenure in Merseyside. His uncertain future hasn’t dampened his on-field performance, with the Salah scoring 25 goals across all competitions this season, matching last season’s total already.

His goal-scoring prowess has propelled Liverpool to the top of the charts, both at home and in Europe. The Reds have a six-point lead over Arsenal, who sit second in the Premier League, following their 2-0 victory against Bournemouth on Saturday courtesy of a Salah double, and they could extend their lead to nine points if they win their game in hand against Everton next Wednesday.

They also topped the Champions League league phase table, securing seven victories from their eight matches. In the last 16, they’ll go up against either PSG, Brest, Monaco or Benfica, depending on the outcomes of the play-offs and the draw for the subsequent round.

Salah’s predicament isn’t unique at Anfield. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk have less than six months left on their current contracts, so Liverpool risk losing all three players at the end of the season for nothing if contract extensions aren’t negotiated and signed.

Real Madrid are optimistic about securing Alexander-Arnold, with the defender reportedly verbally committing to a move to the Bernabeu recently. Van Dijk, meanwhile, is expected to remain at Anfield, although a new contract has not been finalised yet.

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Newstap/SWAN Five Star Sports Award Excites Ebi Egbe

Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Sports Facilities Construction Ltd, Ebi Egbe says he’s highly honoured to be nominated as one of the receipients of the forthcoming maiden Newstap SWAN Five Star Sports Award

He stated this when he received his letter of nomination from the Editor of Newstap Communications and South West Secretary General of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria.

According to him, the recognition is an indication that Nigerians value what his company is doing noting that they’ll never compromise standards but will be moving with technological innovations.

“It’s always nice to be recognized. At Monimichelle Limited, we’ve been doing our best to make sure we bring in the best for sporting infrastructure not just in Nigeria, but the entire African continent. So I’m excited to be receiving this award from Newstap Communications and SWAN

” I also want to say that what this award shows is that the world is following our good track record. And this have really propelled us to continue doing what we’re doing. So I want to appreciate the organisers of this award for finding me worthy to be honoured.
He also assured Nigerians that his company will continue to provide the best services which is in tune with the latest technology.

“At Monimichelle, we don’t like to sit at the back seat. Even though we are an African company servicing African market, we’re following technology as it’s revolving in the world because technology changes everyday in the sports industry and we always make sure we give our clients the best of services and will continue to do so”, he concluded.

CEO of Monimichelle Group Ebi Egbe (middle) flanked by Editor of Newstap, Ifeanyi Eduzor (right) and Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN official Charles Ogundiya when Egbe received his letter as one of the recipients of the Newstap/ SWAN Five-Star award billed for March 7 in Lagos.

Other reciepients of the Five Star Sports Award includes, the Executive Governor of Benue State, His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, GTI Assets Management and Trust Limited, a company that has turned around the nation’s premier league, the NPFL, President of Remo Stars, Kunle Soname and Chairman of Benue State Football Association who is also the only founder of two women clubs in Nigeria – Naija Ratels and Benue Queens, Barrister Paul Edeh.

The event comes up on Friday, March 7, 2025 at the Bamboo Hall of the prestigious Eko Club, off Bode Thomas Street Surulere, Lagos.

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Karim Benzema Hints Return To Real Madrid

Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema has hinted at a desire to return to the club once he has brought down the curtain on an illustrious playing career.

Benzema is second on Madrid’s list of all-time goal-scorers, ahead of icons Raul and Alfredo Di Stefano, having netted 354 times across 14 years. He is also fifth on the club’s all-time appearance list, playing 648 games between 2009 and 2023.

Madrid have welcomed former players back in a variety of off-field roles in the past, with 1980s stars Jorge Valdano and Emilio Butragueno among those to have had prominent executive positions. Raul has been in charge of Real Madrid Castilla since 2019, with Alvaro Arbeloa currently a youth coach. Santiago Solari had spells in charge of various sides up to first-team level, with Zinedine Zidane famously serving as an adviser before two spells as head coach.

Benzema admitted in a Mega interview that he doesn’t know if coaching is the path he wants to take, only that he wants to be “close” to president Florentino Perez.

“The other day, I was with Florentino in Madrid. When he signed me [in 2009], I told my father that as long as he was at Real Madrid, I would be there,” the Frenchman explained.

“He was the first person I called when I decided I was leaving. He didn’t quite understand…I told him that the youngsters, Vinicius and Rodrygo, were ready. When I retire, I want to be close to football. Coach? I don’t know, it seems more complicated than being a player. I want to be close to Florentino.”

Benzema, now 37, is currently in his second season with Saudi Pro League giants Al Ittihad.

“I feel good here,” he said. “My life is like in Madrid. I get up, train at home in the gym and in the afternoon I train with the team. In the evening, I sometimes go out to dinner or to the beach. Here you can’t walk down the street either, people are crazy about football.”

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Fulham Condemn Manchester United Fans Racist Abuse on Calvin Bassey

Fulham have condemned the “abhorrent” racist and homophobic online abuse directed at Nigerian defender Calvin Bassey following Sunday’s FA Cup penalty shootout win at Manchester United.

Nigeria defender Bassey, who scored the opening goal at Old Trafford, shared some examples of the unsavoury abuse he had received on social media.

“We strongly condemn this abhorrent behaviour, which has no place in football or society,” Fulham said in a statement.

“Such actions are entirely unacceptable, and we stand in full support of Calvin Bassey, who will continue to receive our full backing.

“We will do everything in our power to work with the relevant authorities in identifying the perpetrators of these vile messages and taking the strongest form of action against them.”

Bassey’s online abuse follows recent cases involving Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, England defender Kyle Walker, Newcastle United’s Joe Willock and Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw.

In a recent interview with BBC Sport, Samuel Okafor, chief executive of anti-discrimination body Kick It Out (KIO), said the level of abuse in English football had “reached crisis point”.

Bassey’s goal was cancelled out in the second half by Bruno Fernandes, with the game staying level at 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes and extra time.

Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee missed for United in the shootout to send the Cottagers into the quarter-finals, where they will host Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage.

BBC