Sports

Liverpool legend Graham Souness wants ‘selfish’ Salah to leave club

Published

8 months ago

May 3, 2024

One of the legends of English Premier League club, Liverpool, Graeme Souness, wants Egyptian star, Mohamed Salah, to leave the club due to his “extreme selfish” nature.

Souness who was reacting to the celebrated touchline dispute between Salah and manager Jurgen Klopp during the club’s league match against West Ham last weekend, described Salah as the most selfish player he has ever seen.

Salah got into trouble with Liverpool fans when he was preparing to come on as a substitute, having been selected on the bench for the second time in three games.

Video footage that captured the scene showed Klopp walking up to the Egyptian and whisper something in his ear but whatever the manager said seemed to infuriate Salah who flared up leading to an exchange of words between the duo.

The two have played down the confrontation with Klopp insisting that whatever issue they had has been “completely resolved.”

Klopp who spoke on Friday at a press conference ahead of Liverpool’s home match with Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, insisted that his spat with the star forward would not damage to their relationship going forward.

“If we wouldn’t know each other for that long, I don’t know how we would deal with it, but we know each other for that long and respect each other too much that it’s really no problem,” Klopp said.

“In general, the best situation would be everybody is in the best possible place, we win games, we score lots of goals.

“Yes, then the situation with Salah would probably not have been exactly like that. Then Mo wouldn’t have been on the bench in the first place,” the manager said.

However, while speaking on William Hill’s Three Up Front podcast on Friday, Souness called Salah a selfish player and expects him to leave Liverpool.

“Salah is the most selfish player I have ever witnessed. Even before that game, whenever Klopp takes him off, he is never happy about it,” Souness said.

“That is what you want from your players; if you take them off on two goals, they should want to stay on to score a third. When Sadio Mane was there, they’d fall out all the time,” Souness added.

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Sports

FIFA Ranking: Nigeria ends 2024 as fifth best team in Africa

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigeria’s men’s football national team, the Super Eagles, ended the year 2024 as the fifth best team in Africa in the latest FIFA world ranking for the month of December.

According to the rankings published by the world football governing body, Nigeria remains unchanged from its previous position, despite having a challenging international break.

The FIFA rankings also reveal that Nigeria suffered a significant decline this year, dropping eight places to end 2024 ranked 44th globally.

The decline follows disappointing performances during the final AFCON qualifiers for 2025, where the Super Eagles struggled against the Benin Republic and Rwanda, resulting in a lack of wins.

However, some of the Super Eagles bitter rivals like South Africa’s Bafana Bafana experienced a resurgence, climbing three positions to finish the year ranked 57th in the world, showing a marked improvement in their recent form and successful matches during the qualifiers.

It was a woeful year for West African rivals Ghana who ended the year in 77th position, which highlights the challenges the Black Stars have encountered in the outgoing year in its bid to maintain its positions among Africa’s elite teams.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lion, retained its 14th position in the in the world while still maintaining its number one spot in Africa, holding the first position for the third year in a row.

In the world ranking, Morocco is followed by Senegal on 17th position, Egypt, 33rd, Algeria 37th, Nigeria, 44th, Côte d’Ivoire, 46th, Cameroon, 49th, Mali, 51st, and Tunisia in the 52nd position.

Top 10 African teams in 2024

1. Morocco – (14th)

2. Senegal – (17th)

3. Egypt – (33rd)

4. Algeria – (37th)

5. Nigeria – (44th)

6. Côte d’Ivoire – (46th)

7. Cameroon – (49th)

8. Mali – (51st )

9. Tunisia – (52nd)

10. South Africa – (57th)

Sports

Nigeria’s Lookman, Zambia’s Banda big winners at 2024 CAF Award

Published

5 days ago

December 17, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigerian sensation, Ademola Lookman, has wrapped his footballing year with another win after being declared as the Men’s Footballer of the Year by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Lookman, who plays for Italian club side Atalanta, was the biggest winner at the star-studded 2024 CAF Awards in Marrakech following 12 months with Italian side Atalanta and the Nigerian Super Eagles. He follows in the footsteps of compatriot Victor Osimhen, who claimed the award in 2023.

This is the first time Nigeria has had consecutive men’s award winners since nearly thirty years, when Nwankwo Kanu (1996) and Victor Ikpeba (1997) were awarded.

Other top African achievers recognized for their exploits during the event include South Africa’s Ronwen Williams and Zambia’s Barbra Banda. Banda was instrumental in leading Orlando Pride to the NWSL Shield and Championship in the 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season in the United States. She scored the game-winning goal in the final against Washington Spirit.

Other winners include Nigeria’s Chiamaka Nnadozie, who won Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second year in a row after another impressive season for French side Paris FC.

Sanaâ Mssoudy, a forward for AS FAR and Morocco, received the Women’s Interclub Player of the Year award after winning the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League Best Player title. Agile box-to-box midfielder, Lamine Camara of Senegal and Monaco, won the Men’s Young Player of the Year award for his outstanding performances for both club and country.

Doha El Madani, a 19-year-old Moroccan and AS FAR player, won the Women’s Young Player of the Year award after scoring six goals in five games to win the Golden Boot at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.

See the full winners list below:

2024 CAF AWARDS WINNERS

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ademola Lookman (Nigeria / Atalanta)

CAF PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Barbra Banda (Zambia / Orlando Pride)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Chiamaka Nnadozie (Nigeria / Paris FC)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Ronwen Williams (South Africa / Mamelodi Sundowns)

CAF INTERCLUB PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Sanaâ Mssoudy (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Lamine Camara (Senegal / AS Monaco)

CAF YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Doha El Madani (Morocco / AS FAR)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (MEN)
Emerse Fae (Cote d’Ivoire)

CAF COACH OF THE YEAR (WOMEN)
Lamia Boumehdi (TP Mazembe)