PARIS St-Germain forward Lionel Messi has not been approached by Al Hilal and would not consider a move to Saudi Arabia, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague says. suggest the Argentina international, 35, has been offered £245m to move to the Middle East. Messi’s contract expires in the summer but, according to Balague, he is close to finalising a deal to remain at PSG. “There hasn’t been an offer [from Al Hilal],” says Balague. “PSG and Messi are organising a meeting in the next few weeks to finalise the deal that will keep him in Paris.” Messi helped Argentina win the…
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NAPOLI produced a sensational performance to thrash Juventus and move 10 points clear in their bid for a first Serie A title since 1990. Juventus had won eight games in a row without conceding but that record was ruthlessly ended at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Victor Osimhen scored twice with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Amir Rrahmani and Elif Elmas also on target. Angel di Maria responded for Juventus, who slip to third as a result. Osimhen opened the scoring for Napoli and then provided the pass for Kvaratskhelia to double their lead, but Di Maria hit back before the break. Rrahmani…
JAMAICAN financial authorities have launched an investigation into a company holding investments for eight-times Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt after reports that he may have lost millions to large scale fraud. Jamaica’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a statement that it had placed the firm, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), in “enhanced oversight” while it conducts the probe. Bolt’s manager Nugent Walker told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper that the retired sprinter, one of the greatest athletes of all time, has had investments with the company for over a decade. “All the relevant steps have been taken to come to…
THE Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal by Etubom Anthony Ani challenging the ascendancy of Etubom Abasi Otu as the Obong of Calabar and the grand patriarch of the Efik Kingdom. In the judgement read by Justice Amina Augie on Friday, the apex court held that Ani’s appeal lacked merit. The decision upheld the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the matter. Ani had brought the appeal challenging the judgment of the Court of Appeal on June 4, 2013, which held that he was not qualified to vie for the throne of Obong of Calabar having not been capped…
THOMAS Frank says Romeo Beckham should be judged as a player in his own right and not compared with his father and former England captain, David. David Beckham watched his son make his debut for Brentford B in the London Senior Cup on Tuesday after joining on loan from Inter Miami II. “Romeo is a very good player, of course he has a name that is pretty worldwide, and big,” said Brentford boss Frank. “For Romeo he is himself, he of course has a big name. You can’t compare.” Frank compared the situation to when he coached Andreas Laudrup, son…
MANCHESTER City footballer Benjamin Mendy has been found not guilty of six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against four young women. The jury failed to reach verdicts on one count of rape and one of attempted rape and a retrial will take place. Louis Saha Matturie, 41, was also found not guilty of three counts of rape against two teenagers. Jurors at Chester Crown Court could not reach verdicts on six other counts by five other women. Mr Mendy, 28, and his friend Mr Matturie, had been accused of raping women at the player’s home in…
AT times, Joe Biden is his own worst enemy. When asked on Thursday whether it was true he had kept classified documents in a garage next to his sports car, he responded in a rather flippant manner that the garage was locked. That will lead some to wonder about the protestations from the White House that they are taking seriously the matter of whether Mr Biden mishandled classified materials after leaving the office of vice-president in 2017. But the justice department’s appointment of a special counsel will concentrate minds and will undoubtedly overshadow the president’s next months in office. He…
RUSSIA’s military says it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine town of Soledar after a long battle, calling it an “important” step for its offensive. The victory would allow Russian troops to push on to the nearby city of Bakhmut, and cut off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman said. This was a very confident and ambitious statement from Moscow. But Ukrainian officials said the fight for Soledar was still going on and accused Russia of “information noise”. The battle for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the war. The town is relatively small, with a pre-war population of…
A SONG by Shakira about her ex-partner Gerard Pique for cheating on her has broken YouTube records. The video for Out of Your League has been watched more than 63 million times in 24 hours, making it the most-watched Latin song in that time period. Shakira, 45, separated from former Barcelona footballer Pique, 35, in 2022 after more than 10 years together. The pair also have two children together. This four-minute pop song is the first time Shakira and Argentinian producer and DJ Bizarrap have worked together. Shakira joins a hallowed list of Latin performers to break YouTube records -…
A COURT in Zambia’s Ndola city has released four Croatian couples on bail after they were charged on allegations of attempted child trafficking. All the suspects pleaded not guilty. Workers at a guesthouse say that the couples checked in without children, but on the third day of their stay they noticed they had four minors, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, in their care, local media report. Three of the children were three years old and the other was 15 months old, Lusaka Times reports. The couples said they had adopted them, the news site reports, but Zambian authorities said…
TWO high profile inmates have escaped after spraying chilli powder in the eyes of guards escorting them back to prison in south – western Ethiopian town of Alaba, police have said. They were two of four who made the bid to break free. “Out of four inmates who escaped, one was killed, another injured and two are still at large,’’ Deputy Commander Taju Negash of Southern Nations regional state police told the BBC. It’s unclear where the inmates got the chilli from. The killed inmate was facing another charge of throwing a grenade at police officers while in prison. Police…
OSUN State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for allowing a free and fair election in Osun state, like he did for all the states in the country. Senator Adeleke made the commendation when he paid a ‘thank you’ visit to the president at the State House in Abuja, Friday. The governor, elected on platform of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said he had come to appreciate the President for providing a level playing field in the 2022 governorship election in his State. According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the governor said: “I…
Troops of Operation Delta Safe have in the last three weeks, uncovered and destroyed several illegal refining sites and apprehended 19 suspects in the Niger Delta region. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Musa Danmadami made this known on Thursday in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military across the country. Danmadami said land, maritime and air components conducted operational activities at the creeks, waterways, high seas, towns and cities of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers to checkmate criminal elements. He said the troops, in the conduct of Operation Octopus Grip and other operations, discovered and destroyed several…
Katsina Guber: Radda, Lado, Khalil, Jino, Talba For Daily Trust Town Hall Meeting Tomorrow TOP contenders for this year’s governorship election in Katsina State are billed to attend tomorrow’s town hall meeting to interact with voters ahead of the March election. The event is organised by the Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust, Aminiya, Trust TV and Trust Radio in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD); Vision FM, Farin Wata TV and Katsina City News, an online newspaper company, to bring the contestants and electorate together for mutual interaction. The governorship candidates are Dr Dikko Radda (APC), Senator Yakubu…
BUYING a new smartphone was a bit of a mission for Deepa Aswani, who works in marketing in Mumbai. “I am very particular about what phone I buy. I did not want to invest too much,” she says. After two months of deliberation, she chose the OnePlus 10R, which in a sale cost her $400 (£329), a reasonable price for a smartphone, but still a significant sum in any country, and particularly in a developing one like India. “The idea was to buy a phone which did not make a hole in my pocket and had good features. I am…
JAPAN says it will release more than a million tonnes of water into the sea from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant this year. After treatment the levels of most radioactive particles meet the national standard, the operator said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the proposal is safe, but neighbouring countries have voiced concern. The 2011 Fukushima disaster was the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Decommissioning has already started but could take four decades. “We expect the timing of the release would be sometime during this spring or summer,” said chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno on Friday, adding…
LISA Marie Presley, the only child of rock’n’roll legend Elvis, has died aged 54, her mother has said. “It is with a heavy heart that I must share the devastating news that my beautiful daughter Lisa Marie has left us,” Priscilla Presley said. Lisa Marie, also a singer, was rushed to hospital earlier on Thursday. US media say she suffered cardiac arrest. She was found unresponsive at her home in Calabasas, California, sources told US outlet TMZ. “She was the most passionate, strong and loving woman I have ever known,” Priscilla Presley said in a statement. “We ask for privacy…
NOVAK Djokovic returns to the Australian Open a year on from his controversial deportation, again primed as the man to beat at the opening Grand Slam tournament of the 2023 season. The 35-year-old Serb, aiming for a record-extending 10th title in Melbourne and a record-equalling 22nd men’s major, has warmed up by winning an ATP title in Adelaide. Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz, ranked the world’s best men’s player, has pulled out with a knee injury and is one of several high-profile names to miss out. British women’s number one Emma Raducanu suffered an ankle injury in the build-up, initially putting…
THE Saudi Arabian league want to count on more and more stars. Signing Cristiano Ronaldo is not enough for them. They are now also after Lionel Messi. Like in La Liga, Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi could be in two different teams who are fierce rivals. Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr’s biggest rivals, want to get the Argentinian in their team, according to ‘Mundo Deportivo’. In order to persuade the recent World Cup winner, Al-Hilal will have to get their chequebook out. The Catalan paper says that they would be willing to pay him around $358m a year. An absurd amount of money and,…
Fulham 2 vs Chelsea 1 FULHAM manager Marco Silva hailed “a great night for the club and the fans” as his side beat 10-man Chelsea in a fiery west London derby at Craven Cottage. Carlos Vinicius headed in a 72nd-minute winner after Portugal winger Joao Felix had been sent off on his Chelsea debut when the score was 1-1. Willian put the hosts ahead against his former side in the first half, before Kalidou Koulibaly equalised early in the second, but Vinicius’ winner saw Fulham move up to sixth in the Premier League. “Chelsea is a super team, they are…