Sports

Messi Becomes Highest Paid Footballer

Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi has ranked as the highest-paid footballer in the world, overtaken his close rival, Cristiano Ronaldo and other football stars.

The Argentine star is also the best player on the planet right now having won the coveted Ballon d’Or honour for the sixth-time record.

According to French publication L’Equipe, Messi earns €8.3 million gross per month after tax, the Juventus star is next to the Barcelona captain with an earning of €4.5m gross per month.

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Next on the list is PSG star, Neymar, who …

Machester United Drop Odion Ighalo

Manchester United have dropped new on-loan striker Odion Jude Ighalo from their training camp in Marbella Spain.

The BBC reported that Ighalo was dropped because of fears the coronavirus outbreak could lead to his being refused entry back into the UK.

Nigerian Ighalo, 30, flew to Manchester from China last weekend after signing on loan from Shanghai Shenhua.

“He might have liked to have come with the players and got to know them,” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told MUTV.

“But the risk [of border restrictions tightening] we don’t want to take.”

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Fiat Chrysler Profit Skids As Sales Slow

US-Italian automaker Fiat Chrysler said Thursday its net earnings fell by nearly a fifth last year as sales slowed, although both rose in the final quarter.

The firm, which is set to merge with France’s Peugeot-Citroen to create the world’s third-largest automaker by revenues, saw net earnings fall 19 percent to 2.7 billion euros ($3.0 billion) in 2019.

Sales slid 2.0 percent to 108.2 billion euros, similar to the slowdown in the global auto market.

Although sales by volume slipped in the key North American market, Fiat Chrysler said it managed to increase margins there and made record earnings before …

Tokyo Olympics Organisers Blast Virus Rumours

Tokyo 2020 Olympics organisers said Thursday the Games would “go ahead as planned”, slamming misinformation over the new coronavirus for triggering panic.

Chief executive officer Toshiro Muto revealed that organisers have set up a task force to combat the fast-spreading disease that has killed over 560 people and infected at least 28,000 — the vast majority in mainland China — but promised that the Games would be not derailed from their July 24 start date.

“The Olympics will go ahead as planned,” he told reporters after a project review of the Paralympics, which are scheduled to take place after the …

Joshua Set For Bout At Tottenham: Promoter

Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is close to agreeing a deal to fight at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later this year, promoter Eddie Hearn said on Thursday.

Britain’s Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr in Saudi Arabia last year to regain the WBA, IBF and WBO titles.

Now the 30-year-old is set to fight Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev, the IBF mandatory challenger, in June at the north London home of Premier League club Tottenham.

The plush 62,000-capacity stadium, which opened last April, is believed to have beaten competition from venues including Twickenham and Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

“We’re very close. I had a meeting …

South African Swim Star Schoeman Banned For Doping

Former world record holder and Olympic gold medallist Roland Schoeman has been suspended for doping, the International Swimming Federation (Fina) announced on Thursday.

The South African, who is 39 and was training for the 2020 Olympics, tested positive in May 2019 for a prohibited product from the family of “hormonal and metabolic modulators”, Fina said.

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Schoeman has been suspended until May 17. The swimming competition in Tokyo starts on July 25.

He was part of the winning South African 4x100m relay team at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, a triple world champion …

Ibrahimovic Return Adds Spice To Milan Derby

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s return to AC Milan will add spice to the city derby against Inter Milan on Sunday with the Swede looking to thwart Antonio Conte’s side from keeping pace with Serie A leaders Juventus.

Ibrahimovic played his first Milan derby as an Inter player 13 years ago, while his last was for rivals AC Milan in May 2012, when he scored a double in a 4-2 defeat.

Ibrahimovic was the top scorer that season with 28 goals but Milan lost the Serie A title to Conte’s Juventus, the first in the Turin giants’ current run of eight league crowns.…

Biles Wows Fans With Video Of Vault Ahead Of Olympics

Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast with 30 Olympic and world championship medals, has excited fans with a four-second video clip of a training vault no woman has performed in competition.

The 22-year-old reigning world and Olympic all-around champion showed off a Yurchenko double pike vault and landed in a pit of red foam-like bricks with the Twitter caption “2020?” and three sets of widened eyeballs.

The video had been viewed more than 2.3 million times as of Thursday afternoon.

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It’s a hint that the world’s top gymnast might have something …

Man City Star Sterling To Miss West Ham Clash

Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling will miss Sunday’s Premier League clash against West Ham and could face a race to be fit for their Champions League showdown with Real Madrid after suffering a hamstring injury.

Sterling limped off during Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham and the club have confirmed the injury will sideline the England international this weekend.

“Raheem Sterling will miss our game against West Ham this weekend after scans revealed he has suffered damage to his left hamstring. Everyone at City wishes @sterling7 a full and speedy recovery,” City said on their Twitter account.

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Buhari Gives Daniel Amokachi New Appointment

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed retired Nigerian professional footballer, former Super Eagles player, and Assistant Coach, Daniel Amokachi, as Nigeria’s Football Ambassador.

A statement to DAILY POST on Tuesday signed by the President’s Spokesman, Garba Shehu, recalled that Amokachi, a member of the 1994 Super Eagles Team that won the African Nations Cup in Tunisia, was also in the Nigerian Olympic Football Team to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics that won the Gold Medal.

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It also noted that in addition to his football exploits in Europe, particularly in England where he

Getafe Move Up To Third As Top Four Rivals Stumble

Getafe Move Up To Third As Top Four Rivals Stumble

Sevilla and Real Sociedad both lost ground in La Liga’s race for Champions League qualification on Sunday as Getafe beat Athletic Bilbao to climb to third.

Real Sociedad lost 2-1 away at struggling Leganes while Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Alaves.

In between, Getafe had carved out a 2-0 victory away at Bilbao to put them in pole position behind the two title challengers, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Jose Bordalas’ team are now ahead of Sevilla on goal difference, while Real Sociedad are five points further back.

Getafe missed out on fourth on the final …

Ronaldo Scores For Ninth Game In Row

Cristiano Ronaldo stretched his scoring streak to nine consecutive league games with a penalty double as Serie A leaders Juventus bounced back from their defeat to Napoli with a 3-0 win over Fiorentina whose owner said Sunday’s result left him feeling “disgusted”.

Lazio moved second, five points behind the reigning champions after Serie A top scorer Ciro Immobile and Felipe Caicedo both scored a brace in a 5-1 win over rock bottom SPAL.

Inter Milan, one point behind the Romans in third place, travel to Udinese later on Sunday looking to reclaim second spot.

Ronaldo slotted in his goals in