Author: Kayode Akinwumi

Italian giants Juventus and French midfielder Paul Pogba are in the process of mutually terminating his contract, Fabrizio Romano reports. The Frenchman recently saw his four-year doping ban significantly reduced to 18 months, making him eligible to play as early as March 2025.The former Manchester United man tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), a substance used to raise testosterone levels and is banned. He was tested in August 2023 following a victory by the Old Lady over Udinese and was handed a four-year ban after a second test was returned positive.However, Pogba has been cleared to make an early return after…

The hearing into the spot-fixing allegations involving Brazil and West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta has been scheduled to take place in March. The Brazilian was officially charged by the FA in May, accused of intentionally receiving a yellow card in four Premier League games. Paqueta has denied the charges.Investigation commenced into the Brazil star in the summer of 2023, after completing his first season at West Ham. The games in question, where he allegedly got booked intentionally, occurred between November 2022 and August 2023 against Leicester, Aston Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth. West Ham have taken a stand with the 27-year-old,…

Real Madrid earned all three points in a 2-0 victory over Villarreal on Saturday. However, the victory left a sour taste as Spanish right back Dani Carvajal left the game on a stretcher after a collision with Villareal’s Yeremy Pino, apparently in pain.Carvajal later posted an update on his Instagram page confirming that he suffered an injury to his ACL, noting that he will soon undergo surgery. He wrote, “A serious cruciate ligament injury is confirmed, I am going to have to go under the knife and be out of the field for a few months. I’m already looking forward…

Lamine Yamal continues to cement his place as perhaps the most impressive teenager in football. The latest milestone in the 17-year-old’s career is the La Liga Player of the Month award for September. This is coming just a month after he was voted the best U23 player in La Liga for August.Yamal was pivotal for Hansi Flick’s side in September, scoring three goals and providing an assist to help the team stay on top of the La Liga table with three wins out of four games over four weeks.The Spanish forward was in the starting lineup in three of Barca’s…

Liverpool remain top of the Premier League table with a hard-fought win today at Crystal Palace. However, the win came with a cost as the Reds’ number one goalkeeper Alisson left the pitch injured in the second half.Liverpool controlled the ball possession at Selhurst Park throughout the first half. Arne Slot’s men went ahead in the ninth minute with a side-footed shot from Diogo Jota who had a very impressive first half. Palace tried to get back in the game in the second half and tested Alisson a couple of times, the Brazilian denying Ismaila Sarr and Eddie Nketiah with…

Arsenal and Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard has expressed optimism about his recovery from injury. The Norwegian indicated that his injury is not as bad as the initial prognosis suggested and expressed hopes to return to action soon. He suffered damage to his ligament during the September international break and was looking at a long absence.While Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta estimated the Norwegian’s return in terms of weeks, the Norway national team coach Stale Solbakken had a more depressing update during a presser on Wednesday ahead of the upcoming international break. He said, “He is far from being in the squad.…

Paul Pogba’s four-year doping ban has been officially reduced. The decision was passed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following an appeal from the French midfielder. Pogba received a ban in 2023 after he tested positive for dehydroepiandrosterone, a substance that enhances the production of hormones like testosterone.The Juventus midfielder denied “knowingly or deliberately taking any supplements that violate anti-doping regulations,” before going ahead to appeal his ban. His appeal to CAS, after being heard, has led to the decision to reduce his ban from four years to just 18 months.The decision implies that Pogba can be expected back…

Montenegro international Milutin Osmajic has been sanctioned with an eight-game ban. The sanction was passed after it was established that the Preston forward bit Owen Beck, the 25-year-old Liverpool loanee to Blackburn Rovers. The biting incident happened during a 0-0 draw between Preston and Blackburn in the Championship. Osmajic was fouled towards the end of the tie and in the confrontation that ensued appeared to have bitten Beck on the neck. Beck was subsequently sent off for having kicked Osmajic’s teammate Duane Holmes. However, the Montenegrin escaped punishment during the game, despite Beck appearing to tell referee Matthew Donohue, “he…

Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman was the star of the show last night as Atalanta secured a comfortable 3-0 win over Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. Lookman scored a goal and had a hand in the other two as the Europa League champions dominated the Ukrainians in Gelsenkirchen.Atalanta went into the game with a point gotten from their goalless draw with Arsenal in their Champions League opening match of this campaign. Similarly, Shakhtar had held Italian side Bologna to a goalless draw and came into yesterday’s game with a point also. It took Atalanta only 21 minutes to…

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has conceded that criticism of his team’s performance in the Champions League defeat against Lille is deserved. The Spanish champions struggled against the Ligue 1 side in a loss that leaves them in 17th place out of 36 teams in the league phase of the Champions League.Madrid went behind after Lille’s Jonathan David converted a penalty kick given after the VAR spotted Eduardo Camavinga’s handball. It was the only goal of the game. The Brazilian duo Endrick and Vinicius Junior had chances in the first half to put Madrid back in the game but they…