Harry Maguire was dribbled past after two games and fans go crazy comparing Man Utd star to Virgil van Dijk

Harry Maguire has endured endless comparisons to Virgil van Dijk after succeeding the Liverpool star as the most expensive defender in history.

But the England international has already failed to keep pace with one of the Dutchman's most impressive stats after just two games.

Raul Jimenez became the first player to dribble past the 26-year-old in a Manchester United shirt during the 1-1 draw with Wolves on Monday night.

The Mexican cooly breezed past Maguire with a silky piece of skill during the clash at Molineux, and fans immediately pointed to van Dijk, who boasts an impressive 68 game streak of not being beaten on the ground.

One said: "I was thinking Maguire was gonna try and break Van Dijk's "dribble past" record until Jimenez put him down like a bad b**** in the 8th minute of week 2."

Another added: "It took Virgil Van Dijk 65 matches before he was dribbled past for Liverpool. It took Harry Maguire just 2 matches for Man Utd.

"Levels."

Gabriel Jesus unofficially became the first player to break van Dijk's legendary run after 65 games during the Community Shield.

But fans pointed out that the former Southampton star's record is still intact because he wasn't dribbled past in a competitive fixture.

The FA downgraded the season's curtain-raiser five years ago to the status of a friendly.

That means yellow and red cards, as well as stats like dribbling, are no longer on the Premier League record books.

Maguire meanwhile played the full 90 for United against Wolves but was unable to stop Ruben Neves from rescuing a point for the home side.

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Cristiano Ronaldo 'admits he paid rape accuser $375k settlement as his lawyers demand her civil lawsuit is dismissed'

Cristiano Ronaldo, 34, has admitted he paid his rape accuser Kathryn Mayorga $375,000 in hush money in 2010.

This comes after Las Vegas authorities announced last month that there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges against the Juventus striker.

American model, Mayorga claimed the football star raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009 but Ronaldo strongly denies the claims. She also admitted that she took $375,000  from Ronaldo back in 2010 as part of a private settlement and also signed a confidentiality agreement vowing to keep her mouth shut about the alleged incident.

While Mayorga is pressing ahead with a civil case, Ronaldo's lawyers want to have it thrown out over claims that they already settled it with a payoff and confidentiality agreement in 2010.

In newly filed court documents obtained by TMZ, Ronaldo's camp acknowledged the $375,000 figure.  His lawyers say the payment was not an admission of guilt, but merely an effort to keep the story from public attention. 

"Mr. Ronaldo paid Plaintiff the sum of $375,000 and both parties agreed to be bound by explicit confidentiality and non-disparagement obligations," the new court docs filed by Ronaldo state.

Mayorga's lawyers now want the agreement thrown out. 

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Mario Balotelli unveiled at Brescia as he completes emotional return to his hometown club

Balotelli was born in Palermo but moved to Brescia at the age of two, and his adoptive family still lives there although his father died in 2015.

Speaking at his first news conference on Monday, Balotelli says, 'My mum cried initially when I told her that I might be going to Brescia ... she was very happy.'

Balotelli arrives at Brescia on a free transfer after his contract with Marseille expired.

His last spell in Italy was a miserable one as he struggled with injury and scored only once in a season-long loan at AC Milan before returning to Liverpool in 2016 and moving immediately to France, resurrecting his career first with Nice and then at Marseille.

The 29-year-old Balotelli adds: 'I have zero fear of failing ... I'm fine, very calm.'

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Paul Pogba Targeted With Horrific Racist Abuse By Manchester United Fans After Penalty Miss Against Wolves

Paul Pogba was subjected to horrific racist abuse and death threats after his penalty miss against Wolves on Monday.

The 26-year-old Manchester United superstar had an exchange with Marcus Rashford, who converted from the spot-kick against Chelsea, over who should take the crucial penalty in the match.

And Rashford, 21, was eventually forced to one side after Pogba took the ball and stepped up for the penalty.

The French midfielder had his effort from the spot-kick denied by a superb save from Rui Patricio and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

But certain United fans decided to vent their frustrations towards Pogba by going on social media and hurling racial abuse at him.

SPORTbible spotted several posts on Twitter targeting the former Juventus star and some fans were even referring to him as a "n****r."

One fan wrote: "Pogba you f*****g n****r.

Someone else posted: "Pogba is a n****r."

A third said: "Pogba... you f*****g fat m****y looking n****r."

Some of the tweets targeting the France international have now been deleted, while other Twitter accounts have apparently been taken down.

According to Twitter's terms and conditions, it "takes action against behaviour that targets individuals with hateful conduct."

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Gary Neville Was Fuming Over Paul Pogba's Missed Penalty

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was very annoyed on Monday Night Football with Manchester United's failure to pick a penalty taker, that led to Paul Pogba missing and costing his former side a win against Wolves.

United were the better side for much of Monday's game but found themselves level at 1-1 with just over 20 minutes to go. Pogba burst into the area in the 68th minute and was fouled by Conor Coady.

The Frenchman stepped up to take the penalty, despite teammate Marcus Rashford converting a spot kick the week before, and his effort was saved. That led to Neville's annoyance in the studio at full time.

In the studio Neville, along with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, discussed the fact that during the game with Chelsea on the opening weekend Pogba and Rashford had a discussion over who would take the penalty, before the younger man scored to make it 1-0.

And the 'conspiracy' was soon sorted out when manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed that both men are the designated taker and they get to sort it out on the pitch.

Speaking to Sky the manager explained the reason behind that policy, saying, "The two of them are designated penalty takers, it's up to them there and then.

"Sometimes players just feel they are confident to score. Paul has scored so many for us and today it was a good save. You can see the slides on the PowerPoint [to prove they were both designated penalty takers].

"The two of them have been confident before. Marcus scored last week but Paul was also confident. I like players with confidence."

Sky poured over the footage of the conversations between the two takers from both games and spotted that Rashford had thrown the ball to his teammate on Monday and not looked too pleased with the chance to score being taken away from him.

After the game the forward seemed at ease with the decision though and refused to blame the former Juventus midfielder for costing the side.

United had taken a first half lead through Anthony Martial and looked much the stronger but Wolves came out in the second half with renewed vigour.

Ruben Neves' excellent strike from outside the area in the 55th minute levelled the score but Solskjaer's team were still back in the ascendancy.

Unfortunately for them the missed penalty denied the Red Devils the chance to go top of the Premier League for the first time in 695 days.

Did Pogba take the penalty off Rashford?

🗯️ "Initially I was fuming with Pogba. I thought typical you, you're selfish, why are you even thinking of taking a penalty off a player?" 😡 @GNev2 says there should never be any debate over who should be taking a penalty... pic.twitter.com/0U98eZXbBw

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) 19 August 2019

"Paul wanted to take it. It's that simple."

Marcus Rashford says there was no issue with Paul Pogba wanting to take the penalty in #MUFC's 1-1 draw with #WWFC and they will now focus on the next game. pic.twitter.com/E1Mkol68xF

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) 19 August 2019

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The Premier League has not yet seen the best of me - Alexandre Lacazette claims

Alexandre Lacazette believes he has not hit his peak in the Premier League yet and can still get better with Arsenal this season.

The striker moved to north London from Lyon in the summer of 2017 and has had a decent record in that time, scoring 37 goals in his 89 appearances across all competitions.

He has also developed an impressive partnership with Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang in that time.

Lacazette scored his first goal of the new season against Burnley on Saturday afternoon as Arsenal won 2-1.

But he has insisted he has plenty of room to improve and has vowed to 'score more goals' going forward.

He told French outlet Canal+: 'The Premier League has not yet seen the best Lacazette.

'It has seen some very good, but not the best. I can score more goals and be more consistent.'

The 28-year-old scored 13 Premier League goals last season, nine fewer than Aubameyang.

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Harry Winks tells Manchester City and Liverpool to watch out for Spurs in the Premier League title race this season

Harry Winks has told Manchester City and Liverpool they should watch out for Tottenham in the title race.

Spurs have started the new Premier League season in impressive form, winning their opener and holding Manchester City to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.

While they finished fourth and 27 points behind eventual winners City last season, they also reached the Champions League final.

And England international Winks believes they have the talent to challenge City and Liverpool, who were the closest contenders last time around.

'I think they should worry about us,' Winks told the Evening Standard.

'We've shown in the last few years that we can compete with the best teams in the Premier League and Europe.

'It's important we do that on a consistent basis this season and it's important we go to places like City and Liverpool and get results.

'The manager doesn't allow fear in us. We don't go into any game beaten mentally. We go into every game knowing we can win and we can outperform them.

'Our mentality going into every game is to be on the front foot, press and try to win. That's probably why we came away with a good point.'

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Myself and other Super Eagles players used to sneak girls into Eagles camp back then- Pastor Taribo West confesses

Taribo West, the very talented Super Eagles defender, has disclosed how himself and some of his Super Eagles teammates used to sneak women, both local and foreign, into camp during national assignments.

Taribo who has since become a Pastor, disclosed this in an interview with Sports Extra.

“Sometimes we (the players) will import ladies from other countries and keep them in different hotels. As the competition progressed, more ladies would keep coming and going. It’s something we all did but my teammates won’t talk about it. I can talk about it now because I’ve given my life to Christ. 

We normally kept the girls in different locations, but once everyone was asleep, around 2am, we would bring them into our hotel rooms. It happened in every tournament we competed in, from the Africa Cup of Nations to the World Cup.

We had a teammate who the other players waited for to bring in his girl first, because he always had fine women. Once we saw the shape and height of his girl, we would call our own boys to go out and negotiate for girls more beautiful than this player’s own. It was more like a competition for women amongst us then. We had crazy guys in the team but there was discipline, that’s why we had to sneak the ladies into camp.” he said

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Chelsea to offer Ashley Cole coaching role after announcing his retirement from football

Chelsea is expected to offer Ashley Cole a coaching role after the former England left-back announced his retirement from football.

On Sunday, August 18, the former Arsenal player, 38, confirmed the decision to retire from football following a glittering career that saw the defender win 13 major titles.

According to Mail Online, Chelsea is planning to discuss a potential return to the club for a player who is widely recognized as one of the best left-backs in the world.

Cole, who made more than 500 club appearances, has made clear his intention to start a coaching career, saying: ‘After hard-thinking and consideration, it was time to hang my boots up and look forward to my next chapter, which will hopefully be coaching.

'I am doing the course at the moment and now I want to be great as a coach.’

It was also reported that Chelsea is also helping Cole to complete his UEFA qualifications in his bid to become a good coach.

Ashley Cole, who is also the most decorated footballer in FA Cup history played for Crystal Palace (on loan), Chelsea, Roma, LA Galaxy, and Derby County.

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Philippe Coutinho Joins Bayern Munich On Year Long Loan Deal

Bayern Munich have signed Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona on a season long loan, with the Bundesliga champions having the option to sign the player for €120 million during the loan.

In a statement on their website, Barcelona confirmed the news, saying, "FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have reached an agreement for the loan of the player Philippe Coutinho to the German club for the 2019/20 season. Bayern Munich will pay 8.5 million euros and the player's wages. The agreement also sees an option to buy for Bayern fixed at 120 million euros.

"FC Barcelona would like to thank to publicly thank Philippe Coutinho for his commitment and dedication wishes him all the best in this new stage of his career."

Bayern confirmed the news in modern fashion, with a social media video of Coutinho arriving at the club's training ground to sign.

Speaking to Bayern's website Coutinho, who had been named as potentially moving to PSG as part of any deal to take Neymar back to Barcelona, said, "For me, this move means a new challenge in a new country with one of the best clubs in Europe. I'm very much looking forward to that. Like FC Bayern, I have big ambitions and I'm convinced that I can achieve them together with my new teammates."

Bayern's Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic talked about the player's desire to move to the Allianz Arena, saying, "Philippe made it very clear to us during the negotiations in Barcelona that he absolutely wanted to move to FC Bayern. He's a world-class player with great ability, who we can deploy in a number of positions in our forward line, so the FC Bayern squad has gained even more quality. Philippe Coutinho will help us achieve the ambitious targets we've set for this season."

The Brazilian midfielder moved to Barca from Liverpool in January 2018, after the Spanish side had failed in their previous attempts to sign him the summer before, but it hasn't worked out well at the Nou Camp.

Reports in England suggested the Reds were offered the chance to re-sign their former star but baulked at the £100 million price tag being asked by the Spanish champions.

Bayern have had a big summer with Lucas Hernandez, Benjamin Pavard and Ivan Perisic joining the team, who were in need of a revolution this season.

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Unai Emery Names Liverpool As The 'Scariest' Premier League Team Right Now

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has made a surprising claim that he doesn't "want to play against Liverpool ever."

The Gunners have won their opening two Premier League matches and face a tough test when they travel to Anfield on Saturday for their clash with Liverpool.

But Emery has hilariously suggested that he doesn't want to come up against the in-form Champions League holders.

"For us, we don't want to play against Liverpool ever," the 47-year-old Spaniard said.

"We'd prefer not to play against them.

"That is really our challenge, a good test. For the supporters, for all of us, going there with six points is good.

"Really our target is to reduce the distance to Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea.

"When we play against them it is a big challenge to show how we can be. [This] week is going to be a very good match.

"We are going to prepare first with the adaptation to them, their game plan and individual players and after to impose our game plan and capacity. We are going to prepare both defensively and offensively.

"I think first is to be positive in our capacity and then work hard. I know my past is to work hard, the present and future is going to be the same.

"After we can win, we can lose. But above all is be positive and keep moving ahead."

Jurgen Klopp's men finished second in the Premier League last season and are currently top of the table alongside Arsenal.

Liverpool were able to capture the Champions League crown last season after they defeated Tottenham Hotspur in the final.

And Klopp's side lifted more silverware last week after they beat Chelsea on penalties in the Super Cup.

Arsenal held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at home last season, but their visit to Anfield last December ended in a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Reds.

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Hazard suffers injury blow to delay Real Madrid debut

Eden Hazard has picked up an untimely hamstring injury, with the Belgian set to see his competitive debut for Real Madrid delayed.

The Blancos are set to open their 2019-20 La Liga campaign away at Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Hazard, fresh from a €100 million (£88m/$112m) transfer to Santiago Bernabeu from Chelsea, would have been hoping to figure prominently in that fixture.

He is, however, set to be restricted to a spectator role after suffering an unfortunate knock.

Real have confirmed that the 28-year-old is facing up to a spell on the sidelines.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “After the tests carried out after training today by the Real Madrid Medical Services, our player Eden Hazard has been diagnosed with a lesion in the anterior rectus of the left thigh.”

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Fifa bans former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia for life

Fifa has banned former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia from all football activity for life after being found guilty of accepting to receive bribes in order to manipulate matches.
Siasia who led Nigeria U20 and Nigeria U23 teams to second-place finishes at the 2015 Fifa U20 World Cup and the 2008 Beijing Olympics was also fined CHF 50,000.

According to the world’s football ruling body, the 52-year-old breached the 2009 edition of the Fifa Code of Ethics after investigations began on February 11 this year.

“The adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee has found Mr Samson Siasia, a former official of the Nigeria Football Federation, guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches in violation of the Fifa Code of Ethics,” wrote Fifa in a statement.

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Chelsea will be difficult for Leicester City – Ndidi

The combative midfielder charged his teammates to improve on their performance ahead of Sunday’s visit to Stamford Bridge

Although Chelsea succumbed to defeats in their last two matches, Wilfred Ndidi has warned his Leicester City teammates to be aware of the danger posed by Frank Lampard’s men.
The teams will lock horns against each other at Stamford Bridge this Sunday as they chase their first win of the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ men kicked off their Premier League campaign with a goalless draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers while the Blues were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United.

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‘Chelsea players thinking about Hazard exit’ – Petit sees Lampard already in must-win territory

The former Blues midfielder believes victory must be secured over Leicester, allowing summer sales and early losses for a new regime to be forgotten

New Chelsea boss Frank Lampard already finds himself in must-win territory, says Emmanuel Petit, with a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United suggesting that some players are still “thinking about what a big loss Eden Hazard is”.

The Blues have had to contend with the departure of their most potent attacking threat in what has been a testing summer at Stamford Bridge.

Maurizio Sarri also left the club, leading former fans’ favourite Lampard to be returned to familiar surroundings.

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Most expensive football players in the World revealed - See list

The CIES Football Observatory algorithm have released the list of the most expensive football players in the World with forwards  Kylian Mbappé(€252M), Mohammed Salah (€219M) and Raheem Sterling (€208M) in the top three positions.

Apart from strikers, the most expensive footballers per position are Alisson Becker (€107M) for goalkeepers, Trent Alexander-Arnold (€130M) for defenders and Paul Pogba (€125M) for midfielders.

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Usain Bolt enjoys sun-soaked Formentera break with long-term girlfriend Kasi J. Bennet

Usain Bolt looked as though he was making the most of his retirement as he enjoyed a sun-soaked break in Formentera, Spain with girlfriend Kasi J. Bennet on Thursday.

The former Jamaican sprinter, 32, cut a dapper figure in a bright white ensemble as he strolled with his other half, who dazzled in a fringed red outfit.

Keeping cool in the Spanish sun, Usain donned a crisp white shirt and matching shorts, which he teamed with a pair of black and white sliders.

The couple looked happy and relaxed as they strolled with pals near the some cliffs situated close to the beach.

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Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham receives death threats after penalty shootout miss

Chelsea striker, Tammy Abraham was racially abused and sent death threats after Wednesday night's penalty shootout miss against Liverpool.

The England striker, 21, was last to take for Frank Lampard’s Blues in the Super Cup final defeat in Istanbul on Wednesday night.

Abraham’s spot-kick was saved by Liverpool No2 Adrian - though replays later revealed the keeper was off his line as the penalty was struck.

But as Chelsea missed out on their first chance at silverware this season, with Lampard losing for the second time on the bounce, Abraham was targeted online.

Kick It Out published a statement on Twitter yesterday confirming the racial abuse sent to the English forward.

They wrote: “Last night we received reports of racist abuse directed at Tammy Abraham on social media after Chelsea's UEFA Super Cup match.

“Such abuse is now increasingly predictable, but no less disgusting.

“We send our support to Tammy and reiterate our call for Twitter and other social companies to clamp down on this level of abuse.

“This is a call to action - we want to know what they are going to do to tackle this insidious problem.”

After the shootout defeat, one Twitter user said:  "@tammyabraham is a f***ing n*****."

Another said: "you f****** black **** you ruined my night."

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Ricky van Wolfswinkel Diagnosed With Brain Aneurysm Following Concussion Scans

FC Basel striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel is currently undergoing treatment for a brain aneurysm.
The 30-year-old was rushed to hospital following a concussion injury playing for FC Basel in a Champions League qualifying match against LASK on Wednesday night.

Scans highlighted a pre-existing condition, meaning the aneurysm was not caused by the severe concussion sustained in the final minutes of Wednesday's clash against LASK.

"I'm very grateful the brain aneurysm got discovered," van Wolfswinkel said in an interview with FC Basel.

"Normally a brain aneurysm is not discovered in time, only after it has ruptured and caused other damage."

Most brain aneurysms only cause noticeable symptoms if they burst, according to the NHS website.

This leads to an extremely serious condition known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage, where bleeding caused by the ruptured aneurysm can cause extensive brain damage and symptoms.

"The doctors made multiple scans and eventually found out that I have a brain aneurysm." he continued.

"The hit I got in the game has absolutely nothing to do with the existing brain aneurysm - this has been there for a long period but I didn't have any symptoms so we didn't know it was there.

Van Wolfswinkel went on to thank the staff at FC Basel, as well as the University Hospital, for their help.

"It's just clear that it won't be for at least six months," he said. "The returning date will of course depend on the reaction of the brain aneurysm after treatment.

"I want to say thank you to the Basel medical department and the doctors of the university hospital in Basel.

"For now I will focus on my health and recovery to be able to do what I love most as soon as possible and that's play football."

We wish Ricky a speedy recovery as he undergoes treatment.

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Mathias Pogba Claims His Brother Wants To Leave Manchester United In Shocking Interview

Mathias Pogba claims his brother wants to leave Manchester United and believes the midfielder could move before the Spanish transfer window slams shut.
The 26-year-old has previously expressed his desire to leave the Premier League side, most notably back in June when he publicly announced that it "could be a good time to move elsewhere."

But these comments from his older sibling have only cast further doubt on his future at Old Trafford.

In an extraordinary interview with Spanish TV show El Chiringuito, the 28-year-old, who currently plays at Spanish third division side CD Manchego, praised Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.

"Zidane is one of the greats and I think that if the club give him what he wants, he won't have a problem." he said.

"But if they don't give it to him, he's going to have a hard time because what he wants is not going to happen, because right now it's a little late.

"My brother is missing and I think he needs another midfielder. Of course Florentino [Perez] can get him, nothing is impossible in life. I don't think he's worth 200 million, but now the football world is like that, Manchester are going to ask for a lot, but not 200.

"It's a delicate situation but the player has his personal goals, if you have to leave, well, that's it."

Mathias Pogba then went on to claim "anything can happen" ahead of the Spanish transfer window closing on September 2.

"If you can't stay and play where you are, you can stay and you're done." he told El Chiringuito.

"I can't assure you that he is going to stay at United. We know he wanted to move, but he's not to blame. He's waiting. He works hard and we'll see what happens.

"In football you never know. Until September 2 everything can happen. My brother's dream is to win the Champions League."

Pogba was then asked by a fan whether he could convince his brother to move to Los Blancos. "Friend, I'll have words with my brother but I can't do everything so you'll have to wait like the rest." he said.

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Tyson Fury Responds To Deontay Wilder Describing His Next Opponent As A "Graveyard Worker"

Tyson Fury has fired back at Deontay Wilder over his criticism of the lineal heavyweight champion's upcoming fight against Otto Wallin.

Fury's set to return to action against Wallin in Las Vegas on September 14, but Wilder took exception to his fight booking.

The WBC title holder verbally lashed out at Fury, describing his opponent as a "night shift graveyard worker". Fury has now responded to his scathing comment by comparing Wallin to Luis Ortiz, who's also ranked No.4 within the governing body.

He posted a picture of the heavyweight rankings, accompanied with the words: "This is the latest boxing rankings from @wbcboxing & @wbaboxingofficial if you look closely at theses rankings you all can see that my next opponent is ranked #4WBA & wilders next opponent is ranked #4WBC @ottowallin @kingkongboxing just stating facts for all to see. #nuffsaid."

Wilder's set to defend his WBC belt against Luis Ortiz in November while Fury will take on Wallin next month before rematching the undefeated American in 2020.

But Wilder isn't happy with the level of competition Fury is facing ahead of their second meeting.

"He keeps pulling out all these night shift graveyard workers... Bulls*** at its best," he said.

"No Englishman's coming over here, saving America with Tom Schwarz and Otto whoever he is, talking about 'he's the best' with an invisible belt.

"First of all, Fury came with his last fight against Tom Schwarz, he went to Vegas, came out with this clown outfit on, (talking about) how he's going to save America and make America great again.

"There were only 5,000 fans in the audience, but he swears up and down he was the 'it factor' to our fight, it's proof in the pudding that he's irrelevant in America."

Wilder and Fury fought to a controversial draw last December with the pair set to run it back next year.

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Imo Governor appoints Kanu Nwankwo SSA on sports

Former Arsenal player, Kanu Nwankwo has been appointed Senior Special Assistant on Sports to the Imo state governor, Emeka Ihedioha.  This is disclosed in a statement by the governor’s aide on new media, Izuchukwu Akwarandu. Part of the statement read;

“The governor, Emeka Ihedioha, received one of the country’s football legends, Kanu Nwankwo, at the Government House, Owerri, on August 14, 2019.”

“Papilo, as fondly called by his fans, came to present his most recent CAF award, which was given to him at the just concluded Nations Cup in Egypt, to the sports-loving governor of Imo State. The star also presented a branded jersey to the governor.

“The governor while welcoming the former Super Eagles goal poacher, announced Kanu Nwankwo as his Senior Special Assistant on Sports.”

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Anthony Joshua Aims Dig At Tyson Fury Over His Opponent And Calls Lennox Lewis A "Clown"

Anthony Joshua has aimed a dig at Tyson Fury over his upcoming fight and called Lennox Lewis a "clown" in an explosive interview.

Joshua's set to rematch Andy Ruiz for the heavyweight world titles but before facing the Mexican-American champion again, he has Fury and Lewis in his crosshairs.

He's called out Fury's September 14 opponent Otto Wallin while ripping into the former undisputed heavyweight king.

When Joshua was asked about 'The Road to Undisputed', he said: "I'm not focusing on that anymore. I'd had 22 fights and was talking about being undisputed. What am I going to do after? Go and fight Otto Wallin?"

Joshua also stoked the rivalry with Lewis who questioned his trainer in the aftermath of his shock defeat in New York.

"Lennox is a clown. I don't respect Lennox," he said.

"Me and Lennox are not the same. My legacy is to sit back and enjoy the younger generation coming up, and not to be involved. Just to appreciate what it takes to get there. Lennox isn't like that. Me and Lennox are cut from a different cloth."

To which Lewis replied by saying: "Wow! He's right! We ARE cut from a different cloth. Undisputed wasn't something I 'worried' about. It was something I went after until it was accomplished!"

On his new goal, Joshua added: "I became heavyweight champion, I unified the division twice, and now my goal is to become two-time heavyweight champion of the world. Once I achieve that, I can look at becoming undisputed champion.

"That undisputed stuff? It was right in front of me, but it was one of the biggest curses lingering over my head when I was champion."

Joshua has the chance to reclaim the heavyweight straps when he rematches Ruiz Jr on December 7.

However, there appears to be a dispute over the venue with the title holder adamant that the bout won't take place in Saudi Arabia. He wants a US venue as the second meeting continues to be clouded in confusion.

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Conor McGregor Appears To Punch Elderly Man In The Head In Dublin Bar

Shocking footage has emerged of Conor McGregor appearing to punch an elderly man in an Irish bar.

The alleged incident took place at The Marble Arch Pub in Dublin on April 6 and came after a dispute over whiskey, according to widespread reports.

McGregor walked in and lined up drinks for bar patrons in footage obtained by TMZ.

But the problem started when the man apparently refused his offer. The 31-year-old took offence to the rejection and seemed to react by throwing a punch at the bloke's head.

You can quite clearly see the shocked reactions of those around McGregor, including the barmaid who immediately puts her hands to her face.

The incident was allegedly reported to the police, however there are no reports that McGregor has been charged for the offence. Perhaps the man who got punched was just happy to come away with a story about the time he took a blow from a former UFC champion and didn't even flinch.

McGregor, meanwhile, hasn't fought in the UFC since his devastating submission defeat to Khabib Nurmagomedov last October.

But the ex-'champ-champ' has hinted at a return to the famed Octagon, and his next fight depends on Nate Diaz vs. Anthony Pettis as well as Nurmagomedov vs. Poirier in September.

"I don't know," the UFC president said about his potential return. "That, I don't know. See how Saturday [UFC 241] goes, see how September goes, and then see what happens with Conor."

Reports also suggest a blockbuster rematch between McGregor and Jose Aldo is in the works for UFC 244 in New York.

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History-making referee Stephanie Frappart praised for Super Cup performance

Stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to officiate a major men's European match when she took charge of Wednesday's Uefa Super Cup.

History-making aside, the French official had to deal with VAR reviews, penalty decisions and back chat from players - so all in all just a normal night in the life of any referee.

Along with her all-female team of assistant referees, Manuela Nicolosi of Italy and Michelle O'Neill from the Republic of Ireland, Frappart received praise from pundits and fans for her measured performance as Liverpool beat Chelsea in a penalty shootout.

"I think she's had a great game - she's been brilliant in what's been a difficult game," former England and Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole told BT Sport.

"She's been excellent and let the game flow and got most of the big decisions right. She's handled it fantastically well."

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Glenn Hoddle noted Frappart's fitness in humid conditions in Istanbul, saying: "It's gone to extra time for her as well. The pace will be quicker in the men's game but she's kept up and done an excellent job."

There were three yellow cards given out, including one for Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta, which prompted the Spaniard and team-mate Jorginho to crowd the official.

But the only moment of real contention came when Frappart awarded Chelsea an extra-time penalty after Tammy Abraham went down in the box under a challenge from Liverpool keeper Adrian.

The video assistant referee looked at the decision and decided there was no clear and obvious error, although the contact from the goalkeeper looked minimal.

Adrian admitted afterwards "I touched him", but added "he was looking for that".

There was lots of praise for Frappart on social media as well.

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Striker Wilfried Bony Now Trains With League Two side Newport

He's a 30-year-old international striker who just five years ago signed for champions Manchester City for £28m.

But now, without a club after being released by Swansea City, Wilfried Bony is training with League Two Newport.

He played four times as Ivory Coast reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations this summer - a tournament he won in 2015.

Newport boss Mike Flynn said it was "great" to have Bony training with his players.

"He's brilliant around the place because the boys have been learning from him. He's only been here two days so far, the application he's shown has been excellent.

"He's been professional, the tempo he does things, even if it's in the gym, so his cool downs, his training sessions.

"He's been a joy and he's been a big help with the strikers because he's had a few words with them as well, taken them to the side and it just goes to show what a top, top professional he's been."

Bony currently still lives in Wales, but Flynn is quick to rule out any possibility of the Ivorian signing a deal at Rodney Parade.

"No, let's be honest, he's 30 years of age, you can tell the quality he's got and I'm not going to say we've got a chance because that's doing Wilfried a disservice. I know for a fact he can still play at a much higher level.

"I've got a lot of contacts in the game and I'm helping him out, getting him up to speed."

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Liverpool wins the Uefa Super Cup by beating Chelsea on penalties

Liverpool won the Super Cup for the fourth time in their history by beating Chelsea 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in Istanbul.

Goalkeeper Adrian kept out Tammy Abraham's spot kick to secure victory for the Champions League winners.

Chelsea had taken the lead in the first half through Olivier Giroud's clinical strike but Sadio Mane scored twice to give Liverpool the lead.

Jorginho's spot-kick took the game to penalties, where Liverpool triumphed.

The win comes just two months after Jurgen Klopp won his first trophy as Liverpool boss when he led the Reds to a 2-0 win over Tottenham in the Champions League final.

Games between these two sides in Europe have historically been tight affairs, with just one of their 10 previous meetings having been won by a margin of more than one goal.

It was the same again on Wednesday night as the two teams tussled for 120 minutes in a game that did not finish until almost 1am in Istanbul.

In the end, it came down to who could keep their cool in the sweltering heat and after nine excellent penalties, Abraham placed his shot too close to Adrian to hand Liverpool their first silverware of the season.

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English Premier League Predictions For Week 2 By Owolabi Marcus

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Arsenal v Burnley - Hone win
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Brighton v West Ham - BTS
Everton v Watford - Home win
Norwich v Newcastle - BTS
Southampton v Liverpool - BTS
Man City v Tottenham - BTS
Sheff Utd v Crystal Palace - BTS
Chelsea v Leicester - BTS
Wolves v Man Utd - BTS

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Late Footballer Emiliano Sala And Pilot Exposed To 'Harmful Levels' Of Carbon Monoxide

Footballer Emiliano Sala and his pilot David Ibbotson were exposed to 'harmful levels' of carbon monoxide when their plane crashed earlier this year.

The Air Accident Investigation Branch said the pair were exposed when the aircraft crashed in the English Channel on 21 January.

The AAIB's report states that toxicity analysis of Mr Sala's blood showed a carboxyhaemoglobin (COHb) saturation level of 58 per cent.

According to the reports: "COHb is the combination product of carbon monoxide (CO) with haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein molecule contained in red blood cells.

"A COHb level of 50 per cent or above in an otherwise healthy individual is generally considered to be potentially fatal.

"In this type of aircraft, the cockpit is not separated from the cabin and it is considered likely that the pilot would also have been affected to some extent by exposure to CO."

It goes one: "Exposure to CO can lead to damage to the brain, heart and nervous system. The symptoms of CO poisoning worsen with an increasing percentage of COHb."

The symptoms listed for someone who has levels of 50 per cent of more include seizures, unconsciousness and heart attacks.

The body of Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, Lincolnshire, has still not been found by authorities. However, as the report states, it is likely that he would have been exposed to the same or similar level of toxicity as the Argentine footballer.

The plane, which was travelling from Nantes - where Mr Sala's previous club is based - disappeared from radars on January 21.

He was on his way to meet new teammates at Cardiff after signing a £15 million transfer deal from the French club.

Contact was lost while the plane was travelling at 2,300 feet, prompting a huge search to find both men.
The official search for the two men was called off on 24 January when Guernsey Police confirmed that they were 'no longer actively searching' for the plane.
But the wreckage was eventually found after renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns launched a survey vessel and discovered the aircraft on the seabed of the English Channel.

Recalling the discovery, Mearns told Sky Sports News: "Our job is done. This is an active investigation now in the hands of the AAIB (Air Accidents Investigation Branch), and they will be taking over as agreed.

"We've had a long trip back and all I could think about was the families. This is what they wanted us to do, we've achieved it and that's the best we could have hoped for - the best outcome.

"An incredibly tragic and sad, and a devastating moment, but at least some of their questions will be answered because of what we will be able to do today."

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UEFA Super Cup: Predict The Exact Score Line Of Liverpool vs Chelsea

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Bayern Munich sign Ivan Perisic on loan from Inter Milan

Bayern Munich have signed Croatia winger Ivan Perisic on a one-year loan from Italian club Inter Milan.

The deal includes an option for the German champions to buy the 30-year-old at the end of it.

Arsenal made an approach to sign Perisic in January, while he has also been linked with Manchester United.

Perisic has previously played for Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg, who he left in 2015 to join Inter, in the Bundesliga.

He also helped Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final, which they lost to France.

"I'm very glad to be back in Germany," he said. "Bayern are one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

"We want to go on the attack, not only in the Bundesliga and the DFB Cup, but also in the Champions League."

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Valencia sign defender Eliaquim Mangala from Manchester City

Valencia have completed the signing of centre-half Eliaquim Mangala from Manchester City on a two-year contract.

The French defender, 28, last played for City in January 2018 but had signed a one-year extension in March to 2020.

He then returned injured from a short period on loan at Everton in February 2018 having previously spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Valencia.

Mangala, who won the last of his eight France caps in 2016, joined City from Porto for £32m in 2014.

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Porto were knocked out of the Champions League after losing to Russia's FC Krasnodar on away goals

Porto were knocked out of the Champions League after losing to Russia's FC Krasnodar on away goals, while last season's semi-finalists Ajax survived a scare to make the final play-off round.

It is the first time 2004 winners Porto have missed out on the Champions League group stages since the 2010-11 season.

The Portuguese side led 1-0 from the first-leg, but were 3-0 down after 34 minutes at the Estadio do Dragao.

Despite second-half goals from Ze Luis and Luis Diaz they lost 3-2.

Ajax came from a goal down to beat Greek Champions PAOK 3-2 at home, to win 5-4 on aggregate.

Dusan Tadic missed a penalty in the 32nd minute after Diego Biseswar's opener, but the Serbian made amends as he scored from the spot just before half-time.

Nicolas Tagliafico doubled Ajax's lead with 11 minutes left, before Tadic scored a second penalty in the 85th minute to make it 3-1, with Biseswar getting his second for the visitors in injury time.

The Dutch champions will next play Cypriot side Apoel Nicosia for a place in the Champions League group stages.

Elsewhere, former champions Red Star Belgrade beat FC Copenhagen 7-6 on penalties in a shootout that saw nine out of the 22 penalties taken missed.

The game had earlier ended 1-1 (2-2 on aggregate) in Denmark.

Club Bruges are also through after a dramatic 3-3 draw with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine, to win 4-3 on aggregate. The game saw both teams have a player sent off late on and both sides score injury-time goals.

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Super Eagles defender Kenneth Omeruo completes permanent move to Leganes from Chelsea

Super Eagles defender, Kenneth Omeruo has completed a permanent transfer to La Liga side Leganes where he spent a successful season on loan in 2018/19, making 31 appearances.

The transfer fee is understood to be around €4.5m

The 25-year-old who signed for Chelsea in 2012 from Standard Liege couldn't break into the first-team squad. He spent time on loans in the Netherlands, Turkey, Spain and with Championship side Middlesbrough.

Earlier this summer, Kenneth spoke of his desire to leave Chelsea to continue his development in Spain.

“I think now’s the time for me to leave, to find a place, to be my own man,” he said. “I’m married with a baby now, so I need stability.

“Chelsea have done amazingly for me, and for my family as well, but it’s time for me to reach my potential and get where I think I deserve to be.” he said

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Fàbregas and wife enjoy romantic dinner date in Portofino

His first full season in the French top flight began with a red card and subsequent 3-0 home defeat.

But the humiliating result was put to one side as AS Monaco star Cesc Fàbregas dined out with wife Daniella Semaan in Portofino.

The Spanish midfielder, who signed a three and half year deal with Les Monegasques in January, looked relaxed as the couple exited a local restaurant in the picturesque Italian resort town.

With temperatures climbing to 26 degrees, Fàbregas, 32, was appropriately dressed in a simple white T-shirt and denim shorts as the couple made their way towards a waiting car.

Joining her husband, Daniella, 44, caught the eye in a red cashmere sweater that inadvertently exposed her bra as she walked beneath the streetlights.

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