Category: Sports

Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe Officially Informs PSG That He Is Leaving This Summer

The relationship between Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint Germain seems to be close to being over as the Frenchman informed the French club of his plans to leave them this summer.

Recall that Kylian Mbappe first joined PSG on loan from Monaco on August 31, 2017, and the French giants paid the sum of €180 million to make the deal permanent on July 1, 2018.

Since then, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has been almost unstoppable in terms of scoring goals and winning the French Ligue 1.

Unfortunately, he has not been able to win the UEFA Champions League for PSG despite several attempts. Hence, he has been longing to move to a club that could help him win the title.

In the last three summer transfer windows, there have been strong speculations that Real Madrid were willing to buy him for a very good price since he has always wanted to join the Spanish side.

But PSG have always turned down Real Madrid attempts according to reports until last summer when Kylian Mbappe announced that he wouldn’t leave PSG until his current contract expires on June 30, 2024.

This announcement came months after Mbappe signed a two-year contract with PSG with an option for a one-year extension. But he refused to sign the contract extension which forced PSG to ban him from the club’s first team for some weeks.

Despite all the efforts PSG made to extend his contract, the 25-year-old striker refused to blink and he now seems ready to use the exit door permanently in this coming summer.

Transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, posted on his X account earlier today, February 15, that Kylian Mbappe has officially “informed PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi that he will leave the club as a free agent”.

He added: “The terms of the departure are yet to be fully agreed but he will leave Paris in the summer — Kylian has yet to fulfill his commitments to the club.”

The post Kylian Mbappe Officially Informs PSG That He Is Leaving This Summer appeared first on Naija News.

Coach Emerse Fae Explains How Ivory Coast Stopped Nigeria From Winning 2023 AFCON

The caretaker coach of Ivory Coast, Emerse Fae, has described how his team managed to beat the Super Eagles in the 2023 AFCON.

On February 11, 2023, the Super Eagles of Nigeria had the opportunity to win their fourth AFCON title at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Ebimpe, Abidjan, in front of over 60,000 spectators.

Despite beating Ivory Coast in the group stage, the hosts of the tournament proved to be a very hard nut to crack in the final.

Ivory Coast enjoyed a massive possession of the ball, but the Super Eagles ended the first half with a 1-0 lead.

In the second half, the game completely turned in favour of the Ivorians as they scored two goals to end the encounter with a 2-1 win. The scoreline was enough to earn them their third AFCON title in style.

After the game, Emerse Fae, who was merely an assistant coach when the tournament started but was made the caretaker coach of the team after the sack of Jean-Louis Gasset, said his team took advantage of how tired the Eagles were heading to the second half.

The former Ivory Coast head coach stressed that he told his team to be more intense in the second half, which paid off favourably.

“We noticed the Nigerian players were tired in the first half. They were not at their usual best,” the Ivorian tactician told reporters.

“I told my players during the half-time break that we must increase the intensity of our game and it worked out well for us.

“It was not an easy game but the good thing is that we won at the end of the day.”

The post Coach Emerse Fae Explains How Ivory Coast Stopped Nigeria From Winning 2023 AFCON appeared first on Naija News.

Nigeria Vs Ivory Coast: Why I Didn’t Change Super Eagles’ Formation – Peseiro Opens Up

Super Eagles Coach, Peseiro Speaks On Osimhen Winning Ballon d'Or

Super Eagles’ head coach, Jose Peseiro, has explained why he did not change his tactics during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final against Ivory Coast.

Naija News reports that the Elephants of the Ivory Coast defeated the Super Eagles of Nigeria to win the 2023 AFCON in regulation time.

During the AFCON final match between Nigeria and Ivory Coast, Nigeria scored first in the first half with a goal from William Troost-Ekong’s header.

However, Ivory Coast equalized in the second half with a header from Franck Kessie.

The match remained tied until just a few minutes before the end, when Sebastien Haller scored a goal by flicking the ball past Nigeria’s goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, leading to a victory for the host.

After the match, Peseiro faced questions regarding the team’s strategy of defending and absorbing pressure after gaining a one-goal lead.

He replied: “When you have a system that you have been using, and it has been working, you really don’t want to change it.

“It is true that I kept to this strategy until we were 2-1 down, and then I decided to change it.

“We conceded goals from some defensive errors, and they had a drop in level against the Ivorians.”

Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) consoled Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali on Sunday night after Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final. 

Despite his impressive performance during the tournament, Nwabali was unable to lead Jose Peseiro’s team to victory against Ivory Coast.

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