The Lille goalkeeper has been nominated for the Radio France International-France 24 best African prize named in honour of the late Cameroonian midfielder

Nigeria  goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has made the shortlist for the RFI - FRANCE 24 Marc-Vivien Foé Awardfor the best African player in the French Ligue 1 football championship for the 2014-15 season, it has been announced.
The Super Eagles captain edged out Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier (Toulouse FC) and Cameroon international player Henri Bedimo (Olympique Lyonnais) to win the last edition.
A shortlist of 10 players in the running to receive this year’s award was unveiled in France by state radio RFI and satellite television France 24 – sponsors of the award.

The ex-Barcelona captain is believed to be training with a view to ending his retirement from football for a lucrative end-of-career spell in Qatar or the MLS

The 36-year-old retired in 2014 after 15 years at Barcelona but according to recent reports, Carles Puyol has started training with a view to ending his retirement from football for a lucrative end-of-career spell in Qatar or the United States.

A player reacted to being booked by punching an official in a game in America, who later died in hospital

A footballer has been jailed for at least eight years after punching to death a referee in a Michigan United Soccer League match in America.

 
Four-time African footballer of the year, Samuel Eto’o has revealed how jewellers in London refused to sell him wristwatches because some Nigerians had come to the shop the day before with fake credit cards.

Eto’o during his time at Chelsea

During an interview with CNN, Eto’o revealed how he went to buy watches with his brother but the sales rep refused to attend to them because of fear that he might be another Nigerian scammer following in the footsteps of those that came the day before.
The former Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Everton star, who is worth over $100million, said he’d gone into the store with his brother to buy a £10,000 watch, but said the shop assistant looked at them suspiciously and reluctantly allowed them to view the watches.

Paris Saint- Germain and Brazil defender, David Luiz has hit out at his former coach, Jose Mourinho, insisting the Chelsea coach is not special as far as he is concerned. Speaking about the second leg of the Champions League tie between Chelsea and PSG billed for Wednesday, March 11, 2015, the former Chelsea defender is quoted by Daily Mail to have said he does not recognise Mourinho’s self styled ‘Special One’ title. ‘He (Mourinho) is special for you, but not for me,’ Luiz said. Although the Brazilian defender praised his former club; he remains firm that his French club is confident of thumping Chelsea in England despite their first leg draw. ‘They are having a great season, defend well and have great players but above all I know my team. We will try to score there and play like we know how we can. We will have a good game plan and implement it the best way possible to achieve a great performance. Both can still qualify,’ he said. David Luiz moved from Chelsea to Paris Saint Germain last season for a fee of £50m, a world-record transfer for a defender, signing a five-year contract on Friday, June 13 2014....

Nollywood actress Nkem Ike in a recent interview has told about her feelings and relationship with Super Eagles striker Nnamdi Oduamadi.

Nkem Ike

The couple started dating in 2013, and since then the actress has always flaunted her love affair with the footballer on her Instgram page.
“I have never thought about leaving. If everything works out fine, I would love to die with him; I would love to spend the rest of my life with him,” Nkem told Dailylight.
READ ALSO: Actress Nkem Ike Denies Existence Of Sexual Harassment In Nollywood
A pal of the actress named Nneka Adams confirmed that the Nkem is really happy and ready to settle down with Oduamadi.
“If Nkem’s body language should be anything to go by, she is ever ready to settle down with Nnamdi if he shows seriousness to marry her. They are enjoying a wonderful relationship at the moment and I can see that Nkem is seriously in love with Nnamdi. She is a lady with a big heart and on her part, she has not hidden her readiness to sacrifice anything in order to make him her personal property for life.”

Nnamdi Oduamadi

Nnamdi Oduamadi is currently playing for Serie B club Latina Calcio on loan from Milan. He made full international debut for Nigeria against Kenya in March 2009, featuring as a second half substitute.
READ MORE: http://www.naij.com/401275-nkem-ike-madly-in-love-with-nnamdi-oduamadi.html

Barcelona defender Dani Alves is discussing a three year contract with Paris Saint-Germain.

The 31-year-old Brazil international is out of contract with Barcelona in the summer and has been offered to several Premier League sides. 

Alves's agent, Dinorah Santana, confirmed that her client was in 'advanced talks' with another club and the player was in Paris on Tuesday.

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Brazilian defender Dani Alves is in talks with Paris St Germain over a three-year deal with the French side

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Alves, 31, is out of contract at Barcelona this summer and has been linked with clubs in England

Current PSG right-back Gregory van der Wiel has yet to agree terms on a new deal.

Alves has played 30 times for Barca this season, including starting at the Etihad Stadium when the Catalan club beat Manchester City 2-1 last month.

He has been at the club since 2008, winning four La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and the Champions League twice.

The Argentine has missed from the spot three times this term but still his coach remains confident in his ability from 12 yards

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique insists that Lionel Messi will continue taking penalties for his side, despite missing his third spot kick of the season against Manchester City.

The first knockout round continues with four ties this week and there are a number of high-profile players who are injured or suspended

Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco are the sides most hit by injury concerns going into their Champions League last-16 first leg fixtures this week.
Manchester City v Barcelona looks like the tie of the round and both sides will be at close to full strength, although the Premier League Champions will be without key midfielder Yaya Toure.
The Africa Cup of Nations winner is out through suspension after his sending off against CSKA Moscow in the group stages. James Milner missed the victory over Newcastle with a knee injury but has not yet been ruled out of the match.

The young Belgian attacker has signed a permanent deal with the Bundesliga side until 2020

Borussia Monchengladbach have confirmed they have completed a deal to sign Thorgan Hazard from Chelsea.

The Spaniard was sent off against Shakhtar on Tuesday night for two rash challenges but his boss says he is not in the team for his tackling ability

pep Guardiola has described Xabi Alonso as the worst player in the world from a defensive perspective, but pointed out that Bayern Munich did not sign the midfielder to recover the ball - but keep it.
Alonso was sent off in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Shakhtar Donetsk, after picking up a first-half booking for a mistimed tackle on Alex Teixeira and the earning a second yellow for pulling back the same player with 25 minutes remaining.

The Blues' manager was measured in his criticism of the officials who dismissed the Serbian midfielder for his reaction to an ugly challenge from Ashley Barnes Jose Mourinho insists appealing Nemanja Matic's red card against Burnley would be a waste of time as he continued his bitter feud with the Football Association.


The Serbian midfielder was sent off for violent conduct after he reacted to a dangerous Ashley Barnes tackle in Chelsea's 1-1 draw with Burnley.

The twitter war between Kanye West's ex, Amber Ross and Kim Kardashian may have just taken a very different turn with the mention of Cristiano Ronaldo's name.

Manu Garba’s side were involved in a minor accident on return to their hotel after defeating the Black Satellites in Wednesday’s international friendly

The Brazil international does not feel that he is the right man to help the struggling Uruguayan, given he is six years younger than his fellow forward
 


Barcelona attacker Neymar feels he is in no position to give Luis Suarez any advice following his difficult start to life at Camp Nou.

The Uruguay international has been struggling to find his best form since joining the Catalans from Liverpool ahead of the 2014-15 campaign and was even dropped from the starting XI for this weekend's 6-0 win over Elche after scoring just twice in 11 La Liga games.

Neymar endured similar difficulties in his first season at Barcelona in 2013-14, yet the Brazil international believes he is not the right man to tell his team-mate how to cope with the situation.

Female African Player of the year, Asisat Oshoala recently joined Liverpool after her superlative performance at the Female U-20 World Cup, where she starred for Nigeria and won both the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe awards for the highest goalscorer and the Most Valuable Player.
In this exclusive interview with naij.com from her base in Liverpool, she explains how she has been able to adapt to her new environment and her target for the new season. Excerpts below

Asisat Oshoala

How has it been since you were crowned Africa’s best female football player?
It has been really good for me because it has added many feathers to my cap. And it has boosted my personality a great deal. All thanks to God for the successes and everything I have become since I burst into limelight.

 Did you envisage your sudden rise to fame
I wouldn’t say I saw this coming, though. Having said that, I was not surprised when the fame started coming because I had prayed to God to lift me up. So we can say they are answers to my daily prayers.
The move to Liverpool, can you call it a dream come true?
Of course it is. Because it is the dream of every player to play at the peak and Liverpool ladies represent one of the best female football teams in the world. So, it is really a dream come true for me.

MLS side, LA Galaxy through their coach Bruce Arena has confirmed Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard will be joining the club in the summer

What gerrad will look like in LA Galaxy colors

According to  Goal, the former England captain met with Galaxy representatives in London on Tuesday to discuss terms and will expected to complete the deal later today.
Coach Bruce told LA Times: “Steven Gerrard arrives in July and by then we will certainly have a plan available.

Nigerian Super Eagles and West Bromich Albion striker, Brown Ideye bought himself an expensive Christmas toy, Rolls Royce Ghost Series 11.

Fellow Super Eagles Midfielder and friend, John Ogu shared the news and pics of the new toy and captioned it with ”Congrats to my Man @ideyebrown for his New Whip ROLL ROYCE GHOST… 2015 we Ready For You.. You will Get Yours too By GOD’s Grace.

Dec 25, 2014 09:00:00 By Emmanuel

Ahead of the announcement of the FIFPro XI at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Zurich, we are putting together our own team of the year based on your votes

The FIFA FIFPro World XI for 2014 will be announced at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Zurich on January 12.

To get into the spirit of awards season, Goal is putting together its own team of the year based on your votes.

We are running four polls this week asking you to select your best goalkeeper, best defender, best midfielder and best attacker of 2014.

Based on the results, we will reveal our best XI on Monday December 29. Here are our nominations for midfielder of the year.

Three Bayern Munich players are on our list of candidates. Xabi Alonso won the Champions League with Real Madrid before making a successful summer switch to Germany, while Mario Gotze and Bastian Schweinsteiger secured Bundesliga glory and both starred in the World Cup final.

Chelsea provide the same number, with Cesc Fabregas – an impressive summer signing from Barcelona – nominated along with Nemanja Matic and creative force Eden Hazard.

Angel Di Maria enjoyed a stunning end to 2013-14 with Real Madrid before moving to Manchester United in the summer, while World Cup winner Toni Kroos and Croatia’s Luka Modric also get the nod.

James Rodriguez was the top goalscorer at the tournament in Brazil which earned him a mega €80 million move to the Bernabeu from Monaco.

Koke and Arda Turan are recognised for their contributions to a sensational 12 months by Atletico Madrid, while Yacine Brahimi (Porto and Algeria) and Juan Cuadrado (Fiorentina and Colombia) also enjoyed stellar years for club and country.

Juventus veteran Andrea Pirlo and young star Paul Pogba both played a huge role in winning another Serie A title, while Miralem P