Sports

Ballon d’Or: It’s shameful, no credibility – Rothen names player who deserves award

Published

6 months ago

November 1, 2023

Former Paris Saint-Germain winger, Jerome Rothen, has stated that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland deserved to be awarded the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. Rothen expressed his belief that it was disgraceful for Messi to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

Messi was recently announced as the recipient of this year’s Ballon d’Or in France, surpassing Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe for the honor.

During an interview on RMC Sport, Rothen argued that the Ballon d’Or has lost credibility with Messi winning it over Haaland. He stated, “That is shameful. Of course, that is shameful. For me, it was Haaland who should have had it. From August 2022 to June 2023, what are the criteria that lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There is almost no criterion where he comes number 1. If you tell me about the record, he’s inferior to Haaland even though he won the World Cup.”

“Haaland won everything with Manchester City. The guy wins everything and puts in more than 60 goals in the year. When Messi and Ronaldo did it, it was quite normal that they were number one or two. Messi scored about 20 goals for the club last year while the other scored 60. And I am told that this Golden Ball must be given credibility? But there is no longer any credibility.”

Sports

11 teams confirm Champions League spot in 2024/2025 season [Full list]

Published

3 days ago

April 30, 2024

ARS NEWS

At least 11 teams have secured their berths in the upcoming season of the Champions League. These clubs have already confirmed their qualification based on their assured positions in their respective leagues.

Among them are Arsenal and Manchester City representing the Premier League, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain. Also included are Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich from Germany, Inter Milan and AC Milan from Italy, as well as PSV and Feyenoord from the Netherlands. Additionally, Paris Saint-Germain from France completes the list.

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League will mark the inaugural season under the new format featuring a league phase comprising 36 teams. Two of the four extra spots will be occupied by the European Performance Spots.

Sports

EPL: Cole Palmer far from what we expected – Pochettino

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

ARS NEWS

Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has insisted he was not expecting Cole Palmer to have a big impact at Chelsea.

Palmer joined the Blues from Manchester City in a £42 million deal in August.

The 21-year-old has now scored 20 Premier League goals and is joint-top scorer with former City teammate Erling Haaland.

When asked if he’s surprised at how many goals Palmer has scored since moving to Stamford Bridge, Pochettino responded: “We believe they can perform but it is true he is performing in a very good way; maybe above expectation. I think it’s his first consistent season playing but we need to be careful because he is still young, he is growing, he needs to develop in different areas.

“But of course, he is far away from what we expected from the beginning. I need to be honest.”

CREDIT: DAILY POST

Sports

Paris 2024: Super Falcons’ group stage schedule out

Published

3 weeks ago

April 15, 2024

ARS NEWS

The Nigerian Super Falcons are set to begin their journey at the 2024 Olympic Games by facing Brazil in their opening match. The match is scheduled to take place at Stade Matmut-Atlantique in Bordeaux, France, on Thursday, July 25, starting at 6 pm.

Following this, Randy Waldrum’s team will go up against world champions Spain three days later at Stade de la Beujoire in Nantes, also at 6 pm.

Their final group stage match will be against Japan on Wednesday, July 31, at Stade de la Beujoire in Nantes, with a kick-off time of 4 pm.

Having secured their place in Paris 2024 by defeating South Africa 1-0 on aggregate last week, the nine-time African champions are gearing up for the tournament.