Sports
Pogba accused of paying witch doctor to ‘neutralise’ Mbappe
Paul Pogba’s brother, Mathias, has accused the midfielder of paying at least €4 million (£3.5m) to a witch doctor who “neutralised” Kylian Mbappe during Manchester United’s Champions League tie against Paris Saint-Germain in 2019.
Mathias Pogba is currently in custody in Paris, France as he is under investigation for his alleged role in the blackmail plot involving the former Manchester United midfielder.
Paul Pogba has accused a group of demanding €13 million (£11.2m) from him in “protection money”, essentially worth €1 million (£860,000) a year from the age of 16 when he first became a professional footballer.
Pogba, who returned to Juventus on a free transfer from United in the summer, handed over €100,000 (£85,000) to the group after being escorted at gunpoint to a flat in Roissy-en-Brie, in the eastern suburb of Paris in March.
Mathias Pogba, 32, has denied his part in the attempted blackmail but has been accused of “extortion in an organised gang” and “participation in a criminal association with a view to preparing a crime”.
On Friday, several pre-recorded video messages from Mathias Pogba surfaced online, one of which accused his brother of paying for a witch doctor to put a spell on Mbappe for United’s Champions League tie against PSG in 2019.
United lost the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford and Pogba was sent off, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side staged a remarkable comeback in Paris as they secured a 3-1 win in the return leg to progress to the quarter-finals.
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“The turning point came with the World Cup in 2018, where Paul had more faith in the witch doctor than in God, entrusting the witch with a big task in order to help the French team win,” Mathias Pogba said in his video.
“The witch doctor would go on to tell Mam’s [an intermediary] that the job had already been done, and that was when Mam’s would start to be scared. After that, Paul continued with his witch doctor, notably in the Champions League to ensure that Manchester United would go through against PSG.
“At the request of Paul, the witch was told to neutralise Kylian Mbappe, who back then was on a rapid rise, far outstripping Paul’s fame.
“It was strange to see that during that match Kylian was a shadow of himself against a reserve side.
“The issue is that at the same time Paul was doing everything he could to get closer to Kylian, as we could see in the media, supposedly liking him and calling him his friend, he would often call him, we would see them arm-in-arm.
“It went so far that Kylian almost made it a condition for his PSG contract extension that the club would have to sign Paul, without knowing that behind his back Paul was engaging in witchcraft to sabotage his matches.
“That same witch doctor would go on to [say] that he had to stop the ongoing curse, at risk of destroying [Mbappe’s] career, keeping in mind that he was paid by the task, knowing that my brother, always close to his money, had not paid enough for a long-term job, and that the witch wanted to make him pay as much as possible.”
Sports
UCL: Vinicius scores double as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich in semi-final showdown
UCL: Vinicius scores double as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich in semi-final showdown
In Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg, Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior scored double, including an 83rd-minute equalizing penalty, to secure a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich.
Vinicius gave Real the lead after 24 minutes, but Bayern took control of the game in four second-half minutes, with Leroy Sane scoring and Harry Kane converting a penalty.
Kim Min-jae practices judo. shoved Rodrygo in the box with eight minutes remaining, and Vinicius stepped up, drowning out a chorus of shouts and whistles to blast home.
The draw puts Madrid in the driving seat ahead of next week’s return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Bayern, who dominated large parts of the match, will still have hopes of making it to Wembley’s final in June.
Before the match, the Bayern fans unveiled a giant banner depicting Franz Beckenbauer which spanned all the way from the grass to the rafters. It was a fitting tribute on a night featuring the most-played fixture in European Cup history.
Famed for their composure on the biggest of stages in this competition, the 14-time winners struggled early, Bayern dominating possession and field position while spurred on by a ferocious home crowd.
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Sane had a chance after just 40 seconds and another minutes later, while Kane chipped a shot from halfway just over the bar as the leggy visitors struggled to cope.
Madrid’s continued success in this competition, including in their quarter-final win over Manchester City, has been built on absorbing pressure before striking.
The visitors repeated the trick for the opener, breaking Bayern’s dominance in ruthlessly simple fashion while showing the hosts how easy scoring goals can be.
Toni Kroos collected the ball from a corner and drilled a defence-splitting pass along the ground which found Vinicius galloping in acres of space on the penalty arc.
Without a Bayern player in range, Vinicius calmly slotted the opener past a helpless Manuel Neuer, changing the complexion of the match completely.
Bayern, who have six European Cups of their own, were not awed and continued to push but could not break through; their best chance of the remainder of the half came through a free kick, with Kane finding a huge gap in the wall but blasting wide.
With Real seemingly in cruise control, Bayern grabbed hold of the match early in the second-half, scoring twice in four minutes.
Eric Dier found Sane down the right flank. The Germany winger, who had missed several chances in the first half, dribbled into the box before unleashing an unstoppable rocket at the near post, his first goal for Bayern in any competition since October.
The hosts’ next attack came down the left, with the ever dangerous Jamal Musiala felled by Lucas Vazquez in the box. Referee Clement Turpin pointed straight to the spot and Kane had no hesitation either, sending Andriy Lunin the wrong way to take the lead.
With Bayern in control, Real went on the counter and it was Kim’s turn to give away a clumsy penalty, with Vinicius confidently slotting in the equaliser.
UCL: Vinicius scores double as Real Madrid hold Bayern Munich in semi-final showdown
(AFP)
Sports
Finidi George appointed Super Eagles head coach
Finidi George appointed Super Eagles head coach
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed Finidi George as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
Finidi’s appointment was announced on Monday as obtained via the official website of the NFF.
George had served as assistant to former coach Jose Peseiro for 20 months before assuming interim leadership of the senior national team in March this year.
The statement read in part, “The Board of Nigeria Football Federation on Monday approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to appoint former ace winger Finidi George as Head Coach of the Senior Men National Football Team, Super Eagles.”
Sports
Thiago Silva to leave Chelsea at end of season
Thiago Silva to leave Chelsea at end of season
Chelsea defender Thiago Silva will leave the club at the end of the season.
The Brazilian, who joined the Blues on a free transfer from Paris St-Germain in 2020, has made 151 appearances for the Blues.
He has won three trophies in that time, including the 2020-21 Champions League.
Silva, 39, says his love for the club is “indescribable”.
“Chelsea means a lot to me. I came here with the intention of only staying for a year and it ended up being four years,” he said.
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“It is already hard saying goodbye in the most normal of circumstances but when there is a mutual love, it’s even harder. But once a Blue, always a Blue.”
Silva joined the club when Frank Lampard was manager and has since also played under Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino.
He has made 34 appearances in all competitions for Chelsea this season, including 25 starts in the Premier League.
The former AC Milan centre-back, capped 113 times by Brazil, says he hopes to return to Stamford Bridge in a new role in the future.
“I hope to leave the door open so that in the near future I can return, albeit in another role here,” he said.
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