Sports
Ronaldo playing in Saudi league for money like me – Ighalo
Ronaldo playing in Saudi league for money like me – Ighalo
Ex-Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has disclosed that the decision of Cristiano Ronaldo and other top footballers to ply their trade in Saudi Arabia was informed by pecuniary motives.
Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr last year in a stunning three-year deal that would see him earn €210.704 million in total.
Other top footballers, who have made names for themselves in Europe, have also moved to Saudi Arabia as the the oil-rich middle east nation injected massive cash into league in order to make it a football powerhouse.
Reacting to the move of Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia and the influx of big players to the Saudi league, Ighalo said the motivation behind these moves was money and not passion.
Ighalo made this known during an interview with sport journalist, Oma Akatugba.
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He said. “See people that are going to Saudi Arabia, big players. Is Ronaldo still playing for passion? He has made more than 100 times what I have in my life, but he still went to Saudi. You want to tell me that is passion? No, it’s for money.
“It’s only when we Africans say it they will say we like money. But these people don’t care, some of them want to be highest paid and all that,”
Ighalo left mainstream Europe for Chang Chung Yatai in 2017 after playing for Lyn, Udinese, Granada, Cesena, and Watford.
At Yatai, he earned a reported €200,000 weekly salary, before moving to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua where he also commanded a similar wage.
Ighalo spent one year in Shanghai before moving to Manchester United on a six-month loan deal.
After that, the 34-year-old joined Al Shabbab, where he started earning €170,000.
Ronaldo playing in Saudi league for money like me – Ighalo
Sports
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Harry Kane scored one and assisted another as Bayern Munich thrashed Hoffenheim to restore their four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table.
The Bavarians were awarded a 26th-minute penalty after a Kane header was blocked by the arm of a defender and the England captain buried his spot-kick, sending the keeper the wrong way.
Kane, 31, had earlier assisted defender Raphael Guerreiro with a one-two to set up the Bavarians’s second.
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Bundesliga top scorer Kane has now scored 16 goals and created eight assists in 15 appearances in the division so far this season.
With the game won, he was substituted midway through the second half.
The Bavarians opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Leroy Sane, and the former Manchester City forward added his side’s fourth just after half-time.
Serge Gnabry completed Bayern’s scoring by adding a fifth in the 66th minute.
Kane scores again as Bayern thrash Hoffenheim to go top
Sports
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Police have launched an investigation into social media abuse aimed at Arsenal forward Kai Havertz’s wife after his latest poor performance.
Havertz missed a penalty in Arsenal’s shootout defeat against Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on Sunday.
Following Arsenal’s second successive loss, the Germany international’s wife, Sophia, reposted two abusive messages she had received on Instagram.
A police spokesman told Britain’s Press Association: “Officers have received a report of malicious communications towards a Hertfordshire resident on Sunday 12 January. Enquiries are under way.”
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Speaking on Tuesday, on the eve of Arsenal’s Premier League match against Tottenham, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta flagged the “terrible consequences” of online abuse.
“It’s something that we really have to eradicate from the game, because it’s so cynical as well,” he said.
Havertz has scored 12 goals in 27 matches for Arsenal this season.
But his woeful finishing in the United game and the preceeding 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in the League Cup semi-final first leg has reopened criticism of the German.
Havertz, who scored the Champions League final winner for Chelsea in 2021, has endured an erratic spell with Arsenal since moving across London in 2023.
But Arteta said there is no excuse for the abuse, saying: “We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. It cannot happen. That’s it.”
Police probe abuse of Havertz’s wife after Arsenal star’s woes
Sports
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola and his wife Cristina Serra have reportedly separated after 30 years together.
News of their split was first reported by the Spanish outlet, Sport.
The couple, who met in 1994, had been living apart for more than five years after Serra moved back to Barcelona with one of their two daughters, Valentina, 17, while Guardiola remained in Manchester.
Guardiola, 53, and Serra married in an intimate ceremony on the outskirts of Barcelona in 2014 but have now decided to part ways.
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They have two other children together: Maria, 24 and Marius, 22.
Guardiola and Serra, a Brazilian journalist and writer, had remained a couple despite not living in the same city and have regularly been pictured together in the years since.
Sport reports that the decision to end their marriage was made in December, with only members of their inner circle aware of the split. Their trusted friends and family have also been told not to disclose further information.
Sport added that their relationship is ‘totally cordial, stable and friendly’ despite their split.
Man City coach, Guardiola, splits from wife after 30 years
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