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Karim Benzema wins UEFA men’s player of the year award

Karim Benzema has been voted the UEFA Player of the Year and few will argue that he deserves it.

Perhaps only Real Madrid teammate Thibaut Courtois could have arrived with a serious argument to keep Benzema from winning. The French forward scored 15 goals in the Champions League on the way to the trophy and was crucial in all of their knockout ties.

Speaking after the award was presented to him, he told Sport that the best moment was their first comeback, against Paris Saint-Germain.

“The best moment of that Champions League was the return leg against PSG, we were able to come back thanks to the support of our fans.”

He also had some kind words for his manager Carlo Ancelotti, who picked up the prize for Coach of the Year.

“Ancelotti is the best manager in the world, he gives me a lot of confidence.”

Benzema will now look forward to a series of awards with a strong hope that he can take all of the individual prizes this year. The Frenchman scored 44 goals last season and was the most essential player in the most successful side.

To win it at the age of 34 would be testament to Benzema’s persistence and professionalism.

Karim Benzema’s 2021/22 season for club & country:

◎ 50 goals

◎ 16 assists

◎ LaLiga

◎ Supercopa

◎ Nations League

◎ Champions League

◎ UCL Player of the Season

◎ UCL Golden Boot

◎ Pichichi Trophy

◉ UEFA Men’s Player of the Year

GFA ELECTIONSKURT OKRAKU RE-ELECTED IN TAMALE

Kurt Okraku has been retained as the President of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) after receiving a resounding vote of confidence to lead the country’s football for another four years.

The endorsement came during the GFA Elective Congress held in Tamale, where Okraku stood unopposed following the disqualification of George Afriyie.

Out of the 124 delegates eligible to vote, a total of 120 delegates participated in the elections with 117 delegates voting “YES” in favor of his continuation, while only three voted “NO.”

The 52-year-old leader assumed office in 2019 in the aftermath of the Anas Aremeyaw Anas expose.

Steven Zhang admits he is not ready to sell the club

Inter Milan president Steven Zhang insists they’re not seeking to sell up.

Inter Milan President, Steven Zhang

Inter owners Suning are said to be seeking a buyer for the club and have hired Raine and Goldman Sachs to seek interested parties.

However, after their Champions League win at Viktoria Plzen and progress to the round of 16, Zhang denied the reports.

He declared, “Rumours and speculations, Inter are not for sale.”

Napoli director has canceled the signing of Ronaldo

Napoli director Cristiano Giuntoli has ruled out signing Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo in the January transfer window.

Ronaldo’s future at Old Trafford is uncertain as he continues to push for an exit from the club.

Napoli have been linked with a move for the Portuguese striker in January with Ronaldo reportedly keen on a return to Serie A.

However, Giuntoli rubbished those rumors in an interview with DAZN (via Fabrizio Romano):

“Ronaldo in January? We won’t sign any player in January. We don’t need to change anything in this team. We’re doing great and we’re not planning any signing, as of today.”

Cristiano Ronaldo has endured woes both on and off the pitch at Manchester United this season.

The veteran striker has struggled for a starting role under Erik ten Hag, making 12 appearances in all competitions and scoring just two goals.

He has started just six of those 12 appearances and his frustrations with the situation were displayed in United’s 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on 19 October.

Ronaldo stormed down the tunnel in the 89th minute having refused to come on as a substitute.

Napoli are flourishing this season under Luciano Spalletti. They lead the Serie A table on 29 points, three clear of second-placed AC Milan.

Spalletti’s men are unbeaten in all competitions and sit top of their Champions League group on 12 points and have secured a place in the last 16.

There appears to be no need for Ronaldo to arrive at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium with attacking duo Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia impressing.

Osimhen has bagged five goals in nine appearances across competitions while Kvaratskhelia has managed seven goals in 15.

Ronaldo’s current deal with Manchester United expires next summer, although there is the option of a 12-month extension.

Xavi Hernandez acknowledges the Barca could not defeat Bayern

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez reflected the mood at Camp Nou after another 3-0 defeat to Bayern Munich and their elimination from the Champions League, sombre and melancholy.

Inter’s win over Viktoria Plzen, which the Barcelona players watched as a group before their own fixture with Bayern Munich, had confirmed their exit from the Champions League. In 2023 they will drop into the Europa League for the second straight season.

Speaking to Marca after the match, Xavi admitted the Inter result played a part in their motivation.

“Today we have not reached their level, they have been better. In Munich it was us, but today they have been better, more intense. The elimination affected us psychologically. Tomorrow, we train and think about LaLiga. There were high expectations, we had a difficult group. Everything possible happened to us. It has been very cruel. We didn’t compete well today.”

However he also admitted the inescapable truth – Barcelona did not compete with Bayern Munich.

“We know that everything has happened to us, all possible situations. I understand that from the outside there is talk of failure, but inside we do different analysis. The first thing is our mistakes, that we have not been at the level due to effectiveness or errors. The way we went out of the competition, waiting for a game to finish, is also cruel. We leave feeling. If we analyse the other games, I think we deserved more”.

Although their fate was more or less sealed before this match, the manner of their defeat seemed like it was being confirmed for the third time.

Equally, the cruelty Xavi speaks of allowed many to feel that while Barcelona were not good in their previous matches, they were also unfortunate. The limp form of their loss adjusts the perspective – Barcelona are simply not good enough for the Champions League.

Barcelona president Laporta: “We’ve to look forward. We knew that in this process of rebuilding the team there would be ups and downs”.

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Barcelona president Laporta: “We’ve to look forward. We knew that in this process of rebuilding the team there would be ups and downs”.

Kimpembe will be unavailable for about 6 weeks due to injury

Kimpembe will be unavailable for about 6 weeks due to a left hamstring injury

The medical update for this Tuesday, September 13 concerns Presnel Kimpembe, Keylor Navas and Renato Sanches.

– Due to a left hamstring injury, Presnel Kimpembe will be unavailable for about 6 weeks. 

– Keylor Navas suffers from lower back pain and will not travel to Israel with the team.

– Because of a lesion to the right adductors, Renato Sanches will remain in care at the Training Center.

Haaland, Mbappe and Vinicius Jnr setting records to over take Messi and Ronaldo

Haaland, 22, bagged a brace as Manchester City eased past Sevilla 4-0 in Spain, while Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe netted twice as his side beat Juventus 2-1 in the French capital.

And the duo’s astonishing statistics in the top European competition suggest a new era of superstar forwards is underway.

Attackers Cristiano Ronaldo, of Manchester United, and Lionel Messi are widely seen as being the best two players in the world of this generation, but a new breed of younger star is coming through.

Norwegian Haaland, who moved from Borussia Dortmund to Manchester City this summer for £51million, already has 12 goals in just eight games.

The hotshot striker has now accumulated 25 goals in his first 20 Champions League games, which compares favourably to Ronaldo, who had none in his first 20 but is now the competition’s top scorer of all time with 140. Messi is second on 125.

And 23-year-old Mbappe is making waves too, breaking PSG team-mate Messi’s record for the youngest player to reach 35 Champions League goals.

He reached the mark in 23 years and 260 days, whereas the Argentine did it in 23 years and 307 days.

The French star has 55 goal involvements (35 goals, 20 assists) in just 54 Champions League games, indicating the era of Messi and Ronaldo could be equalled or even surpassed by the precocious pair.

The 22 years, Vinícius Jose Junior making records for Madrid. Since 2018 he joined Madrid appearing 197 with total goal score 40 with an assist. An attacker with 0.75 goals pg.

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