Odion Ighalo has said an emotional goodbye to Manchester United after his lifelong dream of playing for the Red Devils came to an end.
The striker was signed last February on loan from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, initially on a deal until the end of the 2019-20 season.
The 31-year-old enjoyed a productive first few months at Old Trafford as an alternative striker option to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, providing five goals and two assists in 19 appearances in all competitions.
United won 13, drew four and lost just twice in games in which Ighalo featured last term as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side enjoyed a strong second half of the season, finishing third in the Premier League and reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup and Europa League.
Due to the …
Serge Gnabry scored a hat-trick and laid on a double for Robert Lewandowski as Bayern Munich moved nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 5-0 thrashing of Stuttgart.
Gnabry, making his first start for almost a month, opened the scoring in the first half and clinically doubled the champions lead after the break behind closed doors at Mercedes-Benz Arena on Tuesday.
The outstanding Gnabry then set Lewandowski up twice and completed his treble as the leaders ran riot in Julian Nagelsmann s 200th Bundesliga match as coach, scoring three times in the space of five second-half minutes.
Bayern lost Kingsley Coman to an apparent hamstring injury, but cruised to a sixth consecutive victory in all competitions.
Just the five goal involvements for
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Tournament organisers and the Cameroon government on Thursday stated the Africa Cup of Nations must take place as they revealed only fans who are fully vaccinated can enter stadiums.
There have been increasing concerns the competition may be called off due to the emergence of the Omicron strain of COVID-19.
The tournament was due to be staged in January and February this year but was postponed due to the pandemic.
Just over three weeks before the opening ceremony at the Complexe Sportif d Olembe, the government, Confederation of African Football (CAF) and Cameroonian Football Association (FECAFOOT) released a statement vowing that the rearranged AFCON 2021 will go ahead.
The statement said: In Cameroon, as has been the case elsewhere, effecti…
Newcastle striker Demba Ba could be staying with the club until at least the end of the English Premier League season.
Ba reportedly had unproductive talks with Chelsea on the eve of the January transfer window, with his seven-million pound release clause to become active at the start of 2013.
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said he was almost prepared to allow Ba to leave his side at the end of the campaign.
In some respects I feel a little bit sorry for Demba, Pardew said.
There are people out there fuelling this who are not actually involved or want to be involved and that s the sort of world that we are in.
The contract is what it is, we are all aware of that, and for me as the manager I need it resolved as quickly as possible. That s the…
Finland face one of the toughest tasks in international football on Friday, when they visit holders Spain in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Since winning Euro 2008 under Luis Aragones, Spain have swept all before them to become the game s undisputed powerhouse.
Former Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque succeeded Aragones, leading his country s national team to glory at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, before orchestrating a successful defence of their European Championship crown in Poland and Ukraine last year.
Despite their status as holders of the prestigious competition, Spain must earn the right to defend the World Cup by qualifying for the tournament in Brazil next year.
Drawn in Group I of UEFA qualifying, they sit joint top with France, having mustered seven…
Manchester United outcast and former Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger will join Chicago Fire in MLS.
Schweinsteiger has reportedly signed a one-year designated player contract, having found first-team opportunities hard to come by at Old Trafford.
Signed by Louis van Gaal in 2015, Schweinsteiger was ostracised from the senior side by United manager Jose Mourinho, who arrived in the off-season, but the 32-year-old World Cup winner managed to force his way back into calculations, scoring one goal in four appearances.
However, it was always a matter of time before veteran Schweinsteiger swapped the Premier League for MLS as the former Bayern Munich star now prepares to link up with Veljko Paunovic s men following an initial meeting in November.
Throug…
Arjen Robben does not believe Bayern Munich will be affected by the memory of their 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid when they meet in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola s Bayern were taken apart 5-0 on aggregate by a rampant Madrid in the semi-finals in 2014, with Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo both bagging braces at the Allianz Arena.
The clubs have not met in the Champions League since that memorable occasion but Robben insisted Bayern will not have that humiliation on their minds.
That does not count, it is already forgotten, former Madrid winger Robben told reporters at a pre-match news conference on Tuesday.
Tomorrow there will be small details that will decide the game; there will be a l…
Antoine Griezmann believes it will be difficult for Barcelona to re-sign Neymar and form a star-studded attack with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Barca sealed a €120million move for Griezmann this month and are reportedly keen to bring Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain, who signed him for a world record €222m in August 2017.
The World Cup winner is unwilling to contemplate lining up alongside the Brazilian until a deal is done, with the Catalan giants reportedly offering €100m and two of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic and Malcom in exchange.
Griezmann thinks it will be tricky for Barca to get a move over the line and stated they already have sufficient talent to challenge on multiple fronts.
We hav…
When French forward Anthony Martial arrived at Manchester United from Monaco in 2015 for an initial fee of £36million, potentially rising to £58million, the youngster was seen as one of the brightest young players in world football.
However, things have not worked out for the 22-year-old in Manchester. According to media reports and quotes from his agent Philippe Lamboley, Martial wants to move on this summer.
The forward had previously been in talks with United over a new deal. Whether the talk of unrest is just a negotiation tactic is unknown.
Not lived up to his early performances
One of the problems with Martial is that he seems to have believed the hype from his early career and has become overconfident. Unfortunately, his confidence is rather misplaced,…
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is close to agreeing a new contract with Inter Milan, according to . It has been reported that the 23-year-old striker’s new deal will see him almost double his salary. This is bad news for Manchester City, who have been monitoring the Argentina international over the past year.
City are on the hunt for a new striker. Sergio Aguero has had injury problems and is also 32 years of age. Gabriel Jesus is a very talented and promising young striker, but the Citizens could do with a more established striker who can make an immediate impact at the Etihad Stadium.
Martinez is one of the strikers City have been reportedly tracking, but it seems that the 23-year-old is now set to stay at Inter. The Argentina international has been on he book…