AC Milan adviser Zlatan Ibrahimovic has confirmed that ex-Liverpool Divock Origi is not part of the club's plans for the 2024/25 season.
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Origi not part of AC Milan's plans for 2024/25 season
Spent last season on loan at Forest
Rossoneri out of Zirkzee race
WHAT HAPPENED?
Origi, who spent the last season on loan at Premier League side Nottingham Forest, had a nightmare outing in England. He appeared in 22 matches across all competitions and managed to clock just 754 minutes on the pitch. He had scored once and provided as many assists in the entire campaign. At the end of the 2023/24 season, the former Liverpool star returned to AC Milan, however, club adviser and legendary forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic has now confirmed that the player has been banished from the first-team squad.
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WHAT ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC SAID
Speaking to reporters ahead of a new season, Ibrahimovic said, "Divock Origi and Fodé Ballo-Toure are not part of our plans. They will be part of the youth team as they’re not included in our project."
Getty Images
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The former Sweden international also confirmed that the Rossoneri are officially out of the race to sign Bologna forward Joshua Zirkzee who is on his way to join Manchester United this summer.
Speaking about the Dutch forward, Ibrahimovic said, "Zirkzee? It’s the past for us. We already have the new striker in mind but I’m not gonna tell you the name."
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AC Milan
WHAT NEXT FOR AC MILAN?
The 2021/22 Serie A champions are all set to visit the US for pre-season where they are scheduled to play a series of friendly matches against top clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester City.
Gulam Bodi, the former South Africa and Lions batsman, has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to eight charges of corruption in a landmark case in South Africa. Bodi, who has two ODI and one T20 international cap, is the first person to be imprisoned under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004, came into effect in the aftermath of the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal in 2000.
Clause 15 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004
Any person who, directly or indirectly- accepts or agrees or offers to accept any gratification from any other person, whether for the benefit of himself or herself or for the benefit of that other person or of another person; or gives or agrees or offers to give to any other person any gratification, whether for the benefit of that other person or for the benefit of another person- (i) in return for- (aa) engaging in any act which constitutes a threat to or undermines the integrity of any sporting event, including, in any way, influencing the run of play or the outcome of a sporting event; or (bb) not reporting the act contemplated in this section to the managing director, chief executive officer or to any other person holding a similar post in the sporting body or regulatory authority concerned or at his or her nearest police station; or (ii) as a reward for acting as contemplated in subparagraph (i); or (c) carries into effect any scheme which constitutes a threat to or undermines the integrity of any sporting event, including, in any way, influencing the run of play or the outcome of a sporting event, is guilty of the offence of corrupt activities relating to sporting events.
The Act contains a clause that relates directly to corruption in sporting events (see sidebar) which makes match-fixing and spot-fixing in South Africa a crime. It carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. The State asked for Bodi to receive five, which has been granted.Bodi was charged under the Act after being banned by Cricket South Arica for 20 years for his role in contriving to fix or otherwise influence aspects of the 2015 RamSlam T20 domestic tournament. At the time, CSA said none of the fixtures were affected by fixing after the conspirators’ plans were foiled and held their own disciplinary process before handing evidence over to the police.Bodi handed himself over to police in July last year and pleaded guilty on November 4, 2018. He was due to be sentenced in January. Multiple postponements led to the sentencing being delayed to October 18. Bodi will apply for leave to appeal and an extension of his bail. He was released on R3000 bail last (US$202) last year.Six other players, Ethy Mbhalati, Alviro Petersen, Thami Tsolekile, Jean Symes, Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Pumi Matshikwe received bans of between two and 12 years. None of the other players were pursued by police. One of them, Petersen, has since served his ban and returned to working in cricket, as a commentator. Petersen was at the Commercial Crimes Court in Pretoria for Bodi’s sentencing.
Crystal Palace could find themselves facing "issues" surrounding prospective new manager Oliver Glasner, as journalist George Simms moots potential issues with club chairman Steve Parish.
Glasner set for Palace job with Hodgson leaving
Despite current head coach Roy Hodgson falling ill in training on Thursday afternoon, widespread reports have indicated that Glaser is set to replace the Palace legend.
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Hodgson is thankfully now in a stable condition and recovering, but before the 76-year-old's unfortunate incident, it is believed Selhurst Park chiefs and Glasner had mutually agreed on him taking the Palace hot seat.
Fabrizio Romano shared news yesterday that the agreement between Palace and Eintracht Frankfurt's former boss is sealed, with Hodgson set to depart the south Londoners after a second stint in charge of his boyhood club.
The Eagles have endured a regrettable campaign thus far, Indeed, they're currently flirting with Premier League relegation and sit among the division's lowest-scoring sides. Only bottom three Everton, Burnley and Sheffield United have scored fewer goals than Palace so far this season, with reports suggesting Parish has been on the lookout for a new manager over the past few weeks.
Naouirou Ahamada
6.07
Nathaniel Clyne
6.37
Chris Richards
6.43
Sam Johnstone
6.44
Joel Ward
6.48
The club, though, are now settled on Glasner and the tactician comes with a very promising track record. He boasts a Europa League-winners medal and Austrian second division title on his CV, with ex-Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac also praising his "meticulous" attention to detail.
"He’s very structured, very well organised, meticulous, observes the opposition very closely and prepares the team very well for them,” he told theFrankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (via Bundesliga).
“He doesn’t just let Eintracht run their boots off. He adjusts tactics, tries to simulate the opponent during the week in training. Oliver has transferred his ideas of football well to his team because he works methodically, because there’s no chopping and changing.”
However, there are also drawbacks to his arrival, as Simms reports for inews.
Palace dealt Glasner drawback as journalist moots Parish issues
The 49-year-old has been central to fallouts with club chiefs at previous sides Eintracht and Wolfsburg, where he suffered strained relationships with the board and sporting directors over transfer policy.
As Simms points out, Palace "issues could arise" with Parish and Glasner in a similar fashion. He comes with a "risk" attached, namely due to his ambition and tendency to not hold back in regard to wanting full control. It will be very interesting to see what comes of this, as this could prove to be a match made in heaven or one doomed to fail.
The UAE have seen their problems compounded after Shabbir left the squad unexpectedly
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Oct-2019The beleaguered UAE national team was dealt another blow after it emerged that wicketkeeper Ghulam Shabber had left the squad and country without explanation in the midst of the World T20 qualifiers.Shabber did not show up for the team meeting ahead of Monday’s game against Hong Kong, which UAE won by eight wickets. He was also missing from the UAE’s fixture against Jersey on Tuesday, which they lost by 35 runs.”At 11am yesterday, we had a team meeting, and Ghulam Shabber did not show up for it,” Peter Kelly, the UAE team manager, was reported in as saying. “He did not show up for the bus in the afternoon [when the team left for the Hong Kong match]. ECB [Emirates Cricket Board] are doing due diligence. We are obviously concerned for his well being. We went out of our way to contact any next of kin that we could, as well as any numbers we had for him.”We also searched hospitals to make sure he was OK. We also got people to go and check if he was at home. Since that point, we have managed to find out that he has left the country. What we do know is that he is safe, but we don’t know the reasons that he has gone.”UAE are already without four players, provisionally suspended as part of corruption investigation. Mohammad Naveed, Qadeer Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar and Ashfaq Ahmed are the players currently suspended – the last after Monday’s victory against Hong Kong – by the Emirates Cricket Board. Naveed, Qadeer and Anwar have been charged various breaches of the ICC’s anti-corruption code.There is no suggestion yet that Shabber’s disappearance is linked to the corruption probe.”It is out of his nature, and we are unsure why he left, and why he chose to not tell people,” Kelly said. “He was not a part of the anti-corruption investigation.”For the past 24 hours or so, we have been trying to find out if he is OK. We have managed to get to the point where we are. Where we go from here, we [don’t know]. We do know he is OK, and he has left the country. That is all we know so far.”The last two days have thus seen UAE’s 15-man squad cut down to 13. Whether they can be replaced in the middle of the tournament is currently unclear.
كشف طبيب منتخب مصر، محمد أبو العلا، تشخيص إصابة محمد الشناوي وخالد صبحي لاعبا الفراعنة خلال مباراة موريتانيا التي أقيمت بين المنتخبين مساء الثلاثاء.
وانتصر منتخب مصر على نظيره موريتانيا، بهدف دون رد، في مواجهة الجولة الرابعة من عمر تصفيات كأس أمم إفريقيا 2025.
طالع.. فيديو | منتخب مصر يفوز على موريتانيا في الوقت القاتل ويحسم تأهله إلى كأس أمم إفريقيا
وكان محمد الشناوي تعرض لإصابة في وجه خلال المباراة لكن أكمل اللقاء بشكل طبيعي، بينما خالد صبحي غادر الملعب متأثرًا بإصابته خلال المباراة.
وقال أبو العلا خلال المركز الإعلامي لـ اتحاد الكرة المصري: “إصابة محمد الشناوي حارس مرمي المنتخب عبارة عن جرح قطعي في الحاجب”.
وأضاف: “إصابة خالد صبحي مدافع المنتخب، عبارة عن تمزق في عضلات الساق”.
ومن المقرر وصول بعثة منتخب مصر، في التاسعة صباح اليوم الأربعاء، للقاهرة بعد الانتهاء من مواجهة موريتانيا.
وتأهل منتخب مصر، بشكل رسمي إلى نهائيات بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا، للمرة الـ 27 في تاريخه، بعد وصوله إلى النقطة الثانية عشر في صدارة ترتيب المجموعة الثالثة بالفوز في الـ 4 جولات بالتصفيات.
Manchester United picked up a vital victory in their quest for Champions League football, beating Everton 2-0 at Old Trafford.
This was the Red Devils’ eighth clean sheet of the campaign, the joint-third most in the Premier League.
Andre Onana
However, luck was most definitely on their side, alongside the Toffees woeful finishing. The visitors had 23 attempts at goal, which now means that only Sheffield United have faced more shots than Erik ten Hag’s team this season.
Nonetheless, one individual stepped up once again and put in an 8/10 performance, according to The Manchester Evening News.
Jonny Evans’ 23/24 campaign in numbers
In the summer, Jonny Evans returned to Man United on a free transfer from Leicester City after leaving the club back in 2015 to join West Bromwich Albion.
The 36-year-old was never meant to be a frequent starter this season, with the fact that he only started once in pre-season being the biggest indicator of that.
Manchester United'sJonnyEvansapplauds fans after the match
However, with Lisandro Martinez suffering from multiple injuries and the left-back position being vacated by Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, Evans has really stepped up amid the defensive injury crisis, with football creator Liam Canning even stating the following.
Indeed, the Northern Ireland rock was impressive once again this weekend during his 18th Premier League game of the season, the second-most for a United centre-half behind Raphael Varane.
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Erik ten Hag has been able to rely on the star all season.
ByTom Lever Mar 5, 2024 Jonny Evans’ performance vs Everton in numbers
Everton had so much joy against United on Saturday, and if it wasn’t for Evans’ excellent proactive defending and experience, it’s fair to say that it would have been another disappointing day at the office.
The number 35 dealt started consecutive games after impressing in the Manchester Derby, and he recovered from a knock in time to make the starting lineup this weekend.
This was Evans’ fourth clean sheet in 2023/24 when featuring from the off, which proves that his inclusion in the team brings success.
Evans' Stats vs Everton
Evans
Stats
Minutes
89
Goals conceded
0
Shots blocked
4
Clearances
4
Interceptions
2
Touches
65
Pass accuracy
88%
Key passes
1
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see by the table above, Evans was an absolute rock at the heart of the defence, putting his body on the line to deal with Everton’s crosses from open play and set pieces and their attempts at goal from in and around the box.
United Stand presenter Beth Tucker described the Premier League winner’s performance as a “masterclass,” as the defender was also important in possession, a fact highlighted by his one key pass, 88% pass accuracy, 65 touches, and one successful dribble, according to Sofascore.
Overall, it was another fantastic showing from Evans, with his signing being one of the most valuable moments of the season for Ten Hag. On this showing, the central defender certainly deserves a more permanent role in the starting lineup.
In truth, without the Northern Irish centre-back, their Champions League dream would be all but over.
Since the PIF takeover during the 2021/22 season, Newcastle United have found themselves chopping and changing both their playing and coaching staff on more than one occasion.
In their first transfer window, they managed to introduce a total of five new players to the club, each of whom had a major impact on their Premier League survival that term.
By far the most notable of those acquisitions was that of Bruno Guimaraes. One of the key areas in which the Magpies seemed to struggle was the middle of the park.
Hence, why, the introduction of the Brazil international not only added stability to their central areas, but allowed for more creativity to be present within the first team.
This is shown by his overall goal contributions during the 17 Premier League games which he played in. By the end of the campaign, he had involved himself with six goals, five of which he managed to bag himself.
Since then, the former Lyon man has been pivotal to the squad and, in the last season and a half, has managed to appear a total of 78 times in all competitions whilst contributing to 19 goals in total.
However, the Brazil international isn't the only one of Howe's signings who is soaring towards an elite level.
Anthony Gordon's time with Newcastle in numbers
Anthony Gordon was signed by the former Bournemouth manager during the 2022/23 January transfer window for a fee in the region of £45m.
Despite having a slow start to life in Tyneside with the attacker starting just four games and only scoring one goal in the back half of the campaign, fans still stuck with the youngster despite his poor run of form.
This term, however, the former Everton man has really shown his class. He has heavily featured in the first-team squad and has played 38 games thus far. During that time, the attacker has managed to produce his most prolific senior season and involved himself with 17 goals altogether.
Ten of which came as his own, which shows how pivotal he has been to Howe's side this term. Without him, especially with their injury crisis this season, they would be much worse off.
Anthony Gordon.
After signing a long-term deal with the club upon his arrival, thanks to his 500% wage increase from his time at Everton, the youngster is within Newcastle's top ten highest-paid players, with his wage packet soaring from £10k-per-week at Goodison Park.
Due to the stellar form which he has shown this season, Sky Sports' Keith Downie described the winger as "electric" after replacing the injured Harvey Barnes during their clash against Sheffield United.
How Gordon's wage compares to his teammates
Despite being just 23-years-old, the attackers' current weekly figures sit at around the £60k-per-week mark, a fine rise from what he was earning in Merseyside.
#1 Bruno Guimaraes
£160k
#2 Kieran Trippier
£120k
#3 Alex Isak
£120k
#4 Matt Targett
£100k
#5 Sven Botman
£90k
#6 Joelinton
£85k
This weekly sum places Gordon ahead of the likes of Dan Burn, Tino Livramento and even, star striker, Callum Wilson.
It goes without question that the winger is a stellar talent, however, especially when Wilson's nine goal involvements in just 22 games are taken into account, it feels as if the former Bournemouth striker is being severely underpaid.
Indeed, he has been prone to injuries over the course of his career, as he has missed a total of 67 games for the Magpies during his four-year tenure thus far, however, without him leading the line, they would be half the team of what they are now.
However, if Gordon can manage to keep up this level of form over the next couple of terms, his acquisition could be seen as something of a bargain in the long run. Either way, it would appear they have struck gold by luring him to St James' Park.
Michael Olise made a big-money move to Bayern Munich this week and Jamal Musiala revealed that the two know each other from their Chelsea days.
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Michale Olise moves to Bayern MunichJamal Musiala reveals Olise relationshipDuo played together at Chelsea academyfcbayern.comWHAT HAPPENED?
Olise made the much-anticipated move from Crystal Palace and joined the German giants amid loads of interest from all across Europe. Bayern paid the Premier League side a reported fee of €55 million (£46.4m/$59.5m) and signed the French international to a five-year deal until the summer of 2029. Olise will have some familiar faces at the club in the form of international team-mate Dayot Upamecano and Musiala with whom he trained at Chelsea as a youth.
AdvertisementWHAT MUSIALA SAID
Speaking to AZ, Musiala was asked about having played with Olise and said: "That was a good time. We played together in the youth team at Chelsea FC, that was a good time.
"We haven't talked much over the years, but what I can say is that he has a lot of quality. You could see that at Crystal Palace, he scored a lot of goals."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The two played together in the Chelsea academy from 2011 to 2016 before Olise shifted to the Manchester City academy. One can only wonder how much Chelsea rue missing out on the two talented forwards who are considered to be gems of the game, while the Blues have struggled with their forwards over the last couple of years.
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WHAT NEXT FOR OLISE AND MUSIALA?
The duo will not be able to play together on the field for at least some more time with Olise set to join France's U-21 team under Thierry Henry for the Paris Olympics from July 24.
O Palmeiras se reapresentou na tarde desta quarta-feira (5) e deu início à preparação para o duelo diante do Santos pelo Paulistão 2021. A novidade de hoje foi a volta de Alan Empereur, que está recuperado de um edema na coxa e treinou sem restrições juntamente com os colegas que participaram da atividade. O zagueiro havia desfalcado o Verdão nos dois últimos jogos e agora está à disposição para escalação.
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>> Rony desequilibra, Palmeiras bate o Defensa y Justicia e segue 100% na Libertadores
Foram preservados do treino os titulares da vitória de ontem pela Libertadores, diante do Defensa y Justicia, em Buenos Aires. Eles ficaram na parte interna do centro de excelência, realizando apenas trabalhos regenerativos. Já o restante do grupo fez uma hora de atividades técnicas, praticando passes, transições e um coletivo em campo reduzido.
O meia Lucas Lima, que está em fase final de transição física após se recuperar de um trauma na coxa, também participou durante todo o período. Além do camisa 20, o treino teve o reforço do colombiano Iván Angulo, que recentemente esteve emprestado ao Cruzeiro e Botafogo e, desde que retornou à Academia de Futebol, segue sem ser utilizado.
Administrando as lesões e o desgaste das competições simultâneas, a provável escalação do Palmeiras diante do Santos tem: Vinicius, Mayke, Henri e Alan Empereur; Gabriel Menino, Fabinho, Zé Rafael, Gustavo Scarpa e Matías Viña; Wesley (Giovani) e Willian Bigode.
Ainda sonhando com uma classificação às quartas de final do Paulistão, o Verdão enfrenta o Peixe às 21h desta quinta-feira (6), no Allianz Parque.
Glasgow Rangers transfer business in January stretched to three loan signings – albeit one has an obligation to buy clause – and it is clear that Philippe Clement is aiming for the summer window in order to spend money on new arrivals.
His budget may well be determined by how many players the 49-year-old coach can move on, and with six players out of contract at the end of the season, a large portion of the wage budget could be cleared.
Unfortunately, this is how the club have to operate in this day in age, and it means the Light Blues have missed out on more than their fair share of transfer targets.
Over the previous few years, Rangers could have signed Ivan Toney, Joey Veerman and Luis Palma if they had been a bit less stringent on the purse strings and all three have enjoyed success elsewhere, notably Toney.
This hasn’t just been happening since the club retained their top flight status, however, as managers such as the late Walter Smith and Dick Advocaat have also missed out on the odd superstar, which could have bolstered the Ibrox side significantly.
Back at the turn of the century, it was the Dutchman who was keen on signing a promising compatriot, yet he lost out to Manchester United…
Rangers came close to signing Rudd van Nistelrooy
Following their second successive title win during the 1999/00 campaign, Advocaat looked at strengthening his side so they could progress in Europe, something they had not done under the Dutchman’s reign thus far.
The Gers were keen on bringing Ruud van Nistelrooy to Glasgow that summer, yet Advocaat admitted later that the club had failed with a £15m bid to lure him from PSV Eindhoven, where he had emerged as one of the finest young strikers on the continent.
"We could have brought van Nistelrooy into Ibrox so I called his agent because he comes from the same town in Holland where I was brought up,” said Advocaat. "But he told me that there`s no way Ruud will come to Scotland.”
The striker instead chose to sign for Manchester United in a deal worth around £19m in the summer of 2001, although injury had prevented him from joining the year before.
It shows that Rangers were eyeing up a move for a player who would turn into a world-class centre-forward, but instead, they spent £12m on bringing Tore Andre Flo to Glasgow from Chelsea in November 2000.
Former Rangers striker Tore Andre Flo.
What might have been for the Light Blues if they had managed to convince Van Nistelrooy that Ibrox was the place to be 24 years ago? Instead, he shone in the Premier League for the Red Devils before joining Real Madrid.
Ruud van Nistelrooy would thrive for Man United
Sir Alex Ferguson had led the Old Trafford side to three league titles in a row and the signing of Van Nistelrooy in 2001 looked like it was the final piece of the jigsaw as he sought to become the first manager to win four straight titles in England.
Arsenal won the double that season, however, but the Dutchman’s goals ensured they would win the Premier League during the 2002/03 campaign and the former PSV striker ended up scoring 80 goals during his first two seasons in Manchester, a staggering total.
Patrick Vieira scuffles with Ruud van Nistelrooy during the Premier League clash between Manchester United and Arsenal in September 2003.
He led United to the FA Cup in 2004 having plundered another 30 goals for the side, but this would be the final campaign that the supporters would see him at his very best, as injuries began to take their toll on the forward.
His final two campaigns at United saw Van Nistelrooy score 16 and 24 goals respectively, but only the League Cup was won before he departed to join Real Madrid at the end of the season.
At his peak, the Dutchman was one of the most lethal centre-forwards in the world and former teammate Rio Ferdinand lauded him, saying: “Van Nistelrooy was the most devastating finisher I have ever played with. We could win a game by three or four goals but, if he hadn’t scored, he would sulk.”
Ruud Van Nistelrooy's career statistics
Games
Goals
Man United
219
150
Real Madrid
96
64
PSV Eindhoven
90
77
Hamburg
44
17
Heerenveen
39
16
Malaga
32
5
Den Bosch
4
2
Via Transfermarkt
High praise indeed and the player won two La Liga titles at Madrid, before ending his career at Malaga in 2012.
Imagine the success Rangers could have had if the former Man United striker signed for them instead?
Rangers struggled without Ruud van Nistelrooy
Having missed out on his compatriot, Advocaat oversaw a woeful campaign in which the Gers finished a distant second behind Celtic, who looked rejuvenated under new manager Martin O’Neil, securing the domestic treble in his first season in charge.
While a cup double was secured under Alex McLeish – Advocaat’s successor – the Light Blues once again struggled in the league.
There is no doubt they would have certainly challenged Celtic a lot more closely had they been able to call upon the goals of Van Nistelrooy on a regular basis, as Flo simply was not worth the £12m Rangers shelled out on him.
During his time at the club, the former Chelsea forward scored 36 goals in 79 matches for the Glasgow side, and while his awkward nature in the opposition box was certainly successful, he failed to really hit it off with the supporters.
Van Nistelrooy, on the other hand, went on to showcase his talents in arguably the best league in Europe, while also shining in the Champions League and missing out on him must go down as a massive what if moment for the Gers.
This is all conjecture, of course. He may have arrived in Scotland and failed to settle. At a time when money was seemingly no object, the Ibrox side made their fair share of wrong moves and failing to sign the Dutchman was certainly one of them.
While Clement won't be able to sign players in a similar class to him, he will be hoping that the board back him significantly and that he signs the players who not only can improve the team, but will also generate the team plenty of profit in the long run.