Manchester City

Bayern suspend Mané for punching Sané

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

Bayern Munich have suspended Sadio Mané after he punched his teammate Leroy Sane.

Following Bayern’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Tuesday night, Mane and Sane got into an argument in the dressing room.

The Senegalese international confronted Sane after the game because he was upset with how Sane treated him on the pitch.

He lost his cool and hit Sane in the face, leaving him with a bloody lip.

The suspension, according to reports, is until further notice.

Monstrous Madrid face Liverpool in UCL final after eliminating Man City

By Muhammad Sabiu

Real Madrid have secured a place in the Champions League final. They will play against the English Premier League Giants, Liverpool, after crashing Manchester City out of the competition today, Wednesday.

City had their opener through Mahrez in the 73rd minute, while Madrid had their goals thanks to Rodrygo’s brace—the first one in the 90th minute and the second one in the 91st minute—and Benzema’s third penalty goal in the 95th minute. That made the match end 3-1.

The goal aggregate emerged 6-5 as Madrid made it to the final even after being beaten 4-3 by the City last week.

Ronaldo could leave Man United this Summer—Danny Mills

By Muhammad Sabiu

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of eight Manchester United stars who could depart this summer, Danny Mills, a former Manchester City right-back, claimed.

According to Mills, Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, and Nemanja Matic might depart United at the end of the season.

Ronaldo has struggled since joining Manchester United from Juventus last summer, despite scoring 22 goals in all competitions for the Premier League giants.

Mills told Football Insider that making Ronaldo a part of the rebuilding process at Man United is pointless because Erik Ten Hag will take over from Ralf Rangnick.

“Ronaldo might be a difficult one, but I am sure somebody would take him. Remember, they didn’t pay too much for him. It’s not like they are going to take a huge hit in terms of a transfer fee.”

“Ronaldo still has something to offer, but if you are talking about a rebuilding process, and he’s only going to be there for one season, what’s the point? He becomes more of a hindrance than a help. Every time you lose, it is ‘Why is Ronaldo not playing?’ That is the difficulty that you have. If you’re going to start afresh, give yourself that opportunity to start fresh,” Mills was quoted as saying.

In appreciation of Sergio Agüero

By Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf

Teenage Sergio Aguero first came into my football consciousness sometime in 2006 when his team Atletico Madrid took on their arch-enemies Real Madrid at the legendary Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. The match ended one apiece, and Aguero wasn’t on the score sheet. However, his name was on the lips of everyone who watched the game after he ran Fabio Cannavaro and Pepe ragged all afternoon long. Those 90 minutes were more than enough for me to realise that a legend was born. Before that match, I had no idea Atletico had signed the next footballing sensation from the football-mad Argentina.

Being an avid follower of everything regarding Argentina national team players, I am still surprised how I didn’t notice the presence of Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero in the victorious Argentina team at the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2005. Perhaps, it was because he wasn’t part of the favoured starting lineup. And perhaps, it was because of the presence of another boy wonder, Lionel Messi, who won both the top scorer and the best player in the tournament. This tournament marked the beginning of a friendship between Aguero and Messi that has seen them share the same room for 16 years during national team duties.

If Aguero was upstaged in that 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup, he made up for it when he, too, guided Argentina to another title at the same tournament in 2007. And like Messi previously, Aguero also won both the top scorer and the best player gongs. That makes him the only player in football history to have played in and won two consecutive U20 World Cups. And just two years down the line, Aguero, alongside his friend, Messi, went on to win the Olympic gold medal for Argentina.

Aguero’s career is a spectacular story of success and glamour. This is a player who, at 16 years of age, became an undisputed starter in one of South America’s most storied clubs. From Independiente to Barcelona via Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, Aguero’s incredible talent, goalscoring exploits, and professionalism saw him capture the hearts of fans of all the clubs he played for.

If Aguero’s club career is that of being the first go-to man, in Argentina set up, the story was somewhat different. Despite playing alongside some of the best arrays of attacking talents in Messi, Higuain, Tevez, Lavezzi and Di Maria, Aguero more than held his own. His tally of 41 goals in 101 games is a respectable return for a player who had to share attacking duties with other illustrious names.

Although he won several trophies for almost all the clubs he played for, it is beyond doubt that the moment that best defined Aguero’s career came at the colours of Manchester City in 2011 when he scored a stunning stoppage-time winner that handed City their first-ever EPL title. This, coupled with four more EPL titles, more than 200 goals for City and being the non-European player with most EPL goals, saw him etched his name as one of the best ever foreign imports in the history of English football. And with a little south of 500 career goals, Aguero will surely go down as one of the best strikers of this generation.

As fate would have it, this remarkable player was diagnosed with a heart problem after playing just five games for his new club, FC Barcelona. As a result, doctors advise that it would be risky for him to continue playing professional football. As tearful Aguero announced his retirement from what he loves most, I just can’t shake the nostalgia. After all, this is a player with whom I shared so many happy and sad memories. All I have to say is: Adieu ‘El Kun’. The streets will never forget you.

Aliyu Yakubu Yusuf is a lecturer at the Department of English and Literary Studies, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via aliyuyy@gmail.com.