₦airaland Forum

OJEEMAH:
Thanks my guy. Almiron suppose do welcome party for me…..Maybe na Venus you and Thierryjay de plan😊

Stain removal nor go bad oh

Pat081:
Everyday can never b odun you loss some win some just like that man city today

NonsenseRubbish:
Hater alert !!!
Why you so pained 😭😭 Cry more

Okhuadams:
In he far more better than your entire generation he far more worthy than you can ever be in this life kiss the bitter truth

Peacecore:
Brotherly this news dey sweeeet body ehhh
Our team win again
Normally Almiron my gee dey carry las for this kain news

Angelfrost:
I just knew Almiron would waste no time rushing to front page with this...!


Ronaldo and his team mates were so CLOSE to winning this... So close, yet so far away.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s wait for a first trophy with Al-Nassr continues after the Riyadh giants suffered a painful defeat to Al-Ahli on penalties in Saturday’s Saudi Super Cup final.

This is despite the Portuguese star opening the scoring in regulation time.

The clash, staged in Hong Kong as part of the Kingdom’s global sporting expansion, ended 2–2 after 90 minutes before Al-Ahli held their nerve in the shootout to lift the trophy.

Ronaldo struck in the 40th minute, calmly dispatching a penalty after Al-Ahli defender Ali Majrashi was judged to have handled inside the box.

His finish sent the packed stadium into raptures and looked set to provide the 39-year-old with a long-awaited piece of silverware in Saudi football.

But Al-Ahli, buoyed by their star-studded lineup, hit back swiftly.

Former Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessié restored parity with a crisp strike, punishing slack defending and shifting the momentum back towards the Jeddah side.

Al-Ahli’s composure contrasted sharply with Al-Nassr’s missed spot-kicks, sealing a famous victory and condemning Ronaldo and his teammates to yet another final disappointment.

The club lost 5-3 on penalties with both scoring their first three each. Ronaldo, Brozovic and Felix took the kick in that order for Al-Nassr.

While Al Ahli scored the fourth, Al-Nassri missed and converting the last gave the former the victory.

This was Al-Nassr’s sixth appearance in the final the joint most appearances in the competition while it was only Al-Ahli’s second.

The defeat means Ronaldo has now lost all three finals since joining Al-Nassr — the 2023 Saudi Super Cup, the 2023 King’s Cup, and now the 2025 edition of the Super Cup.

His only trophy so far is the Arab Club Champions Cup (2023) not deemed an official title by FIFA.

Lionel Messi was serenaded by the crowd after being spotted at a Coldplay concert on Sunday.

The Inter Miami star appeared on the big screen alongside his wife Antonela Roccuzzo. The couple were met with applause and chants from the crowd.

Coldplay's 'kiss cam' picked out the couple during their performance at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

They were shown on the same screen which produced a recent viral moment involving the CEO of US tech firm Astronomer.

Andy Byron and chief people officer Kristin Cabot have both resigned after they were caught embracing on the kiss cam.

The pair abruptly ducked and hid after being displayed in front of the arena.

There was no such theatrics from Messi and Antonela, though, as they smiled before the Argentine forward waved and laughed.

Their appearance on the big screen prompted the crowd inside the stadium to erupt.

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin even declared: "The greatest athlete of all-time is here tonight."

Chants of 'Messi! Messi!' then broke out amongst those watching on in Miami.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had been present after missing his side's MLS match earlier in the day.

Messi served a suspension as Inter Miami played out a goalless draw at home to Cincinnati.

Numerouno94:
My boss aka the table shaker, aka the pendulums slayer. How u dey na? 😂😂

femi4:
When Chelsea played yesterday, we didn't see it on the front page

You all can't stop a shining light

D00msDay:
Tank u brother. Penaldvgs will hide from this thread because they were busy digging at Messi after Inter Miami lost to PSG. Now Bayern and almighty Madrid have both been decimated by the same PSG team.

My boss how have u been and the family?

Softmirror:
To what end. Even when he was in PSG what did he really achieve?!

Paris Saint-Germain humiliated Real Madrid at MetLife Stadium, winning 4-0 with ease to advance to the Club World Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday.

Luis Enrique’s side were in control from the first whistle and went two goals ahead with only nine minutes on the clock.

Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring after Ousmane Dembele pounced on a loose touch from Madrid centre-back Raul Asencio. Then in the ninth minute, a mistake by Asencio’s defensive partner Antonio Rudiger allowed Dembele to race through and beat Thibaut Courtois in the Madrid goal.

While the first and second goals came from bad Madrid errors, PSG’s third was breathtaking, a blistering attack finished by Ruiz which gave Xabi Alonso’s side a real mountain to climb. Their substitute Goncalo Ramos then made it 4-0 in the 87th minute, equalling Madrid’s biggest defeat of the season.

Madrid offered little threat of their own, with Kylian Mbappe, who swapped Paris for the Spanish capital last summer, and the Ballon d’Or runner-up Vinicius Junior both disappointing in New Jersey.

PSG will now face Chelsea in the final at this stadium on Sunday afternoon (3pm ET, 8pm BST).

CNN — Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the European Union’s top diplomat that Beijing can’t accept Russia losing its war against Ukraine as this could allow the United States to turn its full attention to China, an official briefed on the talks said, contradicting Beijing’s public position of neutrality in the conflict.

The admission came during what the official said was a four-hour meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas on Wednesday in Brussels that “featured tough but respectful exchanges, covering a broad range of issues from cyber security, rare earths to trade imbalances, Taiwan and Middle East.”

The official said Wang’s private remarks suggested Beijing might prefer a protracted war in Ukraine that keeps the United States from focusing on its rivalry with China. They echo concerns of critics of China’s policy that Beijing has geopolitically much more at stake in the Ukrainian conflict than its admitted position of neutrality.

On Friday, at a regular Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefing, spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked about the exchange, which was first reported in the South China Morning Post, and re-affirmed Beijing’s long-standing position on the three-year war.

“China is not a party to the Ukraine issue,” Mao said. “China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is objective and consistent, that is, negotiation, ceasefire and peace. A prolonged Ukraine crisis serves no one’s interests.”

China is not a party to the Ukraine issue,” Mao said. “China’s position on the Ukraine crisis is objective and consistent, that is, negotiation, ceasefire and peace. A prolonged Ukraine crisis serves no one’s interests.”

She added that China wanted a political settlement as quickly as possible: “Together with the international community and in light of the will of the parties concerned, we will continue playing a constructive role towards this end.”

China’s public statements on the Ukraine war mask a more complex picture.

obembet:
The coach really make silly mistake for starting Messi. He would have bench him. Inter Miami as been doing very well without Messi. Messi singlehandedly destroyed PSG, they have to let him go.

Messi career finish since Xavi and iniesta era.

Nlfpmod

Amotolongbo:
And you believe that rating? 😝😝
You could believe anything.
Lemme show you another rating.

Nbote:
So you believe it was possible to move 400kg of radioactive enriched Uranium from sites that are being monitored by Isreali planes and drones that have been flying rent free over the Iranian Airspace??

Nemesis0147:
I'm a Messi fan but this stat is not correct
CR7 scored against Chelsea at the 2008 finals

Smartcitizen:
What did messi win in France?

Kindly as him to just come to English league and play let's check something.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

runningriot:
I am a Messi fan but sometimes I wonder if some Messi fan are actually not mental affected by his obsession and addiction is imagine someone just scoring a decisive goal in a match makes people blow his trumpet as if he has won the trophy! Let us not forget this is just the beginning of the tournament he has only one goal! So also some players also scored one decisive goal as well. So let us wait until he has done something magnificent, magnanimous as well as demiour and grandeur especially at the middle of the tournament be

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta CNN — There’s a well-worn cliché in soccer: No player is bigger than the club.

At the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup on Thursday in Atlanta, with the event still in its infancy, that old saying was tossed to the side and replaced by a question on the lips of the 31,783 in attendance – can a player be bigger than the tournament?

The soccer star in question, of course, was a certain Lionel Andrés Messi, for whom the masses had made their pilgrimage to worship, as his Inter Miami took on Portuguese giant FC Porto in the second matchday of Group A.

But until a magical Messi moment in the 54th minute, the match was in danger of becoming a mere sideshow to supporters expressing their admiration – actually, more like unbridled passion – for the 37-year-old who has long cemented his status as the greatest of the sport. And let’s face it: winning nearly everything of note for Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain – as well as his country of Argentina, who is the reigning World Cup champion – doesn’t exactly hurt his case.

Ahead of kickoff outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it was evident how the pull of Messi knows no limits – or rather miles. While there were supporters from Atlanta in attendance, CNN Sports spoke with families from Louisiana, Alabama, Charleston, Washington DC, and Buffalo, as well as Puerto Rico and Dublin, Ireland.

They had made the journey for one reason, despite one fan doing his best to convince all in earshot, including himself, that “we are here for the football!” Inside, when Messi was introduced 30 minutes ahead of kickoff, the roar from the fairly sparse crowd resembled an environment more in keeping with a sold out stadium.

It went up a couple of notches when he walked out again to a fuller house, as the players made their individual entrances to the field, seemingly a nod towards the Americanization of the sport – as FIFA President Gianni Infantino told CNN Sports’ Coy Wire recently, this tournament will deliver “63 Super Bowls in one month.”

Upon kickoff, with seemingly every touch of the ball from the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, the sounds from the stands ranged from “ooh’s” to whistles, with the “Me-ssi!” chant the most popular. It was bordering on surprising that the crowd didn’t serenade the Argentine with a chorus of “Happy Birthday” given the Barça legend turns 38 on Tuesday.

The match was a slow-burner, but exploded into life in the second half. Inter Miami found itself a goal down at the break, courtesy of an early penalty from Porto’s Samu Aghehowa.

After the spot kick was converted, Messi’s reaction from near the center circle was to keep his hand firmly on his hip and not move a muscle for a good 10 seconds in a manner which suggested: “This wasn’t the plan.” Perhaps, then, it was Porto which didn’t plan on Inter Miami’s rapid response.

Just two minutes into the second half, Telasco Segovia’s smart finish flew past goalkeeper Cláudio Ramos to level the score, and seven minutes later, Messi stepped up. In every way.

A free kick on the edge of the box, which the Argentine star won, brought the crowd to the edge of their seats. A sense of inevitability hung in the air as the maestro marked his territory and figured out the exact angle to place a whipped shot into the corner of the net. You almost had to feel for Ramos, who couldn’t lay a glove on either strike.

The goal was a thing of beauty, as we have been treated to so frequently over the years, with Portuguese defender José Fonte lauding Messi on the DAZN broadcast: “Touched by God, isn’t he? Incredible. What a player.” The stunner ended up not just being the match winner but resulted in the first time a team from the CONCACAF region has defeated a European side in a competitive fixture.

It was Messi’s 50th goal for the team as well. Not too shabby for a Thursday afternoon in the middle of June. A point in the final group game against Brazilian outfit Palmeiras next Monday will guarantee Inter Miami’s place in the knockout phase.

Cutting through the noise and one wonders what the powers at be in FIFA make of it all. The sport’s governing body essentially fast-tracked Inter Miami into the 32-team tournament, not by virtue of winning the MLS Cup, but rather the regular season Supporters’ Shield, which may have come with a trophy, but is ultimately a pathway into the postseason.

Messi and Miami were shockingly bounced last year in a best-of-three playoff series by the team which can normally be found playing at this stunning 70,000-capacity stadium, Atlanta United, with the MLS Cup eventually hoisted aloft by LA Galaxy. But the Seattle Sounders and LAFC completed the contingent of the three MLS sides in the Club World Cup, leaving the Galaxy on the outside looking in, gazing enviously at the brightest star of them all.

And with the Club World Cup finally finding its feet, thanks to Messi’s left foot resulting in one of the tournament’s first signature moments, the reality remains that he is what has drawn the crowds here on Thursday, and last Saturday to boot, with the opening game of the tournament attracting over 60,000 fans to Hard Rock Stadium in Messi’s American base of Miami.

When CNN Sports speaks with Messi’s teammate Fafà Picault after the match, the three words the winger associates with the soccer superstar are ”leader, winner, and winner again,” before noting, “Sometimes, it’s not always said with words but just with signals and body actions, so we try to read off of that. Obviously, we have conversations behind doors, but there’s a lot more than just talking that can show signs of leadership.”

And on Thursday, Lionel Messi’s actions spoke far louder than words.