Manchester United have dropped out of the top three most valuable football clubs in the world, according to a list compiled by Forbes.

Barcelona have overtaken La Liga rivals Real Madrid to take top spot with a $4.76bn (£3.5bn) valuation.

United are fourth with a valuation of $4.2bn (£3.05bn), while Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich move to third.

Premier League sides Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham also make the top 10.

Everton, West Ham and Leicester are 15th, 18th and 19th respectively.

Forbes said the average worth of clubs in the top 20 had increased by 30% in the last two years, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/manchester-united-drop-out-of-top-three-on-forbes-most-valuable-club-list/

Manchester United will explore the possibility of signing England midfielder Declan Rice, 22, in any deal with West Ham for compatriot Jesse Lingard, 28.

Leeds United have joined the race to sign Manchester City’s Argentine striker Sergio Aguero, 32, when his contract expires at the end of the season.

France striker Kylian Mbappe’s future at Paris St-Germain hangs in the balance as the 22-year-old continues to resist signing a new deal.

Mbappe will not sign a new contract at PSG because he wants to join Real Madrid. (Cuatro – in Spanish)

Real Madrid are prepared to use Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, 20, in a deal to sign Mbappe this summer.

Real’s 29-year-old Spanish winger Lucas Vazquez, whose contract expires at the end of the season, has not committed his future to the Bernabeu amid interest from Manchester United and Chelsea.

Read More Gossips Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/friday-transfer-gossips-rice-aguero-mbappe-vazquez-haaland-dembele-coutinho/

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero, 32, wants to move up the Premier League’s all-time goal scoring charts, which could help Chelsea in their bid to sign the Argentine when his contract ends in the summer.

Aguero is willing to miss out on Champions League football next season in order to stay in the Premier League – with Chelsea and Tottenham among the clubs he would consider.

Manchester United may join Liverpool in the race to sign RB Leipzig’s French centre-back Ibrahima Konate. The 21-year-old is expected to cost around £34m.

West Ham will attempt to sign England midfielder Jesse Lingard on a permanent deal this summer, but the Hammers fear Manchester United will demand a high price for the in-form 28-year-old.

Arsenal will consider selling French striker Alexandre Lacazette in the summer transfer window. Inter Milan, Roma, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are interested in signing the 29-year-old.

Read More Gossips Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/wednesday-transfer-gossips-aguero-konate-lingard-lacazette-sabitzer-walcott/

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola would reportedly still be open to a reunion with Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi at the Etihad Stadium.

Man City and Paris Saint-Germain were both heavily linked with a move for the Argentine last summer when he handed in a transfer request, but a dispute over his release clause ultimately led to Messi staying put at Camp Nou.

Following the re-election of Joan Laporta as president, Messi is thought to be more open to penning a new deal at the club, but as things stand he will become a free agent at the end of the current campaign.

According to Marca, Guardiola would love to reunite with his former attacker on the blue side of Manchester, but the Citizens will only move for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner if he announces his desire to leave Barcelona again.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/guardiola-still-interested-in-messi-reunion/

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has praised Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Braut Haaland but again defended City's reluctance to spend more than £100m on one player.

City face German side Dortmund at home in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.

"So far the club has decided not to spend close to £100m for a player," said Guardiola.

"Football is a team game, everyone contributes. It's not just one player."

Haaland, 20, has scored 39 goals for club and country this season, including 10 in six Champions League appearances.

With the Premier League leaders confirming last Monday that forward Sergio Aguero, 32, will leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, Haaland has been a well-reported target to replace the Argentine.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/haaland-is-exceptional-guardiola/

Liverpool will not be on a revenge mission when they face Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, says boss Jurgen Klopp.

The Reds were beaten 3-1 by Real in 2018 final - the last time they met in the competition.

In that game, Mohamed Salah was injured by a challenge from Sergio Ramos and left the field in tears.

"My motivation is at the highest level because it's the Champions League," said Klopp.

"This has nothing to do with 2018 but when I got the draw - because it's the first time we played Real Madrid since then - of course, I remembered the game.

"I said after that game that if somebody asked me a week later or a month later if I would invite Sergio Ramos to my 60th birthday, then I would say no. I would think about it again.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/liverpool-not-on-a-revenge-mission-klopp/

It is always hard to let go

Puloc:
Why can't u just let the guy go and retire somewhere else...the focus on rebuilding your team and making the next star?

Thomas Tuchel was forced to send Antonio Rüdiger in from training early after the defender was involved in a heated dispute with Kepa Arrizabalaga less than 24 hours after Chelsea’s shock 5-2 defeat to West Brom at Stamford Bridge, The Guardian reports.

Tuchel had called for calm after seeing Chelsea stumble in the top-four race only to have to intervene when emotions spilled over during a training session.

The former PSG manager ordered Rüdiger back to the changing room five minutes early after the defender had a pushing match with Arrizabalaga during a small-sided game.

The incident is understood to have taken place when Rüdiger went in late on the Chelsea goalkeeper. Arrizabalaga reacted badly and an angry exchange of views turned physical, forcing teammates to pull the pair apart.

Tuchel, whose 14-game unbeaten run came to an end against West Brom, quickly took charge and sent Rüdiger in early after deciding that his fellow German was not calm enough to complete training.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/rudiger-clashes-with-arrizabalaga-at-chelsea-training/

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has said that the Catalan giants are ‘going to do everything they possibly can’ to convince Lionel Messi to sign a new deal at the club.

The Argentina international’s current agreement at Camp Nou is due to expire at the end of June, and he continues to be linked with a move to Manchester City on a free transfer.

However, new Barca president Joan Laporta is reportedly becoming increasingly confident of keeping hold of the 33-year-old, with contract talks due to take place in the near future.

Koeman has once again reiterated that the La Liga outfit are working hard to keep the South American, but the club’s manager is currently focusing on Monday’s clash with Real Valladolid.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/barcelona-will-do-everything-to-keep-messi-koeman/

Valencia walked off the pitch during Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Cadiz after an alleged racist comment, before later returning to complete the match.

Mouctar Diakhaby reacted furiously after a first-half clash with Cadiz's Juan Cala and spoke with the referee.

Valencia's players left the pitch in protest and the club said Diakhaby, 24, "received a racial insult".

He later asked his team-mates to return and they resumed the game but without Diakhaby, who was substituted.

Valencia defender Jose Gaya said after the game that the team either had to resume playing or risk a points deduction.

Read Full STory Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/valencia-leave-pitch-in-racism-protest/

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is targeting Erling Braut Haaland as Sergio Aguero’s replacement – but there are other options if he misses out on the Norwegian, and they include England skipper Harry Kane.

On Monday it was announced City’s record goalscorer Aguero will leave the club at the end of the season.

Guardiola has had a plan to bring in a new striker for some time now, which meant Aguero was likely to have even less playing time than he has had recently.

The finality over the Argentine’s future does leave City clear to pursue replacements. And no matter who they eventually sign, it will be one of the biggest deals of the summer.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/man-city-targeting-haaland-as-aguero-replacement-kane-also-on-shortlist/

A new Champions League format, featuring a 10-match first phase from 2024, is expected to be agreed by UEFA on Wednesday.

The proposal, which has been under discussion for almost two years, will be finalized on Tuesday and then signed off by UEFA’s executive committee.

Under the new format, the current group phase will be scrapped.

In its place, the number of qualifiers will be expanded from 32 to 36, with space for two ‘wild card’ entries.

The wild cards will be reserved for clubs with the highest UEFA co-efficient – points used to rank clubs based on past European success – who have not qualified for the competition through their league position.

If the format was being used now, based on the current table it would mean Liverpool would gain a Champions League spot despite being seventh in the Premier League.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/new-champions-league-format-set-to-be-signed-off-on-wednesday/

Manchester United have reportedly been in regular contact with Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele’s camp over a possible transfer at the end of the campaign.

The Red Devils are believed to have missed out on the 23-year-old last summer after Barca pulled out of talks late in the window.

It was claimed at the time that United wanted Dembele on a loan deal with the right to buy, but Barcelona would only agree to that if the Frenchman first signed a one-year extension.

Spanish outlet Sport suggests that the Premier League side have stayed in touch with Dembele’s agent since then and are now ready to reopen talks with Barca.

Dembele is enjoying his best form since joining from Borussia Dortmund in an initial £97m deal four years ago as a replacement for Paris Saint-Germain-bound Neymar.

Read Full Stoy Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/manchester-united-target-dembele-move/

There isn’t a coach more divisive in the world of football than Jose Mourinho. On the one hand, he’s one of the most successful coaches in history. He’s won the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, and the Champions League multiple times. He’s also won the Europa League and several domestic cup competitions. His achievements deserve to be called legendary, and there are still those who believe that Mourinho will always win trophies at a club if he’s given the right support.

On the other hand, it’s been a while since the Portuguese won anything at all. His final season at Manchester United was a living nightmare. The famous coach looked disheveled and passionless. The players seemed to hate him. He and Paul Pogba almost came to blows on the training ground. The moment Mourinho left, the mood changed, and the club went on a prolonged winning streak to claim a qualification spot for the following season’s Champions League. When he was brought in to replace the outgoing Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur, it was a chance for a fresh start. Almost eighteen months down the line from that appointment, only the most blindly-devoted of his fans would say he’s taken advantage of it.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/debate-should-mourinho-stay-or-should-he-go/

Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich have joined the chase for Reading’s young Nigerian midfielder Michael Olise.

The Champions League holders have joined the likes of PSG, Lyon, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Juventus for Olise.

Bayern have already secured Royals left-back Omar Richards on a pre-contract, which will see him move to Bavaria on a free transfer. But they are not ready to stop there, with the highly-rated Olise now very much on their radar.

The 19-year-old can move to the continent for a nominal amount of compensation. However, given that he’s regarded as one of the top young midfielders in the country, he should fetch a decent fee.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/bayern-join-chase-for-nigerian-midfielder-olise/

McLaren have signed 13-year-old American-born Nigerian karter Ugo Ugochukwu to a long-term deal to support his development through motorsport’s junior categories.

Ugochukwu has won a host of titles since he began karting in 2013 and last year won the FIA OKJ European Championship.

As well as providing support for his career, McLaren have agreed “an option on Ugo’s services in the future”.

Speaking on signing Ugochukwu McLaren chief executive Zak Brown said: “We’ve been watching Ugo’s progress with interest, so when the opportunity to sign an agreement with him became available, we had no hesitation moving on it.”

“Now we’ll focus on giving Ugo the right support when he needs it to help him fulfil his potential.”

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/formula-one-giants-mclaren-sign-nigerian-driver-ugochukwu/

dawnomike:
Chelsea squeezed out all the juice in his orange and sold Madrid the shaft...

Eden Hazard’s market value has plummeted to just 40 million euros, its lowest total since 2013 when the winger had just arrived in London following his move from Ligue 1 side Lille.

This is according to online market value specialists Transfermarkt.

Hazard’s time at Real Madrid has been plagued by injury and his current setback is the eleventh serious injury since moving to the Spanish club from Chelsea back in 2019 for a fee of 100 million euro.

In that time Hazard has provided seven assists and has scored four goals but is yet to display anything like the form that impressed Chelsea fans week-in-week-out at Stamford Bridge

And his slide has been picked up and reflected by Transfermarkt, after making their latest adjustments.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/hazards-market-value-drops-to-e40m/

Media officer of the Super Eagles Babafemi Raji has given the reason why in-form striker Kelechi Iheanacho is yet to arrive camp, ahead of the 2021 AFCON qualifiers against Benin Republic and Lesotho.

Currently, there are 23 players in the team’s Eko Hotel and Suite camp with Iheanacho the only player still being expected.

And speaking on Brila FM, Raji revealed Iheanacho is yet to arrive camp due to flight mix-up but will join his teammates on Wednesday morning.

“Iheanacho will join his teammates this morning,” Raji said.

“There was a little mix-up in his flight itinerary which delayed his arrival.”

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/why-iheanacho-is-yet-to-arrive-super-eagles-camp-babafemi-raji/

Arsenal’s exciting young forward Bukayo Saka has been named as the Gunners’ most valuable transfer asset.

This is according to CIES Football Observatory.

Saka has emerged in the past 18 months as one of the most talented prospects in the Premier League, becoming an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s side.

The 19-year-old has played all down the left side during his fledgling career and has recently impressed in an attacking role down the right flank.

His rise to prominence saw Saka rewarded with a new long-term deal earlier this season and he has also made his international breakthrough.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/saka-named-arsenals-most-valuable-player/

Benin Republic head coach Michel Dussuyer has finally named his squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of of Nations qualifying double-header against Nigeria and Sierra Leone.

Top stars; Jodel Dossou, Steve Mounie, Saturnin Allagbe, Cedric Hountondji, and Emmanuel Imorou were named in the squad.

Olivier Gerdon and Rudy Gestede were however omitted from the list.

Dussuyer also omitted clubless captain Stephan Sessegnon from the list of invited players for the games.

Sessegnon will however be in the team’s camp as ”non -playing captain to boost the morale of his teammates.

Benin occupy the second spot in Group L with seven points from four games and will secure a place in Cameroon 2021 with a win against the Super Eagles.

See Full Squad List Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/breaking-benin-coach-dussuyer-unveils-final-squad-for-super-eagles-clash/

Arsenal’s hopes of finally signing former Barcelona star Philippe Coutinho have received a boost.

The Gunners were in hot pursuit of Coutinho but Ronald Koeman’s appointment at Barcelona put the brakes on a potential deal.

Arsenal signed Coutinho’s Brazilian compatriot Willian instead before later bringing in Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid.

The duo have gone some way to fixing Arsenal’s creativity problem, but Mikel Arteta could still use someone like Coutinho, and he may now have a chance of getting his man.

Coutinho has not featured for Barcelona in recent months due to an injury and is yet to kick a ball for the Catalan giants in 2021.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/arsenal-receive-coutinho-transfer-boost/

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he does not regret England forward Jadon Sancho leaving the club and is happy to see him performing well.

Academy product Sancho, 20, rejected a new contract at City when he was 17 to instead join Borussia Dortmund in 2017.

The Premier League leaders will face the Bundesliga outfit in the Champions League quarter-finals next month.

“I’ve said many times, it is not a regret. He decides. He’s doing really well,” said Guardiola.

“Congratulations, he’s an exceptional player.

“He is a national team player with huge quality, doing really well in Dortmund.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/no-regrets-over-losing-sancho-to-dortmund-guardiola/

Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has given approval for about 10,000 fans to watch the AFCON qualifying match between Nigeria’s Super Eagles and Lesotho’s Crocodiles at the Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos on March 30.

Winning Goals scooped that CAF gave the approval in response to the NFF’s request to allow football fans to be allowed to watch the match in Lagos but warned that it has to comply with the Covid-19 protocols.

“We are returning the Super Eagles to Lagos for the first time in 20 years and we felt it would not be fair to play in an empty stadium hence we applied to CAF to allow us admit fans into the Teslim Balogun stadium for our game against Lesotho later this month.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/caf-okays-10000-fans-to-watch-nigeria-vs-lesotho-game/

Naija in the mud

VeeVeeMyLuv:
It is not easy to be a coach or manager, same with teacher or lecturer (minus Nigeria o).

No international fans will be permitted at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics this summer because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, organizers say.

Japanese authorities told the Olympic and Paralympic committees it was "highly unlikely that entry" to the country could be guaranteed.

Organizers said the move would help ensure "a safe and secure Games for all participants and the Japanese public".

The Games are due to begin on 23 July.

Read Full STory Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/tokyo-2020-no-international-fans-at-olympics-and-paralympics/

Liverpool are considering a £43m move for Inter Milan and Italy centre-back Alessandro Bastoni, 21, who is also wanted by Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Manchester City are leading the race to sign Aston Villa’s England midfielder Jack Grealish, 25, who has been a prime target for city rivals Manchester United.

In addition, Manchester City are interested in signing Swedish full-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, 21, from Dutch club Groningen.

Manchester United are considering a move for Aston Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, 28.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says he will take a year-long sabbatical from management when he leaves the Reds

Read More Gossips Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/friday-transfer-gossips-bastoni-grealish-kokcu-morrison-ribery-cavani-hoppe/

Sprint legend Usain Bolt reckons Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is too nice to be Manchester United manager.

Bolt is a huge United fan and he wants to see Solskjaer ‘change’ and not be too positive all the time.

Solskjaer has been in charge for three years and has the team on course to finish second in the Premier League. United are also still in the FA Cup and Europa League but without a league title in eight seasons.

“He’s too nice. That’s the only thing I can say, he’s too nice,” the 34-year-old told CNN.

“He never really says anything bad about any player, even if they don’t play good and that’s the only thing.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/solskjaer-too-nice-to-be-manchester-united-manager-usain-bolt/

Serie A giants Juventus are reportedly prepared to accept as little as £25million for Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The 36-year-old joined Juventus from Real Madrid in 2018, with Old Lady chiefs hopeful that he could help them to clinch an elusive Champions League title.

However, Juventus’s performances in Europe’s top competition have dramatically slumped since Ronaldo’s arrival, with the Italians failing to advance past the quarter-finals in each of the last three seasons.

At the age of 36, Ronaldo is proving an incredibly expensive asset, with his £28m-per-year salary significantly dwarfing the earnings of his team-mates.

Read Full Story Here: https://winninggoals.com.ng/juventus-to-accept-25m-bid-for-ronaldo/

THIS DRAW WOULD BE REALLY TOUGH

FINGERS ARE CROSSED

Puloc:
He's truly an hero. I wonder why the will not give him d ball...
Aguero while u were away Messi is still the King of Soccer seconded by Penal7