14082019 - TARABA POLICE KILLINGS LATEST:‘Army Captain had 191 phone chats with wanted kidnapper’

46 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2019
•Ronaldo
•Coutinho
Bayern Munich are interested in
signing Philippe Coutinho on
loan, should he not be involved in a
potential swap deal with Paris Saint-
Germain which would involve
Neymar returning to Barcelona,
according to Sky in Germany.
The Bundesliga club are closely
monitoring the negotiations over
Neymar between Barcelona and PSG
- and if Coutinho is not included in
the deal - they will prepare a bid for
the former Liverpool midfielder.
Barcelona have previously placed
an £80m price tag on the Brazilian and
City avoid
transfer ban,
Fifa fines
club £314,
650
Manchester City have avoided
the threat of a Fifa transfer
ban for breaching rules regarding the
transfer of minors, with world football’s
governing body instead imposing a
fine of over £314,000 on the club.
City have been fined 370,000 Swiss
francs (£314,650) for breaches relating
to the international transfer and
registration of players under the age
of 18.
Fifa’s decision comes as a huge
boost to City, who will now be able to
plan ahead in the transfer market
without the prospect of a potential ban
on signing players.
A Fifa statement read: “The Fifa
Disciplinary Committee has
sanctioned English club Manchester
City FC for breaches relating to the
international transfer and registration
of players under the age of 18.
“Manchester City FC was found to
have breached, amongst others, article
19 of the Fifa Regulations on the Status
and Transfer of Players.
Ronaldo: Why I’m
better than Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo says Lionel Messi will go down in history
for the consistency of his performances, but the Portuguese
also feels that lifting the Champions League with more
than one club sets him apart from the Barcelona star.
“Messi’s a top player who will be remembered not only for all
his Ballons d’Or, but also for always being up there, year after year,
like me. The difference between us is that I’ve played for different
clubs and also won the Champions League with different clubs,”
the Juventus striker told DAZN.
“There aren’t many players with five Champions League titles,
which is why I feel like I have a special bond with the competition,”
said the 34-year-old, who was part of the Manchester United side
that claimed Europe’s elite club trophy in 2008, before adding
four more winners’ medals at Real Madrid in 2014, 2016, 2017 and
2018.
Asked how he remains in such good physical shape at his age,
Cristiano said: “It’s hard to stay at the same level and keep yourself
at the top. This svelte, athletic body didn’t happen just like that.
I’m not being entirely serious when I say that... but it’s true that
behind all the trophies there’s a lot of hard work.
Coutinho in
Bayern link
would prefer to see Coutinho leave
the Nou Camp on a permanent
transfer before the window shuts
for European clubs on September
2.
Sky Sports News
understands Bayern Munich would be
looking to agree a two-year loan
arrangement with Barcelona, similar
to the deal they secured for Real Madrid
midfielder James Rodriguez in 2017.
Bayern have already brought in
Inter Milan midfielder Ivan Perisic on
a season-long loan, as well as French
full-back duo Lucas Hernandez and
Benjamin Pavard as well as Marco
Friedl and Jann-Feite Arp.
Coutinho has four years remaining
on his current deal at Barcelona, and
has scored 21 goals over the course of
two seasons, helping the Spanish
giants to consecutive La Liga title since
his arrival in Catalonia.
helsea manager Frank Lampard has
Csaid there was no individual that
could replace winger Eden Hazard, urging
the club to move on from the loss of one of
their greatest players.
PSG raise
Neymar’s
asking price
to 250
million euros
Despite being open to his sale,
Paris Saint-Germain are
holding out for a 250 million euro fee
for Neymar.
Both Barcelona and Real Madrid
are keen on the Brazilian’s signing,
though Neymar is believed to
prefer a return to Catalonia.
One of the challenges for
Barcelona is that PSG would
prefer to sell to any club other than
the Blaugrana with past incidents,
such as the manner in which the
Catalans pursued Marco Verratti
in 2017, rupturing relations between
the two entities.
Ramos ready for
Madrid’s La Liga
opener
UEFA Super Cup: Liverpool,
Chelsea tango in Istanbul
The 2019 UEFA Super Cup pits
UEFA Champions League
winners Liverpool against UEFA
Europa League champions Chelsea, in
an all-English clash coming up today.
Liverpool and Chelsea will come into
the game off the back of their opening
2019/20 Premier League encounters,
with Liverpool at home to Norwich City
and Chelsea away to Manchester
United on the weekend prior. DStv
subscribers can watch the match live
on SuperSport channels.
This will be Liverpool’s sixth
appearance in the Super Cup and a
first since 2005. They are three-time
Yet, given the difficulty of finding
another buyer for the wantaway star,
PSG have agreed to speak with
Barcelona, though the Ligue 1
champions are now demanding a
quarter of a billion euros.
After spending 120 million euros on
Antoine Griezmann earlier this
summer, which required a loan to fund
the move, such a fee for Neymar
would prove implausible.
Real Madrid will be able to call
upon club captain Sergio
Ramos for their La Liga’s opener
against Celta Vigo on Saturday.
The defender trained with the rest
of his teammates on Tuesday at
Valdebebas, while Rodrygo worked
in the gym.
Marco Asensio, Ferland Mendy
and Brahim Diaz continued their
respective recovery regimes.
Mendy trained with the ball at his
feet both on the field and inside the
training ground facilities, while
Brahim completed part of the
workout with the group.
Castilla players Diego Altube
and Takefusa Kubo also joined the
session.
Lampard wants Chelsea to forget Hazard
•Abraham
‘Arsenal undersold
Iwobi by £11.3m’
London-based investment company Carteret Analytics has
A disclosed that Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi who completed
a move to Everton on deadline day, signing a five-year deal until
the summer of 2024 was undersold by £11.3m, according to The
Sun.
The transfer fee paid for the signature of the winger has not
Hazard moved to Real Madrid in June
with the Spanish club reported to have paid
around 100 million euros ($111.86 million)
for the Belgium international.
Chelsea lost their opening Premier
League game with Lampard in charge 4-0
to Manchester United on Sunday and face
Liverpool in the UEFA Super Cup today.
The former England international says the
team can collectively thrive despite losing
Hazard, just as they did after the departure
•Neymar
of other club favourites.
“I was a huge fan of Eden Hazard, as a
Chelsea fan. I played with him. For me,
clearly (he’s) one of the best in world football,
over his time at Chelsea one of the most
productive in the team generally and a
leader,” Lampard told a news conference.”
Lampard said he would continue to play
the club’s young players despite criticism
from former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho
on Sunday.
been disclosed by Everton and Arsenal, though 35 million pounds is
the most recurrent fee being bandied about by the media.
The worth of Iwobi was calculated based on his intrinsic value,
which is a fee based on performances for the selling club and the
expected impact for the buying club.
Prior to his move to Everton, the Hale End Academy product was
valued at 25 million euros by the experts at transfermarkt, while
CIES Football Observatory had advised clubs to splash €63.7 million
to sign him as at March 2019
Nigeria’s most valuable player could make his competitive debut
for Everton when they face Watford on Saturday.
winners of the trophy (1977, 2001, 2005)
and looking to join Spanish giants Real
Madrid on a tally of four Super Cup
titles.
The Reds have remained essentially
unchanged from the team which won
the Champions League final against
Tottenham Hotspur back in June, with
manager Jurgen Klopp insisting that
they have the strength in depth to
compete at the top level again – though
there will be concern about long-term
fatigue for their first-choice front three
of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino
and Sadio Mane, all of whom played
at international tournaments through
the off season.
Chelsea will be making their fourth
appearance in the Super Cup. The
London side won the competition on
debut in 1998 but lost in back-to-back
showings in 2012 and 2013.
The Blues have had an offseason of
great upheaval, with manager
Maurizio Sarri departing to Juventus
and star player Eden Hazard sold to
Real Madrid. With a transfer ban in
place, new boss and club legend Frank
Lampard will be forced to place more
faith in the club’s youth system than
would usually be the case, but
fortunately Chelsea have some of the
best up-and-coming talent in England,
exemplified by Callum Hudson-Odoi.
IBF belt on
the line in
Joshua, Ruiz
rematch
Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz
Jr expect to contest the IBF
championship despite the prospect
of it being stripped before their
rematch, according to promoter Eddie
Hearn.
Ruiz Jr won the IBF, WBA and WBO
heavyweight titles in a major shock
against Joshua in June, and their
second fight will have the same gold
at stake on December 7 in Saudi
Arabia live on Sky Sports Box Office.
“When we announced this fight, we
along with Ruiz Jr’s promoters wrote
to the governing bodies to tell them
that the fight is happening,” Hearn
told Sky Sports.
“We expect the IBF, WBA and WBO
belts to be on the line.
“There are mandatories due but, in
our opinion, Ruiz Jr is within his
rights to have a voluntary defence.
That defence is against Anthony
Joshua.”
The IBF, earlier this month, stripped
their middleweight championship
from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez due to his
failure to agree a fight against the
mandatory challenger Sergiy
Derevyanchenko.
Derevyanchenko is now expected
to contest the vacant belt with next
highest ranked contender, Gennady
Golovkin.
•Joshua and Ruiz