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Tag: PSG

  • Arsenal Poised to Outbid Liverpool with €50 Million Plus Defender Offer for Ademola Lookman

    Arsenal Poised to Outbid Liverpool with €50 Million Plus Defender Offer for Ademola Lookman

    By  Milcah   Tanimu

    Arsenal are preparing to make a substantial bid for Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, with a proposed offer of €50 million plus defender Jakub Kiwior, according to Soccernet.ng. This move aims to outpace Liverpool and other European contenders interested in the Super Eagles forward.

    Lookman’s future has been under scrutiny following standout performances for Atalanta, including a hat-trick that secured their victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League last season. His impressive form has attracted interest from top clubs like PSG, Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Chelsea.

    Recent developments have heightened the speculation surrounding Lookman, particularly after he missed Atalanta’s Serie A opener. Arsenal and Liverpool are the primary clubs pursuing him, with Arsenal now leading the race with their latest offer.

    Arsenal’s proposal includes €50 million in cash and Polish defender Jakub Kiwior, valued at €30 million by Transfermarket. Combined, the bid is worth €80 million, surpassing Atalanta’s €70 million valuation of Lookman.

    With the transfer window closing in eight days, the urgency for clubs to finalize their deals is growing. While the offer from Arsenal remains unofficial, it puts them in a strong position to secure Lookman’s services if they act quickly.

  • Neymar Seals £78m Deal From PSG To Al-Hilal

    Neymar Seals £78m Deal From PSG To Al-Hilal

    Superstar footballer Neymar has completed his £78m move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.

    Neymar left PSG after agreeing on a two-year deal with the PIF-backed club, one that is understood to be worth £130million a year.

    He becomes the biggest name in football to move to the oil-rich nation after Cristiano Ronaldo left England.

    He rejected the possibility of a loan move to his former club Barcelona, which would have included an option to buy him outright next year.

    The Brazilian was seen speaking to the Saudi club’s fans in a video on their social media pages where he is heard saying: ‘I am here in Saudi Arabia’.

    ‘It is inevitably difficult to say goodbye to a legend of the club, which Neymar will be forever,’ PSG chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said.

    ‘I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, nor what he brought to our club and our project over the past six years.

    ‘We have lived extraordinary moments and Neymar will always be part of our history.

    ‘I would like to thank him and his family. We wish Neymar the best for the future and his next adventure.’

    Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in a world record £198m deal in 2017.

    Overall, Neymar scored 118 times in 173 matches for PSG. He has won five Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France trophies.

  • PSG beat Marseille in a tight tussle

    PSG beat Marseille in a tight tussle

    In a Sunday Classic, Paris Saint- German (PSG)’ Kylian Mbappe with Neymar secures goals topping with 2-1 against Marseille.

    Having cancelled Neymar’s opener by Duje Caleta- Car, Mbappe from the penalty kick spot struck to restore parity.

    Marseille thought they have had an equalizer until it was disallowed by Car.

    The three goals were scored before halftime in a match that is far from being a classic between Ligue 1′ s top two teams.

    PSG’S win maintains a strong form, moving them closer to putting the finishing touches to regaining the Ligue 1 title after the previous win by Mauricio Pochettinos side.

  • UCL Last-16 Draw: Atletico Madrid To Play Man Utd As PSG Draw Real Madrid

    UCL Last-16 Draw: Atletico Madrid To Play Man Utd As PSG Draw Real Madrid

    The organizers of the UEFA Champions League, one of the most prestigious football competitions in the World, have released an updated last-16 draw for the tournament after the initial draw was voided following a “technical problem.”

    “Following a technical problem with the software of an external service provider that instructs the officials as to which teams are eligible to play each other, a material error occurred in the draw for the UEFA Champions League round of 16,” a chastened UEFA announced.

    The re-draw took place three hours later, and Liverpool now face Serie A champions Inter Milan, Chelsea drew Ligue 1 winners Lille – having done so in the first draw as well – while Manchester City will take on Sporting Lisbon.

    Real Madrid will feel the most unfairly treated by the “technical error” as they were drawn against Portuguese Benfica in the morning but are now set to face a strengthened Messi’s PSG instead.

    See below the revised last 18 draw

    Last 16 match-ups in the UEFA Champions League following Monday’s revised draw:

    Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)

    Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)

    Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)

    Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)

    Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)

    Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)

    Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)

    Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)

    First legs to be played on February 15-16 and February 22-23 and the second legs on March 8-9 and March 15-16

  • PSG v Man City: Will Lionel Messi break goal drought against Pep Guardiola’s side?

    PSG v Man City: Will Lionel Messi break goal drought against Pep Guardiola’s side?

    Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi won 14 trophies together at Barcelona during a four-year period and the pair have been dominant forces in European football for more than a decade.

    Since parting ways when Guardiola left the Catalan club in 2012, no player has scored more goals against his teams in the Champions League than Messi.

    Their longstanding relationship and Messi’s enduring brilliance helps explain why Guardiola tried to sign Messi in the summer. The Argentine instead ended up at Paris St-Germain and will face his former manager in the Champions League on Tuesday (20:00 BST).

    “It was a surprise for everyone but what happened happened. Everyone now accepts it,” Guardiola said in the build-up to the game.

    “A long time ago you couldn’t imagine it but it happened. In life itself you never know what happens. What is important is he’ll be happy in Paris.

    “Messi speaks for himself, I don’t have to describe him. What he’s done is more than exceptional and hopefully tomorrow he can play for the benefit of the game.”

  • Real Madrid submit $188 million bid for PSG star Kylian Mbappé, according to reports

    Real Madrid submit $188 million bid for PSG star Kylian Mbappé, according to reports

    Spanish football giants Real Madrid have made a €160 million ($188 million) bid for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé, Spanish media reported on Tuesday.CNN has not been able to independently verify L’Equipe’s or Le Parisien’s reporting.PSG sporting director Leonardo said the club have turned down an initial bid from Real Madrid.”Yes, we said no verbally to Real,” Leonardo told RMC Sport. “No one is being held back. If someone wants to leave and our conditions are met, we’ll see.””The offer is considered to be a far cry from what Kylian is worth today. We also owe part of this money to Monaco and we consider that the bid is not sufficient.”Our position has always been to keep Kylian, to extend his deal, that has always been our goal and still is.”The 22-year-old World Cup winner joined the Parisian club from AS Monaco initially on loan in 2017, before the deal was made permanent in 2018.The Frenchman’s current contract with PSG expires on June 30, 2022 and he is yet to sign a contract extension.

    Neither PSG, Real Madrid nor Mbappé’s lawyers were immediately available for comment when contacted by CNN.Mbappé has scored 133 goals in 174 games for PSG and was the top goalscorer in Ligue 1 last season with 27 goals.Earlier this month, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said he hoped the arrival of Lionel Messi at PSG would convince Mbappé to stay at the club.”I think everybody knows the future of Kylian — he wants to win, he wants to win trophies,” Al-Khelaifi told a press conference.”He said it in public, he wants to have a competitive team and we have the most competitive team in the world. There is no excuse for him now — he can’t do anything else but stay.”

  • Messi’s No30 PSG jersey sold out in 30 minutes

    Messi’s No30 PSG jersey sold out in 30 minutes

    Lionel Messi’s Paris Saint Germain’s jersey was sold out in 30 minutes after the football club displayed them for sales on its website.

    When our correspondent visited the website, only limited women’s and kids were available for sale at over €100.

    The men’s shirt sold for €107.99 (£92) when available for sale.

    The club made available for sale home and away kits. While the home is white, the away is blue.

    Advertising the jersey, the club posted, “The new Paris Saint-Germain striker will wear the number 30. Visit the online store to get the Leo Messi jersey! Leo Messi is Parisian and will wear the number 30!”

    Earlier in a press statement, the club described Messi as a legend.

    “Paris Saint-Germain are very happy to announce the signing of Leo Messi to a two-year contract, with an optional extra year.

    “The six-time Ballon d’Or winner is considered a legend in his sport and a true source of inspiration for all generations, on and off the pitch.

    “The signing of Leo reinforces the ambitions of Paris Saint-Germain and offers loyal Club supporters an exceptional team, which promises to bring incredible football moments to life in the years to come,” the club said.

  • Messi Agrees Two-Year Deal With PSG

    Messi Agrees Two-Year Deal With PSG

    Lionel Messi has agreed to join Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract, according to reports.

    The French club reportedly offered Messi an initial two-year deal, thought to be worth £25m a year after tax.

    He is expected to fly to France to seal the deal, which includes an option to extend it by a year.

    Messi, his lawyers and his father, Jorge, have been in talks with PSG since Thursday.

    The move will enable Messi to link up with Neymar, his former teammate at Barcelona.

    Messi, who had spent his entire career at Barcelona, broke down in tears at a press conference where he formally announced his exit.

    The six-time Ballon d’Or winner had said he was not prepared to leave the club where he had spent 21 years.

    He was looking forward to signing a new five-year deal when the club announced that things had changed owing to “financial and structural obstacles”.

    At the press conference, Messi said until the turn of things, he was optimistic that he would remain at Camp Nou.

    “This is really difficult for me after so many years, having been here for all my life. I am not ready for this.

    “These recent days I’ve been thinking, giving a lot of thought to what I can say. And the truth is that I can’t think of anything. This is really difficult for me after so many years.

    “I’ve been here my entire life. I’m not ready for this. And last year with all the nonsense, I was convinced of what I wanted to say, but this year it is not the same.

    “This year my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here. That is what we all wanted more than anything. We were at home, and we thought we’d be staying here in Barcelona, the time we’ve hard here and with the city and football has been amazing. But today, I have to say goodbye to all of this,” he said.

  • Sergio Ramos Joins PSG on 2-year contract

    Sergio Ramos Joins PSG on 2-year contract

    Sergio Ramos, the former Real Madrid stalwart considered one of the best defenders in the world, has signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the French club said Thursday.

    Ramos, 35, won the Champions League four times with Real and is a World Cup winner and a two-time champion of Europe with Spain.

    The veteran, who has won 180 caps and scored 23 goals for his country, arrives with PSG desperate to add experience to their squad for another assault on an elusive first Champions League title.

    PSG sporting director Leonardo has also brought in Dutch midfield star Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool and Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi from Italian champions Inter Milan as the Parisians seek the right blend to conquer Europe and persuade France striker Kylian Mbappe to sign a new deal beyond 2022.

    “It’s a big change in my life, a new challenge and a day I shall never forget,” Ramos said in a PSG statement.

    Ramos, who cut his teeth with Sevilla before joining Real in 2005, played almost 500 games for Los Blancos, marshalling their defence for 16 seasons and winning La Liga five times.

    He also scored some notable goals — not least his injury-time equaliser in the 2014 Champions League final against city rivals Atletico.

    Real went on to win 4-1 to claim their tenth win in the competition and Ramos remained a mainstay of the side as they made it four continental titles in five seasons between 2016 and 2018 under French coach Zinedine Zidane.

  • Man City Beats PSG to reach first UCL final

    Man City Beats PSG to reach first UCL final

    Manchester City reached the Champions League final for the first time in the club’s history as Riyad Mahrez’s double saw off Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 on Tuesday to seal a 4-1 aggregate win.

    Mahrez’s goal also decided the first leg and the Algerian, who grew up in the Parisian suburbs, haunted his home town team again with two clinical finishes early in each half.

    The final in Istanbul on May 29 against Real Madrid or Chelsea is the culmination of City’s rise since an Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 transformed the club’s fortunes.

    Meanwhile, four years on from making Neymar and Kylian Mbappe the world’s two most expensive players, PSG’s wait for a first Champions League title goes on.

    Mbappe could only watch on from the stands due to a calf injury as, just like in last week’s first leg, his side imploded after an excellent first-half performance.

    The visitors were left to rue huge missed chances by Marquinhos and Angel Di Maria in between Mahrez’s strikes before Di Maria lashed out at Fernandinho to leave PSG down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes.

    City will set the seal on a fifth Premier League title in the past 10 years in the coming days as they remain on course for a treble, having already lifted the League Cup.

    But it has taken until their 10th consecutive season in the Champions League for Sheikh Mansour’s investment to be rewarded by playing in the biggest game in club football.

    City boss Pep Guardiola has won the Champions League twice before as a coach during his time at Barcelona.

    However, the Catalan has also endured a decade of anguish in Europe’s premier club competition since.

    Four times Guardiola has fallen at the semi-final stage with Barca and Bayern Munich since last lifting the trophy in 2011 on top of three quarter-final exits with City in the past three seasons.

    In many of those ties, the fine details and controversial decisions went against Guardiola’s men despite dominating the match.

    This time it was a role reversal as City had to withstand a barrage from PSG before the break.

    The French champions thought they had an early penalty to get back in the tie when Oleksandr Zinchenko was penalised for handball.

    However, Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers rightly reversed his initial decision on seeing a replay of the ball bouncing off the Ukrainian’s shoulder.

    Zinchenko was heavily involved again when the opening goal arrived at the other end.

    He raced onto City goalkeeper Ederson’s thunderous long pass into the PSG area. Zinchenko’s cut-back found Kevin De Bruyne and after the Belgian’s shot was blocked, Mahrez pounced to slot home on his weaker right foot.

    The tie was still far from over as PSG penned City back and should have been at least level on the night before half-time.

    Marquinhos has made a habit of scoring big Champions League goals and the Brazilian was inches away from another when his looping header came back off the crossbar.

    Ederson then nearly undid his good work as Di Maria intercepted his hurried throw to Bernardo Silva and flashed a shot inches wide with the Brazilian ‘keeper stranded outside his goal.