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It’s Difficult To Accept Kylian Mbappe As Captain of France When I’m Older – Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann has stated that it hurts to to see Kylian Mbappe become captain of France national team ahead of him, even though he’s older.
Recall that France coach, Didier Deschamps took the decision after Hugo Lloris’ retirement following the 2022 World Cup.
The decision reportedly took Griezmann by surprise causing rifts in the dressing room. Reports then emerged that the Atletico Madrid forward might retire after the snub.
Now the former Barcelona striker says the move got to him.
Speaking to Telefoot, Griezmann said: “It was hard to take, and tough. I’m 32 and, although I still have the legs, I know I’m reaching the end [of my career].
 
“I had a hard time stomaching it for one or two days.”
Griezmann was left out of France’s 3-0 Euro 2024 qualifying win over Gibraltar, which saw Mbappe get his name on the scoresheet while wearing the captain’s armband once again.
The 32-year-old holds no ill-feeling towards his team-mate, though, as he added: “I’m fully behind our captain Kylian. I won’t change anything, because that’s who I am.”
 
The Atletico forward is set to return to the France starting XI for their next European Championship qualifier against Greece on Monday, June 19. Deschamps’ side are currently sitting top of Group B with maximum points from their first three games.
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Arsenal Confirm 13 Players To Leave Club (Full List)

English Premier League club, Arsenal is set to offload several players.

The club, on Friday confirmed that 13 players will leave the club at the end of their contracts this month.

The Gunners, in a post via its website, said the players’ contracts are ending at the end of June.

Arsenal also thanked and wished the players the best in their next step.

The players are from Arsenal’s first-team, under-18s, under-23s and women’s squads.

Here is the list of the players:

Zach Awe

Joel Ideho

George Lewis

Ainsley Maitland-Niles

Matt Smith

Tom Smith

Kaleel Green

Alexandar Kovacevic

Tino Quamina

Mathaeus Roberts

Mana Iwabuchi

Rafaelle Souza

Fran Stenson

“We thank all the above players for their contributions to the club during their time with us. You will always be part of the Arsenal Family and we wish you all the best of health, happiness and success in your futures,” Arsenal’s statement added.

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My Time Has Come To An End – Arsenal Midfielder Leaves Arteta’s Side

Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the Arsenal superstar is set to leave the Gunners.

But, despite seeing his time at Arsenal come to an end, Ainsley Maitland-Niles admitted that he’ll always be a Gooner at heart, regardless of where his next move takes him.

Arsenal on Friday confirmed Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s departure from Mikel Arteta’s side following the expiration of his contract this month.

Speaking on his exit from Arsenal, Maitland-Niles told the club’s official website that his time at Emirates has come to an end, adding that he was happy to be part of the squad that won the FA Cup.

“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling to be honest, it’s been a very emotional journey. Having supported the club growing up and coming through the ranks, I can only be happy with what I’ve achieved since I’ve been here,” Maitland-Niles said.

“I’ve seen a lot of players come and go and played with a lot of fantastic players throughout my time here. Unfortunately, it has to come to an end, but I’ve been happy every single moment I’ve been here to play and work for this club.

“The trophy wins would probably be the best moments for me, obviously some of the domestic seasons weren’t so great but at least I got to win some trophies with the club that I love. The FA Cup final was a fantastic day that will always stick in my mind, and I was happy to be a part of the team that won it.”

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Ballon d’Or 2023 Not Important To Me – Messi On Possibility Of Winning Award

Lionel Messi, the Argentina captain, has explained that if he wins the 2023 Ballon d’Or it will be good.

Messi and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland are among the top contenders to challenge for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

The 35-year-old arrived in Beijing, China by private jet last weekend and was greeted by hundreds of jubilant fans.

Messi, who is set to lead Argentina to face Australia in a friendly next week, was interviewed by Chinese media on a Chinese stream platform to talk about the Ballon d’Or, World Cup and Man City manager Pep Guardiola.

When asked about this year’s Ballon d’Or, Messi said, “Ballon d’Or? At this point in my career, if it comes, it’s good and if it doesn’t, nothing happens.”

“Does the Ballon d’Or matter to me? No, at this stage in my life, it is no longer important to me. I have always said that individual prizes are not what matters to me but the collective ones are the most important to me. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup. This is the greatest prize for me.”

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Florentino Perez Takes Decision On Signing Mbappe For Real Madrid

Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, has reportedly decided to go all out to bring Kylian Mbappe, the Paris Saint-Germain forward to Santiago Bernabeu this summer.

Perez is keen on adding Mbappe to his squad and reckons the France international would push for the move following the departure of Karim Benzema to Saudi Arabia giants Al Ittihad.

According to El Larguero, Mbappe’s decision to confirm to PSG that he will not be renewing his deal has seen Real Madrid’s head turn.

Perez, who was willing to wait till January 2024 to hold talks with Mbappe, is now ready to make the big money move this summer.

PSG are unhappy with Mbappe’s decision not to extend his contract, which will expire in 2024 and are already planning for next season without the former Monaco star.

The French Ligue 1 champions are willing to listen to offers, as they do not want to let him leave for free next summer.

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2023 Ballon d’Or: Haaland In Prime Position To Win After Man City’s Treble

The chances of Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland clinching this year’s Ballon d’Or award, are high, after his team won the Treble this season.

Pep Guardiola’s men defeated Inter Milan 1-0 in Istanbul on Saturday night to lift the Champions League final trophy.

Last weekend, City saw off Manchester Untied 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.

They had overhauled Arsenal to clinch their third successive Premier League title, powered by Haaland’s 36 goals in 38 matches.

Haaland has now become the first outright Premier League Golden Boot winner to also win the Champions League final since Cristiano Ronaldo did it with Manchester United in 2007-08.

The Norway striker scored a total of 52 goals in his debut season in England. This makes him the top scorer across Europe’s top leagues.

Haaland will, however, have to contend with departing Paris Saint-Germain forward, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe for the Ballon d’Or prize.

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UCL: Man City Defeat Inter Milan To Lift Trophy, Win Treble

Football club, Manchester City emerged victorious in the Champions League against Inter Milan on Saturday as a second-half Rodri strike gave them a 1-0 victory, allowing Pep Guardiola’s side to complete a remarkable treble.

Rodri fired in from a Bernardo Silva cutback midway through the second half at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium to decide a game in which City were knocked out of their usual rhythm and lost Kevin De Bruyne to injury.

Erling Haaland, scorer of 52 goals this season, went a fifth straight match without finding the net, but City still had enough to edge out opponents who had never been expected to get this far in the first place.

Having already claimed a fifth Premier League title in six seasons, and added the FA Cup, City are the first English club to win such a treble since Manchester United in 1999.

That same month 24 years ago, City won the English third-tier play-off final on penalties against Gillingham.

Now they have established themselves as England’s dominant side and have finally added the biggest prize in European club football, two years after losing to Chelsea in their first final.

The match was watched by owner Sheikh Mansour, who made a very rare appearance at a City game as his team capped their rise from also-rans to superpower in the years since he bought the club in 2008.

Twelve years after last lifting the trophy with Barcelona, meanwhile, Guardiola joins an elite club of coaches to have won the Champions League three times.

Yet having brushed aside RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid to reach the final, City did not have it easy against Inter, who saw Federico Dimarco and substitute Romelu Lukaku both almost equalise late on.

Inter had hoped to spring a surprise and lift the trophy for the fourth time. It was not to be, but Simone Inzaghi’s side will be back in the competition again next season.

Victory for Guardiola’s men, to go with the three titles of rivals United, means Manchester becomes just the second city to produce two different winners of the competition, after Milan.

The occasion did not match the drama of the last Champions League final held at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium.

Liverpool triumphed here in 2005, recovering from a three-goal deficit against AC Milan to draw 3-3 before winning on penalties.

However, it also passed off without serious incident, a year after chaos overshadowed the final at the Stade de France in Paris, even if the stadium’s location some 25 kilometres west of central Istanbul did not make access simple for supporters.

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He Doesn’t Want Morning Training – Rothen Slams Messi’s Behaviour At PSG

Jerome Rothen, a former Paris Saint-Germain winger, has talked about Lionel Messi.

He slammed Lionel Messi’s behaviour at the French Ligue 1 champions.

Messi’s time at PSG came to an end last weekend as the Argentine played his final game for the Parisians against Clermont Foot.

The Argentina World Cup winner will be joining MLS side Inter Miami as a free agent upon the expiration of his contract with PSG.

However, Rothen has now criticized Messi for not wanting to adapt during his time at PSG, stating that he didn’t want to train in the morning.

“We got wind of a lot of things. We mopped up all that because it wasn’t the time to talk about it. Remember the day he left training? The club had covered it all up, saying it was a small calf injury. It was all wrong, absolutely wrong. The reason? Monsieur was fed up with this that was offered to him in training,” Rothen said (via RMC Sport).

“It was certainly a day when his children were suffering in my opinion… (ironic) He was not well in his head, so he left training. He went back to the locker room, he took a shower, he left. It shows how much he respected his coach and his teammates.

“He very often wanted to change the pace of training. He did not want to train in the morning. He told the staff on several occasions that training in the morning is not good. That you have to train in the afternoon. Fortunately, the staff did not give up. This shows that he wanted to change certain things and that he did not want to adapt.”

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Sweden Declares S*x As A Sport, Gets Set To Host First S*x Competition

The European nation of Sweden has officially declared s*x as a sport, reports have shown.

The country is also set to host its first-ever s*x competition.

The participants will engage in s*x sessions which can go up to six hours daily.

A panel of judges will decide the winners of the s*x competition while the audience will also influence the final decisions.

Tagged European S*x Championship, the competition will start this week, June 8, and run through a period of six weeks with participants engaging in s*xual activities from 45 minutes to 1 hour daily, depending upon the duration of their matches.

The report claims that the audience will also influence the decision of the s*x competitions and will notice several aspects of the s*xual activity.

The final decision on the winners will be arrived at after considering the factors like the chemistry between the couple, knowledge about s*x s well as endurance level.

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Governor Sanwo-Olu Hosts Arsenal Superstar, Saka In Lagos, Receives Signed Jersey (Photos)

The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, recently hosted Bukayo Saka, the Arsenal winger.

Sanwo-Olu hosted Saka who is currently in Lagos state on vacation.

The Gunners winger arrived in Nigeria a few days ago after a bitter-sweet season with his club in England.

In viral footage, the 21-year-old could be seen in white caftan and sneakers taking a walk on the streets of Lagos with a couple of orderlies, while fans chanted “Up Gunners”.

On Saturday, Sanwo-Olu received Saka, who he described as “my favourite Arsenal player,” at the state house in Marina.

The governor, who is also an Arsenal fan, expressed excitement at meeting the England international.

Sanwo-Olu said he is proud of Arsenal’s “inspiring run in the Premier League with such a young team.”

The governor also shared photos of the visit on Twitter while disclosing that Saka presented a signed Arsenal jersey to him.

“Exciting day at the State House, Marina today as I had the pleasure of hosting my favorite Arsenal player, Star Boy Bukayo Saka,” Sanwo-Olu wrote.

“I also enjoyed receiving my own signed Saka Jersey. As a proud #Gunner, I’m incredibly proud of their inspiring run in the Premier League with such a young team. Their determination has motivated many and shown us the power of youth. We’re committed to bringing that same spirit to grassroots football in Lagos.

“Together, let’s create opportunities for our talented young players. Thank you for visiting me Bukayo and I look forward to next season.”

Saka played an important role for Arsenal as they finished second in the league behind eventual winners Manchester City.

Born to Nigerian parents who immigrated to England, Saka was eligible for the Super Eagles, but he opted for the Three Lions in 2020.

In 2022, Saka sponsored surgeries for 120 kids from poor homes in Kano, Nigeria.