Premier League
I HAVE A DREAM OF LIFTING THE CHAMPIONS’ LEAGUE, SAYS HARRY KANE
England national team captain and Tottenham striker, Harry Kane has told uefa.com that he has the lofty ambition of lifting the UEFA Champions League this season.
He has been a childhood Spurs fan and has also spent his entire career at club.
He never dared to dream – until relatively recently – that he might get the chance to play for them in a UEFA Champions League final.
However, after a season of unending drama, he will get that chance on Saturday. Spurs’ 25-year-old marksman spoke to UEFA.com ahead of the all-English Madrid decider against Liverpool00:00
He said that winning on Sunday would mean everything to him. “Over the last four, five years, with [Mauricio Pochettino] here, we’ve had a plan to become one of the best teams in Europe.
“To now be in a Champions League final, it’s truly special. [The feeling is] hard to describe.
“You try not to think about it too much; you don’t want to let the emotions become overwhelming, but of course it will be massive. It’d be out of my wildest dreams, as a Spurs fan growing up.
“Even coming through the academy it was nothing that we would’ve ever expected to do.” remarked Kane.
He also said there are lessons to be learnt as the final match approaches. “The whole campaign has gone right down to the wire. There’s been so many ups and downs. [The way we came back in the Ajax game] shows great character, great motivation; it shows you’re never out of a game and that’s what we’re taking into the final.”
He had to watch the semi-finals from the side-lines owing to injury. He said it was tough to have found himself in that situation.
“When you’re playing, of course you have the pressure but once you’re on the pitch you’re free and you’re not thinking about it too much, but when you’re watching you’re like a fan in the stands and obviously you can’t do anything about it – you just have to watch.
“After the last game against Ajax, I sprinted down to the pitch [to celebrate], which people saw, and let a lot of emotion out.”
He however found it strange that the 2019 edition turned an all-England final. “We’re obviously used to the Premier League feel, but at the end of the day, it’s just another top team that we have to play.
“We’ve played them a couple of times this season already, and of course they got the better of us [winning 2-1 in London and Liverpool].
“But, I think over the last few years we’ve had some good battles. It’ll be a tough game, but we know that if we play like we can and get everything right, it’s a game that we can win.
“Everyone knows that Liverpool have a great history, but I think when it comes down to it, it’s one game – it’s 90 minutes or 120 minutes to give it everything, to leave it all out on the pitch and really try and make history.
“And as a club, five, ten years ago this wouldn’t have even been in our dreams, and now we’re here it’s an opportunity that we really have to grab with both hands.
He believes that the reason the Spurs team is having a good run at the moment was the fact that the players had been together for a long time.
“There are times when things aren’t going so well and you start to look around and,
[you remember]
you’ve known each other for a while, you’ve been through tough times together before so it’s no different.
“For sure, there will be times on Saturday where we’ll be under the cosh a bit, and we’ll have to dig deep. That’s the family we’ve created here. We’re there for each other and we’ll fight for each other until the end.
“Everyone knows that we haven’t bought a player in the last couple of transfer windows but, in a way, that’s been our strength because it’s brought us closer together.
“We’ve had injuries where people have stepped in and done a job. That’s what our season’s been like, but whoever’s played has performed and given it everything they’ve got. That’s all you can ask for.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- OBITUARY4 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football3 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- WAFCON2 days ago
Nigeria, Tunisia Set for High-Stakes WAFCON 2024 Clash in Casablanca
- OBITUARY4 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY3 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL3 days ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football