Adaora's Blog

Thierry Henry was named the FC Monaco Coach on Saturday, the struggling Ligue 1 club announced.

The 41-year-old former Arsenal star will be joined by Joao Carlos Valado Tralhao, under-23 coach at Benfica, and Patrick Kwame Ampadu, coach at the Arsenal Academy. Henry knows Monaco pretty well having graduated through the youth system and also played for the Principality club between 1993-1999

Forbes has named Manchester United the second most valuable sports team in the world and the number first in football.

The Premier League Club worth £3.16 billion ahead of Real Madrid and Barcelona who are worth £3.14bn and  £3.11bn respectively

The first sports team on the list is NFL's Dallas Cowboys, who worth a whopping £3.67 billion. The list comprised of eight NBA teams and six MLB franchises

Below are the top 10 Forbes list

1. Dallas Cowboys £3,67bn (NFL)

2. Man Utd £3.16bn (football)

3. Real Madrid £3.14bn (football)

4. Barcelona £3.11bn (football)

5. New York Yankees £3.07bn (MLB)

6. New England Patriots £2.84bn (NFL)

7. New York Knicks £2.76bn (NBA)

8. Los Angeles Lakers £2.53bn (NBA)

8. New York Giants, £2.53bn (NFL)

10. Golden State £2.38bn (NBA) 

South African comedian, Trevor Noah has been accused of racism after making a joke that "Africa won the 2018 World Cup" because of the number of black players in the French national squad.

The TV Host and Comedian made the joke during The Daily Show, saying that the victory was for Africa because most of the players have African root.

In his words last Monday: "Africa won the World Cup.I get it, they have to say it's the French team. But look at those guys. You don't get that tan by hanging out in the south of France, my friends. Basically, if you don't understand, France is Africans' backup team. Once Senegal and Nigeria got knocked out, that's who we root for."

At an event to celebrate police day, last Monday, Nicolas Maduro, the President of Venezuela, said: "The French team seems like the African team, in reality Africa won, the African immigrants who arrived in France." 

"How much have they despised Africa, and in the football World Cup France won the trophy thanks to African players or the sons of Africans."

Trevor Noah's remarks generated international anger when French football fans, including former reality star, Martin Medus, blasted him on Twitter for his comments

He wrote: "You're a f****** racist. Those people are French and p***** to always be reminded of their background. They fight hard to tell people they are proud French people and yet you disrespect them calling them African. Are the Lakers an African team?"

Elise Frank also added: "So basically, Trevor, all the African-Americans in the US are just Africans, right? Know that as a french of Algerian, German and Spanish descent, I find it insulting. We are all French, we are one people. Ask the players, they'll tell you they're proud Frenchmen!"

One man wrote: "This is so racist to think that because they are black they are not French. They claimed their love of France. You denied them the right to be French? Is this what you want to deliver to all afro americans also? 98% of the players were born in France. Only two players were born in Africa, but they came at the age of two. So they've grown up in France."

Below is a short biography of the French players:

Paul Pogba: Born and raised in France

Pogba's family is from Guinea. His twin brothers Florentin and Mathias Pogba have played for the African Nation's national squad

Kylian Mbappe: Born and raised in France

Kylian was brought up in the Parisian suburb of Bondy with his family. His mother is Algerian and his father is Cameroonian. 

His 12-year-old younger brother, Ethan,is a member of the under-12 team at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). 

Samuel Umtiti: Raised in France

Umtiti was not born in France but moved to the nation from Cameroon when he was two. 

Umtiti was given the chance to play for Cameroon but it is reported he never saw it as an option, instead choosing to try and make the French squad.

Nabil Fekir: Born and raised in France 

Fekir was born in Lyon, France to Algerian parents. He once elected to represent the African nation but later changed his mind.

Fekir’s father, Mohamed has been vocal in the past about wanting his son to play for Algeria but Fekir opted to represent the nation of his birth.

Djibril Sidibé: Born and raised in France

Sidibé was born in Troyes, France, where he lived with his parents and three sisters. The family is originally from Mali.

Florian Thauvin: Born and raised in France 

Thauvin was born in Orléans, France. Thauvin was a regular in the junior national squad and represented them at the under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels. 

Benjamin Pavard: Born and raised in France

Pavard was born in Maubeuge to French parents. He plays for VfB Stuttgart as a defender.  

N'Golo Kante: Born and raised in France

Kante's parents came to France from Mali in 1980 and the footballer grew up in a small flat in the district of Rueil-Malmaison.

He bravely turned up to training at JS Suresnes alone as a child - determined to play football.

Presnel Kimpembe: Born and raised in France

Presnel Kimpembe was born in Beaumont-sur-Oise, France, to a Congolese father and a Haitian mother. His nationality is French-Congolese.

The player has 43 appearances for Paris Saint German after joining the club's junior squad aged ten. 

Steve Mandanda: Raised in France

Former Crystal Palace goalkeeper Steve Mandanda is nicknamed 'Frenchie' by his family after choosing to play for the national squad, instead of the Congolese team.

He was born in Kinshasa but moved to France aged two. He has three younger brothers, all of whom are goalkeepers, including Parfait, a Congolese international player. 

Lucas Hernández: Born in France, raised in Spain 

Hernández was born in Marseille, France while his French father Jean-François played for Olympique de Marseille. The family moved to Spain when he was four.

The footballer plays for a Spanish team, Atlético Madrid. 

Blaise Matuidi: Born and raised in France

Blaise Matuidi was born in Toulouse, France to Angolan parents. 

Matuidi's parents fled Angola in the 1980s when the country's civil war was raging. They arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo soon afterwards, and from there headed to France. Matuidi was raised up in a poor neighbourhood but was a talented player from a young age.

The footballer is said to have visited Angola many times. 

Alphonse Areola: Born and raised in France

The Filipino parents of Alphonse were working in the French capital, Paris, when they had their son.

Areola has been part of France's youth teams since 2008.

Steven N'Zonzi: Born and raised in France

Steven Nzonzi was born in Colombes, France. French-Congolese N'Zonzi had to chose, in 2012 whether he would accept a call to play for The Democratic Republic of Congo and go onto the Africa Cup of Nations - or hold out to see if he would be called up for France. 

He stuck with his birth nation and was eventually called up. 

Antoine Griezmann: Born and raised in France 

Antoine Griezmann was Mâcon to a Portuguese mother and a German father. 

His father Alain, a town councilor is from Munster, Germany.

Ousmane Dembele: Born and raised in France

Ousmane Dembele was born in Vernon, France. His mother is of Senegalese and Mauritian while his father is from Mali.

When he joined Rennes at the age of 13, his mother siblings moved to Brittany with him.

Corentin Tolisso: Born and raised in France

Corentin Tolisso was born in Tarare in France. His father is from Togo qualifying him to play for the national team.

Tolisso had previously acknowledged his ties to Togo but was loyal to France, stating that 'I was born here and grew up here.' 

Thomas Lemar: Raised in France

Thomas Lemar is from the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe in the southern Caribbean Sea. The family migrated to France while Lemar was young.

Olivier Giroud: Born and raised in France

Giroud was born in Chambéry, France. He began his career at Grenoble in Ligue 2. Giroud is Italian since both of his grandmothers are from the country.

Huge Lloris: Born and raised in France

Hugo Lloris was born in Nice. His father is Catalan. 

Adil Rami: Born and raised in France 

Adil Rami was born in Bastia, France. He debuted professionally for Frejus in 2003. Rami's parents are Moroccan, they live in Corsica. 

Benjamin Mendy: Born and raised in France

Benjamin Mendy, the Manchester City player was born in Longjumeau France. Mendy first played for France as an under-16. His family come from Senegal. 

Raphael Varane: Born and raised in France

Varane's nationality is French Martinique. His father is from the Caribbean island of Martinique while Varane was born in Lille, France. 

A Super Eagles player allegedly battered his wife for not receiving her call in his presence.

Nigerian footballer, Shehu Abdullahi, has battered his wife, Sumayya Mustapha, over a phone call.

IB9ja reported that the incident occurred last night, at the couple’s residence in Sokoto.

The mother of one was on the phone with someone and ended the call when Shehu came into her room.

However, the phone rang again, she refused to pick it because the husband was always eavesdropping on her phone calls with friends and family. She claimed that, at times, Shehu would hide to record her conversations with her callers.

She also revealed that he is fond of accessing her phone while asleep to read her chats and take pictures of her chats.

She had enough yesterday and refused to pick her call in his presence, despite his insistence.

Angered by her refusal, he descended on her, battered her brutally, leaving her with a bloodied eye.

Shehu Abdullahi was part of the Super Eagles team that crashed out in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup and currently plays for Turkish side Bursaspor.

In July 2014, Abdullahi moved from Kano Pillars to Kuwait Premier League side Qadsia SC in a deal worth $480,000, of which Abdullahi received $330,000 and Kano Pillars $150,000.

France became the world's champions after defeating the 'undefeatable' Croatia with 4-2 in finals of the World Cup 2018 which was held in, Moscow, Russia on Sunday.

Antoine Grietzmann’s ball-in was wonderful, flat and left-footed. Mario Mandzukic, flicked a header into the top corner of his own net, a goal that gave France a 19th minute lead. On the 29th minute Croatia equalised through Ivan Perisic, an incredibly beautiful goal!

France took the lead on 38 minute through a penalty, after the referee checked the VAR. Grietzmann gave France a second goal. What a kick! Pogba's super strike in the 59th minute gave France its third goal, making it 3-1. 

Paul Pogba started it with a brilliant ball towards Kylian Mbappe, he went downfield, and found Grietzmann who then teed up Pogba. His shot was blocked but the ball came back to him, and Pogba clipped home left-footed past an unsighted goalkeeper.

Kylian Mbappe scored the fourth goal in the 65th minute, making it 4-1. With the superb goal, Mbappe became the second teenager to score in a World Cup finale after the great Pele. 

Danijel Subasic did not cover himself in glory in the Croatian goal, he took one step to his left and Mbappe dribbled into the other corner from about 22 yards.

Mandzukic reduced Croatia's tally in the 69th minute.France goalkeeper got a back-pass, tried to take a touch around Mandzukic, he dribbled him and put the ball into an empty net. Overconfidence, Croatia wouldn't have scored the second goal. It all ended well. Congratulations to the World's Champions!

Croatia will face France in the finals of World Cup 2018.

Mario Mandzukic struck hard in the second-half of the extra time, making Croatia beat England with 2-1 in Moscow, to reach the World Cup finals for the first time in their history. Miraculous! 

England made an incredible electric start, with Kieran Trippler's early goal seemed like it would catapult England to the final stage, for the first time in 1966, but Croatians, known for their great speed battled hard.

Gareth Southgate repeatedly downplayed the euphoria in his team in the build-up, and for a while England gave every indication they were going to take charge, as Trippier found the net in a delightful free-kick, in the fifth minute.

Croatia rallied and gave England’s back three more of an examination upon the start of the second half, eventually restoring parity – Ivan Perisic providing a clever finish in the 68th minute.

England managed to hang on to force an extra 30 minutes and initially looked the more threatening of the two teams once again in the additional period.

The two teams were so tough that they were given additional time twice, the first five minutes and the extra 30 minutes, it looked threatening, but Croatia remained focused, with their speed and accuracy, Mandzukic struck in the 109th minute, scoring the goal that ended England's dreams, the miraculous strike that catapulted them to the final stage with France on Sunday. Zlatko Dalic will be highly impressed, his men are a step closer to a World Cup Title. 

Who knows what will happen next? This World Cup has been filled with surprises. Who will take the trophy home? 

Well, let us keep watching...

Real Madrid have officially announced that Cristiano Ronaldo will leave the club to continue his career with Serie A side, Juventus.

In an official statement which read;

“Real Madrid CF communicates that, in response to the will and request expressed by the player Cristiano Ronaldo, he has agreed to transfer to Juventus FC.”

It had been widely reported that CR7 wanted to leave Real Madrid after Portugal exited from the World Cup. Juventus reportedly offered a whopping €105 million for the 33-year-old superstar.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been in Real Madrid for 9 years and has won a plethora of trophies including 4 Champions League titles and 2 LaLiga titles.

Real Madrid expressed gratitude to Ronaldo in their official announcement and confirmed that they decided to allow him to leave following CR7’s request.

He is the top scorer in the history of Real Madrid with 451 goals in 438 games.

Cristiano Ronaldo has rejected a fresh offer of €200 million from a Chinese Super League, according to reports.

Ronaldo has had an offer on the table from European based club Juventus and he is ready to quit  the Santiago Bernabeu after he felt that his relationship with Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, has been damaged.

Ronaldo refused to go the Chinese Super League after the Bianconeri revealed their interest. 

Players like Carlos Tevez, Oscar, Hulk, Yannick Carrasco and Nicolas Gaitan have all made the move to Asia on lucrative contracts in recent times, but Ronaldo feels he still has a lot to give at the top level.

An unnamed Chinese club offered the veteran a contract worth €100 million a season, for two years, with the economic strength of the league staggering.

The offer came in December 2017 before Real Madrid came to an agreement with Jorge Mendes on the terms of Ronaldo’s exit; a €100 million euro release fee.

Juventus is one of the best teams in Europe and Ronaldo believes that he has what it takes to maintain the pace and requirement of top-flight football coupled with the fact that Juventus is ready to offer him €30 million per season.

Neymar has named Brazil's defeat by Belgium “the saddest moment of my career” and admits he is struggling to “find the strength to play again”.

In the end, Neymar’s theatrics generated more headlines than his football, with the 26-year-old spending more time on the floor than on his feet.

He was close to snatching a dramatic leveller in the dying stages of his encounter with Belgium, but his effort at the end of the contest was tipped over the top by Thibaut Courtois.

Neymar via an Instagram post, wrote: “I can say that this is the saddest moment of my career, it is incredibly painful because we knew we could get there, we knew we had conditions to go further, to make history. But it was not this time. It’s hard to find the strength to play soccer again, but I’m sure God will give me strength enough to face anything, so I’ll never stop thanking God, even in defeat … because I know that your way is much better than mine I’m very happy to be part of this team, I’m proud of all, interrupted our dream but they didn’t get it out of our head and neither of our hearts.”

Reports suggest that he may switch to PSG for a whopping record-breaking €222 million (£196m/$261m)

Cristiano Ronaldo could be announced as a Juventus player this Saturday, after reportedly agreeing to leave Real Madrid for a new life in Italy.

The Serie A giants have tabled an £88million bid for the father of four and the two clubs remain locked in talks.

Juve have agreed personal terms with Ronaldo and have been trying to thrash out a deal. If the transfer is completed, Sky Italia reported that he will be unveiled at the Juventus Stadium.

Ronaldo will be “eternally grateful” to Real Madrid if he decides to call time on his nine-year stay with the European champions, according to his agent Jorge Mendes. 

Cristiano Ronaldo may be announced as a Juventus player this Saturday, but it seems like the feeling won’t be mutual, according to Spanish publication Sport.

The news agency revealed that the relationship between the club and Ronaldo is becoming strained as the day pass by and because of that, there are no plans of officially saying goodbye to him.

The report adds that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is disappointed by the way the Portuguese forward has acted over the past few months. 

It was also revealed that the President of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez is disappointed at the way Ronaldo has acted over the past few months.

This may come as a blow to the Champ who dedicated the best part of his career to Real Madrid, where he won four Champions League trophies

But it will no doubt comes as a blow to Ronaldo, who dedicated the best part of his career to Real Madrid, and where he won four Champions League trophies. 

Andres Iniesta who recently left Barcelona was given an opportunity to say goodbye in an emotional press conference. 

Well..... 

Belgium kicked out five-time winners, Brazil out of the World Cup 2018, reaching the semi-finals for the first time since 1986.  

Roberto Martinez's side turned on the style in Kazan to clock up their fifth straight win of the tournament and ensure the semi-finals will be contested by four European sides for the first time.  

Before the match, Brazil had conceded just one goal in their past four games in Russia but were behind early when Nacer Chadli's corner struck Fernandinho's arm and flew into the net, the 10th own goal of this World Cup.  

In an entertaining and open game, Brazil hit the post when the match was goalless - Thiago Silva missing in front of a gaping net after Neymar's corner, before substitute Renato Augusto gave Brazil hope with a headed goal after Philippe Coutinho's delicious pass.  

However, the South Americans became the latest heavyweight to depart the competition after holders Germany and other past winners Argentina, Spain, Portugal and Uruguay. This World Cup is honestly not going as I expected because the most famous players and their squad are being kicked out gradually and it's really surprising. I thought Brazil would reach the semi-finals. 

Incredible! Who will win? Some think it's France, others feel it's England and most people feel it's Belguim. This kick out must be really embarrassing for Neymar. Well, let's keep watching the game! 

Reports have revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo is in talks for his own reality show which could be the biggest original series deal.

According to Variety, Facebook is in talks with the Portuguese star to bring the Ronaldo docu-series to Facebook Watch, its video platform for TV-style content. If the deal is agreed on, The super star could get a paycheck of more than $10 million for the 13-episode show.

The show is set to be produced by Tom Brady's Religion of Sports media company, which is behind the Tom vs. Time for Facebook Watch, reports revealed.

It was also reported that CAA will be packaging the series, and it will be produced by Matador Content and Religion of Sports, a sports-media firm founded by Gotham Chopra, Michael Strahan, Tom Brady and production company Dirty Robber.

This is another big one for the 'Big fish' and millions of people will be watching from all around the world. 

Super Eagles former physiotherapist, Olawale Oladejo, has died. 

The team revealed this on its twitter handle @NGsupereagles today July 6th.

“We regret to announce the untimely passing of our former physiotherapist Olawale Oladejo. We pray God grants his family, friends and colleagues the fortitude to bear this loss,’’ the tweet read

Oladejo served as a backroom staff for the 2013 African Cup of Nations winning Super Eagles, guided by Late Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi.

May his soul rest in peace, Amen. 

The psychic cat that correctly predicted the Nigeria-Argentina match when both countries met at the World Cup on Tuesday, June 26, has died of heart problems according to reports, less than one week after the game.

Baidian’er the cat which means white spot in Chinese, correctly predicted the outcome of six World Cup games but met his untimely death on Monday, July 2, 2018

Before he predicted any match, two bowls of food would be offered to him, with the flags of competing World Cup teams stuck in the ground behind them. 

Baidian'er correctly predicted the results of six World Cup games. He achieved such fame that the Palace Museum set up an account for him on China's Weibo, a social media platform like twitter.

Unfortunately, Baidian'er's correct prediction of an Argentinian win against Nigeria was his last .The museum revealed that the cat fell ill and finally announced its death on Monday, with thousands of comments from people mourning its death on Chinese social media platform, Weibo.

This cat is different from the one that made a wrong prediction about Nigeria's win against Argentina, the other cat's name is Achilles, a white coloured cat.

Baidian’er was a fluffy beautiful cat.