Sports

BREAKING: Ballon d’Or 2022: 20-man Nominees Confirmed [Full List]

Published

3 years ago

August 12, 2022

A 20-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or award has been announced today, Friday, 12 August 2022.

This was confirmed by France Football, who are organizers of the award, via their website today.

Recall that Lionel Messi, who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain, won the Ballon d’Or last year after beating the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho and Karim Benzema.

Below are the nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or:

Thibaut Courtois (BEL, Real Madrid), Rafael Leao (POR, AC Milan), Mohamed Salah (EGY, Liverpool), Joshua Kimmich (GER, Bayern Munich), Christopher Nkunku (FRA, RB Leipzig), Trent Alexander-Arnold (ANG, Liverpool), Robert Lewandowski (POL, Bayern Munich then FC Barcelona), Bernardo Silva (POR, Manchester City),Vinicius Junior (BRE, Real Madrid), Luis Diaz (COL, FC Porto then Liverpool), Karim Benzema (FRA, Real Madrid), Fabinho (BRE, Liverpool), Riyad Mahrez (ALG, Manchester City), Heung-min Son (CDS, Tottenham), Casemiro (BRE, Real Madrid), Phil Foden (ENG, Manchester City), Harry Kane (ENG, Tottenham), Sadio Mané (SEN, Liverpool then Bayern Munich), Darwin Nunez (URU, Benfica then Liverpool), Mike Maignan (FRA, AC Milan), Kevin De Bruyne (BEL, Manchester City), Sébastien Haller (CIV, Ajax then Borussia Dortmund), Luka Modric (CRO, Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (POR, Manchester United), Antonio Rüdiger (GER, Chelsea then Real Madrid), Joao Cancelo (POR, Manchester City), Erling Haaland (NOR, Borussia Dortmund then Manchester City), Kylian Mbappé (FRA, PSG), Virgil Van Dijk (HOL, Liverpool) and Dusan Vlahovic (SER, Fiorentina then Juventus).

Sports

AFCON: Osimhen Threatens To Dump Super Eagles, Return To Galatasaray

Published

8 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, reportedly threatened to quit the national team and return to Turkey.

According to Arise News, Osimhen was left fuming following his altercation with Ademola Lookman during the 4-0 win over Mozambique at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.

Having scored a brace thanks to assists from Lookman, the 27-year-old lashed out at his team-mate for failing to pass to him in the 64th minute.

Osimhen then beckoned on the bench asking to be taken off, before he was replaced by Moses Simon.

At full time, Osimhen stormed out of the stadium and dropped his accreditation card, insisting he was “done” with the national team and wanted to fly back to Turkey.

He was then pacified by senior officials of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.

Sports

NPFL Announces Resumption Date For Second Stanza

Published

11 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

The Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, has announced a date for the start of the second stanza of the 2025-26 season.

The second stanza will commence on Wednesday, 14 January, 2026.

The fixture will start with mid-week games across all the designated NPFL centers.

The NPFL disclosed this in a letter addressed to all the clubs.

The league body urged clubs to expect fixtures congestion in the second stanza.

Rivers United occupy top position on the NPFL table with 37 points from 19 matches.

Sports

Chelsea Coach Hails 3 Players For Keeping Team Together After Maresca’s Departure

Published

11 hours ago

January 6, 2026

Editor

Chelsea interim coach, Calum McFarlane has hailed three Blues players for keeping the team together after Enzo Maresca departed from the Premier League west London club.

Speaking after Chelsea’s recent Premier League 1-1 draw with Manchester City, McFarlane lauded Reece James, Tosin Adarabioyo, and Enzo Fernandez for their leadership and unifying influence in the Blues’ squad.

“I think it is a good moment to speak about the players. This is not an easy job,” McFarlane told reporters after the match.

“There is a lot of change that has gone on. Enzo was incredibly successful with this group. Some of them were shocked by the decision to sack Maresca.

“The character that they have shown today. Reece is a big one. Reece, Tosin and Enzo have really dragged the group together.”

Chelsea’s next Premier League tie is against Fulham on Wednesday.