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Ballon d’Or 2025: Gary Lineker, Micah Richards discuss player to win award

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Former Barcelona striker, Gary Lineker and former Manchester City defender, Micah Richards have discussed on one surprise player that could win the 2025 Ballon d’Or.

Lineker backed Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma to claim the top individual award if he has an “amazing” match in his side’s UEFA Champions League final with Inter Milan at the Allianz Arena on Saturday night.

However, the former England international jokingly says he doesn’t want the Italian to get the award because goalkeepers always get in the way of a goalscorer.

Talking with fellow pundits Richards on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “What a number of performances we’ve seen from Donnarumm in the Champions League.

“If Donnarumma has another amazing game in the final [of the Champions League] and is maybe the key figure, is it possible that we get a goalkeeper as the winner of the Ballon d’Or?’ Lineker asked Richards.

Replying, Richards replied: “That is not a bad shout.”

Laughing, Lineker immediately rebutted: “I think it’s a terrible shout.

“I don’t like goalkeepers, they always get in the way of the goalscorers,” he stated.

The only goalkeeper that have won the Ballon d’Or in the history of the award was the late Lev Yashin in 1963.

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Club World Cup 2025: Six Round of 16 fixtures confirmed

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At least six Round of 16 fixtures at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have now been confirmed.

Inter Milan finished top of Group E, thanks to a 2-0 victory over 10-man River Plate.

Late goals from Francesco Pio Esposito and Alessandro Bastoni sealed the win for the Serie A side, who will face Fluminense in the next round.

Monterrey, who are Group E runners-up, will play Borussia Dortmund for a place in the quarter-final.

Benfica will take on Chelsea in another last-16 game on Saturday, while Palmeiras will go head-to-head with Botafogo in an all-Brazilian affair.

On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain will square up against Inter Miami, in what has been dubbed the Lionel Messi Derby. Flamengo play Bayern Munich.

There are two more Round of 16 match-ups yet to be determined.

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Messi remains highest-paid player in MLS [Top 5]

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Inter Miami superstar, Lionel Messi, remains the best-paid player in the Major League Soccer, MLS, for the second consecutive year.

This was revealed in data published by the MLS Players Association. It showed that Messi earns a total guaranteed compensation of $20.45m.

The figure also represents a bit of the 38-year-old’s earnings, as he also gets from other revenue streams like an endorsement deal with Adidas and a revenue-sharing agreement with league broadcast partner Apple.

According to Sportico, Messi could rake in up to $150m over the course of his two-and-a-half year contract with Miami and MLS back in the summer of 2023.

Toronto FC forward, Lorenzo Insigne, is in second place with a guaranteed earning of $15.44m.

In third spot, is Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Sergio Busquets at $8.5m. Atlanta United forward Miguel Almirón is in fourth position at $7.87m followed by San Diego FC forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano at $7.63m.

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Transfer: It doesn’t matter – Ighalo speaks on Osimhen moving to Saudi Arabia

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Former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has said it does not matter whether his compatriot Victor Osimhen moves to Saudi Arabia now or in the future.

Ighalo, speaking with News Central, claimed that the option of moving to the Middle East would always be available to Osimhen.

“He knows what he wants. We were together two days ago, but we didn’t talk about football; we just had fun,” he said.

“I believe he knows what he wants; he’s grown, he’s worked hard, and if he calls me for a word, I’ll speak from my opinion, but any decision he makes, it’s a win-win for him.

“If he goes to Saudi now, if he doesn’t go until two years later, it doesn’t matter, because last year they came, he didn’t go; they came this year, he’s declined; they’ll still come again.”

Ighalo himself played in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal, and Al-Wehda.

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