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Siasia alleges he rejected Mikel’s €50,000 bribe, refused to take him to Beijing Olympics

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Former Nigeria U23 coach, Samson Siasia, has revealed why he refused to take John Obi Mikel to the Beijing Olympics.

The former Super Eagles boss said that by so doing he rejected about €50,000 bribe offer from Mikel’s agent, who wanted the midfielder included in the squad for Beijing 2008.

Siasia said he pleaded with Mikel, who was then warming the bench at Chelsea, to come and participate in the qualifiers but the midfielder refused.

According to him, Mikel picked interest to play in the Olympics after the team qualified without him.

A 0-0 draw with Ghana in the final qualifying game ensured that Nigeria booked a place at the 2008 Olympic Games.

However, facts contradict Siasia’s claim that Mikel was warming the bench at Stamford Bridge as Mikel played four consecutive Premier League games from the start before the Ghana vs Nigeria qualifying game and started five more games immediately after the qualifier.

Siasia told Elegbete TV Sports, “Mikel wasn’t a starter at Chelsea then, he was on the bench. I told him we only had one game against Ghana to play – please come and help us.

“I said if he doesn’t come, he won’t go anywhere. But Mikel refused to come, saying he was playing in Chelsea.

“Nothing happened, we played very well, at the end of the day 0-0, we qualified.

“Going to the Olympics, Mikel wants to come and play. His agent said he would give me €50,000 so Mikel should play.

“I said it’s not about €50,000. He didn’t play the qualifiers, so I will take out someone that qualified us and bring you in? It won’t happen. That’s why Mikel didn’t go.”

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Home Eagles pip Remo Stars in pre-CHAN 2024 friendly

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The home-based Super Eagles defeated Remo Stars 1-0 in a pre-2024 African Nations Championship, CHAN, friendly in Ikenne on Tuesday.

It was the team’s first friendly since they set up camp in Ikenne for the CHAN last week Monday.

Abia Warriors striker, Anthony Ijoma netted the decisive goal for Eric Chelle’s side.

Vincent Temitope missed a penalty for the Home Eagles in the game.

Haruna Hadi, Tochuwku Michael and
Stephen Manyo were the standout performers for the Eagles.

They are expected to engage in more friendlies before the competition, which will start early next month in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Nigeria will be making a return to the CHAN after failing to qualify for the last two editions.

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Club World Cup 2025: Chelsea thrash PSG 3-0 to win final

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Chelsea thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.

The Blues were considered underdogs ahead of the game, in which they came up against the Ligue 1 and Champions League winners.

However, it was the Premier League club who flew out of the blocks in the first half, scoring the three goals that effectively decided the match.

Cole Palmer curled in a pair of identical goals from the right side of the box, putting Chelsea firmly in control at the MetLife Stadium.

Palmer then provided a slide-rule pass for João Pedro to make it 3–0, his third goal of the tournament since joining Chelsea.

There were no goals in the second half, as Enzo Maresca’s men held on to win the Club World Cup, in addition to the UEFA Conference League they clinched last month.

For PSG, they will not be winning an unprecedented sextuple, but they will have a chance to claim the UEFA Super Cup next month against Tottenham.

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Sporting President, Varandas reacts as Viktor Gyokeres skips pre-season amid Arsenal transfer push

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Frederico Varandas, Sporting CP president has expressed his displeasure after Viktor Gyokeres failed to turn up for the club’s pre-season amid the striker’s push to join Arsenal this summer.

Gyokeres is very desperate to join the Gunners and as a result he didn’t sto report to camp on Saturday evening for Sporting’s pre-season.

Arsenal supposedly offered a €65m bid plus €15m in performance-based add-ons, but Sporting wants a €70m plus a further €10m in bonuses for the Swedish player.

Speaking on the development, Varandas said (via Fabrizio Romano): “If they don’t want to pay Viktor’s fair market value, we are very comfortable with that for the next three years.

“This strategy is also making it more complicated for the player [Gyokeres] to leave.

“Nobody is above the interests of the club. Whoever they are”.

Varandas added that Sporting is calm as everything will be resolved before the summer transfer window will close.

He, however, suggested that the club will be imposed a huge fine on Gyokeres for not showing up for pre- season and the player will be asked to offer an apology.

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