Transfer: Fulham reject Atletico Madrid bid for Iwobi

Published

3 months ago

July 4, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Fulham have rejected Spanish Atletico Madrid bid for Nigeria midfielder Alex Iwobi, Ekwutosblog reports.

Atletico Madrid, according to Africa Foot, submitted a $21.5m.bid for Iwobi this week.

Diego Simeone’s side offered him a four-year contract with a salary worth €7m per year.

The 29-year-old was reportedly open to the idea of playing in Spain, but Fulham are not willing to sell one of their best players.

Atletico Madrid have lined him up as a replacement for Belgium international Yannick Carrasco.

Iwobi was in excellent form for Fulham last season, registering 10 goals, and six assists in 38 appearances.

The versatile midfielder made history as the first Nigerian to play all 38 games in the Premier League in two different seasons.

He came second in Fulham’s Player of the Season award, which was won by his international teammate, Calvin Bassey.

Ballon d’Or 2025: No Rodri-Vinicius debate as Osumane Dembele reigns

Published

8 minutes ago

September 23, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele finally won the 2025 Ballon d’Or award.

The France international won the prestigious individual prize ahead of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal (second), PSG’s Vitinha (third), Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (fourth) and Barcelona’s Raphinha (fifth) on Monday night in Paris, France.

The 28-year-old emerged as the winner because of his standout performances for PSG in the year under review.

Dembele registered 39 goals and 14 assists from 61 games across all competitions for the Parisians.

He played a key role as he led Luis Enrique’s side to win the UEFA Champions League trophy, the French Ligue 1 title, the French Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

The former Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund star was named the French Ligue 1 Player of the Season, Champions League Player of the Season, and he also won the Ligue 1 Golden Boot.

However, his top contender for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, Yamal, helped Barcelona win the LaLiga and the Copa del Rey last season.

Yamal scored 19 goals and provided 24 assists from 65 games across competitions for Barca.

But his failure to win the UEFA Nations League and the UEFA Champions League might have cost him the coveted prize this year.

Ekwutosblog reports that this year’s Ballon d’Or top two (Dembele and Yamal) created little or no debate compared to last year’s top two contenders, Manchester City’s Rodri and Real Madrid’s Vinicius.

Recall that Rodri won the 2024 Ballon d’Or ahead of Vinicius, who came in second place.

But several fans, football icons and pundits argued that the Brazilian international should have won the top individual prize ahead of the Spain international.

Real Madrid were disappointed and did not send Vinicius or anyone to the Ballon d’Or event at the Theatre du Châtelet in Paris.

Speaking with Ekwutosblog on Monday night, former TTC Football Academy coach Emmanuel Brown insisted that Dembele deserved the award ahead of Yamal.

According to him, the Frenchman was key to PSG’s success both domestically and in Europe.

He added that Dembele beating Yamal to the Ballon d’Or did not create a debate or argument like when Rodri won the award ahead of Vinicius last year.

“First and foremost, I want to say a big congratulations to Dembele for winning the Ballon d’Or to become the best player in the world,” Brown said.

“He truly deserves the Ballon d’Or ahead of Yamal, and there should be no debate about it, like what we saw between Rodri and Vinicius in the last edition.

“A well-deserved one for him [Dembele]. I’m happy for him because he has truly developed and matured in the game, right from when he was at Dortmund and Barcelona.

“Dembele is also a humble player who you hardly see having issues with coaches or teammates.

“Of course, he was a key player for PSG last season, leading them to win their first-ever UEFA Champions League after winning the Ligue 1 title.

“He is a fantastic player and I hope he continues his top performances for PSG this season. As for Yamal, as long as he continues playing for Barcelona, he will surely win the Ballon d’Or in his career.”

SportsNews

EPL: ‘This is why Liverpool I played for never won title’ – Carragher warns Mikel Arteta

Published

21 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Former Liverpool star, Jamie Carragher, has slammed Mikel Arteta over the Spaniard’s conservative approach to games.

He said this could cost the Gunners the Premier League title, adding that the former Man City assistant boss is making the same mistake repeatedly.

Arsenal narrowly escaped from being handed their second defeat of the season drawing 1-1 with Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday.

Erling Haaland scored for Man City after just nine minutes and Pep Guardiola’s side held their lead until the 93rd minute when Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic equaliser.

Arsenal recorded over 67 per cent possession against Pep Guardiola’s team, who were obviously defensive.

Carragher said that Arteta would have himself to blame for repeatedly picking the conservative midfield trio of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino.

Arsenal were able to open up the game when Ebere Eze and Bukayo Saka replaced Noni Madueke and Merino.

Carragher said the Arsenal boss is being too cautious and it could cost his side the title again.

“Mikel Arteta has got a team and squad that are that close to being really, really special in terms of winning a Premier League and maybe even a Champions League, I think they’re that good.

“But time after time when it comes to these big games he picks a team that feels like he’s thinking more about the opposition.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t win the Premier League. Jose Mourinho won the Premier League three times and he was a little bit like that.

“But for me that was a waste for 45 minutes and the reason I’m saying that is because I played for managers who did that at Liverpool.

“We were really close, we were a top team but we never won the Premier League. I always felt at times under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez maybe we had the handbrake on now and again in certain games.

“That is what Mikel Arteta is doing. Liverpool were there for the taking in that second half at Anfield. Man City were there for the taking at the start of this game and he’s allowed them to come into the game.

“It’s just a recurring pattern, season after season and if you’re Mikel Arteta or an Arsenal supporter you’ve just got to hope that it doesn’t cost you at the end of the season because they are a brilliant team.”

Arsenal are now five points behind league-leaders, Liverpool.

SportsNews

EPL: Start them – Ian Wright tells Arteta not to bench Arsenal duo again

Published

22 hours ago

September 22, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has urged manager, Mikel Arteta not to bench the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Eberechi Eze again.

Wright spoke following Arsenal’s Premier League 1-1 draw with Manchester City.l on Sunday.

Recall that Arteta opted to bench both players against Man City as goals from Erling Haaland and Martinelli ensured both teams got a point each at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze provided the assist for Martinelli in the second half of the encounter after they came on from the bench.

“In my eyes, I’m starting Martinelli and Eze,” Wright told Premier League Productions.

“Martinelli can get the crowd going. Eze can make those passes like we saw him do. We need to start that quickly.

“We are looking at a City side who came to defend. When have you ever seen that? We have never seen that before.”