Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen missed out as Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi won the African Player of the Year award. The Moroccan full-back collected the honour on Wednesday evening, sealing a triumphant year in which he won the treble, including the Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League trophy. The only blemish was PSG’s defeat in the Club World Cup final to Chelsea in New York, where he was forced to settle for a silver medal.

Despite their financial constraints, Barcelona remain confident of signing a new world-class No.9 to replace Robert Lewandowski, with Bayern Munich star Harry Kane one of the options being considered. Lewandowski is in the final few months of his existing contract and is expected to leave the club as a free agent next summer as the Catalan giants are unlikely to offer him a new deal.

Barcelona have identified Victor Osimhen as a potential successor to the ageing Robert Lewandowski, who is expected to leave the reigning La Liga champions at the end of the season. Osimhen joined Galatasaray permanently from Napoli ahead of the 2025-26 season in a record-breaking move, but he could return to one of Europe's big five leagues next season if Barca are serious about signing him.

Five Premier League players - including Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey - were among those to endure flight chaos after jetting out of Nigeria's latest 2026 World Cup qualifier. There was midair mayhem during that journey as a cracked windscreen forced the plane that the Super Eagles were travelling on to make an emergency landing. Said trip was eventually completed some 12 hours later than initially planned.

Victor Osimhen has revealed that he was pressured into signing for Napoli in 2020 while his father was dying, claiming agents and club officials forced the transfer without his consent. The Nigerian striker said he had no access to a draft of his contract and felt ignored during negotiations led by Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis and Lille officials. He recounted the story to authorities amid an ongoing capital gains probe.