Sport
Pedri Says he was Shocked When he Found Out Messi Was Leaving Barcelona
Barcelona’s Pedri has opened up about the moment he discovered Lionel Messi was leaving the club, admitting the news caught him completely off guard. Messi, who rose through Barcelona’s ranks before becoming one of the greatest players in football history, departed in 2021 after the club failed to renew his contract.
Pedri, who joined from Las Palmas in 2019, shared the pitch with Messi for two seasons, racking up 47 games together. Speaking to France Football, the Spanish midfielder recalled how he would instinctively look for Messi during matches, always eager to pass him the ball because, in his words, “he was better than me.”
He said he was playing in the Olympics when he heard about Messi’s exit, finding it almost impossible to believe. Messi went on to join Paris Saint-Germain, where he lifted two Ligue 1 titles before making another headline move in 2023 to Inter Miami.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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Super Eagles Star Calvin Bassey Opens Up on Nearly Walking Away from Football
