Gyan named second richest African Footballer

France Football has exclusively published their annual Football Rich List and has named Black Stars Captain, Asamoah Gyan as 19th in the World and second in Africa.
Ivorian Yaya Toure tops the Africa list placing 17th in the World. The publication documents the highest paid individuals in football per year.
The calculations are based not just on individual’s contracts with their clubs, but all other forms of income including sponsorship deals.
Footballers: Top 20
1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona) = €74m
Annual Salary: €36m (€3m per month)
Bonuses: €3m (Achieved following Barcelona’s quintuple in 2014/15)
Other forms of income: €35m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Ooredoo (3 year contract, €15m), EA Sports, Gatorade, Pepsi, Samsung, Gillette, Audemars Piguet, Space Scouter, Lay’s, Tata Motors, Huawei.
Other operations: Advertising campaigns for the Argentinian international team and FC Barcelona, Dolce & Gabbana, Ambassador at the Expo 2020 Dubai, merchandise, Web TV, restaurant businesses, grape cultivation, a complex of luxury cottages, real estate and financial investments.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) = €67.4m
Annual Salary: €32m (€2.6m per month)
Bonuses: €400,000
Other forms of income: €35m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Altice-SFR, Pokerstars.com, Herbalife, Novo Banco, Soccerade, Clear, Sacoor Brothers, Sixpa, Hot, Pestana, Brandinext, Refa active Pao.
Other operations: Sportlobster, Fly Emirates, CR7 underwear, CR7 footwear, Roc by Monster, smartphone applications, real estate and luxury hotel investments, image rights – Mint Media.
3. Neymar (Barcelona) = €43.5m
Annual Salary: €20m (€1.6m per month)
Bonuses: €2.5m
Other forms of income: €21m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Konami, Panasonic, pokerstars.com, Claro, Tenys-Pé, Lupo, Guarana Antartica, Volkswagen, Red Bull, Celiar, Listerine, Police, Replay, Ultrafarma.
Other operations: Universal, advertising campaigns for FC Barcelona, NJR merchandise, NJR sportswear line, real estate investments.
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG) = €28.5m
Annual Salary: €20m (€1.6m per month)
Bonuses: €2.5m
Other forms of income: €6m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Volvo, Vitamin Well, Dressmann.
Other operations: Personal perfume brand, social media development project, advertising campaigns for PSG, publications, mobile phone applications, real estate investments.
Note: Ibrahimovic turned down a €3m contract from pokerstars.com.
5. Thiago Silva (PSG) = €26.5m
Annual Salary: €23m (€1.9m per month)
Bonuses: €1m
Other forms of income: €2.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Nissan, Skullcandy.
Other operations: Advertising campaigns for PSG.
6. Angel di Maria (PSG) = €26m
Annual Salary: €24m (€2m per month)
Bonuses: €800,000
Other forms of income: €1.2m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas.
Other operations: Advertising campaigns for PSG.
7. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) = €24.5m
Annual Salary: €14m (€1.16m per month)
Bonuses: €500,000
Other forms of income: €10m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Foot Locker, Konami, Sony, BT Sports.
Other operations: Merchandise, image rights.
8. Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich) = €23.6m
Annual Salary: €16m (€1.3m per month)
Bonuses: €600,000
Other forms of income: €7m
Sponsorship contracts: Volkswagen, Weber, REWE, Gillette, BiFi, Young Wings.
Other operations: Merchandise, advertising campaigns with Bayern Munich.
9. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) = €22m
Annual Salary: €16.7m (€1.4m per month)
Bonuses: €300,000
Other forms of income: €5m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Samsung, Five Star, Triple S, Harper Collins.
Other operations: Publications, image rights, advertising campaigns with Manchester United.
10. Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona) = €21.5m
Annual Salary: €15m (€1.25m per month)
Bonuses: €2m
Other forms of income: €4.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Nissan, Sony, Dentix, Damm, Arcos.
Other operations: Football schools, financial and real estate investments, grape cultivation, farm holiday business.
11. Iker Casillas (FC Porto) = €21m
Annual Salary: €3.5m (€290,000 per month)
Bonuses: €12m (Payment from Real Madrid in order to agree to transfer away)
Other forms of income: €5.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Hyundai, Arriga Associados, Head & Shoulders, Dentix, Pelayo, Futbol Factory.
Other operations: 1K, merchandise, real estate investments.
12. Luis Suarez (FC Barcelona) = €20.3m
Annual Salary: €15m (€1.25 per month)
Bonuses: €2.5m
Other forms of income: €2.8m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Abitab.
Other operations: Advertising campaigns for FC Barcelona.
13. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) = €20.2m
Annual Salary: €10.6m (€883,000 per month)
Bonuses: €600,000
Other forms of income: €9m
Sponsorship contracts: Puma, Pepsi, Gillette, EA Sports, Wix-Com, DirecTV.
Other operations: Football schools, Argentinian tourism office, publications, website, Web TV, advertising campaigns for Manchester City, image rights.
14. Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich) = €18.9m
Annual Salary: €14m (€1.16m per month)
Bonuses: €400,000
Other forms of income: €4.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Deutsche Sportlotterie, Drutex, Situs, FTI Touristik.
Other operations: BT Sport, football schools, advertising campaigns for Bayern Munich.
14. Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich) = €18.9m
Annual Salary: €12m (€1m per month)
Bonuses: €700,000
Other forms of income: €6.2m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Gatorade, EA Sports.
Other operations: Real estate, land, commercial and financial investments, starting up companies, sports complexes, smartphone applications, football schools, racehorse stables.
16. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United) = €18.8m
Annual Salary: €15.3m (€1.275m per month)
Bonuses: €500,000
Other forms of income: €3m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas, Funny Fisch, Beats by Dr Dre, Right Guard.
Other operations: Merchandise, advertising campaigns for Manchester United.
17. Yaya Touré (Manchester City) = €18m
Annual Salary: €13.5m (€1.125m per month)
Bonuses: €700,000
Other forms of income: €3.8m
Sponsorship contracts: Puma, Nissan, Airtel Africa.
Other operations: Football schools, image rights, real estate investments.
17. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) = €18m
Annual Salary: €14.5m (€1.2m per month)
Bonuses: €500,000
Other forms of income: €3m
Sponsorship contracts: Adidas.
Other operations: Image rights.
19. Asamoah Gyan (Shanghai SIPG) = €17.5m
Annual Salary: €15m (€1.25m per month)
Bonuses: €1m
Other forms of income: €1.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Puma, Uni Bank Ghana Limited.
Other operations: Merchandise, real estate and financial investments.
20. Eden Hazard (Chelsea FC) = €17m
Annual Salary: €13.2m (€1.1m per month)
Bonuses: €300,000
Other forms of income: €3.5m
Sponsorship contracts: Nike, Lotus, Sina Sports.
Other operations: Advertising campaigns for the Belgian national team and Chelsea FC, image rights, real estate and financial investments, FIFA 16 Ultimate Team, WWF.

PFA Player of the Year award

The 43rd PFA Awards is to be held in the Grosvenor House in London on Sunday 24th April 2015. Below are the list for PFA Player of the Year award:
Men’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year
1. Dimitri Payet
2. Harry Kane
3. Jamie Vardy
4. Mesut Ozil
5. N’Golo Kante
6. Riyad Mahrez
Men’s PFA Young Player of the Year
1. Dele Alli
2. Harry Kane
3. Jack Butland
4. Philippe Coutinho
5. Romelu Lukaku
6. Ross Barkley
Women’s PFA Players’ Player of the Year (In Association with Sodexo …)
1. Beth Mead
2. Gemma Davison
3. Hedvig Lindahl
4. Izzy Christiansen
5. Ji So-Yun
Women’s PFA Young Player of the Year (In Association with Sodexo …)
1. Beth Mead
2. Danielle Carter
3. Hannah Blundell
4. Keira Walsh
5. Nikita Parris

Adam Johnson sentenced to 6 years imprisonment

Ex-Sunderland footballer Adam Johnson has been sentenced to six years in prison for having sexual relations with a 15 year old girl. Judge Jonathan Rose, told Johnson: “All of this is entirely your own responsibility and fault."

“That was known to you - to put it another way she had only just turned 15 when you began grooming her, because as you were to admit you found her sexually attractive. You continued in your grooming of this girl even after you were engaged in sexual activity with her. You wanted no-one to know that you and she were exchanging messages. You asked her to find a place to meet that was private and secluded so no-one would see you in her company. You made a deliberate decision to engage in sexual activity with this young girl, no doubt in the expectation that you would get away with it. Your future as a professional footballer must be in doubt.”

Suspended Fifa president was 'close to dying'

Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, who was hospitalzied for stress, during his recent health scare, he admitted that it was more serious than reported. Blatter revealed to Swiss TV channel, RTS; “Yes, I was very close, but luckily I never became unconscious in the 48 hours where I was really between the angels who were singing and the devil who was lighting the fire. It was the angels who sang. I was close to dying. At some stage the body says ‘no, enough is enough’.”

FIFA Releases Final List For Presidential Election

The official statement from FIFA’s official press release reads.
“On 9 November 2015, the AD-hoc Electoral Committee declared five candidates eligible to stand for election to the office of FIFA President. The election will take place at the Extraordinary FIFA Congress in Zurich on 26 February 2016.
The candidates admitted and declared are:
HRH Prince Ali Al Hussein
Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa
Jérôme Champagne
Gianni Infantino
Tokyo Sexwale
“The decisions of the Ad-hoc Electoral Committee on the eligibility of candidates may be appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne. The committee will continue to supervise the electoral process to ensure that each candidate complies with all applicable FIFA regulations and provisions leading up to and during the Extraordinary FIFA Congress in February.”

Franck Ribéry to sue CNN over use of picture

France and Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribéry is seeking $1.5 million in damages from US cable news channel CNN for using his image in a story about the death of a woman in a cryotherapy chamber, his lawyer said on Friday.
CNN ran a story last month,exactly on October 28 about the death of Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, a 24-year-old American woman who was found dead in a cryotherapy tank in a Nevada spa.
CNN used a photo showing Franck Ribéry's head while the footballer used a similar machine, which many high-level sportsmen often do. An error on the cable network's part, as they immediately took down the picture and post but that was not enough to stop people from noticing.
"It results from this publication that the photograph of Mr. Franck Ribéry has been associated to a woman's death related to the cryotherapy treatment," Ribery's lawyer Carlo Alberto Brusa said.
"Mr. Franck Ribery, a world-famous professional soccer player and former member of the France national soccer team, has never given his permission and consent to the use of this photograph and therefore of his image related to the aforesaid publication."
Brusa said the use of the photo was an "illegal association, which constitutes an infringement of the personality rights and the French image right, is a wrongdoing for which you are responsible and which obliges you to repair all the damages suffered by Mr. Franck Ribéry and his family following this morbid publication and the public reactions provoked".

If it was about the money, I'd go to Qatar - Cristiano Ronaldo

The Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, When asked about the possibility of one day moving to City in an interview with BBC Sport, Ronaldo replied: "You think the money [is] going [to] change my mind now, at 30 years old?
"I don't think so. I think this is not going to be the problem.
"If you speak about the money I will go to Qatar. Maybe they probably have more money than Manchester City.
"But it's not about the money, it's about the passion."
Source: GOAL.com

“I’m not the humblest person so I need haters” – Cristiano Ronaldo

Portuguese professional footballer Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro
GOIH known as Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview with The Times stated, “I am not the humblest person in the world, I admit that,” he told The Times. “I am not fake. But I like to learn. I don’t mind people hating me, because it pushes me. When I go to play away they are always against me, but it’s good. You have to see the good things from the haters. I need the enemy. It is part of the business. They start screaming when I touch the ball.” he said

“It had started already when I was 18 or 19. It is not a problem for me. It is a motivation.”
The superstar also spoke of his gratitude towards former coach Sir Alex Ferguson:
“When my daddy was dying, he was in a hospital in London, and it was not good. I said to Sir Alex Ferguson, ‘Coach, I want to go’. It was a crucial moment of the season.
“But Ferguson said: ‘Football doesn’t mean anything compared to your dad. If you want to go, go. I will always appreciate that.”

FIFA Ballon d’Or 2015 Nominees

Germany: Toni Kroos (Bayern), Thomas Muller (Bayern), Manuel Neuer (Bayern)
England: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Wayne Rooney (United)
Argentina: Sergio Aguero (City), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Nicolas Otamendi (Valencia- City), Javier Pastore (PSG), Carlos Tevez (Juventus-Boca)
Australia: Massimo Luongo (Qpr)
Austria: David Alaba (Bayern)
Belgium: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard (Chelsea) (Wolfsburg-Man City)
Brazil: Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool),
Neymar (Barcelona), Willian (Chelsea)
Chile: Claudio Bravo (Barcelona), Gary Medel (Inter), Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Eduardo Vargas (Qpr-Hoffenheim), Vidal (Juventus-Bayern)
Colombia: Carlos Bacca (FC Sevilla Milan), Jackson Martinez (Puerto Atletico), David Ospina (Arsenal), James Rodriguez (Real)
South Korea: Son Heung-min (Leverkusen- Tottenham)
Ivory Coast: Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), Yaya Toure (City)
Croatia: Luka Modric (Real), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona)
Spain: Diego Costa (Chelsea), David De Gea (United), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Alvaro Morata (Juventus), Sergio Ramos (Real)
France: Karim Benzema (Real), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico), Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon), Paul Pogba (Juventus) Ghana: Christian Atsu (Everton Bournemouth), André Ayew (Marseille-Swansea)
Japan: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester)
Italy: Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus-New York)
Mexico: Giovanni Dos Santos (Villarreal-LA Galaxy), Andres Guardado (Psv)
Netherlands: Memphis Depay (Psv-United), Arjen Robben (Bayern)
Wales: Gareth Bale (Real)
Peru: Paolo Guerrero (Corinthians-Flamengo)
Poland: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern)
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Psg)
Uruguay: Edinson Cavani (PSG), Carlos Andres Sanchez (River), Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Meet the 14 men involved in FIFA corruption scandal

On Wednesday, May 27, 2015 about seven cabinet members of the World football governing body (FIFA) were arrested over bribery allegations of World Cup tournaments biding, amounting to at least $100m for over 25 years. See the full list and details of the FIFA cabinet involved in the corruption scandal.

Didier Drogba ends his football career

Didier Drogba has announced he will be playing his last match for his current football club,He shared the news on his instagram page.

Jose Mourinho named Barclays Manager of the Season

Jose Mourinho has been named the Barclays Manager of the Season, as the best manager of the 2014/2015 Season. Speaking to Sky Sports after receiving the award, Mourinho said: ‘This is, as you like to say in England, the icing on the cake. But the cake is more important than the icing. ‘The cake is the Premier League, the cake is the objective of the manager, of the technical staff, of the squad, of the club and of millions of
supporters. And I work for the cake, I don’t work for this. I am the manager of the season and obviously I’m very happy with this.

Neymar unveiled as the new face of Police’s Optical range glasses

Brazil and Barcelona star, Neymar has taken his fashion brand to the highest level as he has been unveiled as the new face of the 2015
edition of Police’s Optical range eyewears.

Super Eagles Striker, Emmanuel Emenike Responds To Ritual Stories

Super Eagles Striker, Emmanuel Emenike responds to Ritual stories. Which he told AfricanFootball.com “What did they mean by ritual to lift a curse? I take exception of such reports. I am a Christian, a proud Catholic, I never believed in rituals, I never do it and I was not involved in such as they claim,” “Strikers always have off and on periods when it comes to goal scoring. I have had mine, it is in the past. I have returned to my best and nobody can stop me.

“I don’t believe in juju or whatever name they call it, my rosary is my companion and my parents never taught me to be fetish. My almighty God will do what those people behind such fake claim about me deserve.”

“Since I was born, I have never had such experience and as a matter of fact, I never believe anybody can harm me. I grew up to believe in my name, I found the meaning of my name and I know God is with me, so whoever came up with such news will end up regretting it because I don’t know anything about it.

“When I was not scoring goals, I was criticized, now I have started scoring, they came up with rituals wahala.

“I think it’s another way of distraction, I’m not ready for that trash.”