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Victor Osimhen crowned African Footballer of the Year

'It's a dream come true for me. I want to thank everyone who has seen me through life's journey,' says Napoli player

Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen won the men's African Footballer of the Year award on Monday.

"It's a dream come true for me. I want to thank everyone who has seen me through life's journey, in achieving my dreams, in achieving my goals," Osimhen said at the ceremony, which was held at the Palais des Congres in Marrakech, Morocco.

"The Nigerian Prince becomes King! Victor Osimhen is the 2023 Men's Player of the Year!" the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on X.

Osimhen, 24, helped Napoli bag their first league title in 33 years, scoring 26 Serie A goals in 2022-23.

Barcelona's Nigerian player Asisat Oshoala was named CAF's Women's Player of the Year.

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Lionel Messi claims Saudi Pro League isn't yet an 'important' competition in subtle dig at Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi has lifted the lid on the options he had before joining Inter Miami, including a sensational move to the Saudi Pro League.

Messi left Paris Saint-Germain in the summer to sign for David Beckham's Inter Miami over the summer where he helped inspired them to their first ever piece of silverware.

The recently crowned eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had plenty of options on the table before choosing the MLS, though.

Speaking in an interview with TIME, Messi revealed he considered returning to his former club Barcelona, as well as joining long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League

However, the World Cup winner claimed that the division isn't yet "an important league," but had the "power" to become one "in the near future".

“The truth is that fortunately, I had several options on the table that were interesting, and I had to analyse them and think, even weigh them up with my family, before making the final decision to come to Miami,” Messi said.

“My first option was to return to Barcelona, but it was not possible,” Messi says. “I tried to return, and it did not happen.” Saudi Arabia, indeed, was very much in the mix.

“It is also true that later I was thinking a lot about going to the Saudi league, where I know the country and they have created a very powerful competition that can become an important league in the near future,” Messi says.

“As the country’s tourism ambassador, it was a destination that attracted me, especially because I’ve enjoyed everything I have visited, because of how football is growing in the country and because of the effort they are putting into creating a top competition.”

Messi also named the MLS as a "minor league" in a recent interview.

His comments follow that of Ronaldo in July, when he claimed that that the Saudi Pro League is "better" than the MLS and would soon surpass the Turkish Super Lig and Eredivisie

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Guardiola: ‘We are going to win the Premier League’

Pep Guardiola has said he is confident that Manchester City ‘are going to win the Premier League’ this season.

The champions have dropped to third in the table after three consecutive Premier League draws, having conceded a last-minute equaliser against Tottenham on Sunday. The Citizens travel to take on an in-form Aston Villa team on Wednesday evening, looking to improve their title credentials.

City have won five of the past six titles and are targeting an unprecedented four-in-a-row in England’s top division this season.

Despite their recent dropped points, Guardiola has backed his players to end the season as champions again.

“I never use these situations – the motivation is just to try to do better, that is it,” Guardiola said at his pre-game press conference, when asked if recent results were added motivation for his team.

“I have learned that if you want to win something, you have to do it much better than your opponents. When you are level, that is not always going to happen (winning) so you have to do it much, much better – and this is what they have to do.

“My feeling today is we are going to win the Premier League – if we play at the levels we did against Liverpool and Tottenham, we are going to win it again.

“People don’t believe it after three draws but we are going to do it again. We know that it is not easy [winning four Premier League titles in a row], no team has done it yet, and that is why the difficulty is there. But if you ask what I’m feeling, I want to do it again

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Osimhen wins Serie A Player of Year Award

NAPOLI 's striker, Victor Osimhen, won the Best Player for the 2022/23 Serie A season award at the Gran Gala Del Calcio held in Milan on Monday night.

The 24-year-old Nigerian striker was presented with the award for Best Player of the season by the Italian Footballers' Association (AIC) after his contribution saw Napoli win the Italian League last summer.

Recall that controversy was sparked when the player was not named Serie A MVP for the 2022/23 season as it was instead given to his Napoli teammate Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, while he won the Striker of the Year award.

Osimhen has rightfully won the award this time as presented by the Italian Footballers Association, AIC, after finishing the 2022/23 season as the top scorer in Serie A with 26 goals, becoming the first-ever African Capocannoniere.

Meanwhile, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was named Serie A MVP for the 2022/23 season, did not leave the event empty-handed as he also won the 2022/23 Goal of the Season Award for his run and finish against Atalanta.