8, July 2022
Football: Pogba heading to Turin before Juventus return 0
Paul Pogba is travelling to Turin on Friday ahead of the France midfielder’s return as a free agent to Juventus, the Serie A club where he made his name.
The 29-year-old all-but announced his comeback on Friday when he posted on social media a video filmed on the airplane taking him to Italy from Miami, in which he said “see you soon” in Italian while wearing clothes in Juve’s colours of black and white.
Italian media report that he is expected to arrive in Turin at 1600 local time (1400 GMT).
World Cup winner Pogba is set to sign a deal which will earn him a reported eight million euros ($8.12 million) a season plus a potential further two million in bonuses.
He will rejoin Juve after his contract with Manchester United expired at the end of last month, marking the end of a largely disappointing six years in England.
Dysfunctional United are further away from the top of English football than they were when he joined, having not won a Premier League title in nine years.
The 2017 Europa League and the same season’s League Cup is a poor haul for Pogba at one of the world’s biggest clubs, especially as they both came under Jose Mourinho when he said he suffered from depression.
Pogba is expected to inherit the number 10 jersey left vacant by Paulo Dybala, who could join Juve’s fiercest rivals Inter Milan after the Argentina forward was let go by the Turin giants.
Pogba had worn that jersey in his final season at Juve before joining United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of £89 million, joining a list of iconic playmakers like Roberto Baggio, Alessandro del Piero, Michele Platini and Liam Brady to wear the shirt.
He had moved to Juve from United four years previously while still a teenager and made a huge impression in a slick midfield featuring the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Arturo Vidal.
Pogba blossomed under coach Massimiliano Allegri when he replaced Antonio Conte in 2014, and drove a powerful team to the following year’s Champions league final, losing to Barcelona.
He won the Serie A title in each of his four seasons at the Old Lady of Italian football and retained affection for Juve, being linked with a return to the club on several occasions during his time at United.
Allegri will be hoping that Pogba can help Juve return to their former glories after a tricky campaign left them fourth, some 16 points behind champions AC Milan.
Juve are also set to complete the signing of Argentina winger Angel Di Maria after he was released by Paris Saint-Germain.
Source: AFP
16, July 2022
Cameroonian basketball star granted French citizenship 0
Cameroonian basketball star Joel Embiid has been granted citizenship by France, clearing the path for him to play internationally for the Europeans.
The Philadelphia 76ers centre, who rejected a call-up to represent Cameroon at the 2017 AfroBasket championship, first opened the door to a nationality switch between 2016 and 2018.
The 28-year-old has had his naturalisation approved by the French government two months after the general manager of France’s national team, Boris Diaw, revealed Embiid had commenced his bid to obtain citizenship.
He benefited from a proposal by the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to allow citizenship to be conferred on any French-speaking alien who “contributes by his eminent deeds to the influence of France”.
Recovering from thumb, finger and facial injuries after helping the Sixers to the NBA Eastern Conference play-off semi-finals, Embiid – who has no direct relationship with France – will be hoping to represent Les Bleus at the 2023 World Cup and Paris 2024 Olympics.
Embiid has never played in an official competition for Cameroon, making him eligible for another country, and the rules of basketball’s world governing body Fiba allow each team to have one naturalised player in its squad.
France’s gain is Cameroon’s loss
Born in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde in 1994, Embiid spent his childhood in the Central African nation before moving to the United States with his family aged 15.
Yet the Sixers star has always had a special bond with France, where he spent holidays as a child and where he still has relatives living.
Embiid said he was “a fan of France in general” and willing to spend more time there in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe in 2018.
He held discussions with the French Basketball Federation four years ago, but gave up the idea of switching nationality to focus on his NBA career.
However, he and his camp revived the conversation with France earlier this year.
Cameroon’s basketball body, Fecabasket, told BBC Sport Africa back in May it would like Embiid to play for them, but admitted it could not prevent him appearing for France if Fiba regulations allow him to.
Embiid’s arrival would be a massive asset for the French team, who took bronze at the past two World Cups and silver at the Tokyo Olympics last year.
He has just had his best season in the NBA – becoming the first non-American to finish as best points scorer with an average of 30.6 points per game.
Embiid also ended the campaign on the MVP podium for the second year in a row, ultimately beaten to the top prize by Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic.
Source: BBC