Sports

Liverpool Glory Would Boost Salah’s Ballon d’Or Chances – Slot

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1 year ago

February 26, 2025

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Arne Slot says Mohamed Salah will have a “far better chance” of winning the Ballon d’Or if runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool win silverware this season.

The Egyptian superstar, 32, is the favourite to win the award, regarded as the top individual prize in football, after a sensational campaign so far.

Salah, who is yet to sign a new deal to keep him at Anfield beyond the end of this season, has scored 30 goals and provided 21 assists in all competitions during the current campaign.

But Liverpool manager Slot said Tuesday that despite those stellar numbers, the club need to win major trophies to help their forward win his first Ballon d’Or.

“It’s a good thing that Mo is in the discussion because it means he does well and it means we are doing well,” the Dutchman said on Tuesday.

Liverpool’s Egyptian striker #11 Mohamed Salah (R) shoots past Manchester City’s Croatian defender #24 Josko Gvardiol but has his shot saved during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on February 23, 2025. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

“But for him to stay in that discussion, he should bring in the same performances as he’s done for seven or eight months now.

“And I think, in general, someone that wins the Ballon d’Or needs to win something as well, so it’s a great challenge that is in front of us, but also in front of him.”

Liverpool, who host Newcastle on Wednesday, are 11 points clear of second-placed Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with 11 games to go but Slot said he does not fear complacency.

“We all know these players are so long in this competition, even much longer than me, so they know how difficult every single game is, and if you have to play 11, it’s still a long way to go,” he said.

Liverpool’s Dutch manager Arne Slot celebrates at the end of the English Premier League football match between Aston Villa and Liverpool at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England on February 19, 2025. Aston Villa and Liverpool equalised 2 – 2. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Liverpool are also in the final of the League Cup, where they will face Newcastle again, and will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Slot was asked at his pre-match press conference whether Salah’s current form could be compared with that of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at their peak but he shied away from direct comparisons.

“He (Salah) has had some outstanding seasons here at Liverpool, and we hope he can continue this for a longer period of time, but to do that he first has to extend his contract of course,” he said.

The Liverpool boss was also asked whether Salah’s red-hot form would make it easier or more difficult for the club to agree a new deal.

“You can look at it in both ways,” he said. “You can say the better he does, the more expensive he might become, and if he does really worse, we would have second thoughts if we wanted to extend his contract.

“So I think for everyone it’s the best that he brings in the performances he does now. Maybe only for the one that has to pay him it’s not the best, but for everyone else it’s the best.”

International News

Barcelona Seals New Deal With Head Coach Flick

Published

18 hours ago

May 18, 2026

thecolumnng

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Barcelona completes contract renewal with head coach Hansi Flick, per official announcement.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Flick’s new contract with Barcelona runs until June 2028, with an option to extend until June 2029, meaning the coach could stay for three more seasons.

In his first season in charge, Flick led the team to a domestic treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

This season, Barcelona won the Spanish Super Cup again and retained the La Liga title, bringing his total to five trophies in two seasons.

Entertainment

Erling Haaland Makes Acting Debut In Animated Film

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18 hours ago

May 18, 2026

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Erling Haaland will follow in the footsteps of David Beckham and Vinnie Jones by taking his first steps into the acting world, with the Norwegian striker set to make his film debut.

The Manchester City striker will voice a character described as ‘an animated version of himself’, in the upcoming animated film Viqueens.

This is according to the Hollywood Reporter, who say that the 25-year-old is playing a Viking called Haaland in the motion picture.

The adventure-comedy is directed and co-written by the award-winning Harald Zwart, the Norwegian director known for The Karate Kid and Agent Cody Banks.

‘As a Norwegian storyteller making a Viking adventure for a global audience, having Erling Haaland join feels incredibly exciting,’ said Zwart.

‘Erling has already become a kind of real-life Viking icon around the world – powerful, fearless and uniquely Norwegian.

‘Bringing him into this universe as himself gives the film an unexpected energy and authenticity that felt completely right for this story.’

Solveig Langeland, managing director of Sola Media, added: ‘Erling Haaland transcends sports – he’s a global cultural figure.

‘His involvement brings another exciting dimension to a film that already combines international adventure, humour, and emotional storytelling in a way we believe will resonate with audiences everywhere.’

He follows the likes of Beckham and Jones, who have already hit the cinema screens around the country.

Beckham made his silver screen debut in his pal Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur back in 2017 alongside film stars Charlie Hunnam and Eric Bana, playing hardened battleguard Trigger in the flick.

Meanwhile, Jones is known for portraying gangsters on screen, and as recently as 2024 played gamekeeper Geoff in Ritchie’s series The Gentlemen, featuring Theo James.

He famously also played Coach Dinklage in She’s the Man, and was The Juggernaut in X-Men: The Last Stand.

Haaland may need a while before he becomes the big actor that Jones has become, though, with plenty of years on the pitch still ahead of him.

The striker’s focus will currently be on winning the Premier League with Manchester City, as they look to hunt down Arsenal, who are two points ahead at the top, with two games to go.

Haaland will next be in action on Tuesday night as they travel to Bournemouth.

International News

Iran squad travel to Turkey for friendlies, US visas

Published

20 hours ago

May 18, 2026

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Iran’s national football team was headed to Turkey on Monday to play a final friendly match and apply for visas to fly to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, Iranian media reported.

The team plan to participate in the tournament despite co-host Washington having launched a war against Iran with a massive wave of attacks alongside ally Israel on February 28.

The fighting has been on hold for weeks thanks to a ceasefire, but peace talks have failed to make a breakthrough and new drone attacks against Gulf countries at the weekend combined with threats from US President Donald Trump raising fears of a return to fighting.

The team “departed this morning for Antalya, Turkey to play its final friendly match before flying to the United States for the 2026 World Cup,” the Tasnim news agency reported.

It said the squad consisted of 22 domestic-based players alongside their coaching staff.

On Saturday, head coach Amir Ghalenoei said they would also be completing visa applications for the US while in Turkey.

– ‘Let ’em play’ –

Iran secured their spot at the World Cup in March 2025, but since then the United States has twice launched attacks on the country.

US officials have insisted that Iran is welcome at the tournament, while organiser FIFA has said it will go ahead as planned and rejected Iranian suggestions that their games be moved to co-hosts Mexico or Canada.

“I think let ’em play,” Trump said in late April.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with Iranian players but “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them”, suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington has branded a terrorist organisation.

Last month, officials from Iran’s football federation abandoned a trip to the FIFA congress in Canada, saying they had been “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.

One of their delegation, Mehdi Taj, is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards, which Canada has also designated a terror group.

The Iranian football team hope to play two friendlies in Antalya.

They have already confirmed one match, against The Gambia, on May 29, said Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who heads a company that sets up friendlies for the team.

“No visas have been issued yet,” Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, told Iranian media on Thursday.

On Saturday, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom held a meeting in Turkey with the federation, describing it as constructive, as did Taj.

When the squad reaches the United States, Iran will set up their base camp in Tucson, Arizona.

The team, who are in Group G, are due to kick off their campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June, before facing Belgium in the same city and then Egypt in Seattle.

AFP