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Captains Messi, Ramos gear up for their 39th El Clasico

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In the history of this rivalry, only three players have taken part in more El Clasico match-ups than these two superstars.

Barcelona and Real Madrid captains Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos will shake hands on Sunday at the Camp Nou ahead of their 39th El Clasico appearances.

Looking at the all-time appearances list for this historic fixture, only Manuel Sanchís (with 43), Francisco Gento (42) and Xavi Hernandez (42) have taken part in more competitive El Clasico than their 38.

Funnily enough, both players made their bow in this historic rivalry on November 19th, 2005 when the Blaugrana romped to a famous 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu.

For Messi it was a day to remember; the then-18-year-old assisted Samuel Eto’o’s opener after 15 minutes. From there, he hasn’t looked back and has come up with 26 El Clasico goals of his own, a record in the history of the fixture. Barça’s number 10 has been on the winning side 17 times, losing on 12 occasions and drawing nine.

Ramos, despite being on the losing side that night in 2005, has enjoyed plenty of El Clasico success himself. The defender had already taken on Barcelona twice with Sevilla before securing a big-money transfer to the capital – both losses, 2-0 and 4-0 – but it took until 2006 for his first taste of El Clasico victory, a 2-0 home win in which he assisted Raul for the opener.

He’s now racked up 13 wins in this fixture in total, while drawing eight times and losing 17 times. Despite being a centre-back, he has four goals to his name, most recently netting a last-minute equaliser in the 2016/17 league match at the Camp Nou.

Looking further down the appearances list, Barcelona have two other players in the squad with at least 30 El Clasico outings to their name: Sergio Busquets with 33 and Gerard Piqué with 30. Following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid no longer have any others with 30 or more appearances under their belt, although Karim Benzema (28) and Marcelo (27) are closing fast.

Both coaches experienced this fixture during their playing days as well, even if neither Ernesto Valverde nor Julen Lopetegui ever actually made a single appearance. Lopetegui was at Real Madrid between 1988 and 1991 and at Barcelona between 1994 and 1997, while Valverde was at the Camp Nou from 1988 and 1990. However, both players only ever made the bench, which is where they’ll be watching this weekend’s fixture from.

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Sports

QNET and Man City Mark 10th Anniversary of their Partnership

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QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary ---
QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary (Photo: Techeconomy)

Man City counts 28 trophies in the last 10 yearsQNET,  an Asian direct selling giant and Manchester City, a top Football club in and outside England, are celebrating 10 years of partnership with great results. 

The anniversary was part of the 26th V-Malaysia Conference (VCON) at Penang in Malaysia.

The long-standing partnership will see QNET continue as Official Direct Selling Partner for City’s men’s and women’s teams, according to Techeconomy report.

This partnership marked a significant milestone in May 2018 when City welcomed QNET as the first sleeve partner in the Women’s Super League.

QNET and Manchester City 10th year anniversary
QNET and Manchester City celebrating 10 years of partnership

Throughout the next phase of this partnership QNET will continue to provide City-led football clinics to communities around the world, as well as engaging with consumers and distributors through this relationship with City. 

In a message to the leaders of QNET and the 8,000 VCON participants from over 30 countries, Ferran Soriano, the chief executive officer of Manchester City FC, said they are pleased to achieve great milestones that would not have been possible without the support and the commitment of everybody at QNET, “and every single one of you. I do remember back in 2014 when I met the leadership of QNET for the first time, and we discussed our plans, our ambitions, and we promised a lot. 

“We promised that Manchester City would be a great football team, and that they would play beautiful football. Now, 10 years since then, we hold 28 trophies. I have to be honest and say that when we promised we were going to do well, we didn’t think we were going to win 28 trophies.

“We’re excited now we’re starting a new season, and guess what? We want to win again, and if we do, it would be another record. Maybe we can win the fifth Premier League in a row. Obviously, something that hasn’t happened before. I can promise that we will fight for all the trophies like you fight for all your objectives. Manchester City and QNET have the incredible power to engage people from every country, create a sense of community and empower individuals and teams to achieve their aspirations”. 

He promised Manchester City’s support to the QNET brand to achieve even more successes in the coming years. 

Trevor Kuna, the CEO of QNET said that the partnership with Manchester City has made positive impacts on the business.

QNET’s grass-roots business model enables ordinary people from all walks of life to start their own business with minimal overhead. 

With hard work and dedication, QNET distributors, known as Independent Representatives (IRs) have the opportunity to become economically self-sufficient, raising the standard of life for their families and communities.

QNET is driven by two important philosophies: ​RYTHM (Raise Yourself to Help Mankind) and InService.

Meanwhile, the highlight of the QNET and Manchester City celebration was the presentation of a 10-year partnership anniversary plaque by John Kirton, senior partnership marketing manager, Manchester City Football Club to the QNET team. 

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Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape

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Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.

The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.

In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.

Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.

Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.

Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.

The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.

Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.

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Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation

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Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.

This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.

In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!

“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”

Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.

Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.

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