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Chelsea Record £145.6m Loss Despite Champions League Success

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European champions Chelsea announced Thursday an annual loss of £145.6 million ($196.7 million, 173.5 million euros) for the year to June 30 2021 despite their Champions League triumph.

The London club were crowned kings of Europe in May following a 1-0 win over English rivals Manchester City in the Champions League final in Porto.

But while their turnover rose from £387.8 million to £416.8 million thanks to an increase in broadcasting revenue, Chelsea said they still made a loss after playing games with no crowds because of Covid-19, with a reduction in profits on player sales also damaging their balance sheet.

Chelsea continue to be backed financially by Fordstam Limited, a company controlled by club owner Roman Abramovich, with their accounts saying “the company is reliant on Fordstam Limited for its continued financial support”.

The Blues added that under a “severe but plausible downside scenario of football being played behind closed doors in December 2021 and January 2022” it would be reliant on additional funding from Chelsea FC PLC, with further funds needed if the financial impact of Covid-19 were even more severe.

Chelsea said Thursday they have signed three players for a total of £109.7m — striker Romelu Lukaku, goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli and midfielder Saul Niguez, on loan from Atletico Madrid, since June 30.

In the same period, Chelsea added they had sold 13 players for a combined £103.7m. They could also receive a further £16.4m if outstanding clauses in previous transfers are all met.

Russian billionaire Abramovich purchased Chelsea in 2003 and has overseen the most successful era in the history of the club, including five English titles and two Champions League crowns, with the Blues completing a league and FA Cup double in 2009/10.

AFP

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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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AFCON: Victor Osimhen Now Cleared To Join The Other Super Eagles Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Game

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Good News has it that Victor Osimhen has finally joined the Super Eagles Nigeria team in Bouake, Ivory Coast.

He has been given the clear from the medical team on the abdominal discomfort issue. Earlier it was reported that the player could not join the rest of the team who flew to Ivory Coast ahead of Tomorrow’s football match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

He’s fully fit and ready to play in the Semifinals against South Africa tomorrow.

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