Super Eagles’ Ahmed Musa Equals Zidane’s Record, Beats Lampard, Viera

Nigerian professional footballer, Ahmed Musa, has made history for himself after equalling France Zinedine Zidane’s most-capped player record.

Records have it that Zidane and German’s Jurgen Klinsmann, and England’s Tim Cahill are the only players to have recorded 108 national caps.

However, Super Eagles’ Musa become the most capped Nigerian player on Monday, March 27, 2023, after his appearance in the second leg of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Guinea-Bissau, Naija News understands.

The 30-year-old player has now surpassed the likes of Patrick Vieira who had 107 international caps for France and Frank Lampard’s 106 caps for the Three Lions of England.

Recall that the Nigerian national team defeated the Djurtus of Guinea-Bissau 1-0 at the Estadio 24 de Setembro yesterday.

Musa, who made his Eagles debut in 2010, was also part of the 2013 Nations Cup-winning side. Last evening match recorded Musa’s 108 caps, setting a new record for Nigeria.

Naija News understands that since his debut, the Nigerian forward has scored 16 goals for the national team. He is Nigeria’s highest scorer in the World Cup with four goals.

He also has 92 club goals and 65 assists.

Chelsea Lost £121 Million In 2021/2022 Season – Club Report

Meanwhile, Chelsea lost a whopping £121 million during the 2021-2022 season according to the club’s financial report released on Monday.

In the report, the club blamed the restriction placed on the club and its former owner Roman Abramovich as some of the factors that led to the loss.

Naija News recalls that during the 2021-2022 season, Chelsea was banned from selling players, matchday tickets, and merchandise due to Abramovich’s connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin who ordered the invasion of Ukraine.

The restrictions were lifted after the Russian billionaire put up the club for sale. Todd Boehly and his consortium bought the club in May 2022.

Chelsea claimed that despite the fines, income increased to £481.3 million from £434.9 million the year before. Commercial income increased to £177.1 million.

The losses were attributed to higher operating expenses, which included matchday and non-matchday costs.

During the period under review, Chelsea spent £118 million on the squad. While the club made a profit of £123 million after selling Tammy Abraham, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori, and Kurt Zouma.

The £600 million in player signings Chelsea made in the summer of 2022 and the first month of 2023 are not included in the financial figures.

The club asserted that despite the losses and the impact of the fines from the government, they were still by UEFA and Premier League financial rules.

“Despite the loss in the year and the operating challenges due to the sanctions, the club continues to comply with UEFA and Premier League financial regulations,” the club said.