Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been voted the Premier League’s Player of the Season.

De Bruyne has enjoyed his most productive Premier League campaign, scoring 15 goals and providing seven assists.

The Belgian previously won the accolade in 2020, while Mohamad Salah claimed it in 2018.

It is the third successive season that a City player has received the prize after defender Ruben Dias claimed the award 12 months ago.

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has been voted the Premier League’s Player of the Season.

De Bruyne has enjoyed his most productive Premier League campaign, scoring 15 goals and providing seven assists.

The Belgian previously won the accolade in 2020, while Mohamad Salah claimed it in 2018.

It is the third successive season that a City player has received the prize after defender Ruben Dias claimed the award 12 months ago.

Mohamed Salah and Heung-Min Son were on the eight-man shortlist with both players still in contention for the Golden Boot, with the Liverpool forward one goal ahead of Tottenham’s South Korean.

Full-backs Joao Cancelo and Trent Alexander-Arnold also represented the title-tussling titans, with Jarrod Bowen, Bukayo Saka and James Ward-Prowse completing the star-studded list of nominees.

The winner was based on votes from the public on the Premier League website, combined with those of the 20 Premier League club captains and a panel of football experts.

De Bruyne’s four-goal haul to overwhelm Wolves earlier this month might have swung the balance in his favour.

The expected-goals total for City’s seven shots in the first half at Molineux was just 0.52 – in other words, attempts from those positions would usually yield one goal every other game. De Bruyne scored three inside 24 minutes.

Speaking after the game, Guardiola said, “Kevin always had the ability to create the special things.

“Always we push him to say he is an incredible player, generous with assists, but he has to score goals and this season is the most prolific he has had since we are together.

“We spoke to him about running into the box and being closer to the box and this season he has done it better and better.”

RS Berkane are the champions of the 2021-22  CAF Confederation Cup after seeing off Orlando Pirates 5-4 on post-match penalties in the final played at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria.

The game was forced into penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation plus extra time, and it was the Moroccans who had the penalty luck over their South African counterparts.

Pirates forward Thembinkosi Lorch suffered the extremes of two emotions, scoring a 117th minute equalizer, and then stepping up to see his penalty saved in the shootout.

He was the only one who missed on Pirates’ side while Berkane converted all their five kicks through Hamza El Moussaoui, Youssef Zghoudi, Ismail Mokadem, Issoufou Dayo and Brahim El Bahraoui who scored the winner.

Happy Jele scored the first for Pirates before Lorch, who was also named man of the match, missed the second. Tshegofatso Mabasa, Thabang Monare and goalkeeper Richard Ofori scored the subsequent three, but Berkane didn’t miss any and took the honors.

The game was forced into penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time, where Pirates dominated and had most of the scoring opportunities. The game stood goalless after 90 minutes, forcing it into an extra 30.

Seven minutes into the first period of added time, Berkane who hadn’t created much all game had their best chance to score, and they took it.

Referee Janny Sikazwe visited the pitch-side monitor to check on a foul by substitute Monare on Mokadem from a corner and the Pirates man was adjudged to have swept down Mokadem inside the box.

Youssef El Fahli stepped forward and with ice cold feet sent Ofori the wrong way to net his fifth goal of the campaign.

Pirates fought to get themselves back into contention and piled in the pressure. They were rewarded for their hunger three minutes to the end through a bizarre goal by Lorch.

The Pirates forward had intended to play a pass inside the box as they pushed Berkane into their own area. However, his intended pass was missed by everyone and trickled into the bottom right of Akbi Hamiani’s goal.

In regulation time, Pirates had the chances and should have wrapped up the game early were they clinical enough.

As early as the third minute of the game, they had a glorious opportunity when Goodman Mosele sent Dean Hotto through on goal with a peach of a through pass, but the winger couldn’t get a strong curl on the ball with space ahead of him.

Mosele created another chance in the 18th minute when he whipped a cross from the right, but skipper Happy Jele’s header looped just over the target.

Their top scorer Bandile Shandu then forced Berkane keeper Hamiani to a neat save in the 33rd minute, his low sweep from the edge of the box being palmed away by a strong right hand from the shot stopper.

In the second half, Berkane somehow upped their attacking game but couldn’t thread in the shots at goal, Ofori not being busy for most of the game.

With no goals in regular time, the game had to go to an extra 30. It ended 1-1, and the winner was decided from 12 yards out.

Forward Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Manchester United’s final game of the season away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday due to a hip injury, British media reported on Saturday.

The club refused to comment when contacted by Reuters.

Ronaldo, who missed matches in January and March with hip flexor trouble, is United’s top scorer this season with 24 goals in all competitions.

United are sixth in the league on 58 points, two points above seventh-placed West Ham United, and they need a win at Selhurst Park to be certain of securing a place in next season’s Europa League.

Sunday’s game will be Ralf Rangnick’s last as the interim manager, with Erik ten Hag set to be the permanent manager from next season.

World football governing body officially clocks 118 this Saturday May 21 having been founded in Paris on this date in 1904. According to a media release by FIFA, it will on 16 June make a major and highly anticipated announcement related to the staging of the FIFA World Cup 2026 across Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Twenty-two candidare host cities are currently vying for the right to stage matches for the 48-team tournament hosted by three nations – both firsts for a FIFA World Cup. The current candidate host cities are: Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Denver, Edmonton, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Monterrey, Nashville, New York/New Jersey, Orlando, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC/Baltimore.

 “In line with the previous stages of the FIFA World Cup 2026 selection process, any announcement will be made in the best interests of football, taking into consideration the needs of all stakeholders involved, as we aim to lay the foundations for the tournament to be delivered successfully across all three countries,” said FIFA Vice-President and Concacaf President Victor Montagliani.

“We can only reiterate our appreciation to all the cities and the three member associations for their efforts and dedication to this process.”

While stadiums represent an essential element of the selection process, FIFA is considering the overarching proposals presented by each candidate host city, which are broader in nature and also include ancillary events and venues, and key aspects such as sustainability, human rights, legacy, general infrastructure and financial impact.

“During the past months we have had open exchanges with the candidate host cities on a number of different topics. We are very thankful and impressed by how dedicated and innovative they all are,” said FIFA’s Chief Tournaments & Events Officer, Colin Smith.

“The host cities will be absolutely key to ensuring the successful delivery of the competition. We look forward to working with them to deliver what will undoubtably be the largest FIFA World Cup in history.”

Additional details on the announcement on 16 June, including the live stream and media arrangements, will follow in due course.

he Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare will host members of the victorious Flying Eagles squad to the WAFU U20 Tournament and the all conquering Scrabble Team to the West African championships in Abuja on Monday.

The Flying Eagles beat Benin Republic 3-1 in Friday’s final of the WAFU U20 tournament in Niamey, Niger Republic while the Nigeria Scrabble team swept the stakes at the West African championships in Accra, Ghana.

The Minister spoke to both teams immediately after their resounding successes in Niamey and Accra, commending them for doing the nation proud.

In Accra, Nigeria’s Eta Karo emerged the Championships’ Most Valuable Player(MVP) as the Nigerian team won the top nine places, emerging the best country in the competition.

Three Glasgow Rangers players,  among them, Nigeria’s Calvin Bassey as well as Ryan Kent and James Tavernier- have been named in Uefa’s Europa League team of the year.

But Eintracht Frankfurt have four after Wednesday’ penalty shootout wins over the Glasgow side in Seville.

Kevin Trapp, whose spot-kick save from Aaron Ramsey proved crucial, is named along with Rafael Santos Borre, whose goal cancelled out Joe Aribo’s opener.

Centre-half Martin Hinteregger and midfielder Filip Kostic are included.

Although midfielder Aribo does not make Uefa’s selection, Bassey and captain Tavernier, who was the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals, are in defence with Ryan Kent on the wing.

David Moyes’ West Ham United, who lost to Eintracht in the semi-final, have two of their players included – defender Craig Dawson and midfielder Declan Rice.

The other players involved are Leipzig pair Konrad Laimer and Christopher Nkunku.

Players will not receive ranking points at Wimbledon following the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian competitors from the tournament.

Players from the countries have been banned by the All England Lawn Tennis Club from all UK grass-court events after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

However, events outside Wimbledon, such as Queen’s and Eastbourne, will retain their ranking points 

“It is with great regret and reluctance that we see no option,” said the ATP.

The WTA said it was a “difficult decision”.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) will not grant ranking points in the junior and wheelchair events at Wimbledon, which starts on 27 June.

“The stance we are taking is about protecting the equal opportunities that WTA players should have to compete as individuals,” added the WTA, the women’s governing body.

“If we do not take this stance, then we abandon our fundamental principle and allow the WTA to become an example to support discrimination based on nationality at other events and in other regions around the world.”

In a statement, the All England Lawn Tennis Club expressed its “deep disappointment” and said it was considering its options.

It added: “We believe these decisions to be disproportionate in the context of the exceptional and extreme circumstances of this situation and the position we found ourselves in.

“We remain unwilling to accept success or participation at Wimbledon being used to benefit the propaganda machine of the Russian regime, which, through its closely controlled state media, has an acknowledged history of using sporting success to support a triumphant narrative to the Russian people.”

The ATP decision means Serbia’s Novak Djokovic – the defending men’s champion – is set to lose his status as the world number one.

Djokovic, a six-time champion at the All England Club, will be unable to retain the 2,000 ranking points he earned by winning the title last year and is only 680 ahead of nearest rival Daniil Medvedev.

Speaking before the announcement, Djokovic said he had “nothing more to add” on the matter until it had been confirmed.

Announcing the move, the ATP said: “Unilateral decisions of this nature [by Wimbledon], if unaddressed, set a damaging precedent for the rest of the tour.

“Discrimination by individual tournaments is simply not viable on a tour that operates in more than 30 countries.”

It added: “We remain hopeful of further discussions with Wimbledon leading to an acceptable outcome for all concerned.”

UK Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries wrote to ATP and WTA bosses earlier this week urging them not to “penalise the AELTC” and said it would send a “completely wrong message to both Putin and the people of Ukraine

Shortly before the decision was announced on Friday, British men’s number two Dan Evans told the BBC he did not agree with ranking points being stripped.

“If we’re sticking it solely on tennis and not politics there should be points for Wimbledon,” he said in a pre-tournament interview at the French Open.

The men’s ATP events include Queen’s and Eastbourne in the build-up to Wimbledon, and there are three WTA tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham and Eastbourne.

Ranking points are used to decide where a player is seeded and whether or not they can gain direct entry into a tournament.

Wimbledon bosses consulted with UK government  before announcing the decision to ban players.

The Lawn Tennis Association then joined Wimbledon in barring players from domestic tournaments – but the stance has been criticised by a number of players.

Russian world number two Medvedev, also speaking at Roland Garros, said there were “a lot of mistakes” behind the decision.

The US Open champion added he would accept the decision and had not considered taking legal action to reverse it.

Players from both countries have been allowed to compete on the tennis tour, including at the upcoming French Open, but not under their national flags.

“We should be playing for ranking points at Wimbledon and it will be disappointing for me as a Brit if we’re not,” said Evans.

“I think the majority of the players think it is not ideal the other players can’t play but there should still be points at Wimbledon. In my opinion they are only trying to protect the Russian players by letting them play.

“There are a lot of other people losing out because of a very small minority of players who are missing the tournament.”

Russia was previously banned from defending its Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup team titles after the country’s invasion of Ukraine – a war supported by Belarus.

The ATP and the WTA have suspended their combined event scheduled to take place in Moscow in October.

The ITF has also cancelled its events in the country.

Two goals in three extra-time minutes by substitutes Ryan Jack and Scott Wright won Rangers the Scottish Cup against Hearts and eased the pain of their Europa League final defeat.

The Ibrox side claimed the trophy for the first time in 13 years after Jack crashed a shot in off the bar from the edge of the box, before Wright finished low past Craig Gordon.

Hearts stood strong in the 90 minutes but did not offer enough in attack, apart from Ellis Simms’ lunging effort off a post after only 10 minutes.

The Rangers end of Hampden celebrated joyfully at the full-time whistle, just three days after their Europa League journey ended in heartbreak on penalties against Eintracht Frankfurt in Seville.

Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst made five changes to his team after 120 minutes of energy-sapping football in Spain, and his side again defied suggestions of fatigue as the match wore on.

That was despite this being their 66th match of the season, and the fourth of their past 11 to go to extra time.

In fact, it was the Ibrox side who finished the stronger. Hearts goalkeeper Gordon pulled off a remarkable stop with his left foot to deny Joe Aribo in stoppage-time, before Wright headed on to the top of the bar with the last chance of normal time.

But Rangers carried the momentum straight into extra time, as Aribo headed over from point-blank range before Jack took the hardest chance of the afternoon by smashing in off the bar from 20 yards.

The west end of Hampden erupted, and it seemed to rattle Hearts, who stretched themselves immediately in pursuit of an equaliser only to be dealt a decisive blow on the break.

Rangers won the ball on the edge of their own box, and Ryan Kent went streaking up the pitch before playing in Wright, who kept his cool to fire low into the corner past Gordon.

That cushion allowed Van Bronckhorst to afford a late substitute appearance to 40-year-old goalkeeper Allan McGregor, whose Rangers contract is expiring, amid speculation that his glittering playing career might now be at an end.

Hearts could not test him as the final slipped away from them. The Tynecastle side were bright in the first half but fell deeper into their own territory after the break.

They will be left wondering what might had been had Simms turned in Liam Boyce’s cross from six yards early in the first half.

But it is Rangers who can celebrate ending an eventful season with a trophy, having lost out on the Premiership title and Europa League. While the pain of Seville will linger, a first domestic cup since 2011 is something to savour.

Man of the match – Calvin Bassey

What did we learn?

This was another monumental effort from Rangers. To go the full distance for the fourth time in 11 games and win is an incredible feat, particularly given how much mental and physical toll Wednesday night’s shootout defeat must have taken.

It felt like the last dance for much of this current group of Rangers players too, with McGregor, Steven Davis and Connor Goldson all out of contract and others likely to move on as well. With that in mind, it felt important to end with a trophy.

Last season’s unbeaten league campaign was so important to the club, but to let the title go so quickly was disappointing, and their record in domestic cups has been poor over the past few seasons. Defeat here would have left this group short of the medals they might have expected.

Instead, a trophy plus a memorable and unexpected run to a European final means those who do depart can go out on a high and with a medal around their neck before Van Bronckhorst looks forward to progressing what has been a good start at Ibrox.

As for Hearts, this is their third Scottish Cup final defeat in four seasons. The good news is they keep getting here, but they are yet to show the best of themselves, having lost twice to Celtic, and now to Rangers, in Scottish football’s showpiece.

Had Simms put his effort six inches to the right, they would have gone into the lead and who knows what would have happened, but the reality is they faded as an attacking force the longer the game went on.

Third place, guaranteed group-stage football in Europe, and a cup final is far from a poor season’s work though, particularly having been in the Championship a year ago.

Robbie Neilson’s side battled hard – John Souttar and Cammy Devlin were outstanding, as was Simms in the first period – but ultimately they were not quite good enough.

What did they say?

Rangers manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst on Premier Sports: “We worked so hard and came so far in Europe, and the cup. But in the end, you want to have something in your hands as a reward, and today we did.

“We worked really hard and I think we looked much stronger in extra time, and I think we deserved the win today. I’m very impressed and proud of them.”

Hearts manager Robbie Neilson: “Not winning it is a huge disappointment. We have to take that on the chin. We’ve come up from the Championship, finished third, secured group stage football, got to a final, we just couldn’t take that final wee step.

“We’ve had hard times over the last couple of years, but we’re getting there. We need to step forward and come here and win, get closer to the Old Firm, get into the Europa League, but we’re at the start of it now.”