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South Africa and Zimbabwe did not send full strength sides to the Africa Games and did not want their matches to have full international status

Firdose Moonda25-Mar-2024

An oversight in communication has resulted in some matches at the recently concluded Africa Games being given T20I status while others were not.The ICC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that fixtures involving South Africa’s men’s and women’s teams as well as Zimbabwe’s men’s team were not considered T20Is but games between the other six men’s teams and seven women’s teams were regarded as T20Is.Clarity over the official standing of the matches was required after Cricket South Africa wrote to the ICC over confusion around whether all the matches at the tournament were classified as internationals. In 2022, an ICC document titled “Classification of Official Cricket” recognised all T20 matches that are “played in accordance with the ICC Standard Men’s and Women’s Twenty20 International Playing Conditions and other ICC regulations pertaining to Twenty20 International Matches,” as internationals apart from matches involving A teams or age-group sides.With that in mind, South Africa opted to send an emerging women’s team and a university men’s team to the Africa Games, as they were unable to field full-strength sides due to player commitments elsewhere including at the IPL. Zimbabwe selected an under-25 men’s side but sent a first-choice women’s squad. They won gold in both events.The other participating countries, who are all Associate nations, sent their strongest available sides and understood themselves to be playing internationals, creating the confusion. It is not clear whether the onus lay with the African Games, the Africa Cricket Association (the continental body which successfully lobbied for cricket to be played at the Africa Games) or individual board to check on the status of the games or where the miscommunication occurred.However, when the uncertainty came to the attention of South Africa and Zimbabwe, who are both Full Members, they had queries over whether the results would impact their T20I rankings. South Africa also had a particular issue over one of their players: 16-year old wicketkeeper Karabo Meso, who played at the Africa Games and was then named in their senior squad to play Sri Lanka in a home series starting this week. CSA wanted to ensure that Meso, if capped, would get her debut with the full-strength national women’s team and not with an emerging side at the Africa Games which they did not consider a full international team.ESPNcricinfo understands that had the games been full internationals, South Africa would not have participated in the event.A separate concern was also raised about the infrastructure in Accra, especially for cricket. CSA was worried about the suitability of the venues and on the intervention of the Africa Cricket Association, a ground consultant from Zimbabwe traveled to Ghana to assist with readying the pitch and outfield.The cricket facilities were not the only ones which had questions over their readiness. The Africa Games were initially due to be held in August last year but postponed for seven months because not all facilities were completed in time. The event usually takes place every four years, in the year preceding an Olympic Games, and this was its 13th edition. This is the first time cricket has been played at the tournament.The Africa Games organisers were contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of writing.

Fresh off a title-winning summer with Netherlands U-19s, Kees Smit is now attracting interest from both Real Madrid and Barcelona.

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Smit confirms Real Madrid and Barcelona interestTeenager impressed at Under 19 competitionAZ aim to retain the midfielder amid rising attentionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

AZ midfielder Smit has confirmed to that both Real Madrid and Barcelona have shown interest in him following his standout performances for club and country. The 19-year-old scored two goals and provided an assist in a recent friendly against Almere City and admitted that he is motivated to prove himself in the upcoming season.

AdvertisementImagoTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Smit, who was part of the Netherlands’ U-19 European Championship-winning squad this summer, is currently under contract in Alkmaar until June 2028. Despite reported interest from La Liga giants, the midfielder insists he is focused on improving his Eredivisie output.

Smit has made 43 appearances across all competitions in the 2024-25 season, recording 10 goals and seven assists. He scored eight times in the Eerste Divisie, Dutch football's second tier, before breaking into the first team, where he featured 18 times. He also played in the Europa League and domestic cup fixtures.

WHAT SMIT SAID

Smit admits he hasn't shown enough in the Eredivisie yet and intends to do better, he said: "I think the potential is there, but in terms of goals and assists, it hasn't been great yet. I could have had a few. This year will be different, but I have to start playing."

Speaking on the interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, he added: "Those are great things. The two biggest clubs in the world, I think. I thought it was nice to see and read about.

"I just want to show here that I can do it. The interest from Barca and Real is nice, but of course, you don't know if I'll play. I'm not really distracted by it."

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR KEES SMIT?

AZ face Gent in their next pre-season fixture as Smit continues to fight for a regular starting role. The club remains focused on developing him internally, while interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona will likely be monitored over the next transfer windows. The player remains grounded, stating his desire to prove himself before considering a major move.

In-form Paige Scholfield adds half-century in hosts’ 107-run win over table-toppers

ECB Reporters Network10-Sep-2023

Alice Davidson-Richards celebrated her latest England call-up with a century as South-East Stars thrashed table toppers The Blaze by 107 runs at Beckenham to boost their prospects of a place in the end-of-season playoffs.The 29-year-old Kent batter, who will link up with England tomorrow in place of the ill Lauren Bell, struck 101 with a six and 11 fours in an innings of 128 balls.Davidson-Richards shared a stand of 119 for the fifth wicket with in-form Paige Scholfield as the hosts posted a daunting 278, Grace Ballinger returning 4 for 54 and Lucy Higham 2 for 32 for the visitors.Blaze, who dropped Davidson-Richards twice and Scholfield once in an uncharacteristically sloppy display in the field were no better bat in hand, Kirstie Gordon top scoring with 40 in an underwhelming reply of 171. Alexa Stonehouse’s opening spell of 1 for 4 put them on the back foot before Dani Gregory’s 3 for 32 cleaned up the tail.Ballinger ensured an explosive start to the encounter, trapping Jemima Spence lbw for a golden duck with her third delivery and when Kira Chathli inside edged one into her middle stump two balls later Stars were 1 for 2.Skipper Bryony Smith retaliated with a trio of boundaries off Cassidy McCarthy and Davidson-Richards caught the mood to cream one from Ballinger through the covers. Successive fours by Davidson-Richards off spinner Kirstie Gordon raised the 50 partnership in 42 balls, but Ballinger concluded her initial spell by removing Smith for 34.Davidson-Richards drilled the game’s first six over bowler Gordon’s head, before being given a life on 32, the spinner failing to hold on to a tough caught and bowled. She would make the most of the reprieve, her seventh four carrying her to 50 in 61 balls.Scholfield was also given an early reprieve, Ella Claridge shelling a routine catch at midwicket and the South African-born all-rounder’s response was to unfurl a series of cover drives as she sped to 50 from 55 balls.The pair raised the 100-stand and were sitting pretty at 180 for 4 at the second drinks interval. Scholfield departed soon afterwards and while Davidson-Richards reached her century, she was stumped almost immediately. However, a huge six from Stonehouse and a polished 33 from Bethan Miles meant stars had 278 to defend.Lizelle Lee soon showed her power, pulling one from Ryana Macdonald-Gay for six, but the bowler gained revenge when the former South African opener drilled a fuller ball straight to Scholfield at cover.Stonehouse was bowling superbly from the other end, yet ironically her worst ball got a wicket, Georgie Boyce tickling one down leg-side through to Chathli and when Macdonald-Gay flattened Teresa Graves’s off-stump with the first ball of the next over The Blaze were 41 for 3.As the clouds rolled in and the rate required rose, the expected onslaught from a team who’d won seven out of eight completed games never materialised. Miles, inspired by her batting cameo bowled Michaela Kirk for a painstaking seven and Munro was caught short in her bid to scamper back for two by Chloe Hill’s throw.Claridge chewed up 50 balls for 33 before falling lbw to Smith’s first delivery and only Gordon’s late resistance gave the score a more respectable look.

The hosts will be looking to pick themselves up after the shocks they suffered at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe

Karthik Krishnaswamy26-Jul-20233:53

Samson or Kishan? Jadeja or Axar? Kuldeep or Chahal?

Big pictureIndia are gearing up for a home World Cup, fine-tuning their combination with just over two months to go for the big event. West Indies will play no part in it.While ODIs will be the most keenly followed format of international cricket over the coming weeks, West Indies may wonder what exactly they’re trying to achieve when they play their 50-overs cricket. They’ll want to pick themselves up, of course, after the shocks they suffered at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe, but pick themselves up to do what?With no World Cup to prepare for, there’s no wider context to ODI cricket for West Indies for now. There are no World Cup Super League points to win, and there’s no threat just yet that they’ll fail to make the 2027 World Cup, which will feature 14 teams who will qualify based on their ODI rankings.West Indies’ fans, however, would do well not to mistake the lack of a wider context for a lack of purpose. While it would be easy to look at the team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup as a sign of their unstoppable decline as a cricketing force, the reality isn’t quite so abject. The top Associate teams have made white-ball cricket more competitive now than it ever has been, and the gap between the world’s ninth-best and 13th-best ODI teams has never been narrower. It just so happens that the sport is growing when its World Cup has shrunk.West Indies will do well, then, to put the Qualifier behind them, put the World Cup out of their minds, and stop worrying about history. Shai Hope and Brandon King shouldn’t have to feel worse about missing out on the World Cup than Brandon McMullen or Harry Tector do just because they happen to play for a team that once featured Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards.The future of West Indies cricket is too tangled up in the sport’s economics and geopolitics for one set of players to have any real influence on it. What they can do in this series, however, is stay in the present, pay attention to the next ball, and then the one after it, and let their opponents worry about things like World Cups.Form guideWest Indies LWLTL (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
India LLWWWIn the spotlightHe has five ODI hundreds, including two against India, and has a 35-plus average and a 100-plus strike rate after 47 games. There aren’t too many cricketing reasons for Shimron Hetmyer not having played a 50-overs game for West Indies since July 2021; he’ll hope this fresh start will rejuvenate his career in maroon.8:32

Runorder: What should India’s pace attack look like in the World Cup?

Despite all the competition he faces in the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav has been a constant in India’s ODI attack this year, playing eight of their nine games and picking up 15 wickets at an average of 21.13. He has an excellent record in the West Indies, where he has 11 wickets in seven games at 20.00 – among the countries and regions he has played ODIs in, he has a better average only in South Africa (13.88). Another good series here will keep him clear of Yuzvendra Chahal as India’s premier 50-overs wristspin option.Team newsWith Hetmyer and Oshane Thomas back after long absences, Gudakesh Motie, Yannic Cariah and Jayden Seales back from injury, and Jason Holder, Nicholas Pooran and Keemo Paul unavailable, West Indies will field a new-look combination as they try to make a new beginning as an ODI side.West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Kevin Sinclair, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie/Yannic Cariah/Oshane Thomas, 11 Jayden SealesIndia have lately adopted an ODI combination that features three allrounders: Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja and either Axar Patel or Shardul Thakur depending on whether they want to play an extra spinner or seamer. They’ll likely have that choice to make in Bridgetown, as well as two others, with Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson competing for the wicketkeeper’s spot and a possible three-way battle for the two seamers’ spots with Mohammed Siraj rested for the ODIs.India: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Hardik Pandya, 6 Sanju Samson/Ishan Kishan, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Axar Patel/Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Umran Malik, 11 Jaydev Unadkat/Mukesh KumarPitch and conditionsKensington Oval hosted all three matches during West Indies’ ODI series against New Zealand in August 2022. The surfaces for that series produced first-innings totals of 190, 212 and 301, and had something in them for both seamers and spinners. While the top three wicket-takers were fast bowlers Trent Boult, Jason Holder and Tim Southee, the fingerspinners were hard to get away, with Kevin Sinclair, Akeal Hosein and Mitchell Santner finishing with economy rates below five.That series, however, featured day-night games. All three ODIs in this series will be day games, with Indian TV audiences in mind. The weather could affect the first ODI, with a 20% chance of rain on Thursday. The forecast for the second ODI on Saturday, however, is grimmer, with a 50% chance of rain.Stats and trivia India have won their last eight ODIs against West Indies. Their last defeat came in Chennai back in December 2019. Mohammed Siraj (20.72) has the best average of any India bowler to have taken at least 40 ODI wickets. Hope is 171 runs away from becoming the 11th West Indies batter to the 5000 mark in ODIs. Rovman Powell (975) and Brandon King (969), meanwhile, are nearing the 1000 mark. Jadeja needs nine wickets to become the seventh India bowler to reach the 200 mark in ODIs. If he gets there, he’ll become the first India player since Kapil Dev (3783 runs and 253 wickets) to complete the 2000 runs and 200 wickets double in ODIs.

Leicestershire pay for underpowered batting effort despite Callum Parkinson four-for

ECB Reporters Network26-May-2023

Birmingham Bears maintained their 100% record in the Vitality Blast with a five-wicket victory over Leicestershire Foxes at the Upstonsteel County Ground.The Foxes’ bleak start to the campaign continued after they totalled a modest 166 for 7 on an excellent pitch on which The Blaze had piled up 212 in 20 overs earlier in the day. Every dismissed batter except one passed 15 but only Nick Welch reached 30 as Danny Briggs bowled with his customary nous for 4-0-15-3.That looked chaseable for a Bears side including Glenn Maxwell for the first time and the debutant crunched a muscular 47 off 27 balls as his side reached 167 for 5 with 15 balls to spare. Sam Hain followed his unbeaten 83 in the Blast opener against Yorkshire with an unbeaten 65 off 43 as only Callum Parkinson (4 for 33) caused much interference to the Bears’ pursuit.After the Foxes chose to bat, Nick Welch and Sol Budinger provided a punchy start with an opening stand of 49 in five overs but then fell to successive balls. Welch’s middle-stump was plucked out by Chris Woakes before Budinger heaved Dan Mousley to deep midwicket.Briggs imposed a brake with a skilful spell and bowled Arron Lilley to secure his 240th T20 wicket. Number 241 soon followed when Colin Ackermann sought the crowd at long-on but found only Mousley just inside the rope, much to the disappointment of those in the stand who were jockeying for position in light of the dazzling prize, for any spectator who caught a six, of a ticket to see Tom Jones at the Uptonsteel County Ground on July 15.It’s not unusual to see Briggs among the wickets in T20 and when his third followed, Wiaan Milder top-edging to short fine leg, the Foxes had stuttered to 106 for 5. Rishi Patel and Rehen Ahmed landed a few blows in a stand of 38 in 21 balls but the Foxes appeared to have come in under par.The Bears reply raced to 22 from 13 balls before the early charge was halted by the introduction of Parkinson. He bowled Alex Davies and Paul Stirling in his first five balls but Mulder’s first over, which went for 18, returned the initiative to Birmingham and they never relinquished it.Bowling to Maxwell and Hain when both are in good nick is about as tough as it gets in world T20 and they broke the back of the chase with a stand of 90 in 51 balls. Maxwell lapped Will Davis to short fine leg, but Mousley kept up the impetus with an 11-ball 16 before ladling Parkinson to long leg.Three balls later, Parkinson had Chris Benjamin caught behind to complete his third T20 four-for, but Hain advanced to a 35-ball half-century and the Bears eased home, Hain striking the winning run to long leg with the Tom Jones ticket still unclaimed.

Despite Gary O’Neil’s sacking, a relegation battle and Vitor Pereira’s arrival, there has always been one constant at Wolverhampton Wanderers; Matheus Cunha.

With Pedro Neto leaving last summer, the Old Gold needed someone to step up and in the shape of their mercurial Brazilian, they found a new talisman.

Cunha has been exceptional this term and on his way to signing a new contract over the winter, has scored 15 goals and supplied four assists in 29 games.

Is it any wonder he’s attracted the interest of both Arsenal and Manchester United? A summer exit sadly feels likely.

2022/23

20

2

0

2023/24

36

14

8

2024/25

29

15

4

Yet, it hasn’t all been positive press for Cunha, as the incident at Bournemouth will tell you.

The latest on Matheus Cunha’s ban

During their FA Cup clash with Bournemouth last month, Cunha was shown a straight red card for an incident with left-back Milos Kerkez.

He lashed out at the Hungarian three times, kicking him and then aiming a headbutt at the defender.

He was subsequently charged by the FA for ‘acting in an inappropriate manner’ and was given a three-game ban.

That came after he was handed a two-game suspension earlier in the season for an incident against Ipswich when he grabbed a member of their security team’s glasses.

Well, news broke earlier this week that the attacker has now been handed an additional one-game suspension and slapped with a £50,000 fine, meaning he won’t play again until their clash with Spurs on April 13th.

It seems Cunha can’t keep out of the news after another incident on international duty with Brazil.

What happened between Cunha and Vinicius Jr

The 25-year-old is still in the infancy of his international career.

Handed the first of his 11 caps in 2021, the former Atletico Madrid forward didn’t make a single appearance for his country in 2024.

However, his excellent form at Molineux prompted a call-up for the Selecao’s recent set of fixtures against Colombia in the early hours of Friday morning and Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday.

Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 the other night, with Cunha coming on for the last half an hour.

Vini Jr scored a last-gasp winner in stoppage time but as he was substituted, Cunha and teammate Raphinha were not best pleased with him.

Why? Well, as the footage shows below, the Real Madrid superstar was time-wasting and a yellow card would have meant he missed the game with Argentina.

Cunha and Raphinha didn’t just urge him once to get off the field quickly, but they did so twice. Talk about being a good teammate.

Wolves have found an irreplaceable star who's the next Vitinha & Neves

Wolves have been crying out for somebody in the mould of Ruben Neves.

ByConnor Holden Mar 12, 2025

فرض التعادل السلبي كلمته على المواجهة المُثيرة التي انتهت فجر يوم الأحد بين فريقي الأهلي وإنتر ميامي الأمريكي، التي أقيمت بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العالم للأندية.

والتقى الأهلي مع إنتر ميامي، على ملعب “هارد روك”، في إطار مباريات الجولة الأولى للمجموعة الأولى من بطولة كأس العالم للأندية 2025.

وتُقام النسخة الحالية من كأس العالم للأندية لأول مرة بنظام موسّع، بمشاركة 32 فريقًا من مختلف قارات العالم، على نفس نظام كأس العالم للمنتخبات.

طالع أيضًا.. نقل إمام عاشور للمستشفى بعد مغادرته مباراة الأهلي وإنتر ميامي

ويتواجد الأهلي في المجموعة الأولى ضمن منافسات كأس العالم للأندية رفقة أندية إنتر ميامي الأمريكي وبورتو البرتغالي وبالميراس البرازيلي.

من جهة أخرى، واجه بورتو خصمه بالميراس في إطار منافسات الجولة نفسها من دور المجموعات، لحساب المجموعة الأولى، فجر يوم الإثنين، حيث تعادلا سلبيًا بدون أهداف.

ويواجه الأهلي خصمه بالميراس مساء الخميس المقبل، قبل المباراة التي ستجمع بين بورتو وإنتر ميامي في اليوم نفسه، في الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات. ترتيب مجموعة الأهلي بعد التعادل مع إنتر ميامي

1- الأهلي، نقطة.

2- بورتو، نقطة.

3- بالميراس، نقطة.

4- إنتر ميامي، نقطة.

يمكنكم متابعة ترتيب مجموعات كأس العالم للأندية 2025 محدث باستمرار.

“Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player who was involved in the game told ESPNcricinfo

Shashank Kishore21-Dec-2022

The second day of the Ranji Trophy fixture between Railways and Punjab at Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi had to be suspended after the surface was deemed “dangerous and unfit for play” by the match officials.As many as 24 wickets had fallen in a little under four sessions of play in just 103 overs; 20 of those went to the seamers. Punjab, who had taken a 12-run first-innings lead after posting 162, were tottering on 18 for 4 in their second innings when play was halted.As the first drinks interval neared on Wednesday, on-field umpires K Madanagopal and Rajeev Godara apprised match referee Youraj Singh of the situation, before both captains – Mandeep Singh (Punjab) and Karn Sharma (Railways) – were spoken to. It was eventually decided that the match would start afresh on Thursday on a new surface, adjacent to the one the game had started on. This means the Elite Group D contest has now effectively been reduced to a two-day fixture. A fresh toss will take place with teams permitted to change their XIs.”They could have repaired the surface and resumed on the third day from where the match was stopped, but the match officials decided to play on a fresh surface,” a Railways team official said. “We were in a fantastic position but will possibly lose out on a chance to win because of this decision.”ESPNcricinfo understands that the ground authorities had wanted to prepare a grassy surface, but early-winter chill and heavy dew had hampered preparations in the lead-up to the game.”The pitch was uneven. Some balls hit the gloves, others scooted low at shoe-height from the same spot,” a player told ESPNcricinfo. “It was a green wicket but the match officials decided it was too uneven and inconsistent for play to continue.”The truncated nature of the contest left both Railways and Punjab with the prospect of going two rounds without an outright result, something that didn’t look like a possibility when play started on Wednesday. Punjab were denied by bad light and had to settle for first-innings honours against Chandigarh in the opening round, while Railways were handed a 194-run loss by Vidarbha despite Karn’s career-best 8 for 38.Surfaces at the Karnail Singh Stadium have come under the scanner in the past too. In 2011, BCCI’s technical committee had put the venue on a watchlist for producing poor pitches.In 2012, it was barred from hosting matches for two years, after the committee had found the local curators to have deliberately left the surface underprepared to help Railways try and force outright results in a bid to progress further in the Ranji Trophy. At the time, Railways had temporarily shifted their home base to Bhubaneswar, before their original home venue was reinstated in 2014.

وجه أكرم توفيق لاعب الأهلي السابق، التهنئة إلى أخيه أحمد توفيق لاعب بيراميدز، بعد الفوز على صن داونز والتتويج بلقب دوري أبطال إفريقيا، كما تحدث عن رحيله من القلعة الحمراء.

وأعلن مجلس إدارة النادي الأهلي، رحيل عدد من لاعبي الفريق بينهم أكرم توفيق، الذي انتقل إلى صفوف الشمال القطري، مع بداية الموسم الكروي الجديد.

وقال أكرم توفيق في تصريحات عبر قناة “إم بي سي مصر”: “سعيد لأحمد توفيق وأقول له مبروك وإن شاء الله لا تكون آخر بطولة لك، ربنا يُعطي المجتهد، وأنا أحب أن أراه في أفضل مكانة دائمًا، أنا وأخي لا نتكلم قبل أي مباراة، لكن نتحدث بعدها”.

وتابع: “صن داونز ليس في أفضل مستوى، لكن بيراميدز قد يكون لعب على نقاط ضعفهم، لأنني لم أشاهد اللقاء، دائمًا أفكر في مباراة الأهلي أمام صن داونز وخروجنا من البطولة أمام جماهيرنا، وأستغرب من هذا اللقاء، وليس عندي أسباب للخروج سوى أنها قدرية”.

طالع أيضاً.. “تسمرت في مكاني”.. رئيس الزمالك السابق يُعلق على تتويج بيراميدز بـ دوري أبطال إفريقيا

وعن رحيله من الأهلي، قال: “توجد مشاعر مختلطة كثيرة، لكن أنا صليت استخارة كثيرًا، حتى الآن لا أتخيل أنني سأرحل عن الأهلي، لكن هذه سنة الحياة، لا أعرف كيف أُعبر، 9 سنوات في ناد كبرني وكان بيتي، كل الأوقات الحلوة والسيئة كانت في النادي، وكسبت أشخاصًا وجمهورًا في ضهري، تُوجت ببطولات، 9 سنوات عشرة كبيرة لذلك كنت أبكي بعد اللقاء الأخير”.

وأفاد: “آخر 3 أشهر كنت أنظر لكل ركن في النادي ولا أركز مع أحد، وأقول لنفسي هل صحيح أنني لن اتواجد هنا مرة أخرى وأرى الملعب والعمال وزملائي، حتى في البيت كنت صامتًا لا أتحدث، حتى الآن لم أذهب للنادي، لا أعرف كيف أذهب، ولو ذهبت لا أعرف ماذا سيحدث”.

وأوضح: “حصلت على كل البطولات مع الأهلي، لكن هناك أمور أخرى أنظر لها، لدي أسرة والتزامات، عندما جلست مع الأهلي العرض لم يكن كما يتخيل البعض، فقلت لهم إن لدي عرض بمقابل معين وأنا أريد مبلغًا مقاربًا لم نتفق، وصليت استخارة وقررت”.

وأردف: “محمد رمضان جلس معي وقال لي نُريدك معنا، قلت له إن الأولوية دائمًا للأهلي، لكن أنا أريد كذا، لأن الرقم كان بعيدًا تماما عن العرض، قلت له أنا أريد أن أحصل على نصفه أو ربعه حتى وأستمر في الأهلي”.

واستطرد: “عندما جاء مشعل العلي إلى مصر، جلست معه وعرض علي المشروع والفكرة أعجبتني، وطلب مني التفكير، ذهبت للكابتن رمضان وحكيت له قال لي لكن الفارق بعيد قلت له أريد الربع فقط”.

وأكد: “أنا عندي إصابتين وعدت بقوة، حسبتها أنني فعلت كل شيء للنادي، واللاعب عمره في الملعب ليس كبيرًا، لو مثلًا لعبت 15 سنة إذا لم تؤمن نفسك ستجد صعوبة لأن هذا مصدر دخلي، هذا لا يعني أنني شخص مادي، لست ماديًا إطلاقًا”.

وواصل: “هناك أشياء لا أستطيع أن أتحدث عنها، لأنني تربيت في النادي، لكن عندما عدت بعد الإصابة لم أبخل بنقطة عرق والناس كانوا يطالبونني بالهدوء حتى لا أتعرض لإصابة أخرى، لكن توجد أسباب جعلتني أرحل، أنا أتقي الله جدًا في عملي”.

وتطرق للحديث: “في الدوري القطري لا يوجد ضغط، لكن أنت كلاعب في النادي الأهلي قدرك أن تتوج بالبطولات، وأنا لا أستطيع أن ألعب تحت ضغط كثيرًا، تعبت وكنت أفكر كثيرًا، أنا جالس حاليًا وأنا أفكر في الأهلي وأستيقظ كل يوم على موعد التدريبات”.

واستمر: “الرحيل عن الأهلي أمر لا يُصدق، دموعي كانت كبت، إن الأيام مرت ولن تعاد، لو كان أحد مكاني وشاهد الجماهير كان سيبكي، لكن جمهور الأهلي أساء الظن بي، أريد أن أقول لهم توجد أسباب معينة وقرارات تضطر أن تجازف بسببها”.

وبسؤاله هل أنت قلت ردًا على جمهور الأهلي (ما يزعل)؟ أجاب: “والله لم يحدث ذلك مني، وأنا جريء جداً، ولو كنت أريد أن أقول شيئًا كنت اعترفت أن ذلك صحيح”.

وأتم: “الصحفي كان يقول لي لا تترك الأهلي الجماهير تحبك وستغضب، فرديت وقلت: ستغضب؟، لكنني لا أعرف ماذا قال بعد ذلك”.

Cole Palmer endured another frustrating afternoon as he struggled in Chelsea's narrow 1-0 win over Everton, extending his goal drought to 17 games.

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Palmer hasn't scored since JanuaryMaresca blamed for over-coaching talented youngsterAvoid repetition of the same words & topicsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

Palmer's worrying form showed no signs of turning at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The 21-year-old was regularly caught in possession, and failed to influence the game as Chelsea suffered through a laboured second-half performance.

AdvertisementWHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

The watching public made their feelings about the display know on X. @TheKopWatch said: "Cole Palmer is getting the Jack Grealish treatment at Chelsea. He’s just an average robot now because he’s over coached. Modern football 😴"

And user @leecarty8 posted: "Have we all been catfished a bit by Cole Palmer?"

Another poster, @ElSaminou added: "Cole Palmer i don’t know what to tell him. Chelsea should probably sell him next season."

@fullback03 said: "The Cole Palmer drop off is frightening. I think he might actually be holding chelsea back here. Slow, poor touches and can’t pick a pass either. What happened to him?"

@CricketRea45554 questioned: "Is Cole Palmer a one season wonder? Still a good player obviously but no where near as good as some people will have you believe"

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Despite Palmer's struggles, Chelsea have laid down a marker for the other players in the race for Champions League qualification. Maresca's men made the most of their early kick-off jumping into fourth place.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR COLE PALMER?

Despite his issues, you still wouldn't bet against Palmer popping up with a vital goal in the run-in. The Blues have maybe the hardest slate of games remaining, as they take on champions-elect Liverpool, as well as two tricky away trips to Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.