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Steven Polack has hit out at Gor Mahia for not “according him the respect he deserves” following their standoff concerning unpaid salary.

The British tactician alongside two former K’Ogalo players - Dickson Ambundo and Shafik Batumbuze - were forced to use legal means that involved letters to world governing body Fifa, to get their outstanding salaries cleared in full.

Despite confirming his outstanding debt has now been cleared, Polack has told Goal he was not accorded the respect he deserved by “some of the top officials” at the outgoing FKF Premier League champions.

What did Polack say?

“We finally reached an agreement that was agreeable to all and the matter has finally been settled,” Polack told Goal exclusively from his base in Britain.

“Overall my experience with some of the management, I feel they did not afford me the respect I know I deserved from my time with the club. I would like to thank those who supported me until the end. I appreciate you all...and remember never give up the fight for justice.”

Polack further explained it was unfortunate for him to have to put a "fight" to get what belonged to him, insisting the club should have settled the debt amicably without forcing them to take legal action.

“I have heard that you’ve been told that I have received my pay from Gor Mahia, while that is true it must be said that I had to fight for it with the services of my advisor and it took nearly one year to get what was rightfully mine,” Polack continued.

“May I also inform you that from the onset I was aware the club was going through some financial difficulties and out of compassion and understanding I offered to take a cut in the debt owed to me and I hoped my gesture would have been met with gratitude instead of the struggle I had to face to get my pay.”

What did Gor Mahia say?

On Thursday, Gor Mahia were cleared to take part in the Caf Confederation Cup after reaching an agreement with coach Polack and the aforementioned players.

“We [Gor Mahia] have reached an agreement with all the concerned parties, for example, we paid Polack Ksh 700,000 and agreed to pay him monthly until we complete his debt,” the club's Sports Director Omondi Aduda told Goal.

“It is the same case with Batambuze, we have settled with him, and reached an agreement on how to complete the remaining amount. As for Ambundo, we have confirmed to Caf that we will settle with him after getting our grants for reaching the second preliminary round of the Champions League.

“So we have the green light to play in the Caf Confederation Cup.”

Further FKF Premier League reading 

Kelechi Iheanacho claimed he is not in goalscoring competition with Leicester City’s feared frontline of Patson Daka, James Maddison and Jamie Vardy.

The Foxes began the 2021-22 season on a flying note – defeating Manchester City 1-0 in Saturday’s FA Community Shield fixture.

Iheanacho came off the bench for Brendan Rodgers’ team with just over 10 minutes on the clock and made an immediate impact, scoring from the penalty spot after drawing a foul from Nathan Ake inside the box.

After the game, the former Manchester City prodigy was asked about the competition among the team’s forwards but the African – addressing the media – stated all the attacking players are important.

“We’re not in a battle in our team,” he told the club website.

“Everybody is important. We need everybody to get through this season. There are a lot of competitions, so we need everyone.

“Patson [Daka] will be important to the squad. Me as well. Vards (Jamie Vardy), Madders (James Maddison) – everyone is important in the squad.

“We are together as a team and as a family. I’ll keep working hard and at the end of the season, we’ll see what happens.”

Iheanacho’s effort against the Citizens was his 40th goal for the King Power Stadium outfit. He talked about what went through his mind before scoring the winning goal.

“I was a bit nervous when I was walking through to take it, but I just had one thing on my mind – just hit it hard. It could go anywhere, so I’m happy we got the win today,” he continued.

“Last week and this week, I’ve been practicing penalties. I missed one in pre-season, but I’ve been practicing penalties this week, before this game.

“I thought it was going to go to penalties at the end, but we got a penalty and I took it. It hit the back of the net, so I’m happy.”

“I’m really happy we got our first trophy to kick off the season. We’ll concentrate and keep working hard, and hopefully, we’ll get another trophy this season.”

Gor Mahia denied KCB a chance to go top of the Football Kenya Federation Premier League table after a 0-0 draw at Thika Stadium on Sunday.

The outcome means Tusker will remain at the top of the log with 58 points, one more than the Bankers in a two-horse title race.

Gor Mahia's John Macharia was booked in the 13th minute for a rough challenge on Nahashon Alembi of KCB.

Derrick Otanga could have grabbed an opener for the Bankers in the 31st minute, but his effort flew slightly over the bar after Samuel Njau in Gor Mahia's goal was all but beaten in the process.

Ernest Wendo became the second player to be booked in the 31st minute after a bad challenge on KCB's David Ambulu. Mark Harrison made a change in the 46th minute when he replaced Macharaia with John Ochieng. 

Fred Nkata - who has recently enjoyed playtime since he joined Gor Mahia as Geoffrey Ochieng is injured - was booked in the 55th minute for a dangerous tackle on Michael Oduor.

As both sides hunted for the opening goal, Harrison made another change two minutes after the hour mark by introducing Sammy Onyango for Jules Ulimwengu.

Zedekiah Otieno made two changes in the 64th minute with Otieno and Simiyu coming in for Ambulu and Martin Mbugua respectively in KCB's first changes.

Njau - who has started in the two matches under the new coach, was alert to stop Baraka Badi's long-range shot in the 70th minute.

Reagan Otieno spotted Badi who was running towards K'Ogalo's goal unmarked but the latter's effort was not powerful and clinical enough to trouble the goalkeeper.

Simiyu became another booked player in the 81st minute after a rough challenge on Gor Mahia's Njau when the two vied for the ball inside the penalty area. 

After a rather physical contest, the sides ended up sharing points from the stalemate and the result means the title race has tilted in favour of Tusker once more.

At Sudi Stadium, Nzoia Sugar picked a 2-1 win over Wazito FC.

The Sugar Millers opened the scoring in the third minute when Hillary Simiyu's long-range shot found the back of the net. A dominant home side added the second in the 18th minute, with Kevin Wafula the scorer this time around. 

Nzoia Sugar's Harun Mwale conceded a 31st-minute penalty but Wazito's Kevin Kimani sent his effort wide. The Nairobi club won another penalty when Mwale was again judged to have handled the ball inside his area in the 63rd minute and Kimani successfully converted the spot-kick.

Ghana winger Kamaldeen Sulemana has left many in awe after delivering a sweet finish on his French Ligue 1 debut as Stade Rennes and Lens settled for a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

On his competitive bow for Bruno Gensio’s outfit, the 19-year-old netted just 14 minutes into the game, going on a long run into the box before delivering a curling effort into the net.

It was a huge statement for the attacker following his much-publicised transfer from Danish fold Nordsjaelland, where he snubbed interest from Ajax, Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen.

Thousands of fans have taken to social media to sing his praise after Sunday’s exploits, some comparing him to Paris Saint Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe and others to the club's reported imminent new acquisition Lionel Messi.

Below are the best reactions.

Orlando Pirates defender Innocent Maela believes they have a squad that can win many trophies in a single season and he also lauded one of the club's new signings.  

The Soweto giants were one of the first PSL clubs to announce their new signings after the current South African winter transfer window opened on July 1.

Defender Kwanda Mngonyama and defender-come-midfielder Bandile Shandu, midfielder Goodman Mosele and winger Monnapule Saleng have all joined the Soweto giants.

However, Pirates have since loaned out Saleng to Swallows FC along with Zambia international Austin Muwowo.

Maela feels the squad is now balanced and that they stand a good chance of winning more than one trophy in the 2021/22 season. 

“We lacked a bit of balance last season, and I think we have that now,” Maela told Daily Sun. 

“We are more experienced now as a team. I think the squad has grown together and that’s what you are going to need if you want to win many trophies in one season.

“I think we have a good chance this season, and I believe we will be okay.”

Maela is pleased with the signing of Mngonyama as he believes the 27-year-old player will improve the Pirates defence which conceded 22 goals from 30 PSL matches last season.

“Kwanda is solid. He is very good aerially. He is also good in one-on-one duels, and he is extremely quick," the Bafana Bafana international added. 

“I think he will help us with stability and with set-pieces. He can attack and defend set-pieces very well. So he brings a lot to the team, not just in defence.”

Mngonyama was nurtured in the Mamelodi Sundowns academy, before being promoted to the club's academy in 2012.

The Durban-born player was loaned out to the now-defunct Bidvest Wits ahead of the 2013/14 season after failing to break into the Sundowns starting line-up.

He has since had spells with Cape Town City and Maritzburg United, before joining Pirates. 

Akhmat Grozny assistant manager Yaya Toure has tagged Lionel Messi “a special player” following his departure from Barcelona this summer.

The Blaugrana confirmed this week that the Argentina international would leave the Catalan outfit after negotiations over a new deal fell apart.

Although the 34-year-old was set to accept a deal that would see his wage slashed by 50 percent, albeit, the 26-time Spanish kings' financial status made it an impossible mission for them to register him for the 2021-22 campaign without reducing their wage bill significantly.

And the former Cote d’Ivoire international, who came up with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner from AS Monaco, took the opportunity to say farewell to his former team-mate, who he claims would take his “magic anywhere”.

“It is very emotional to see you say goodbye to your dream club FC Barcelona,” Toure wrote on his Instagram handle.

“It was my dream as a young child to play for Barca and to be able to play with you has made it so much more special.

“What a special player you are, no other player has given so much joy, so many unforgettable moments and so much success to one club.

“Thank you my friend for bringing us so much happiness. I am sure you will bring your magic to anywhere you go! Leo Messi.”

Alongside Messi during his spell at Camp Nou which spanned from 2007 to 2010, Toure won the Champions League, Uefa Super Cup, Fifa Club World Cup, Supercopa de Espana, Copa del Rey and two Spanish top-flight titles.

Meanwhile, Messi was in tears at his final press conference as a Barcelona player, as he confirmed the possibility of joining Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

"I gave everything for this club from the first day I arrived to the last,” he told media.

“I never imagined having to say goodbye as I didn't think about it. What's clear is I did everything possible, and they (Barca) couldn't do it because of La Liga.

"I love this club. Without seeing the fans for over a year-and-a-half has been very hard. If I had imagined it [his leaving speech] I would've imagined the Camp Nou full and being able to say goodbye properly."

Ghana attacker Kamaldeen Sulemana made a scoring start in Ligue 1 as Stade Rennes and Lens played out a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Handed a start in the matchday one fixture, the 19-year-old took only 14 minutes to announce his presence, firing a beautiful curling effort into the net to put Rennes into the lead.

It was his competitive debut since snubbing Manchester United, Ajax, Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen to sign for Bruno Genesio’s outfit for a reported €20 million.

Kamaldeen gave Rennes an early lead, running down the left on the counter-break, switching the ball onto his favourite right-foot before releasing a curling effort just inside the box beyond goalkeeper Jean-Louis Leca to make it 1-0.

Five minutes later, however, Lens hit back through Cote d’Ivoire midfielder Seko Fofana after Nayef Aguerd was robbed of the ball.

Two minutes to the hour-mark, Kamadeen was whisked off the pitch, his place taken by Belgium winger of Ghanaian descent Jeremy Doku.

Both teams made attempts for the winner but there were no more goals to come as the referee blew his whistle to bring proceedings to an end.

“I chose Rennes because when I came for the visit, I spoke to coach [Bruno Genesio] and I spoke to [technical director] Florian [Maurice] and the project was very interesting and was good for me, and I felt here was the right place for me,” Kamaldeen said at his Rennes unveiling last month.

“They have a lot of young talent and they have produced a lot of good talent outside, the likes of [Ousmane] Dembele, a lot of players, [Eduardo] Camavinga, Jeremy Doku.

“And some Ghanaians also played here, like Asamoah Gyan who is like the top scorer in Ghana history. And I felt this is the place for me to be, also to improve myself and get to where I want to be in future.

“With Rennes, I get to play in Ligue 1 which is one of the best leagues in the whole world, so that’s enough of my reason. And I think I chose here based on my playing time and I think there’s a better chance of me playing more here than any other place, and I’ll play against great teams here as well.”

Kamaldeen is expected to make his second league appearance for Rennes in their visit to Brest next Sunday.

The launch of FIFA 22 is now on the horizon and excitement is already surrounding the latest game.

October 1, 2021 has been set as the new date for the release of FIFA 22 after the trailer for the game was launched on July 11.

The coronavirus pandemic saw the release of the game being pushed back to early October, a departure from the late September date which had characterised the launch in recent years. 

Will Chiefs and Pirates feature on FIFA 22?

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates have been appearing in previous editions of this popular EA Sports title.

The two traditional giants have been included in the latest game which has over 700 “playable teams from around the world.”

After the South African giants recently launched their respective kits for the new season, it is yet to be seen how they look in this modified version of the game. 

What to expect from FIFA 22

The latest edition will be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and Stadia.

FIFA 22 will have advanced 11 vs 11 match capture which brings the game closer to reality. 

According to EA Sports, “Xsens suits enable motion capture from 22 professional footballers playing at high intensity for the first time. The resulting unprecedented volume of high-quality real-human movement data powers how both individuals and teams move across FIFA 22.”

Composed ball control, kinetic air battles, full team authentic motion and increased player humanisation are some of the gameplay improvements to expect.

Cover athlete

France international and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe will grace the cover of FIFA 22.

He was also the star face of the Standard, Champions and Ultimate Editions of FIFA 21. 

Will VAR be part of FIFA 22?

VAR was not part of the features of FIFA 21 and is likely not to be included in the latest offing.

AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems has claimed Eliud Kipchoge's Olympic Games heroics will help him motivate the players to win the Football Kenya Federation Premier League title next season.
 
Kipchoge won Kenya's fourth gold medal in the Tokyo games after a great run in the men's marathon contest and Aussems believes his players should be motivated by the world record holder's performance in Sapporo.

"I know you are an AFC Leopards fan, be sure that your incredible performance will be a real asset for me to motivate the players to, finally, bring back the titles to Ingwe next season! Congrats Champion," the coach tweeted on Sunday.

Ingwe, who have been unable to win the league title in over two decades, also congratulated the 38-year-old runner for retaining the men's gold medal for Kenya.
 
"The GOAT! An ardent supporter of AFC Leopards SC, Eliud Kipchoge has successfully defended the men's Olympic marathon title," Ingwe stated on their social media pages.

Aussems extended his stay with the Premier League side and affirmed his main target with the local club is to win trophies.

"Talking about next season is a clear indication that I am staying despite some offers that I have got in the last 48 hours. We have some guarantees for next season and I would like to help AFC Leopards to become the biggest club in Kenya again, as I did with Simba," the Belgian said in an earlier interview.

He also stated he has had crunch talks with the club's top hierarchy in order to come up with a solution to issues that have affected their title ambitions.

"Of course, we have some issues that the board has to meet. I had some meetings last week regarding some people who can come and help us. In three weeks, the league will be finished and the next season begins in September, which means we will not have much time," he continued. 

"With the remaining games, I would like to try some players and in different positions to see their reactions. In only one game, you can see some good performances and have an idea for the future."

Ingwe have looked a stronger side compared to previous seasons and even reached the Shield Cup final where they lost to traditional rivals Gor Mahia in July.

Lionel Messi has confirmed that he offered to halve his wages in order to stay at Barcelona while branding reports that he asked for a 30 per cent wage increase as "a lie".

Messi addressed the media at Camp Nou for the final time on Sunday, having been forced to cut short his 21-year career at Barca due to a breakdown in negotiations over a new long-term contract.

The Catalan giants have been frantically trying to reduce their wage bill since the end of the 2020-21 campaign to get back below La Liga's official limit, but it was suggested that their club captain was demanding a more lucrative package to extend his stay.

What's been said?

Messi has now clarified the situation by insisting that he agreed to reduce his earnings by 50 per cent, with Goal having revealed earlier this summer that he was all set to commit his future to the Blaugrana until 2026 .

However, that sacrifice was not enough, and the six-time Ballon d'Or winner defended his character in his last press conference as a Barcelona player.

“The report that I asked for 30% more is a lie. It’s a lie. I offered to reduce my contract by 50%, and then they didn't ask me for anything else," said Messi.

"As the president said, the club has got a big debt, they can't do it, it's not possible [to stay].

"To keep drawing it out would make it more complicated. I need to focus on my career and what I need to do from now on.

"I did everything I could to stay and it was not possible to stay."

Does Messi have any regrets?

Messi won 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues among a whole host of major honours during his time at Camp Nou while scoring 672 goals across all competitions, but isn't completely satisfied with his trophy haul.

“I would still like to have won some more Champions Leagues, the semi-final vs Liverpool, the semi vs Chelsea with Pep," the 34-year-old said when asked if he has any regrets.

"I have no regrets, always gave everything, but we had a generation when we could have won more Champions Leagues.”

Where will Messi play in 2021-22?

Messi has been linked with a whole host of other top clubs across Europe in recent months, having initially invited speculation over his future by handing in a transfer request last summer.

Manchester City, Inter and Juventus were all credited with an interest in Messi, who also left the door open to a possible move to MLS , but it now appears that he could be heading to France.

Messi admitted that joining PSG "is a possibility" before wrapping up his press conference , and also addressed a photo that has been doing the rounds on social media showing him with Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes and Marco Verratti while on holiday.

The Argentina international, who is reportedly set to sign a lucrative two-year deal at Parc des Princes, added on the image: “The pic with Paris Saint-Germain was a coincidence, completely.

"I was there with my friends, we decided to take a photo... they told me: ‘Come to Paris!’ but it was just a joke, we were on holiday."

Further reading

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has expressed his delight at new signing Patson Daka after he helped the team beat Manchester City 1-0 to lift the FA Community Shield on Saturday.

The 22-year-old Zambian international came on the pitch at Wembley for the last 20 minutes of the game, replacing Jamie Vardy, and he immediately started combining well with Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored from the penalty spot to hand the Foxes the win.

His lightning speed was too much for City defenders Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake to handle and he almost scored after racing onto the rebound to power the ball at goal before the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

His display against City and that of another new signing Boubakary Soumare, who joined from Ligue 1 champions Lille, has left Rodgers chomping at the bit.

“[Boubakary Soumare’s] a very strong player and we need his quality,” Rodgers told the club’s official website.

“He’s very good on the ball, but he’s physically good as well. Patson [Daka] never gives defenders a rest. He’s always threatening in behind. He wants to run, he wants to move, and he really contributed well.”

The performance of Daka did not only impress Rodgers but also Zambia President Edgar Lungu, who took to his social media pages, to praise the player and termed his celebration with the country’s flag at the final whistle as “a true show of patriotism.”

“Happy to see our own Patson [Daka]’s club, Leicester City, beat Manchester City to win the FA Community Shield,” Lungu wrote. “Most of all, our flag adorning your shoulders as you celebrated your team's victory was a true show of patriotism.

“Congratulations Patson and keep it up.”

On his part, Daka has celebrated winning a trophy with Leicester in the first competitive match.

“Wow, I could not have asked for a better way to start the season by winning 2021 Community Shield,” Daka wrote on his social media pages.

“Thank you to all the fans & my teammates who pushed us to the final whistle.”

Daka will hope to keep his place in the team when they start their Premier League campaign with a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on August 14.

Did Premier League side Gor Mahia pay protesters to demonstrate against the Football Kenya Federation for fines imposed after the Mashemeji derby fiasco?

In a document in Goal's possession, it shows Gor Mahia had a budget of Ksh30,000 set aside for 'Gor Mahia Football Club demonstration' at the time the club was fined Ksh4 million by the FKF for skipping the derby against AFC Leopards last month.
 
Apart from the fines imposed, K'Ogalo were docked three points for a failure to turn up for the game that was scheduled to take place at Thika Stadium in late July.

On the other hand, AFC Leopards were fined Ksh6 million and also had three points deducted from their tally.

The document shows Gor Mahia used Ksh21,000 in the ceremony where new head coach Mark Harrison was unveiled to fill the void left by former coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto.

Another Ksh235,000 was used to discharge left-back Geoffrey Ochieng from the hospital. The former Western Stima star was injured during their match against Kariobangi Sharks and the anterior cruciate ligament injury is set to rule him out for between six and eight months.
 
The document further reveals the game against Kakamega Homeboyz - the first under Harrison's reign and in which Gor Mahia won to end a seven-match winless streak - cost the local giants a total sum of Ksh105,000.
 
The coach's house, according to the document, cost the club Ksh146,300 while his hotel bill totalled Ksh50,000 at that time.

Already, former captain Kenneth Muguna has signed for Azam FC, while defender Charles Momanyi, who is ready to write off the debts Gor Mahia owe him, is destined for Tusker.
 
Although the club has listed eight players on their transfer wishlist, Clifton Miheso is understood to be unwilling to extend his tenure, stating he would do so only if the outstanding arrears are cleared by the club.

Dennis Ng'ang'a, Rooney Onyango, Boniface Omondi, Bernard Ochieng, all from Wazito, and Rodgers Ouma from Western Stima are the players on Gor Mahia's list.

Duke Abuya and Ovella Ochieng are also considered as potential new signings by K'Ogalo.

Former Nigeria international Victor Moses was injured as Spartak Moscow suffered a 2-1 defeat to Nizhny Novgorod in a Russian Premier League match on Saturday.

The former Chelsea winger, who has enjoyed a good run of results since signing a permanent deal with the Russian giants, was stretchered off in the 36th minute to be replaced by Zelimkhan Bakaev after colliding with an opponent.

His exit left his team struggling as they suffered their first defeat of the season with goals from Kirill Gotsuk in the fourth minute and Aleksei Anatolyevich Kozlov in the 16th minute while Spartak scored their lone goal courtesy of Ezequiel Ponce in the 85th minute.

Spartak coach Rui Vitoria told reporters after the game he was not certain of the injury suffered by Moses but promised to give details after he underwent a scan.

“So far, I still cannot give you a clear answer to the question, because right after the game they came here, there was no opportunity to talk to our doctors,” Vitoria told the media as reported by euro-football.

“I hope that the injury is not serious, but more detailed information will be provided a little later.”

Ahead of their Uefa Champions League third qualifying round first leg tie against Benfica last week, Vitoria told the club’s website that Moses was doubtful but he recovered to play in the league match.

“Promes probably won’t be able to play; Maslov is also not ready yet. Moses and Dzhikiya picked up slight injuries in the last match, but we hope they will be able to help us,” Vitoria said then.

The latest injury means Moses could miss the return leg at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on Tuesday as Spartak will be striving to overturn the 2-0 defeat suffered in the first leg.

The first defeat in the top-flight left Spartak on 11th position with three points from three matches, six behind Zenit Saint Petersburg, who are at the top of the table with nine points from three matches.

Lionel Messi was in floods of tears at his final press conference as a Barcelona player as he confirmed the end of his 21-year career at Camp Nou.

“This is very difficult, I was not prepared for this. Last year I was convinced to leave, but this year we were, my family and I wanted to continue here, in our house," he told reporters.

“Today I have to say goodbye, I arrived very young at 13 years old, and after 21 years I am leaving with my wife and three children.

"I have no doubts after being away for several years, we will return because I promised my children.”

More to follow.