Football History

OFFICIAL: Mohamed Salah was elected Player of the Season in the Premier League by the FWA. 🌟 🇪🇬
How did the award start ?
Let me give a short history of the English Premier League.

The Premier League was founded in 1992, when the clubs of the First Division left the Football League and established a new commercially independent league that negotiated its own broadcast and sponsorship agreements. The newly formed league had no sponsor for its inaugural season until Carling agreed to a four-year £12 million deal that started the following season. That same season, Carling introduced individual awards for players, such as the Golden Boot. However, the Player of the Month and Player of the Season awards were only first
In 1994–95 the first Player of the Season award was given to Blackburn Rovers striker Alan Shearer,

The Egyptian is way out on his own for goals scored (28) and assists (18) this season and has set the record for the most goal involvements in a 38-game season made him received 90% of the votes 👏 to win it third time.

🎖️ 2018
🎖️ 2022
🎖️ 2025
As the second player in history to win it three times.

Few rivalries in world football carry the weight of El Clásico. The meetings between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid have long defined Spanish football, and the all-time numbers reveal a fascinating, closely fought history — one in which Barcelona hold a narrow overall edge. Alongside that head-to-head record sits a quarter-century of Copa del Rey winners, a reminder that Spain’s football story stretches well beyond its two giants.

El Clásico: The All-Time Head-to-Head

Across the full history of the fixture, Barcelona and Real Madrid have met 302 times. The overall record breaks down as follows:

• Total matches: 302
• Barcelona wins: 127
• Real Madrid wins: 111
• Draws: 64
• Barcelona goals: 534
• Real Madrid goals: 491

The figures show just how finely balanced this rivalry has been. Barcelona hold the advantage in both wins and goals, but the margins — 16 more wins and 43 more goals across more than three hundred meetings — underline how evenly matched the two sides have been over the decades.

(General football context) Head-to-head records like these are treasured by supporters because they capture an entire era of competition in a single snapshot. Yet they also flatten a huge amount of drama: title deciders, cup finals, and unforgettable individual performances all sit behind these totals. The closeness of the numbers is exactly why every new Clásico still feels like it matters.

Copa del Rey Winners, 2000–2025

While Barcelona and Real Madrid dominate the headlines, the Copa del Rey has spread its honours more widely. The winners from 2000 to 2025 were:

2000 — Espanyol
2001 — Real Zaragoza
2002 — Deportivo La Coruña
2003 — RCD Mallorca
2004 — Real Zaragoza
2005 — Real Betis
2006 — Espanyol
2007 — Sevilla
2008 — Valencia
2009 — FC Barcelona
2010 — Sevilla
2011 — Real Madrid
2012 — FC Barcelona
2013 — Atlético Madrid
2014 — Real Madrid
2015 — FC Barcelona
2016 — FC Barcelona
2017 — FC Barcelona
2018 — FC Barcelona
2019 — Valencia
2020 — Real Sociedad
2021 — FC Barcelona
2022 — Real Betis
2023 — Real Madrid
2024 — Athletic Bilbao
2025 — FC Barcelona

(General football context) The spread of names on that list tells its own story. While Barcelona appear frequently, clubs such as Sevilla, Valencia, Real Betis, Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao all feature — proof that the Copa del Rey remains a competition where a wider range of sides can lift silverware. That variety is part of the tournament’s enduring appeal.

Conclusion

The numbers paint a clear picture: El Clásico is one of the closest and most compelling rivalries in the sport, with Barcelona holding a slender lead across 302 meetings. Set against the broad list of Copa del Rey winners since 2000, the data offers a rich snapshot of Spanish football — a game defined by two great powers, but coloured by many more.

First Nigerian footballer to play in England?
● Titus Okere (Swindon FC 1952)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Portugal?
● Christian Nwokocha (Sporting Lisbon 1980)

First Nigerian footballer to play in France?
● Richard Owubokiri (Laval 1986)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Belgium?
● Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (Lokeren 1986)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Spain?
● Nduka Ugbade (Castellon 1989)
● Mutiu Adepoju (Real Madrid B Team 1989)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Germany?
● Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji (VFB Stuttgart 1987)

First Nigerian footballer to play in the Denmark?
● Uche Okechukwu (Brondby 1990)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Holland?
● Ogechukwu Ajah (Roda JC 1990)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Turkey?
● Dominic Iorfa (Galatasaray 1991)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Italy?
● Sunday Oliseh (Reggiana 1994)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Sweden?
● Mike Obiku (Helsingborg 1994)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Russia?
● Austin Eguavoen (Torpedo Moscow 1997)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Ukraine?
● Julius Aghahowa (Shakhtar Doentsk 2000)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Greece?
● Rashidi Yekini (Olympiakos 1994)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Switzerland?
● Duke Udi (FC Grasshoppers1995)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Croatia (then Yugoslavia)?
● Samuel Sochukwuma Okwaraji (Dinamo Zagreb 1985)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Cote ‘d’Ivoire?
● Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (Stade d’ Abidjan 1985)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Egypt?
● Emmanuel Amuneke (Zamalek 1991)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Tunisia?
● Garba Lawal (Esperance 1995)

First Nigerian footballer to play in South Africa?
● Willy Okpara (Orlando Pirates 1989)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Israel?
● Michael Emenalo (Maccabi Tel-Aviv 1998)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Saudi Arabia?
● Yahaya Gaku (Al-Shabab 1995)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Japan?
Momodu Mutairu (Kawasaki Frontale 1996)

First Nigerian footballer to play in China?
● Benedict Akwuegbu ( Shenyang Ginde 2002)

First Nigerian footballer to play in South Korea?
● Alex Agbo (Cheonan Jihwa 1997)

First Nigerian footballer to play in India?
● Chima Okorie (Changigarh FC 1984)

First Nigerian footballer to play in Brazil?
● Richard Owubokiri (America RJ 1983)

Football history is full of pioneers, but few are as significant as the man widely recognised as the first Black professional footballer. His name was Arthur Wharton, and his story stretches from West Africa to the north of England, spanning achievement on the sporting field and hardship at the end of his life.

Early Life: From Ghana to England

Arthur Wharton was born in Jamestown, Ghana, in 1865. He came from a mixed heritage: his mother, Annie Florence Egyriba, was Ghanaian, and his father, Henry Wharton, was Scottish. In 1883, Wharton moved to England, initially to train as a missionary at Cleveland College in Darlington, following his father’s path.

(General historical context) Britain in the 1880s was a very different place, and for a young man of African and Scottish heritage to arrive and make his way in organised sport was extraordinary for the era. That Wharton did so, and excelled, is a large part of why his name is still remembered today.

A Sporting Career Takes Shape

Although he had come to England to study, Wharton developed a deep interest in sport. He began his football journey as an amateur with Darlington Football Club before turning professional, going on to represent a number of English clubs during his career, including Sheffield United.

(General football context) Turning professional in the early era of the organised game was itself a notable step. Professional football was still young, and the players who took it up were helping to shape a sport that would go on to become the most popular in the world. Wharton’s move to the professional ranks placed him among the game’s early professionals.

A Difficult Final Chapter

Despite his pioneering career, Wharton’s later life was marked by hardship. In 1930, he died penniless at the Springwell Sanatorium in Balby and was buried in an unmarked grave in Edlington Cemetery. For many years his story went largely unrecognised — a stark contrast to the significance of what he had achieved.

Why Arthur Wharton’s Story Still Matters

(General historical context) Recognising figures like Arthur Wharton matters because they remind us that the history of football is broader and more diverse than it is sometimes remembered. As the first Black professional footballer, Wharton was a trailblazer whose presence in the early game helped open a door that countless players have walked through since. His life is a reminder both of how far the sport has come and of the pioneers whose contributions deserve to be remembered.

Conclusion

Arthur Wharton’s journey — born in Jamestown, Ghana in 1865, arriving in England in 1883, and building a professional football career before his death in 1930 — is one of the most important early stories in the sport. As the first Black professional footballer, he holds a permanent place in football history, and his legacy continues to be honoured by those who believe the game’s pioneers should never be forgotten.

Amen Shearer was born on 13/08/1970 as an English player who played as a forwardand had 441 appearances.
With 3 Golden Boots in the
1994/95, 1995/96 and 1996/97 had 260 goals in the English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Premier League to be number one all-time goalscorers.

Harry Kane was born on 28/07/1993 in England. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 won 3golden boots in the years 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2020/21.
With 320 appearances and 213 goals, he is the second leading goalscorer in the history of the English Premier League.

Wayne Rooney was born on 24/10/1985 in England. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 played as a forward, had 208 goals in 491 appearances but never won any Golden Boot during his playing time but blessed with Player of the Season in 2009/10.

Andrew Cole, English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Forward player who was born on 15/10/1971. Scorers 187 with 73 assists to be 4th position in the all-time English premiership goals scorers had 414 appearances with one golden boot in 1993/94.

Sergio Aguero, an Argentina 🇦🇷 international player who played as a forward, won a golden boot in 2014/15, 5 Premier League Champion with 184 goals and 275 appearances.

Mohammed Salah is an 🇪🇬 Egyptian forward who had 184 goals in 295 appearances and 3 golden boots in 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2021/22, but is still playing in the English Premier League League League.

Frank Lampard, English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 played as a Midfielder born on 20/06/1978, had 177goals with 609 appearances, one Player of the Season in 2004/05 and 3 Premier League Champion.

Thierry Henry, a 🇫🇷 France professional player who played as a forward born on 17/08/1977, had 258 appearances, 4 golden boots in 2001/02, 2003/04, 2004/05 and
2005/06 with 175 goals to be ranked 8th among the all-time Premier League goalscorers.

Robbie Fowler was born on 09/04/1975. The English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 forward played for Liverpool had 379 appearances with 163, never won Golden Golden Boot but two Player of the Month in December 1995 and January 1996.

Ranking no 10 among all-time Premier League goalscorers is Jermain Defoe is an 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 English player born on 07/10/1982 as forward had 162 goals with 496 appearances. Never won Golden boot, blessed with Goal of the Month in 2017/18 and Player of the Month August 2009.

 

PSG won French League 1 back-to-back with 70 points after a 1-0 win over Angers using 24 point leading second while match still remaining 6 matches..

The trophy was brought onto the pitch by captain Marquinhos as the 13th Trophy and was unveiled to the supporters before the kick-off.
This will be his 50th domestic trophy and 52nd overall, with the win in Doha to make it 34 of those trophies to be won since the arrival of Qatar Sports Investments in 2011.

With joy in the full face of everybody, this made PSG president Nasser Al Khelaifi say :’’We are immensely proud to be crowned Champions of Ligue 1, one of the strongest leagues in Europe, and it is extra special to have won the title undefeated until now”.

Congratulations to all the players, our coach Luis Enrique, our sports advisor Luis Campos and all our staff, who have done an incredible job. It is a great moment for all our fans, in France and overseas – and for the city of Paris”.

“Everyone in the world of football has seen and admired the development of the Paris Saint-Germain team in this new era – our philosophy is based on the collective above everything else. The star of Paris Saint-Germain is the team, and this star is shining so brightly”.

“We will treasure this moment together as a family and with our amazing fans. The season is far from over. We must continue to work hard and focus, match by match, fighting for everything in all competitions until the last moment of the season”.

Ian Wright and Shaun Wright-Phillips became the first father-son trophy in the history of the EPL. Wright-Phillips was part of Chelsea’s team that won the title in 2006, while Father won it with Arsenal in 1998.

Marcus Thuram and his father Lilian won Italian Seria A. Father won with Juventus in 2001/02 and 2002/03, while his son was in 2023 with Inter Milan.

Peter Schmeichel’s Manchester United lengthened with five Premiership League titles at Old Trafford and his son, Kasper, also won the title in 2006 with Leicester.

So it is for Daniel Maldini, who followed the suit of his father Paolo and grandfather Cesare, to win Scudetto for AC in 2021/22. .

Diego Simeone won it with Napoli and his son Giovanni, who had just won the title last season in 2023/24 with the same club, Napoli.

George Weah, an African legend, and his son Timothy Weah, lifted Ligue 1 with the same club, Paris SG.

Victor Osimhen is going to surpass these leading in goals for the EPL based on his individual contribution compared to some of them and, based on my observation of a successful striker in the English Premier League, what you need is speed and power, which he definitely has.

Leading goalscorer for the English Premier League 2024/25

Mohamed Salah Liverpool 27 goals
Erling Haaland Manchester City 21 goals
Alexander Isak, Newcastle United, 19 goals
Chris Wood Nottingham Forest
18 goals

Statistics of Victor with five leading goalscorers from the 2022/23 season till date.

Mohammed Sallah
2024/25
27
2023/24
Liverpool
18
2022/23
Liverpool
19

Erling Haaland 24
2024/25
Man city
21
2023/24
Mancity
27
2022/23
Mancity
36 goals

Alexander Isak 25 year
2024-25
Newcastle
20
2023-24
Newcastle
21
2022-23
Newcastle
10

Bryan Mbeumo 25years
2024/25
Brendford
16
2023/24
Brendford
9
2022/23
Brendford
9

Cole Palmer 22years
2024/25
Chelsea
14.
2023/24
Chelsea
22
2022/23
1

Victor Osimhen 26
2024/2025
Galatasaray
20
2023/2024
Napoli
15
2022/2023
Napoli
26

Record set by two best strikers with Osimhen

Mohamed Salah broke an all-time Premier League record after scoring a double against Southampton, and became the first player in Europe’s top five leagues to surpass 50 direct goal involvements this season, following his goal and assist in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Manchester City.

The Norwegian Erling Haaland finished the 2022/23 campaign with a squawking 52 goals in all competitions as he lifted the Treble. Haaland scored his 50th City goal in a 2-1 win over Fulham in April, making him the quickest player to score 30 goals in the English Premier League by breaking the record of Ruud van Nistelrooy (2002/03) and Mo Salah (2017/18), who previously jointly held the record with 44 goals across all competitions.

Victor collected the Serie A golden boot as the first African player with a hat-trick in Serie A to equal a record set by Argentine superstar Diego Armando Maradona by scoring at least 10 goals in four consecutive seasons.

Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly as an 🇪🇬 Egyptian right-winger footballer who played for Liverpool Football Club had 293
Appearances with 184 total goals with 86 assists for the club.
He had three Golden Boots in 2017/18, 2018/19 and2021/22.

Salah has contributed to both the English Premier League and the Egyptian national team and his hard work and prolific scoring made him become famous.

Salah record of goals per each season from 2017 when he joined Liverpool till now.
2017/2018 36 appearances with 32 goals
2018/2019 38 appearances with 22 goals
2019/2020 34 appearances with 19goals
2020/2021 37 appearances with 22 goals
2021/2022 35 appearances with 23 goals
2022/2023 38 appearances with 19 goals
2023/2024 32 appearances with 18 goals
2024/2025 30 appearances with 27 goals

On 13 February 2025
Salah opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium, and turned to provide assist for Liverpool’s second scored by Dominik Szoboszlai on 37 minutes, setting up Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Manchester City and taking them 11 points clear at the top of the table.
(1)
Salah became the FIRST player in Premier League history to score AND assist in both matches against the reigning champions in a season.
(2)

Salah also made it nine goals and six assists against sides managed by Pep Guardiola, the most by any player in the Spaniard’s top-flight league managerial career.

(3)
The Egyptian scored his 16th away league goal of the season at the Etihad Stadium, moving him level with Kevin Phillips (1999/00) and Harry Kane (2022/23) for the most in a single Premier League campaign.
(4)
Assist king

Salah’s pass to Szoboszlai was his 11th away assist of the season, a joint-record he now shares with Cesc Fàbregas, who achieved that total in 2014/15 with Chelsea.

Meanwhile, his 16 assists overall this season is more than ANY Liverpool player in Premier League history, overtaking Steve McManaman’s tally of 15 in 1995/96.

(5)
Matching Messi

It shows Salah has scored and assisted in 11 Premier League matches in 2024/25, the most by a player in a single season in one of Europe’s big five leagues since Lionel Messi did so with 11 for Barcelona in 2014/15.
(6)
Liverpool’s forward currently leads the way with 25 goals and 16 assists in the Premier League this season, for a combined total of 41 goal contributions.

Impressively, Salah is the FIRST player to register 25+ goals and 15+ assists in a Premier League season.
(7)
Across all competitions, Salah became the FIRST player across Europe’s top five leagues to be directly involved in 50 goals in 2024/25.

Peter gulacsi is a 🇭🇺 Hungarian goalkeeper ,keeping for RB Lelpzig born 6 may 1990 . He had played 33 matches with 13 clean sheets. First in Bundesliga’s league.

Matz Willy Els Sels is a 🇧🇪 Belgium
Goalkeeper playing Nottm Forest had played 33matches with 14 clean sheets. First in English premier league.

Jan Oblak is a goalkeeper at Atlético Madrid from 🇸🇮 Slovenia . He player 45 matches with 18 clean sheets.first in laliga league.

Mile Svilar is a 🇷🇸 Serbian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club As Roma. He had played 43 matches with 15 clean sheets.first in Series A.

I

Brice Lauriche Samba Born in the Republic of Congo on 25 April 1994 but keeping for 🇫🇷 France national team. He had keep 28 match for the team he joined January this year with 11 clean sheets.first in French league 1.

Yann Sommer born 17 December 1988 is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Inter Milan.
He had played 38 matches ,
27 Serie A with
9 UEFA Champions League with thad 20 clean sheets at this time .

Michele Di Gregorio is an 🇮🇹 Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus, on loan from Monza. Who was born 27 July 1997 , He had 35 matches with 16 clean sheets .

Álex Remiro is 30 years old keeping for Real Sociedad from 🇪🇸 Spain national football team .He had played 41 games this season with 15 clean sheets.

David Raya Martín (born 15 September 1995) is a 🇪🇸 Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Arsenal. He was rated among best because of his distribution, box command, and shot-stopping abilities.Out if 47matches played had 19 clean sheets.

Manuel Never Captain of Bayern München Born: 27 March 1986 is a 🇩🇪 German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper .
Has played 33 matches with 16clean Sheets .