Botafogo, owned by prospective Lyon owner John Textor, have confirmed to Brazilian media that some payments have been delayed over the past months, notably bonuses and commissions.  Despite not paying some bonuses and commissions on time, all workers have, however, been paid. To justify these payment delays, the management are quoted as saying, “We are currently paying considerable unforeseen club debts.”  Since March, Textor has owned 90% of the Brazilian club through Eagle Football. In the coming days, it is expected that his long-awaited purchase of Lyon will be completed. On Wednesday, Textor went in front of the DNCG, France’s financial watchdog, and passed the examination.  Textor is already seemingly…

Foot Mercato are reporting that three clubs are showing an interest in Stade de Reims’ promising young winger Nathanaël Mbuku (20).  Mbuku has made six appearances for Reims this season, all from the bench. However, he has shone for France’s youth sides. Earlier this year, he formed part of the team that won the Maurice Revello tournament, whilst last summer he competed for France in the Olympic Games. He has also scored seven goals in just 11 matches for the France U18s.  Mbuku has only featured in the dying stages of Ligue 1 matches this season and is yet to register a goal or an assist, however, last season he scored…

This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here. The spendthrift ways of FC Nantes often mean the players which Les Canaris bring in have had a more atypical path before arriving in Brittany. They may be players on the downside of their career, like Nicolas Pallois, Sébastien Corchia or Moussa Sissoko, or players who were once-promising whose careers may have stalled, either through injury or a lack of opportunity – think Pedro Chirivella or Alban Lafont. Andrei Girotto doesn’t necessarily fit neatly into one of those brackets, but his…

This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here. At 18-years-old, Salis Abdul Samed made the 500km voyage from Ghana to the Ivory Coast to join the JMG Academy, a training centre set up by former France international Jean-Marc Guillou – hence the self-titled acronym. Academies such as JMG have provided vital pathways for African talent to forge a career in Europe’s top five leagues. JMG’s most notable graduate is former Lyon defender and Belgium international Jason Denayer. If you told an 18-year-old Abdul Samed that he would be representing…

Click:Ceiling Fan This is taken from the GFFN 100, our leading 150-page FREE publication ranking the best 100 players in France, see the full list and read every profile right here. This year saw more of the same from Lens’ Polish buccaneering wing-back, who became one of Ligue 1’s signings of the previous season. The Sang et Or are currently defying expectations via a title chase with Paris Saint-Germain, and Przemyslaw Frankowski is a huge part of the progress made by Franck Haise’s side to compete at the higher echelons of French football. In a mining region which was historically marked by the arrival of a large Polish workforce in…

Toulouse have this afternoon announced that an agreement in principle has been found for the signing of Norwegian youth international defender Warren Kamanzi, who will officially join from Tromsø at the start of the winter transfer window, this Sunday. The newly-promoted side have moved quickly to bring in reinforcements in the right-back position in the wake of an injury crisis – both Mikkel Desler and Kévin Keben are in the treatment room. Over the course of the 2022 Eliteserien campaign, Kamanzi chipped in with four goals and three assists as the far northern team finished in seventh place. The 22-year-old previously turned out for his formative club Rosenborg. He joins…

Two months on from their last appearance together, Paris Saint-Germain’s star front three are back in action tonight as the league leaders take on European challengers Rennes in a tough trip to Brittany. Kylian Mbappé came back from his (well-deserved) holiday across the pond this week and looks set to slot straight back into the starting lineup, alongside his World Cup final rival Lionel Messi. The Argentine made his triumphant return to action on Wednesday, as he led the team to victory over Angers, while Neymar is also back after pre-planned treatment on his ankle injury sustained in Qatar. Their supporting cast sees Fabián Ruiz and Vitinha occupy the middle…

As announced via a club communiqué, Angers have named Abdel Bouhazama as their head coach following a spell as interim boss. The club say they are “satisfied” with the job that Bouhazama has done thus far, saying that he has created “a constructive atmosphere” in the dressing room with players “determined to fight to get out of the relegation zone.” Click Here:

PSG have suffered a second loss of the new year away at Rennes for Ligue 1’s final match of gameweek 19. With Kylian Mbappé only deemed fit enough to start on the bench, Les Parisiens stuttered against a resurgent Brittany side with many senior players missing in a game of all-round middling quality. PSG’s first real opportunity came through Lionel Messi, whose shot went over Steve Mandanda’s. Stade Rennais replied with a penalty box volley from Arnaud Kalimuendo expertly deflected by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Les Rouge et Noir grew into the first half as the Christophe Galtier-led side seemed unable to find any cracks in a tight 5-man Rennes’ defence. The…

Ouest-France report this afternoon that Nantes are interested in Nice striker Andy Delort, with the club having been in contact with the player’s entourage for the past week. The former Montpellier is said to be unhappy with Les Aiglons this season, and ostensibly does not have the same connection with new manager Lucien Favre as he did with Christophe Galtier last year – as reported by France Bleu. The forward has found the net five times in domestic play this season, and was absent for the Coupe de France defeat to third-tier Le Puy-en-Velay, the official reason given by the club being that he was ill. Despite the arrival of his former…