THE SECRET CONVERSATION BETWEEN EDOUARD MENDY AND BRAHIM DIAZ BEFORE THE PENALTY MISS
A 17-minute walk-off and a failed Panenka: Discover the inside story of how Morocco lost the AFCON 2026 final to Senegal.
Morocco manager Walid Regragui said Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz looked unsettled before his shocking penalty miss in the Africa Cup of Nations final against Senegal.
Diaz had a golden shot at making history when Morocco won a last-minute penalty with the score still 0-0. One goal would have handed them their first continental title in half a century. But right when the pressure was at its peak, chaos broke out. Senegal’s coach, Pape Thiaw, pulled his whole team off the pitch to protest the VAR decision that led to the penalty. Suddenly, nobody knew what was going on. The Senegal players disappeared into the dressing room, fans tried to storm the field, and security scrambled to keep order. Seventeen minutes ticked by—seventeen long, tense minutes.
When the dust settled and everyone finally returned, Senegal’s keeper Edouard Mendy dragged things out even more, stalling at the penalty spot while Sadio Mane tried to calm everyone down. Diaz tried to block it all out. He kissed the ball, set it down, and went for a Panenka. But the shot was weak, and Mendy barely had to move. He caught it with ease.
The final turned into a wild, messy affair. In extra time, Senegal’s Pape Gueye broke through with a brilliant winner, and just like that, Senegal had their second AFCON title. Morocco’s players were crushed. Diaz, in tears, watched as Senegal lifted the trophy.
People on social media started whispering that Diaz missed the penalty on purpose, maybe as a protest against himself. But Regragui dismissed all of that. “He had too much time to think before the kick, and that messed with his head,” he said. “But what’s done is done. That’s how he took the penalty. Now we move forward.”
When reporters pressed Mendy about his conversation with Diaz before the miss, he just smiled. “That’s between us,” he said. “We went through it together, we came back together, and tonight, we can be proud.” Did he think Diaz missed on purpose? “No way. Let’s be serious. You really think, with one minute left and a country waiting fifty years for a title, anyone would throw that away? He wanted to score, and I did my job stopping him. That’s it.”
Diaz finished as the tournament’s top scorer, but after the loss, he was left posing for photos with player of the tournament Sadio Mane and top goalkeeper Yassine Bounou—an awkward moment after such heartbreak.
Nigeria legend John Obi Mikel didn’t sugarcoat it on Channel 4: “That miss spoils everything Diaz did in this tournament. He’s going to be devastated for weeks, maybe months.”
Former Morocco international Hassan Kachloul agreed. “Diaz will have nightmares about this for days, but that’s football. He probably changed his mind a few times before that kick. Sadly, Morocco paid the price.”
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane earned plenty of praise for dragging his teammates back onto the field after their walk-off. Former Nigeria forward Daniel Amokachi called him “an ambassador for football”, saying, “He knows what this game is all about. Morocco only have themselves to blame—they had so many chances to win.”
Kachloul added, “What really stood out was Sadio Mane. He was the one who got his team back on the pitch. It shows what kind of person he is. He saved African football—and maybe world football, too—by bringing them back.”
THE NAPOLI TRAP: MAPPING THE €70M PENALTY CLAUSE BLOCKING OSIMHEN’S ITALIAN RETURN
Victor Osimhen transfer update: Discover why a return to Italy is "impossible" and how Chelsea could fund his massive salary.
Victor Osimhen only joined Galatasaray last summer, but the transfer rumours just won’t let up. Chelsea have chased him for ages, and now people keep linking him with another big move.
Galatasaray didn’t just make noise last year; they shook Turkish football. They went all out in the transfer market, spending like never before and forcing bitter rivals Fenerbahçe to open their own wallets wide.
They smashed their old transfer record (which was €18 million) by paying €75 million for Osimhen alone. Then they brought in Wilfried Singo for €31 million and Ugurcan Cakir for €27.5 million. Ismaila Jakobs and Przemyslaw Frankowski joined as well, costing another €8 million and €7 million. The whole spree? €148.5 million. And that’s not even counting the huge wages for these guys and for free agents like Leroy Sane and Ilkay Gundogan. Meanwhile, Galatasaray only brought in €18 million from player sales.
So yeah, people are starting to wonder if this is sustainable. Telegrafi ran the numbers and tried to calm everyone down, suggesting the spending isn’t as reckless as it looks.
Is Galatasaray going to have to sell Osimhen? The club pulled in roughly €275 million in revenue last season and might hit €350 million this year. That’s solid for any club, even compared to Europe’s biggest.
Their Champions League run, knocking out Juventus and reaching the round of 16, already earned them about €40 million, and that’s not including TV money and other perks from the tournament.
Add it all up, and Galatasaray’s assets are worth a net €143 million. They’re also fully compliant with UEFA’s Squad Cost Ratio rule, mostly because they’re spreading out the cost of those big transfer fees.
Still, Turkish football has a rough history with money. Plenty of clubs have crashed and burned, so fans are nervous about Galatasaray spending so much so fast.
And with Osimhen, people are doubting he’ll stick around. His wages alone, €15 million a season, are a heavy load for any Turkish club. Rumour has it he’s even missed a couple of pay cheques. Honestly, that’s not unheard of. Alvaro Morata called Galatasaray out for not paying up last summer. But with Osimhen, it’s just speculation for now.
Despite all that, the chatter about Osimhen leaving is only getting louder. He’s been talking up Juventus recently, a club that tried to sign him last summer. Napoli blocked that move; they didn’t want to sell to a Serie A rival.
To stop any quick return to Italy, Napoli added a penalty clause when they sold Osimhen to Gala. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, if Galatasaray sells him back to Serie A in 2026, they owe Napoli another €70 million. In 2027, it drops to €50 million.
That clause only runs for two years, but with Serie A clubs struggling for cash, paying €100 million-plus for Osimhen (once you add his wages and the penalty) just isn’t realistic. Juventus or anyone else in Italy? Out of the question, at least for now.
So, if Galatasaray has to sell Osimhen, whether for money or other reasons, the Premier League seems like the most likely landing spot. He’s already turned down moves to Saudi Arabia. The guy wants to stay in Europe.
PSG looked at him, but their new salary cap rules make a deal tough. Same story with Chelsea in the past; they just didn’t want to cover his pay cheque. Still, Chelsea keeps coming up in the rumours, and some fans want the club to rethink their transfer plans and bring in proven winners to help guide Liam Rosenior’s young squad.
Osimhen would cost a fortune, no question. But he’s exactly the kind of player Chelsea needs.
THREE GAMES LEFT? WHY ANTOINE GRIEZMANN’S ATLéTICO CAREER COULD END ON MARCH 7TH
Griezmann to Orlando City: Discover the verbal agreement allowing a free transfer and the latest on the Tottenham UCL draw.
Diego Simeone admits he really doesn't know if Antoine Griezmann will stick around at Atlético Madrid until the end of the season, as the French forward’s talks with Orlando City heat up.
Earlier this week, ESPN reported that Griezmann is deep in negotiations with the MLS club, even though his contract with Atlético runs until 2027. Sources say both sides want to get the deal done now, and things are moving fast.
Griezmann isn’t just another player for Atlético; he’s their all-time top scorer and still one of their most important guys on the pitch. He’s already played 22 La Liga games this season, and the team’s got some serious matches coming up, including a Copa del Rey semifinal second leg against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Simeone, speaking earlier in the week, said Griezmann has earned the right to choose what comes next after everything he’s given the club.
“I already said it the other day,” Simeone told reporters on Friday before Atlético’s game at Oviedo. “I’m not going to keep repeating myself. We honestly don’t know what’s going to happen. Everyone knows how much Antoine means to us.”
Friday’s Champions League draw threw Atlético up against Tottenham, with the first leg in Madrid on March 10 or 11 and the return in London a week later.
After the draw, Atlético’s director of football, Mateu Alemany, tried to shut down the rumours. “Antoine has this season and two more years on his contract. He’s totally focused on what’s ahead. He’s playing great. Right now, we’re counting on him for tomorrow, for Tuesday, and for the Champions League. Everything else is just talk.”
But sources tell ESPN that Griezmann might actually leave sooner, with a possible farewell at home against his old club, Real Sociedad, on March 7.
If that happens, Griezmann would have just three more games in red and white: Oviedo on Saturday, Barcelona on Tuesday, and then Real Sociedad.
“We’re talking with Antoine,” Simeone said. “He knows what he means to us. There’s no need to pressure him. We just have to focus on what’s in front of us: Oviedo, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, and Tottenham. Big games.”
MLS’s transfer window closes on March 26 and then opens again in July.
Right now, all sides are working out the final details of the transfer, according to ESPN’s sources.
Simeone would have liked Griezmann to finish out the LaLiga season, then leave in the summer, but there’s a verbal agreement in place. Atlético promised Griezmann he could go for free whenever he decided it was time.
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