Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers revealed the club's owners thought Mario Balotelli was a "£50million player" that they could bring in for cheap and develop.

Rodgers, who was sacked in October last year, signed Balotelli with the money Liverpool received from the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.

The Italian striker cost the club £16million but was one of the Rodgers' last options after he failed to sign Alexis Sanchez.

"We played AC Milan in a friendly in America because what we needed was a replacement for a player who could press from the top end of the field," he told Sky's Goals last Sunday programme.

West Ham striker Diafra Sakho had his £200,000 Lamborghini Huracan "written off" after crashing into a wall in east London last Monday night.

The incident, which happened in the Emerson Park/Hornchuch area close to Sakho's home, saw the Senegalese collide with an oncoming Mini Cooper and career into a wall at about 9pm

David Haye has urged British heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua to make the fans happy and step in the ring with him this year but has labelled it as a 'risky fight' for his potential opponent.

Haye made a dream return to boxing on Saturday night when he knocked Mark de Mori out within three minutes of his comeback at London's O2 Arena.

The former world champion had not fought for three-and-a-half-years but returned in style and sent a timely reminder to his heavyweight rivals.

Defending London Marathon champion Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya will renew his rivalry with 2014 winner and compatriot Wilson Kipsang at this year's race after both confirmed their participation in the April 24 event, organisers said yesterday.

Kipchoge, who currently leads the world rankings, clinched victory over Kipsang, 33, at last year's London Marathon by just five seconds and also won the 2015 Berlin Marathon, where he clocked a personal best of two hours and four minutes.

Tottenham could be forced to continue paying Emmanuel Adebayor even if he signs for a new club this month.

The Togo striker is on the lookout for a new team with a switch to the Premier League his top priority.

Spurs are still paying the striker £100,000 per week despite the fact he left the club in September after falling out of favour in north London.

And the White Hart Lane outfit is facing the prospect of forking out for the 31-year-old even if he finds a new club.

Crystal Palace is leading the chase for the former Arsenal hitman, while Watford is also keeping tabs on the forward.

Opoku Nti, the General Manager of Kumasi Asante Kotoko, has lauded the healthy competition in the club’s squad, explaining that it is the secret behind their recent successes.

“It’s a new development in our team which is bringing out the best from the players”, he added.  

“The players we have at our disposal are all fighting to cement their positions in the team and I think it’s a good sign for the club”, he explained.

Former assistant coach of the Black Stars, Abdul Karim Razak, has made a passionate appeal to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to offer him an appointment to coach any of the national teams.

According to Razah, ever since his appointment as assistant to Giuseppe Dossena, (a former Italian-born Stars head coach), was truncated in 2001, he had always been sidelined at the national level in spite of his expertise and experience in the art of football coaching.

Expressing concern about the situation during an interview with the Graphic Sports, Razak, who also captained the Stars in the 80s, said his appointment as deputy to Dossena came at the time when he was engaged by the Dragons in Benin.

The National Peace Council has appointed former Black Stars captain, Stephen Appiah, as Ghana's Peace Ambassador for the next Presidential and Parliamentary elections slated for November 7, 2016.

Appiah's appointment was announced by the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante, during the launch of the Unity Match last Monday at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra.

Rev Asante explained that the Council's choice of Appiah was motivated by his years of dedicated service to the country as the captain of the national team.

He praised Appiah for an incident-free tenure as national team captain, wishing him success in his new role.

Heads of some national sporting associations are upbeat about the appointment of veteran sports journalist and commentator, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, as the new Minister-designate for Youth and Sports.

Yesterday, President John Dramani Mahama released his first reshuffle list with the Odododiodoo Member of Parliament as the one to take over from the incumbent Dr Mustapha Ahmed.

In an interview with the Graphic Sports yesterday, the president of the Ghana Hockey Association, Richard Akpokavie, said Nii Lante’s rich background in sports dating back to his youthful days, would propel him to be more comfortable with the job.

According to him, as a former weightlifting president, Mr Vanderpuye would be expected to pay more to the needs of the least-financed sporting disciplines in the country.

Arsenal's Spanish left-back Nacho Monreal has signed a new long-term contract with the Premier League club. The 29-year-old joined the Gunners from La Liga side Malaga in January 2013.

Monreal has made 113 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions, including all 22 league matches this season.

The University of Cape Coast (UCC) emerged overall winners in the 2016 Ghana University Sports Association (GUSA) games which ended at the University of Education, Winneba last Friday.

The UCC won eight trophies from all the 11 disciplines they participated in and crowned the winners in the games which sportsmen and women from eight public universities in the country participated in.

The two-week games were held on the  theme:  ‘’Developing and sustaining Sporting Talents for Ghana’’ and the participating universities were the University of Education, Winneba (UEW), University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA), University of Ghana, Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) and University of Cape Coast (UCC).

Ghana midfielder Richard Boateng has finally been rewarded for winning the best player at Granada B in the 2014/15 season.

The 23-year-old was excellent for the Spanish side in the third-tier league after scoring five goals for his club.

Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has commended ex-Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah and former English Premier League stars Sol Campbell and George Boateng, for their initiatives in organising a Unity Match aimed at promoting peace as the nation holds its Presidential and Parliamentary Elections on November 7 this year.

President Kufuor lauded the trio yesterday morning when they paid him a courtesy visit to brief him on the preparations for the event ahead of the official launch billed as a two-legged football match slated for June 8 and June 11, 2016.

“Stephen is, indeed, my son and I celebrate him always for his leadership. So, I am not surprised he has succeeded in putting together a team like you  with the objective of maintaining peace and unity in the election year of our country,” former President Kufuor stated.

Andre Ayew has emerged as a target for Chelsea as they look to bolster their attacking options for the second half of the season, it's claimed.

The Swansea striker was recently the subject of a rejected £11m bid from Sunderland according to reports, and the Black Cats are ready to come back with £14m.

Francois Zahoui might have built a formidable and physically defensive unit for this tournament but Oliseh’s boys need nothing less than a victory to show supremacy.

Nigeria face Niger Republic in a Group C fixture at the 2016 African Nations Championship at the Stade Régional Nyamirambo, Kigali today.

Niger upstaged Togo in the qualifying series to confirm their place in the championship – their second in the history of the competition.

The Menas made their debut appearance in 2011 but were knocked out in the quarter finals round by host Sudan on penalties.