It was only a few weeks after he joined Fenerbahce in the summer of 2023 that Ryan Kent, the former Liverpool and Rangers player, advertised for a babysitter.
Along with a salary, health insurance was included in the package on offer, which was probably just as well seeing as the baby that needed sitting was a crocodile.
Alas, Kent’s contract was terminated by the Turkish side last October, leaving him and the croc clubless since then. But now there’s talk of Iranian club Persepolis, where former Fenerbahce manager Ismail Kartal is in charge, showing an interest in him.
It might seem like a peculiar enough route for Kent to take, but plenty of foreign players have joined the club in the past, among them Eamon Zayed and Anthony Stokes.
Brighton confirm Evan Ferguson loan to West Ham
Marcus Rashford unlikely to play for Manchester United again after loan deal
Luis Rubiales trial: Jenni Hermoso tells court she did not agree with kiss at World Cup
Erling Haaland’s arrogance comes back to bite him as Arsenal humiliate the Man City striker
But the main reason Kent is open to the move?
“The fact that it is legal to keep crocodiles at home in Iran,” reported the Tehran Times, “and Kent wants to bring his pet crocodile with him.”
It’s a love story like no other.
Lincoln’s famed rallying cry can’t help Tranmere
Tranmere Rovers are having a rough time of it in League Two this season, lying third from bottom of the table, just three points clear of the relegation zone. They were badly in need of a decent result at home to Colchester United on Saturday, then, manager Nigel Adkins doing his level best to inspire his players.
“A house divided against itself cannot stand. It’s a famous quote by who? Sixteenth of June 1858, Abraham Lincoln. It’s a great little phrase. Now we have to be together and everybody has got to bring the best of themselves for Tranmere Rovers Football Club.”
The result? Tranmere 1, Colchester 3. “I have a congenital aversion to failure,” Lincoln also once said. You hope for Adkins’s sake, Tranmere’s chairman doesn’t quote him in their next meeting.
Neymar heads for home with pockets bulging
So, Neymar’s Saudi Arabian adventure has come to an end after he and Al Hilal mutually agreed to terminate his contract with six months of it still to go, the Brazilian returning to his boyhood club Santos.
Did Al Hilal get value for money during his 18-month stay at the club? Well, they paid Paris Saint-Germain €90 million for him and gave him a two-year contract worth in or around €310 million. He’ll still get a big chunk of his wages for the last six months of that contract, even though he’s no longer an Al Hilal player.
He played just seven games for the club and scored a single goal, that cruciate ligament injury leaving him on the sidelines for the rest of the time. So, the cost of it all to Al Hilal works out at around €57 million per appearance and roughly €400 million for that goal. Pricey.
Quote of the week
“Every time I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, it turns out to be an oncoming train.” – Ange Postecoglou, not quite having a ball at Spurs.
Number: 84
That’s how many games Barcelona’s women went unbeaten at home, stretching over 662 days, until Levante’s 96th-minute winner on Saturday.
Word of Mouth
“Today there was a gentleman here called Klopp who won fewer titles in eight years at Liverpool than my coaching staff here at Palmeiras.” – Palmeiras gaffer Abel Ferreira not entirely offering Jürgen a warm welcome to São Paulo when he visited there in his role as Red Bull’s head of global soccer.
“After two months at Manchester United, I feel more like 50.” – Ruben Amorim (40) on ageing an entire decade since taking that job.
“It’s been like watching Coronation Street or EastEnders. Every Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, it’s all been much of the same. It has been dull and boring.” – How much has Graeme Souness been enjoying this season’s Champions League? Not a lot.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
