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African Players in Europe: Liverpool Legend Salah Bids Farewell

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after his final match in a Liverpool shirt after the English Premier League match Liverpool FC against Brentford FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 24 May 2026. (EPA)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after his final match in a Liverpool shirt after the English Premier League match Liverpool FC against Brentford FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 24 May 2026. (EPA)
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African Players in Europe: Liverpool Legend Salah Bids Farewell

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after his final match in a Liverpool shirt after the English Premier League match Liverpool FC against Brentford FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 24 May 2026. (EPA)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah reacts after his final match in a Liverpool shirt after the English Premier League match Liverpool FC against Brentford FC, in Liverpool, Britain, 24 May 2026. (EPA)

Mohamed Salah struggled to hold back the tears during his final appearance for Liverpool on Sunday after a trophy-filled career with the Anfield outfit.

The 33-year-old winger, who will captain Egypt at the 2026 World Cup next month, leaves as the Reds' third-highest goalscorer of all-time on 257.

Popularly known as the Egyptian King, Salah played 74 minutes before being substituted for Jeremie Frimpong in a 1-1 draw with Brentford.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

Salah waved an emotional farewell to Liverpool after nine glittering years at Anfield in a draw against Brentford. There was no goodbye goal for Salah, but he did provide the assist for Curtis Jones as a point secured Liverpool's place in the Champions League next season.

ANTOINE SEMENYO (Manchester City)

Semenyo finished third in the Premier League goalscoring charts this season after netting his 17th for runners-up Manchester City in a 2-1 home defeat by fourth-placed Aston Villa. The Ghanaian international was one of the few City stars not rested by Pep Guardiola in his final game in charge and flicked in from a corner to open the scoring at the Etihad.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Manchester Utd)

Cameroon international Mbeumo finished off a brilliant team move for his 12th goal of the season as third-placed United ended the season on a high with a 3-0 win at Brighton.

SPAIN

EZ ABDE (Real Betis)

Moroccan winger Abde ended an excellent campaign with a goal in Real Betis's 2-1 win over Levante on the final day of La Liga. The 24-year-old scored his 10th league goal of the season to put his team in front as they celebrated their Champions League qualification with a home victory.

BRAHIM DIAZ (Real Madrid)

Real Madrid playmaker Diaz netted the fourth in Los Blancos' emphatic 4-2 win over Athletic Bilbao. The Morocco international was able to score his first top-flight goal of a season in which he was often reduced to a bit-part role, from close range at the end of a neat team move.

RANDY NTEKA (Rayo Vallecano)

Vallecano are focused on the Conference League final against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but were able to sign off from La Liga with a 2-1 win over Alaves thanks to Randy Nteka's late goal. The Angola attacker showed poise in the box to receive a low pass and drill home his third goal of the league season.

FRANCE

ABDALLAH SIMA (Lens)

The Senegalese striker struck on 78 minutes to seal a 3-1 victory for Lens over Nice in the French Cup final. Sima got on the end of a header back towards his own goal by veteran Brazilian defender Dante, and stabbed the ball into the net.

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Sports

Late Gvardiol Strike Earns Maresca Winning Start and Brighton Hammer Villa

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - August 23, 2026 Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol celebrate after the match REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - August 23, 2026 Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol celebrate after the match REUTERS/Chris Radburn
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Late Gvardiol Strike Earns Maresca Winning Start and Brighton Hammer Villa

Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - August 23, 2026 Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol celebrate after the match REUTERS/Chris Radburn
Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - August 23, 2026 Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Josko Gvardiol celebrate after the match REUTERS/Chris Radburn

City's post-Pep Guardiola era began with late drama as Josko Gvardiol's stoppage-time winner secured a 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in Enzo Maresca's first Premier League game in charge on Sunday.

The defender thought he had been denied when his close-range finish was ruled offside, only for a VAR review to overturn the decision and spark wild celebrations at the Etihad Stadium after Marc Guehi had earlier hauled City level.

"Everyone is proud in the moment, it's the opening game of the season and we know how important it is, especially with all the changes we've had in the previous weeks," Gvardiol told Sky Sports. "We need to enjoy this, we deserve it and I'm ⁠happy with the ⁠three points."

The hosts had been stunned in the 26th minute when City failed to deal with a long ball, allowing Rayan to release Evanilson down the right, and the Brazilian's low cross found Marcus Tavernier unmarked at the far post for a simple finish.

But Maresca's side kept pressing and were rewarded in the 84th minute when Guehi rose highest to power home ⁠a corner. Gvardiol won it in the 91st minute when Rayan Cherki poked the ball through a gap in the back line and the defender swivelled before slotting home.

Erling Haaland, sporting a new buzz cut after ditching his trademark flowing blonde hair, had earlier squandered a good opportunity when he misjudged his run and headed Nico O'Reilly's inviting cross away from goal.

Aston Villa suffered a nightmare opening match as they were beaten 4-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion, with all the goals and a red card for Joao Gomes coming in the first half. An own goal by Victor Lindelof was ⁠followed by ⁠a Maxim De Cuyper finish. Jack Hinshelwood then scored twice in less than two minutes.

Villa, who lost key players Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Ezri Konsa in a transfer-window exodus, went behind in the eighth minute when Pau Torres played a loose ball back into his own area, allowing De Cuyper to pounce, Reuters reported. The Belgian's shot struck the post before rebounding in off Lindelof.

Worse followed in the 18th minute when Georginio Rutter delivered a cross that De Cuyper converted from close range.

Hinshelwood swept home the third in the 30th minute before striking again barely a minute later when Villa lost possession straight from the restart.

Villa were reduced to 10 men when Gomes was shown a red card for violent conduct in the 40th minute.

Sports

Norris Wins F1's Dutch Grand Prix after Battle with Antonelli

First placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates with the trophy on the podium after the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, 23 August 2026. EPA/Sem van der Wal
First placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates with the trophy on the podium after the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, 23 August 2026. EPA/Sem van der Wal
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Norris Wins F1's Dutch Grand Prix after Battle with Antonelli

First placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates with the trophy on the podium after the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, 23 August 2026. EPA/Sem van der Wal
First placed McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates with the trophy on the podium after the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix at the Circuit Zandvoort racetrack in Zandvoort, Netherlands, 23 August 2026. EPA/Sem van der Wal

McLaren’s Lando Norris passed Kimi Antonelli and Lewis Hamilton in the space of a single lap before holding on to win the Dutch Grand Prix for back-to-back Formula 1 victories Sunday.

Norris started on pole but was overtaken by Antonelli's Mercedes at a restart after the race was stopped for a heavy crash by home hero Max Verstappen, who was unhurt, shortly after the start.

Norris reeled in Antonelli before passing him around the outside of the first corner in a daring move on lap 54 of 72, then took the lead from Ferrari's Hamilton before the lap was over.

The defending champion held on with old tires to take the win. “This fight is still on," he said over team radio.

“The move (to pass Antonelli) was good. I knew I was not going to get many chances. Every lap I spent behind him my chances got lower and lower,” Norris said. “Well played from my part...I probably had one chance.”

Antonelli was second after his Mercedes teammate George Russell was ordered to move out of his way, following a failed gamble on a tire change by Antonelli. Russell clung on to finish third ahead of Hamilton, The Associated Press reported.

There was tension at Mercedes as both Antonelli and Russell criticized the team's decisions over the radio.

Antonelli called his team's strategy “too risky” when the team congratulated him on second place, while Russell earlier seemed to object to being asked to give way to his teammate.

“Is he fighting for the win? Or is he planning to catch Norris?” Russell questioned, at a point where Norris was far ahead of both.

Russell relented after the race and said he felt Mercedes had made the right decision to avoid the two battling for position as Hamilton closed in behind.

Antonelli “would have overtaken anyway so it was the right decision,” Russell said. "It’s been a strong weekend overall so I’ll take the positives.”

There was a half-hour delay after Verstappen slammed into the wall on a damp first lap, stopping the race and ensuring a nightmare end to his last home race in the Netherlands for the foreseeable future.

The Dutch Grand Prix is dropping off the schedule after this season and the many orange-clad Dutch fans who turned up to support Verstappen instead saw Norris and his orange McLaren take the win.

Charles Leclerc was fifth on another disappointing day for Ferrari ahead of its home race in Italy in two weeks’ time. Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri was sixth after running in the top three early on, and Liam Lawson salvaged seventh for Red Bull after being called in to replace the injured Isack Hadjar.

Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Audi, with Fernando Alonso ninth in the best result of an otherwise-disastrous 2026 for Aston Martin. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly rounded out the top ten.

Sports

Man City Set to Sign Morocco Midfielder Bouaddi from Lille

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Olympique de Marseille - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France - December 5, 2025 Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi applauds fans before the match after the announcement of his contract extension REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Olympique de Marseille - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France - December 5, 2025 Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi applauds fans before the match after the announcement of his contract extension REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
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Man City Set to Sign Morocco Midfielder Bouaddi from Lille

Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Olympique de Marseille - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France - December 5, 2025 Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi applauds fans before the match after the announcement of his contract extension REUTERS/Benoit Tessier
Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Lille v Olympique de Marseille - Decathlon Arena Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France - December 5, 2025 Lille's Ayyoub Bouaddi applauds fans before the match after the announcement of his contract extension REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

Manchester City are set to sign midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi from French side Lille, with British media reporting the Premier League club could pay up to 100 million euros ($116.80 million) for the 18-year-old.

The Athletic reported City will pay an initial fee of 95 million plus up to five million in add-ons for the Morocco international.

Bouaddi would become one of City's most expensive signings, following the arrival of Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest in a reported 116 million pounds ($158.18 million) deal earlier this summer, Reuters reported.

Primarily a defensive midfielder, Bouaddi made 30 Ligue 1 appearances as Lille finished third and secured qualification for the Champions League.

Bouaddi also made his senior debut for Morocco in May and was later included in the country's 26-man World Cup squad. He made his tournament debut against Brazil and started five of Morocco's six matches as they reached the quarter-finals.