Marcus Rashford proud after swooping double awards

Marcus Rashford continued a season to remember by picking up two accolades at Manchester United’s end-of-season awards at Old Trafford tonight.

After scoring 30 goals in what has been an incredible comeback season after struggling last term, Rashford becomes the first Academy graduate to do so since Ryan Giggs in 1998.

The award came as no surprise and that showed when his teammates agreed by putting Rashford forward as United’s Players’ Player of the Year award.

While there were a number of players that could have been considered candidates for the award – such as Casemiro – I think most will agree that Rashford was most deserving this season.

Rashford gave a speech after collecting the award that came from his team-mates, describing it as a ‘proud’ moment.

He said (via ManUtd.com): “It’s obviously a proud moment. I feel I should have scored a few more, but, you know, there’s always room for improvement.

“That’s what I’ve been looOto do for next season.

“I’m pleased with how it went, but I’m looking forward to improve and hopefully getting better numbers in that next season.”

Rashford returned to the stage again minutes later to pick up the Sir Matt Busby Award – previously won by players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

In a second speech, Rashford added: “I feel a huge sense of pride. I just hope that more academy players can go on and win this award and feel what I’m feeling right now on the stage.

“The main reason why I came back into the season in the condition I was because that was probably my first summer where I was off.

“I was just hungry to get started with the new manager [and] new staff. In my mind I just had a positive feeling and based of this season, I wasn’t wrong, but I hope we can keep pushing and keep moving forward.

“I’m very happy. Very pleased. I just want to say a big thanks to [my] team- mates [and] staff because without them pushing you every day in training you don’t get to see the best version of me.

“I appreciate all of you guys and thank you very much.”

What an incredible honour to win both the Sir Matt Busby and Player’s ‘Player Of The Year’ awards tonight. To have the support of both the fans and my teammates means the world – I couldn’t do it without you all. Thanks to the manager & all the staff for their phenomenal help ❤️ pic.twitter.com/BXaVUIQwWU

— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) May 29, 2023

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Tinubu Makes First Speech as President, Says no Nigerian will be Poor During his Government.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said no Nigerian will be poor during his administration.

Tinubu stated this while delivering his inaugural speech as the 16th President of Nigeria at Eagle Square today, Monday, May 29, 2023.

He said; “Today permit me to highlight in broad terms the few initiatives that define our concepts of progressives, good governance, and purveyance of Nigeria’s ideal. The principle that will guide our administration is very simple.

“Nigeria will be impartially governed according to the rule of law (constitution). We shall defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threatened the peace and stability of our country.

“We shall remodel our economy to bring our growth and develop the GDP or achieve it much better than we have, I assure you. We we do that through job creation, food security, and an end to extreme poverty.”

He also said his predecessor and former President Muhammadu Buhari has done his best for Nigeria.

He said, “Permit me to say a few words to my predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari. You have been a honest man and patriotic leader. Buhari has done his best for the nation.”

Tinubu was sworn in as the 16th President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Similarly, Kashim Shettima was also sworn in as the Vice President of Nigeria.

Chief Justice of the Federation, Olukayode Ariwoola administered the oath of office to the President at 10:40 am, shortly after the Vice President took his oath of office.

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Buhari to Nigerians: Don’t consider debt profile alone — look at our assets, investments

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked Nigerians to take the country’s assets and investments into account when considering the debt profile.

The president said his administration doubled Nigeria’s stock of infrastructure to gross domestic product (GDP) from about 20 percent to over 40 percent.

In a statement posted on Twitter on Saturday, the president said the growth is “no small undertaking”. 

He said this occurred amid a plunge in global oil prices, a recession in the country, and a war in Europe.

“So, as we look at Nigeria’s debt profile, I urge us to also look at the assets and investment profiles, some of which was paid for by debt and some by investment income,” he said.  

“The wealth and prosperity of many nations, especially post-war Europe, was built largely on infrastructure and on debt redeemed over decades. Some of the projects are commercially self-liquidating.” 

The wealth and prosperity of many nations, especially post-war Europe, was built largely on infrastructure and on debt redeemed over decades. Some of the projects are commercially self-liquidating.

— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) May 27, 2023

Buhari added that without investing in infrastructure, the road out of poverty is a much tougher one.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) had said Nigeria’s total public debt reached N46.25 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2022.

Patience Oniha, director-general of DMO, said the debt stock is increasing due to a combination of several factors, including borrowings and the continued issuing of promissory notes by the federal government.

Oniha said several loans have been contracted from multilateral and bilaterals, while the federal government keeps issuing promissory notes to settle obligations for which it does not really have the revenue.

A promissory note is a legal instrument through which one party promises in writing to pay a sum of money to the other, either at a fixed or determinable future time or on demand of the payee, under specific terms and conditions.

Ngozi Okonjo–Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), had also warned that governors should monitor their states’ debt, and keep careful control of expenditures.

Okonjo-Iweala said it has become imperative for governors to focus on debt management because the country has challenges on the fiscal, debt, and monetary policy fronts.

The governors subsequently called for a quick intervention to curtail the nation’s rising debt profile.

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Victor Osimhen Spotted In Germany Amidst Link to The Premier League

Premier League clubs on the trail of Victor Osimhen may likely loose out on the Nigeria international as he was recently spotted in Berlin, Germany with his family.

Victor Osimhen has been linked to top Premier clubs who are ready for a summer move for the prolific Napoli forward.

Manchester United and Chelsea have been on the trail of the 2023 Serie A champion.

Manchester United primed Osimhen among their top striker target to beef up the Red Devils’ attack next season. They are ready to splash over £100m for the Nigeria international.

Chelsea are also interested in a move for Osimhen as the Blues continue to the search for a frontline striker next season, having struggle with poor finishing this season.

Earlier this season, Victor Osimhen fueled rumors of imminent Premier League move when he reiterated his dream of playing in the Premier League.

Big clubs from other top leagues in Europe are also in the race to sign Victor Osimhen in the summer. French Ligue 1 champions PSG and Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich were also linked to Osimhen with Premier League clubs still hoping to stay in pole position to land the Scudetto winner.

However, it appears the tide has turned with Victor Osimhen possibly closing in on a move to Bavaria in Germany with his girlfriend, Stephanie Ladewig, 22, said to be a huge factor.

Stephanie Ladewig is a German. According to reports, Ladewig wants Victor Osimhen to push through a move to Germany as she presses to return home.

Victor Osimhen girlfriend, Stephanie, wants to return home to Germany with Osimhen, according to BILD

Recently, Victor Osimhen and Stephanie Ladewig, including their daughter, Haile True, 1, have been spotted in Germany, sparking speculations the 24-year-old is closing in on a move to Germany amid links to Premier League.

Victor Osimhen and his family were seen arriving in a Germany Airport before making their way to a luxury Berlin hotel.

According to BILD, Stephanie Ladewig wants their daughter Haile True to be raised close to their mother’s family in Germany hence she is more likely to pull her influence on Victor Osimhen’s next destination.

The report adds Ladewig wants to return home where she met Victor Osimhen when the latter was plying his trade with Bundesliga club, Wolfsburg.

Victor Osimhen was Napoli’s main man as the club ended their 33 years wait for the Serie A trophy in style.

Osimhen broke George Weah’s record, emerging as African all-time highest Serie A top scorer with more than 46 goals.

His also enroute to smash the 2022/23 Serie A golden boot with 23 goals. Osimhen has two years remaining in his Napoli contract with reports emerging Napoli are expecting offers up to £130m if they must part ways with the striker in the summer.

Osimhen fueled rumors of his imminent exit during Napoli’s 3-1 win over Inter Milan when he was subbed off by Luciano Spalletti

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A post shared by CBS Sports Golazo (@cbssportsgolazo)

He furiously storm off pitch when he was subbed off. Osimhen is still leading Serie A top scorers’ chart this season but his rage has been linked to Lautaro Martinez’s gradual surge on his goal gap. Osimhen is just two goals better than Lautaro Martinez with one match left to the end of the season.

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Shettima’s Nomination: Atiku says Supreme Court dismissal won’t stop fight for justice

The Presidential Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar says that the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the case of the PDP against Kahsim Shettima, is not a setback to his quest for justice.

Atiku stated this on his official Twitter page on Friday. He said the party’s legal team is “primed to robustly prove that the election of February 25 was fraudulent, did not comply with the constitutional requirements and the electoral guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He further attested that the announced winner was not even qualified to contest the poll.

“The battle for democracy and the enthronement of a new order to spur growth and development in Nigeria is one to which I have committed my all and for which I am not ready to walk away at this point when our nation is at a crossroads.

“We know that sooner than later, our esteemed Justices will make the pronouncement that will serve as a befitting requiem for mandate bandits,” the statement added.

Atiku asked his supporters to be patient and conduct themselves peaceably, as the party diligently conduct its litigation at the Presidential Election Tribunal.

Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court had dismissed a suit by the PDP, challenging the alleged double nomination of Kassim Shettima, the Vice President-elect.

The court agreed with the lower courts that the PDP lacks the locus standi to institute such a case.

Reading the judgement, Justice Adamu Jauro, said the PDP acted as a meddlesome interloper and a busy body as the matter was an internal affair of the APC.

The sum of N2,000,000 was awarded against the PDP.

The Justices further held that the attitude of the appellant (PDP), amounted to misleading the court.

Shettima withdrew his Senate nomination on 6th July 2022 and was subsequently replaced. At this point, he was no longer a candidate for the Senate, and as such his position as vice president did not constitute a multiple nomination breach, it was said.

They added that for a person to have locus standi to challenge the nomination process of a political party, the person must be a neutral person and an aspirant to that position, and a member of the party.

The justices held that no matter the pains of the PDP on how the APC conducted it’s primary elections and nominated its candidate, the PDP must remain as an onlooker.

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FIFA U20 World Cup: Bosso defends Flying Eagles emphasis on Effective football over Aesthetic

The Flying Eagles picked their round of 16 with minimal fuss, against the pre-tournament predictions, and could finish top of group D if they secure just a point against Brazil in the final group game.

However, in spite of the team’s progress, questions over the overall performance and a lack of Fans’confidence always seem to cast a shadow on the team’s efforts.

Speaking on the Flying Eagles’ composition, Bosso defended his decision to stick with practicality and functionality over aesthetics.

The Coach told BRL there was a need to prioritize players with strength and pace over other qualities; it was crucial owing to how little time was left to prepare for the tournament.

“It did not start here. It started with the invitation of players for camping; when I looked at the preparation time,” the Flying Eagles Coach said.

“I knew we were behind schedule, the best thing as a national team coach and with le experience I have, was to find players with strength for the defense and for the midfield and attack. We went for players that have speed and pace.”

“If you have a team that has strength and pace, it will not be easy for any team to curtail them.

“Football is all about strength and pace, if you have that and a little bit of football intelligence then you are good to go.”

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Arsenal Fans Blows Hot, Blame Kim Kardashian For Not Winning Premier League Title

After losing the Premier League title to Manchester City, Gunners fans have taken to social media to lay blame on realty TV star, Kim Kardashian saying their downfall is connected to the ‘Kardashian curse’.

Arsenal’s shock defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday saw Manchester City win the league title, their third triumph in a row.

That’s despite the Gunners being in a commanding position and occupying top spot for the majority of the campaign.

In an interesting twist, some Arsenal fans on social media have attributed their team’s misfortunes to a visit by social media influencer Kim Kardashian to the Emirates Stadium back in March.

During the match between Arsenal and Sporting CP, which Kardashian attended, key player William Saliba suffered an injury.

Arsenal subsequently lost to Sporting on penalties, leading to their elimination from the Europa League. At the time of Kardashian’s visit, Arsenal was eight points clear at the top of the league.

Following their title collapse, Arsenal fans online have become convinced that Kardashian’s visit brought a curse upon the team.

Twitter has been flooded with comments, blaming the “Kardashian curse” for the club’s downfall. One user wrote, “I blame Kim Kardashian for this Arsenal downfall,”

While another tweeted, “Arsenal would’ve lifted the prem by now if it wasn’t for Kim Kardashian.”

Another frustrated fan expressed, “The fall of Arsenal started when she visited the Emirates, I’ll never forgive you Kim Kardashian,”

While a fourth user humorously remarked, “Since the day Kim Kardashian went to the Emirates Stadium to watch Arsenal, I knew they would crash out of the Europa League and bottle the Premier League. The Kardashian curse!”

In light of Arsenal’s failure to secure the title, manager Mikel Arteta lamented the number of goals his team conceded during the crucial stage of the season.

Arteta acknowledged, “We conceded a lot of goals in those games, 16 goals,” and stressed the need for exceptional performance in every aspect of the game.

Reflecting on the defeat at the City Ground, he added, “They [Nottingham Forest] are not a team that gives you any margins, and we have extended those margins too far.

Arsenal Fans Blows Hot, Blame Kim Kardashian For Not Winning Premier League Title

Today we gave them a goal and chances for another goal. We can’t put the guilt on someone. We should have been better as a team, and in the last few weeks, we have fallen short.”

While the “Kardashian curse” theory may be dismissed by many as superstition, it is evident that Arsenal fans are searching for answers to explain their team’s disappointment.

The power of fan beliefs and their impact on the psyche of players and teams cannot be underestimated. As Arsenal reflects on their season, it remains to be seen how they will regroup and aim to reclaim their former glory in future campaigns.

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Buhari exits with refineries in limbo

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, his promise to bring the state-owned refineries back into production has yet to be fulfilled.

Nigeria has four major refineries with a cumulative production capacity of 445,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Port Harcourt refinery comprises two units – the old plant 60,000bpd and the new plant (150,000bpd), while Warri refinery has a capacity of 125,000bpd and the one in Kaduna has 110,000bpd.

Nigeria is relying almost wholly on imports for fuel, while spending N400 billion monthly to subsidise petrol for consumers, according to Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Burgeoning fuel subsidies have put government incomes in a precarious situation and continue to push up the fiscal deficit, now at 5.3 percent of GDP, compared to the stipulated limit of 3 percent.

Following promises to rehabilitate the refineries, in March 2021, the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5 billion for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery. The Federal Government said the rehabilitation contract was awarded to Tecnimont SPA, an Italian company, and the refinery would be rehabilitated in about 44 months.

In August 2021, FEC approved $1.48 billion for the rehabilitation of the Warri and Kaduna refineries. $897 million would be spent to repair the Warri refinery, while the Kaduna refinery will gulp $586 million. The contracts were awarded to Messers Saipem SPA and Saipem Contracting Limited and the refineries will be rehabilitated in three phases of 21, 23 and 33 months.

The funds were expected to come from many components, including the NNPCL, internally generated revenue, budgetary provisions and Afreximbank. However in rehabilitating the refineries, the government has continually had to shift the completion date.

Timipre Sylva, who was the minister of state for petroleum resources until recently, said in January 2023 that the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt 60,000bpd refinery was being completed and it would commence operations by the first quarter of this year.

By February, Danladi Inuwa, executive vice president, business at NNPCL, said the refinery would commence operations by the second quarter of 2023.

Buhari, who doubles as minister of petroleum resources, said in October 2022 that the Warri refinery rehabilitation would deliver fuel production before the first half of 2023.

Joseph Obele, chairman for River State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, said in a statement that Sylva promised Nigerians that the Port Harcourt refinery would commence operations by December 2022, but he failed. He said he shifted it to the first quarter of 2023, and failed again.

“Now he is saying the second quarter of 2023; he will definitely fail. They are not committed to seeing the refinery functional. They are comfortable importing from the international market because they have shares in those foreign refineries,” Obele said.

With the refineries yet to come back on stream while gulping money, Nigeria stands the risk of continually relying on fuel imports and also spending heavily on petrol subsidy, which has been described by many as a drain on the government purse.

According to experts, having refineries that are efficiently and effectively functional in a country like Nigeria that has abundant resources will provide numerous opportunities such as the availability of petrol and other refined products to ensure energy security.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that Nigeria’s petrol import bill hit N5.2 trillion in 2022, the highest in six years.

Hawilti, a Pan-African investment research firm, in its ‘Refineries Watch Q4 2022’ report, said that with functional refineries, Nigeria could become the biggest oil refiner in the region by 2025, which will provide opportunities to boost its exports and generate more foreign exchange. It said this would create more jobs and stimulate economic growth in the region.

Some experts are sceptical about the capacity of these refineries if and when the rehabilitation is eventually completed, having been shut down for repairs since June 2019, especially as the NNPCL says it expects them to operate at around 90 percent capacity when repairs are completed and production resume by 2023.

In September 2020, Kyari said the refineries were shut down because the pipelines transporting crude to them had been “completely compromised” and the plants required rehabilitation.

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BREAKING: Buhari Seeks Senate’s Approval To Pay $556m, £98,526,013,N226bn Judgement Debts

Nigeria's number one man, President Muhammadu Buhari, has made a fresh request of the senate.

Buhari, on Wednesday urged the Senate to approve a request to pay judgment debt in the sum of $566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00 and N226billion being judgement debt owed by the Federal Government through the issuance of promissory notes.

Buhari’s letter of request was read at plenary by Senate President Ahmad Lawan.

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Tinubu: Don’t Expect Magic From Nigerian Judiciary; Supreme Court Requires Petitioners To Produce BVAS Machines For All Contested Polling Units, Says Odinkal

Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of Nigeria's National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has said Nigerians should not expect the election petition tribunal in Abuja to perform magic in its decision on election dispute resolution.

According to Odinkalu on Wednesday, judging by the Supreme Court judgment on the Osun State government election petition, the apex court has already predetermined the outcome of the major cases through an unrealistic standard of proof by demanding that whoever claims that there was election manipulation must produce all the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used for all the affected polling units (PUs).

He said the quality of judicial decision-making in election disputes is utterly diabolical.

According to him, the implication of the Supreme Court judgment is that if a petitioner alleges manipulation of results in 1,000 polling units, the petitioner must produce 1,000 BVAS machines, one for each PU.

He said, “Those expecting some form of magic from #Nigeria's judiciary in election dispute resolution should read this judgment in the Osun State governorship case. The #SupremeCourt says to prove results have been manipulated, you need to produce each BVAS machine for the affected PU.

“So, if you are alleging manipulation of results in 1,000 PUs, you must produce 1,000 BVAS machines, 1 for each PU. Meanwhile, these cases are decided in courthouses not warehouses. The court may just have pre-determined the outcome of the major cases through an unrealistic standard of proof.

“Think of it this way: to prove I have sent you an SMS, it is not enough for you to get the network provider to certify what transpired, you must produce the phone from which the SMS was sent. The quality of judicial decision-making in election disputes is utterly diabolical.”

The Supreme Court had in its judgment on the Osun State governorship election petition held that the “BVAS devices for each of the 744 polling units which the appellants solely relied on as the basis for grounds 2 and 3 of their petition were not produced and tendered by them as evidence in support of their case.

“Rather they sought to prove the record of accredited voters in the BVAS devices for each of the 744 polling units by means of a report of the examination of the INEC database or backend server (exhibit BVR) said to contain the information on the number of accredited voters and number of votes cast in a polling unit transmitted by the BVAS to the said INEC database during the election on election day.

“The record in the BVAS machine for each polling unit is the direct and primary record of the number of voters accredited in that polling unit on the election day in the process of the election.

“It is not in dispute that the disputed polling units results were collated in their respective wards by their Ward Collation Officers. The collation by virtue of Regulation 48(a) of INEC Regulations and Guidelines (supra), a presumption arises from the collation of the polling units results that the number of accredited voters recorded in the result in Form EC8A agrees with the record of accredited voters in the BVAS.

“The petitioners cannot rebut this presumption without producing the BVAS machines in evidence Regulation 48(0) INEC Regulations and Guidelines (supra) states what the number of accredited voters in the result should agree with as "the number recorded in the BVAS.

“So it is the number of accredited voters recorded in the BVAS that the number of accredited voters recorded in the result in Form EC8A must be compared with or verified from, to determine if there was manipulation.”

Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared the winner of the presidential election held on February 25 after polling 8,794,726 votes.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party and their presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obi respectively are challenging Tinubu’s victory at the election petition tribunal

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Tinubu’s Inauguration Hangs in the Balance as Supreme Court to Decide on Qualification on May 26

ABUJA, Nigeria — In a highly anticipated decision that could shape the political landscape of Nigeria, the Supreme Court has scheduled a verdict on May 26 on a case brought by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the qualifications of President-elect Bola Tinubu and Vice-President-elect Kassim Shettima.

The PDP seeks to overturn the judgment of the Court of Appeal, presided over by Justice James Abundaga, which determined that the party lacked the standing to bring the suit.

The appeal seeks to disqualify Tinubu based on a purported double nomination of his deputy, Shettima, who, according to PDP, simultaneously held positions as both a Senatorial and Vice Presidential candidate.

The outcome of this case could have seismic implications. If upheld, Shettima’s disqualification would jeopardize the swearing-in of Tinubu as president since they were elected on a joint ticket.

Senior lawyer e Agim, representing the PDP, argued before the Supreme Court that the All Progressives Congress (APC) had previously conceded to Shettima’s double nomination during the appellate court proceedings, a claim vehemently denied by the APC.

Drawing upon a precedent set in the case of Uche Nwosu against the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Agim contended that the defendants should not have the right to present an argument given the alleged double nomination.U

“There’s a punishment fr double nomination. They ought not to be heard,” Mr Agim forcefully told the court on Monday. “It should never happen in this country.”

As the nation watches, the verdict on Friday will not only determine the fate of the incoming leadership but could also set a crucial precedent for the democratic processes in Nigeria, reinforcing the sanctity of its electoral laws.

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Erling Haaland's rarely seen older brother joins Man City title celebrations

Manchester City marvel Erling Haaland wasn't the only member of his family who caught the eye during Sunday's title celebrations.

That was after the Norwegian's rarely seen older brother, Astor, joined in the procession at the Etihad Stadium, where dad Alf-Inge also go involved in the festivities. The 50-year-old once dreamed of lifting a top-flight title as a Blue himself more than 20 years ago, but watching his progeny take Pep Guardiola's kingpins to the promised land is the next best thing.

And Erling wasn't the only son of the former City midfielder taking part in the afterparty following City's 1-0 win over Chelsea. That's after Astor - five years his brother's elder - was spotted revelling in the club's fifth league crown in only seasons.

Despite having a five-year headstart on his 'little' brother, Astor remarkably appears to hold the height advantage over the 6'4" Viking. The 27-year-old has studied finance at the BI Norwegian Business School in the past, though it's unclear as to whether he's still enrolled.

Little is known about the strapping sibling other than he was born of Alf-Inge's relationship with ex-wife Gry Marita Braut. The two brothers also share a sister, Gabrielle, who was born midway between the pair and was also present for the first of what could be numerous Premier League titles

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