Ian Wright has leaped to the defence of Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham after criticism in the media, and claims that England “aren’t ready for a black superstar”.
Bellingham was left out of the England squad for the October internationals by manager Thomas Tuchel, who preferred to go with the same squad from the camp before that, but was brought back into the fold for the fixtures this month against Serbia and Albania.
After being left on the bench for the win over Serbia, Bellingham came on as a substitute and played a role in Eberechi Eze’s goal, before being named man of the match for his performance in the win over Albania a few days later, where he was named in the starting lineup.
Bellingham was substituted in that game, with reports coming out afterwards that he stropped as he was brought off the pitch, although Tuchel said after the game that he hadn’t seen that but would have a word with the midfielder.
But while appearing on The Overlap, Wright was asked by Gary Neville if he is being targeted for his skin colour rather than his actual performances, which sparked a powerful message from the Arsenal legend.
“I had to do something for GQ not long ago, and I said as an Englishman, I’m an Englishman, I can’t hide from that. Even thoug when I was younger people would say ‘you’re not really English’, yeah I’m English.
“I don’t think they’re ready for a black superstar. Who can move like Jude [Bellingham] is moving. They can’t touch him. He goes out there, he performs, he does what he does, he says ‘who else?’. It’s too uppity for these people.
“I’ll put it in football terms. They all love N’Golo Kante. He’s a humble black man, gets on with what he’s doing. Not saying that he’s an uncle Tom or anything, that’s just how his personality is. But if you get a Pogba, or a Bellingham, and you get that kind of energy, that does not sit well with the people. That kind of person.
“So someone like Jude, for some reason, frightens these people because of his capability and the inspiration he can give.
“It’s something that you’re taught as a black man when you’re going out there, you just want to do the best you can and keep your head down. And be, for want of a better term, a humble f****** slave. This is dragging up from that kind of energy. Because if you are outspoken, black, and playing to that kind of level and not caring, that frightens certain people.
“That’s what’s happening with Jude. This guy is obsessed with him. He’s moving off that type of energy. He can’t see a black man doing what Jude is doing and not think that it’s not uppity. That he’s not an uppity n*****. I’m going with that. That’s what that comes down to.”
“I sent a message to Jude saying ‘listen my friend, be ready’ [before England’s recent internationals]. Something was coming, I could feel it.
“I said ‘just be ready’. The thing is, of course it’s private, but he said ‘ready for what?’. I said ‘listen, it’s coming and I’m here. I’m going to be here and I’m going to make sure that I’m going to be on this side.
“Because what happens is it comes, and it just keeps coming. It’s like a tsunami. Unless you play well and do something, that just shifts it for a little while, because as soon you play again and don’t play well, it comes back.
“He said ‘what’s coming’, and I just told him ‘be ready for it’, and it’s here.”
Neville mentioned the time that Raheem Sterling came to him to point out that he was being unfairly treated for the colour of his skin, and there was a general agreement around the table that Bellingham’s criticism is coming from a place that isn’t necessarily about his performances or ability.
Wright has now made his position clear and has put it out into the universe that it is something to look out for. He made his defence of the player public on Instagram too, and now will be looking to ensure the player is properly protected going forward.
There has already been so much to talk about regarding the 2026 World Cup. On the pitch, Lionel Messi showed there’s still magic in his boots as he bagged a hat-trick for Argentina vs Algeria, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino has regularly made negative headlines with his behaviour behind the scenes.
Geopolitical issues also continue to cause concern, with Iran players forced to leave the United States immediately after their 2-2 draw with New Zealand, as they had to fly back to Mexico just two hours after the final whistle. Adding to the chaos, it’s now been revealed that a World Cup star was recently ‘arrested over match-fixing offences’.
The man in question is Ivory Coast footballer Elye Wahi.
Elye Wahi via Reuters/Kyle Ross
As per The Athletic, Wahi was arrested on suspicion of match-fixing offences less than two weeks before the World Cup began. The report adds that, sources with knowledge of events, who have spoken anonymously as they are not authorised to do so publicly, confirmed the 23-year-old is the subject of an active investigation, which is seeking to establish whether the Ivory Coast star, while playing for his club side Nice, deliberately earned a yellow card against Metz on 17 May.
The practice of manipulating events within a game is known as spot-fixing. Wahi received a yellow card in the 35th minute after a late tackle on Metz defender Sadibou Sane. Moments before that, he had committed another foul, sliding in on full-back Bouna Sarr, but avoided a yellow card.
Thanks to the booking, his first of the season at that point, the Nice player was suspended for the first leg of Nice’s relegation play-off against Saint-Etienne on 26 May. He watched from the stands as the game ended 0-0, before then playing in the second leg and scoring two goals as his side won 4-1 to avoid Ligue 1 relegation.
On the same day as his Man of the Match display, 29 May, anti-corruption specialists in the French police arrested Wahi. However, he has not been charged with any crime as the investigation continues.
The exact figure they must raise in transfer sales has been revealed.
Statement Made As Wahi Plays at World Cup Amid Spot-Fixing Investigation
Despite that, Wahi has remained part of the Ivory Coast team competing in the US at the World Cup this summer and even started for the Ivory Coast in their opening 1-0 win over Ecuador in Philadelphia, hitting the bar in the second half. Ivory Coast’s next game is against Germany in Toronto on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the Marseille public prosecutor’s office has made a statement, telling The Athletic on Tuesday:
“We can confirm that a 23-year-old football player, competing in France’s Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 as part of an investigation opened by the Marseille public prosecutor’s office into allegations of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering.
“He was released after he was interviewed in police custody. The investigations remain ongoing. The football player is not a member of the French selection taking part in the World Cup.”
According to multiple anonymous sources with knowledge of the case, the French police probe began after the Ligue de Football Professionnel (the governing body that runs the domestic game in France) ‘received several notifications of suspicious betting patterns’ in Nice’s Ligue 1 fixture against Metz, involving wagers on Wahi to receive a yellow card.
The footballer only changed allegiance to the Ivory Coast in March this year, having represented France, where he was born, at youth level.
Ghana’s run to the Quarter-Final of the 2010 World Cup, and ultimate penalty heartbreak, captured the imagination of the African continent and elevated them to a position of substantial prominence within the footballing landscape.
However, ‘the Black Stars’ have a rich history of producing some outstanding talent over the years, that extends far beyond the famous 2010 team.
Four African Cup of Nations triumphs and several runs to the latter stages of this competition contribute to what is one of the continent’s most successful footballing nations. There is a long list of players who have forged impressive careers in Europe that have emanated from the West African nation.
GIVEMESPORT have identified the 15 greatest Ghanaian players in history, ranking them based on a number of factors.
15 Inaki Williams
Career Span: 2013-present
Inaki Williams
A one-club player up until this point, Inaki Williams looks set to spend the entirety of his career with Athletic Bilbao, who he joined as a youth player in 2012 after four years with Pamplona. Williams spent the first season of his senior career with Bilbao’s farm team, Basconia, but since then has never really looked back, having swiftly become an established part of the club’s first team.
Though born and raised in Spain, Williams was able to represent Ghana due to his parents being from there and elected to play for the country in 2022. Williams, who has had an exceptional fitness record throughout his professional career, has since played in over 25 matches for the country but, to date, has scored very little.
The Premier League has seen an abundance of extremely talented players, but who makes the cut?
14 Stephen Appiah
Career Span: 1995-2012
A midfielder whose career spanned almost 20 years, Stephen Appiah spent the bulk of his time as a player in Italy, turning out for Udinese, Parma, Brescia and Juventus between 1997 and 2005. From Turin, he went to Fenerbahce where he won a league title and Super Cup within his three-year stint there, before returning to Italy in 2009 and retiring three years later.
Internationally, Appiah debuted for the Black Stars in 1995 and would represent his country for the next 15 years, spending eight of those years, from 2002 onwards, as Ghana’s captain. With the armband, Appiah guided Ghana to the World Cup both in 2006 and 2010, retiring from international duty after helping his country reach the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup, a record for Ghana.
Stephen Appiah’s International Career
Ghana Caps
69
Ghana Goals
16
Ghana Honours
None
13 Mohammed Kudus
Career Span: 2018-present
Mohammed Kudus began his professional career in Denmark, having moved there as part of the Right to Dream Academy. In 2020, he signed for Ajax, with whom he started to truly make a name for himself around the globe. Kudus spent three years in the Eredivisie and his exceptional form and potential meant a big-money move was never going to be too far away.
In 2023, West Ham United made Kudus the second-most expensive Ghanaian player in history when they agreed a deal worth a base fee of £38 million. Though Kudus didn’t follow up his first Premier League season’s form with anything like the same, Tottenham paid £55 million for his services but spent most of his debut season with Spurs out injured. Kudus made his debut for his national team in 2019, as a teenager, and has remained a consistent part of their side.
12 Edward Acquah
Career Span: 1956-1965
A professional for just nine years, Edward Acquah left a lasting legacy in Ghana as a footballer. A forward who began his career as a youth player as a goalkeeper, Acquah represented Eleven Wise and Real Republicans domestically, two teams within his native country.
Acquah made his debut for the Black Stars in 1956, briefly playing for them as The Gold Coast before Ghana gained independence from British rule. Across the next eight years, Acquah was a consistent and reliable source of goals for his country and his tally of 45 goals in just 41 matches saw him rank as Ghana’s top goalscorer, a record that was only broken in the 21st century by Asamoah Gyan. But many Ghanaian fans still regard Acquah as their top scorer, after scoring in unofficial matches against teams such as Blackpool, when the Seasiders toured Africa in the 1960s.
Edward Acquah’s International Career
Ghana Caps
41
Ghana Goals
45
Ghana Honours
AFCON (1963)
11 Thomas Partey
Career Span: 2013-Present
Many may point to Thomas Partey’s failure to produce for an underwhelming Ghana side over recent years, with the Villarreal man certainly the nation’s most talented individual of the last few years. He boasts a more impressive domestic career than most Ghanaians, having won La Liga, and the Europa League, played in a Champions League final and making over 300 appearances for two of Europe’s biggest clubs.
“The Dribbling Magician” is not an easy title to acquire, yet one that Mohammed Polo was given all the same. Mohammed Polo spent his entire 22-year career playing in his native country of Ghana, predominantly with Royal Oak, who are the country’s most historic and most successful side.
Polo made his international debut in 1973, the same year he moved to Royal Oak for the first time. A forward, he would spend 12 years playing for his country in which time he notched 20 goals in 54 matches and helped the Black Stars win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1978, with his performances throughout seeing him named to the team of the tournament.
Some of these will stay in the minds of fans forever.
9 Kwadwo Asamoah
Career Span: 2008-2022
Not only was Kwadwo Asamoah an ever-present figure in Ghana’s 2010 World Cup team, starting every game in the tournament, but he also featured regularly in AFCONs between 2008 and 2013, helping the side reach the Semi-Final or better on four separate occasions. 71 caps for a nation in one of its most successful spells in modern times, the former Juventus star was a staple midfield linchpin alongside Michael Essien for the Black Stars.
Asamoah was a versatile and hard-working defensive midfielder, and this versatility and adaptability meant he was a useful option for a dominant Juventus side in the 2010s. The Kumasi-born man was at the heart of six consecutive Serie A titles and played an integral role in helping the Old Lady reach two Champions League finals.
Overall, a career which included 13 major honours and a prolonged spell in the side for a successful period for his country cannot be overlooked. Asamoah is often ignored in debates around Ghana’s greats, but should absolutely be in the conversation.
Asamoah’s International Career
Ghana Caps
71
Ghana Goals
4
Ghana Honours
None
8 Jordan Ayew
Career Span: 2009-Present
Although he may not flaunt as illustrious a club career as many others on this list, Jordan Ayew’s impact on the international stage exceeds most others who have worn the Black Stars shirt. The former Crystal Palace forward has made 108 caps for his country, making him the second-most-capped Ghanaian ever, whilst scoring 28 goals.
Ayew has played in two World Cups and five AFCONs, including playing a pivotal role in the 2015 side that reached the final of this competition. Add his international success to his solid, if unspectacular, domestic career which saw serviceable stints at Marseille and Aston Villa, alongside a Ligue 1 triumph, and the 32-year-old undoubtedly deserves his place in the Ghana footballing hall of fame.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema are among the huge names that have won trophies aplenty during their careers.
7 Sulley Muntari
Career Span: 2002-2022
Another midfielder who enjoyed huge success in Italy, Muntari played at a similar level to Asamoah and ultimately left a similar legacy on the international stage. However, unlike Asamoah, Muntari lifted the Champions League in 2010 with Inter Milan, an honour that evaded his compatriot.
The ball-winning midfielder was one of the greats of this kind in the mid-2000s, following the likes of Claude Makelele in pioneering this role. He featured consistently for the Black Stars in their various deep exploits in AFCONs and was part of the 2010 World Cup side, albeit playing limited minutes in the tournament due to disciplinary reasons.
Muntari was often praised for the constant improvements he made to his game, adapting superbly with age. This led to a resurgence in his career in the 2010s, where he became an important cog in the AC Milan midfield in his early thirties.
The Champions League has brought some dark memories for several of Europe’s biggest clubs.
6 Samuel Kuffour
Career Span: 1994-2009
A player who may not quite have made the impact for Ghana as many have on his list, but whose club achievements are almost unparalleled. Samuel Kuffour spent 10 years at the heart of Bayern Munich’s defence, winning 14 major honours, including winning the Champions League in 2001.
In an era where not many Ghanaians were pulling up trees for Europe’s very best, Kuffour dominated a Bayern backline with his imperious strength and deceptive pace. While managing a modest 59 caps for his national team, he was part of the first Ghana team to ever qualify for a World Cup in 2006 and was one of the talismanic figures in the team that paved the way for the successful generation that followed.
Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing a new forward this summer who has been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, according to Sky Sports.
The key focus for United in the current summer transfer window has been to strengthen their options in the middle of the park.
Casemiro left the club following the expiration of his contract, leaving United short of options.
Manuel Ugarte has also been linked with a departure, which could leave Michael Carrick with a limited number of midfielders heading into the 26/27 season.
A deal has reportedly been agreed to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson, but it appears that United are pushing to bring in further midfielders.
On top of that, United could look to strengthen in other positions as they prepare for the Champions League.
The report also confirms that Liverpool consider Diomande a top target, while he is valued at over £86m by the Bundesliga club.
Liverpool and United aren’t the only clubs showing an interest in signing the RB Leipzig star this summer, which is no surprise after an impressive season in the Bundesliga.
There is no doubt Manchester United need to bring in a number of reinforcements in the summer transfer window to help Carrick keep them heading in the right direction.
United enjoyed a resurgence under Carrick last season after he arrived in January, and they benefited from having no European distractions, regularly playing just once a week in the Premier League.
Some of their competitors for the top four were also competing in Europe at the same time, so it was undoubtedly easier for the Red Devils.
Now that they will often be playing twice a week in the Champions League and Premier League, they need a deeper and more competitive squad to cope with the added fixtures.
