Tag: Manchester United

PARIS: Barcelona and Manchester United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie on Thursday, while Juventus were left frustrated by Nantes in a 1-1 stalemate.

The game at the Camp Nou brought together two European giants who met in two Champions League finals in 2009 and 2011, and who are both in excellent form domestically.

After a goalless first half, La Liga leaders Barcelona went ahead five minutes into the second half thanks to a Marcos Alonso header at a corner.

However, United drew level just three minutes later when Marcus Rashford beat Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post to score a 13th goal in 15 games since the World Cup.

The Premier League side then took the lead just before the hour mark through a Jules Kounde own goal, but a Raphinha cross flew in inside the final quarter of an hour to secure a draw for Barca before a crowd of more than 90,000.

“I think it was a great game. Two attacking teams, I think it was a Champions League game, even more than that,” United boss Erik ten Hag told broadcaster BT Sport. “We have to finish it in Old Trafford.”

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was left complaining that his side should have had a penalty for a handball by Fred.

“It’s a stolen penalty,” said Xavi. “I don’t know why they don’t whistle for penalties for handball now. It seems incredible to me. Incredible.”

Winning the Europa League may represent the best chance for Juventus to return to the Champions League next season after they were handed a 15-point deduction in Serie A.

That punishment, for what the Italian Football Federation ruled was illicit transfer activity designed to artificially boost their accounts, has left the Turin giants 12 points adrift of the top four at home.

Against Nantes they looked on course for a comfortable win when Federico Chiesa nodded a ball across the face of goal for Dusan Vlahovic to open the scoring early on.

But French Cup holders Nantes equalised on the breakaway on the hour when Ludovic Blas ran through to finish emphatically.

A Chiesa shot then hit the underside of the bar and bounced down without quite all of the ball crossing the line, before it struck the post and rebounded away.

Nantes also survived a VAR penalty check for a handball deep in injury time, the referee instead giving them a free-kick and leaving Juventus with work to do in the return.

Sevilla win, Roma lose

Elsewhere, Monaco came from behind to triumph 3-2 away against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, with Axel Disasi scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.

An own goal by Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky had put Monaco ahead early on only for second-half goals by Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz to turn the game around.

However, Krepin Diatta pulled the principality team back level before France defender Disasi’s strike.

Shakhtar Donetsk were 2-1 winners against Rennes as the Ukrainian club played their first European game since selling star winger Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea.

Playing in the Polish capital Warsaw, Dmytro Kryskiv put Shakhtar ahead and Artem Bondarenko netted a penalty before Karl Toko-Ekambi pulled one back for Rennes.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma went down 1-0 away to Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg with Argentine midfielder Nicolas Capaldo scoring a late winner.

Sevilla, the competition’s most successful club, beat PSV Eindhoven 3-0 in Spain as Youssef En-Nesyri, Lucas Ocampos and Nemanja Gudelj all netted.

Ajax drew 0-0 with Union Berlin, while Sebastian Coates scored deep into stoppage time to earn Sporting a 1-1 draw with Midtjylland of Denmark in Lisbon.

The second legs will be played next Thursday with places in the last 16 up for grabs alongside the eight teams who topped their groups.

Fiorentina were the biggest winners in the first legs of the Europa Conference League play-offs as they trounced Braga 4-0 in Portugal.

Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 1-0 victory against CFR Cluj while there were also first-leg wins for Qarabag, Trabzonspor, AEK Larnaca, Partizan Belgrade and Ludogorets.

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LONDON: Manchester United have reportedly opened talks with Qatari investors as speculation intensifies over the future ownership of the Premier League giants ahead of a deadline for bids.

The American Glazer family, who completed their takeover of the 20-times English champions in 2005, announced in November that they were open to a sale or investment.

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos company officially joined the race to buy the club last month — the only bidder to publicly declare an interest so far.

Potential buyers are understood to have until February 17 to table offers.

The Daily Mail said a group of private investors from Qatar want to buy United and talks have taken place with the club’s hierarchy, confident that theirs would be the strongest bid.

The Guardian reported that Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, was interested in buying United, just weeks after the energy-rich Gulf state hosted the World Cup.

But the emir bought French champions Paris Saint-Germain in 2011 through Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) — meaning a full buyout of United would not be permitted under current UEFA regulations.

Britain’s Press Association said QSI was considering the purchase of a minority stake in United or another Premier League club.

The organisation is a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, which has assets worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

The chief executive of the QIA, Mansoor Al-Mahmoud, told Bloomberg last month: “Sovereign wealth funds are becoming investors in some of the clubs and you will not be surprised if we invest in this (area) but again we go into a very fundamental process and making sure if we invest this is very commercially driven for our future generations.”

Amnesty International said Qatari interest in United should act as a “wake-up call” to the Premier League over its ownership rules.

“Coming in the wake of the World Cup and strenuous efforts from the Qatari government to fashion a glitzy new image for the country, it seems highly likely that any Qatari bid for Manchester United would be a continuation of this state-backed sportswashing project,” said Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director.

He added: “We’re not necessarily opposed to the involvement of state-linked overseas financial consortia in English football, but the Premier League must urgently strengthen ownership rules to ensure they’re human rights-compliant and not an opportunity for more sportswashing.”

The unpopular Glazers saddled United with huge debts and further angered fans by backing the failed European Super League project in 2021.

The club have not won the Premier League since 2013 and have failed to win any silverware since 2017.

United are third in the Premier League this season after an improvement in form under manager Erik ten Hag, who took over before the start of the current campaign.

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MANCHESTER: Pep Guardiola was left fuming by the controversial VAR decision to allow a Bruno Fernandes goal that sparked Manchester United’s thrilling fightback in their 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday.

City were leading through Jack Grealish’s second-half header at Old Trafford when United snatched their dubious 78th-minute equaliser.

Marcus Rashford was clearly offside when he ran onto a through ball but Fernandes ran past him to fire home.

Although the goal was initially disallowed, it was eventually allowed to stand after a VAR check because Rashford didn’t touch the ball before Fernandes scored.

With Guardiola and his players furious that VAR ignored Rashford’s presence as a clear distraction to keeper Ederson, United took advantage of the champions’ loss of focus to grab a late winner through Rashford’s close-range finish.

“Marcus Rashford is offside, Bruno Fernandes is not. Rashford distracted our keeper and centre defenders,” Guardiola said.

“It is what it is. We know where we play. It is difficult for the referees in these stadiums.”

Even United manager Erik ten Hag conceded he could understand Guardiola’s frustration with such a debatable decision.

“I can see that from the other side as well – of course it’s a confusing moment but when you follow the rules he didn’t touch the ball, he was not interfering and it’s a goal,” Ten Hag said.

Third-placed United are now just one point behind City after extending their winning streak to nine games in all competitions.

“We were happy at half-time but after half-time it changed, we were not proactive any more and just before I wanted to change it, they score,” he said.

“But then the spirit in the team is so huge, the belief is there that this game is 90 minutes, and we can fight back, and they believed they could turn it around.”

Second-placed City could be eight points behind leaders Arsenal if the Gunners win at Tottenham on Sunday.

With spluttering City losing their momentum in the title race, Guardiola added: “It was a fantastic game. We were close and we have to improve when we concede the goal, be more stable, the gap between the first and second goal is too close.

“In general I have no regrets. I don’t care if we don’t win the Carabao Cup or the Premier League, we’ll try. I don’t care when a team performs how we play. It was quite similar to the many, many years we’ve been here.”

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MANCHESTER: Manchester United completed the loan signing of Dutch international Wout Weghorst for the rest of the season on Friday to bolster Erik ten Hag’s forward options.

The 30-year-old had been on loan at Besiktas from Burnley, but the Turkish giants announced they had received 2.8 million euros ($3 million, £2.5 million) to cut that deal short.

United have been short of strikers since Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract at Old Trafford was terminated in November.

Weghorst joined Burnley from Wolfsburg for £12 million in January 2022 but scored just two Premier League goals as the Clarets were relegated last season.

However, he struck nine times in 18 games for Besiktas and scored twice for the Netherlands in a thrilling World Cup quarter-final against eventual champions Argentina last month.

“I feel privileged to be joining Manchester United,” Weghorst said in a club statement.

“I’ve seen United’s progress under Erik ten Hag this season and can’t wait to start playing my part in pushing the team towards its aims.”

Weghorst was not registered in time to be able to feature against Manchester City on Saturday.

But he will add extra depth with the Red Devils still involved in four competitions.

“Wout has a consistent goalscoring record across several European leagues, and his attributes will add a further dimension to our squad for the remainder of the season,” said United’s football director, John Murtough.

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LONDON: Saudi Arabia would back private bids for Manchester United or Liverpool, its sports minister said, adding that the conservative kingdom was keen to host the World Cup.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal even said the Gulf state could be a new home for clubless superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Prince Abdulaziz said oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia, which has been on a buying spree of sports assets, would “definitely support” bids for the English Premier League giants, whose owners are canvassing investors.

“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and there’s a lot of passion about football,” he told the BBC.

“We will definitely support it if any private sector comes in, because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom,” Prince Abdulaziz added.

“But if there’s an investor willing to do so and the numbers add up, why not?”

Saudi Arabia, much criticised by activists for its human rights record, last year snapped up England’s perennial under-achievers Newcastle, who are now third in the Premier League.

Manchester United’s American owners stunned fans this week by revealing they would consider selling the club — just hours after announcing the departure of Ronaldo, 37.

Liverpool’s owners, also American, have said they are open to new shareholders but stopped short of confirming reports the club is up for sale.

After Ronaldo told British TV that he had rejected a huge offer to join a Saudi club, Prince Abdulaziz said: “Anything is possible, I would love to see Ronaldo play in the Saudi league.

“It would benefit the league, the sports eco-system in Saudi and it will inspire the youth for the future. He’s a role model to a lot of kids and has a big fanbase in Saudi.”

Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s great rival on the global stage, is already the recipient of Saudi money as a tourism ambassador for the country, which is courting foreign visitors and businesses.

Prince Abdulaziz also said Saudi Arabia’s chances of bidding for the World Cup would increase if it wins hosting rights for the 2026 and 2027 women’s and men’s Asian Cups.

Saudi Arabia is in talks with Egypt and Greece about a continent-crossing bid for the 2030 World Cup, an Egyptian official said in September.

“Any country in the world would love to host the World Cup,” the prince said.

“We need to uplift some of our venues,” he added. “We have a lot of stadiums that meet the requirement that we need, but hosting such an event is not just about the stadiums, it’s about the infrastructure, the people, about preparing everyone (for) such an event.”

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MANCHESTER: Manchester United’s owners said Tuesday they were ready to sell the club, potentially bringing down the curtain on an acrimonious 17 years under the Glazer family.

On a tumultuous day for the English giants, it was earlier revealed that star player Cristiano Ronaldo has left the club with “immediate effect.”

Weeks of turbulence appeared to have come to an end when United announced Ronaldo’s contract had been terminated by mutual agreement to bring to an end his second spell at Old Trafford.

That dramatic announcement was eclipsed just hours later by the news the US-based Glazer family could also be on their way out.

“The board will consider all strategic alternatives, including new investment into the club, a sale, or other transactions involving the company,” United said in a statement.

The Glazers have been unpopular with supporters ever since a £790 million ($934 million) leveraged takeover in 2005 burdened the club with huge debts.

Frustration towards the Americans has only grown during a nine-year decline in results on the pitch since Alex Ferguson’s retirement as manager in 2013.

The Red Devils have not won the Premier League title since Ferguson’s final campaign in 2012/2013 and have failed to win any trophy since 2017.

United currently sit fifth in the Premier League, 11 points behind leaders Arsenal.

“We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximizes the significant growth opportunities available to the club today and in the future,” added Avram and Joel Glazer, the club’s executive co-chairmen and directors.

The statement also recognised the need for investment in stadium redevelopment.

Old Trafford remains the largest club stadium in England with a capacity of 74,000 but has not had a significant upgrade since 2006.

Ronaldo departs

Erik ten Hag is the fifth permanent manager at Old Trafford in the past nine years and his early months in charge have been dominated by debate over Ronaldo’s place in the team.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had been used sparingly by the former Ajax boss in the Premier League.

Ronaldo reacted with an explosive interview on TalkTV last week in which he said he felt “betrayed” by the club and had no respect for Ten Hag.

The Portugal captain, who is currently competing in his fifth World Cup, also took aim at the Glazers, claiming they “don’t care about the club”.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is to leave Manchester United by mutual agreement, with immediate effect,” United said in an earlier statement.

“The club thanks him for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wishes him and his family well for the future.”

News of the Glazers inviting investment comes just weeks after Liverpool’s American owners, the Fenway Sports Group, indicated they were willing to sell.

Both United and Liverpool were involved in the failed European Super League (ESL) project that sought to create a US-style closed league format for Europe’s elite clubs without the need to qualify or promotion and relegation.

Amid a furious backlash to the ESL, a match between United and Liverpool was abandoned in May 2021 after supporters stormed the pitch at a time when fans were shut out of stadiums due to coronavirus restrictions.

Protests against the Glazers have continued to be common on matchdays at Old Trafford despite huge spending on player transfer fees and wages, including on Ronaldo’s homecoming.

In May, Premier League rivals Chelsea were sold for £2.5 billion ($3 billion), a record for a football club, to another American consortium led by Todd Boehly, with a further investment of £1.75 billion promised on the playing squad and infrastructure.

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MANCHESTER: Premier League franchise Manchester United has allegedly hired lawyers in a bid to explore potential action against Cristiano Ronaldo following the forward’s claims in a recent media interview, English media reported.

According to the details, the Premier League club now seek to engineer Ronaldo’s departure and potentially instructed the forward not to return after the FIFA World Cup 2022.

The decision presumably came in response to Ronaldo’s controversial interview in which he openly criticized United’s top hierarchy, accusing Man Utd of betraying him and saying that he has no respect for manager Erik Ten Hag.

United declared in a press release that it had begun “appropriate steps in response to Ronaldo’s statement.”

“Manchester United has this morning initiated appropriate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent media interview,” the statement read.

“We will not be making further comment until this process reaches its conclusion,” the statement added.

It is pertinent to mention that Ronaldo is due to arrive in Doha, Qatar on Friday alongside the Portugal squad ahead of the team’s first training session on Saturday.

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LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo has lashed out at Manchester United’s top hierarchy for not trusting him when he missed the pre-season due to his daughter’s illness and claims that  “the Glazer family do not care about the club”.

Ronaldo took the world by storm in his latest interview with the British news channel Talk TV, accusing Man Utd of betraying him and saying that he has no respect for manager Erik Ten Hag.

In the latest clip of a 90-minute interview released on Monday, the 37-year-old star footballer revealed that he was subjected to suspicion by two senior figures at Old Trafford when he said his daughter, Bella, was suffering from bronchitis – just three months after her twin brother had died.

“I spoke with the director and the president of Man Utd and they kind of didn’t believe that something was going wrong, which made me feel bad,” said Ronaldo.

“We had one week in hospital because Bella had a big problem and I didn’t go to the pre-season because of that.” he added

Man United forward also took a dig at the club’s owners – the Glazer family – saying they did not care about the club on the sporting side.

“Manchester are a marketing club – they get money from the marketing,” he said. “The sports, they don’t really care in my opinion.

The Glazers, who took over the club in a leveraged buy-out in 2005, leaving United with a debt of over £500 million, have been harshly criticized by fans and blamed for the club’s downfall.

“The fans are always right. The fans should know the truth. They should know that the players want the best for the club, I want the best for the club.” he said.

“This is why I came to Manchester United, this is why I love this club but you have some things inside the club which doesn’t help it reach the top level as City, Liverpool and even now Arsenal.”

Ronaldo claimed that under the prevailing set-up it would be difficult for the club to compete for top honours in the next two to three years.

“It will be hard for Manchester United to be top of the game in the next two or three years,” he said.

Currently, the five-time Ballon D’Or winner is with the Portugal squad in Qatar for FIFA World Cup 2022 and in his Instagram post, he pressed that his absolute focus was on national teamwork.

Reportedly, Man United United will seek legal advice before deciding how to respond to Ronaldo’s accusations and will await the release of the full interview later this week before taking any step.

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WASHINGTON: Elon Musk tweeted on Tuesday that “I’m not buying any sports teams”, calling a viral post about him purchasing Manchester United a joke.

The world’s richest man has a habit of posting provocative statements on Twitter for fun and Musk was at it again when he told his more than 103 million followers: “Also, I’m buying Manchester United ur welcome.”

The billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO made the comment in reply to another of his tweets, about supporting both of the United States two major political parties.

The 51-year-old, who is embroiled in a lawsuit over his bid to buy Twitter, was subsequently asked on the platform if he was serious about owning Manchester United.

“No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams,” Musk replied after his original tweet garnered nearly 500,000 “likes” in a matter of hours.

“Although, if it were any team, it would be Man U. They were my fav team as a kid.”

Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in world football but suffering a prolonged slump, are owned by the Glazer family. They have been targeted by angry fans.

There was no immediate reaction from United or its owners to Musk’s tweets.

Shares of the team listed on the New York Stock Exchange are down year to date, but ended Tuesday flat, with a market capitalization of $2.1 billion.

Despite calling it a joke, Musk’s tweet could land him in trouble with US regulators.

The Glazers are the focus of fan fury after the team’s dramatic fall from grace.

The Americans also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, an NFL franchise in Florida.

United fans have protested against the team’s senior management for poor performances in recent years, as well as their involvement in a plan to start a new “Super League” of Europe’s richest teams.

The Red Devils finished last season a lowly sixth in the English Premier League.

United have made another poor start to the campaign under their new coach Erik ten Hag and are bottom of the table after two defeats in as many games.

Fresh protests against the Glazers are planned ahead of United’s next game, at home to fierce rivals Liverpool on August 22.

Musk, who recently sold nearly $7 billion worth of Tesla shares, is in a major legal battle in the US state of Delaware over his aborted plan to buy Twitter.

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MANCHESTER: Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo will not be part of the club’s pre-season tour of Thailand for a friendly fixture against Liverpool.

According to details, the Portuguese star will not accompany the team on Friday’s flight to Bangkok as he has been granted a prolonged break owing to family reasons after missing out on pre-season training at Carrington this week.

It has been reported recently that the 37 year-old-star wants to leave the club this summer if the right opportunity comes across.

Meanwhile, United remains unsure about his presence in the Australia leg of the pre-season tour and his absence will further fuel doubts over his future with the club.

Manchester United will encounter Liverpool on Tuesday in Bangkok before flying to Australia for three friendly fixtures against Melbourne Victory, Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa on July 15, 19, and 23 respectively.

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