Football Blog (Page 182)

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that he would be happy to see Arsenal win the Premier League this season if Manchester United do not go all the way. The Gunners sit top of the table heading into the World Cup, five points ahead of reigning champions Manchester City and 11 ahead of United, who climbed up to fifth after a tricky start to the season. Amid United’s struggles has been the controversy surrounding Ronaldo, who has publicly clashed with manager Erik ten Hag and amplified his concerns at Old Trafford with an inflammatory interview with Talk TV. In one of the more light-hearted segments, RonaldoRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that he rejected a big-money offer to Saudi Arabia because he had no desire to leave Manchester United at the time. Ronaldo was offered a €350m move to Saudi Arabia this summer but he rejected the chance to make the move, instead opting to remain at Old Trafford in an attempt to continue his impressive goalscoring form. However, he has butted heads with manager Erik ten Hag, who he has confessed he does not respect, and now a January exit appears to be on the cards. Asked to confirm the reports of an offer from Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo told TalkRead More →

[ad_1] Senegal have confirmed that Sadio Mane will take no part in the 2022 World Cup as a result of his injury. The Bayern Munich forward had initially been expected to miss the tournament anyway but he was included in Senegal’s final World Cup squad, even though the African nation acknowledged that they were likely to be without Mane for the first few games. However, Senegal have now admitted defeat in their attempts to get Mane back fit and have formally ruled him out of the tournament. “Unfortunately, today’s MRI scan shows us that the evolution of the injury is not as positive as weRead More →

[ad_1] Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham has stressed that Ivan Toney was left out of England’s World Cup squad ‘on footballing grounds’. Toney, the Premier League’s third highest scorer behind only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane, was a surprise omission from Gareth Southgate’s final squad, with many fans questioning how the Brentford striker failed to make the cut. A few days after the squad announcement, however, Toney was charged by the FA with 232 alleged breaches of betting regulations. Amid claims that the charge was behind Toney’s omission from the squad, Bullingham told BBC Sport: “He was absolutely available for selection. He was notRead More →

[ad_1] Mauricio Pochettino has revealed he would ‘open’ to managing England in the future. Pochettino has been out of a job since leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season but previously spent nearly seven years living and working in England with Southampton and Tottenham. The Argentine has also been heavily touted for the Manchester United job at various points. Pochettino maintained a good relationship with the England setup during his time as a club manager in the Premier League, with Southampton and Spurs often sending players to the national team. “Of course, my relationship with England has always been very good,” he toldRead More →

[ad_1] Emmanuel Petit has been full of praise of Arsenal & France’s William Saliba, citing the defender’s need to ‘prove something’ to Milkel Arteta as a key reason behind his recent form. Saliba was signed by the Gunners in 2019 following a breakthrough campaign at St. Etienne, but was shipped out on loan by to Ligue 1 sides for his first few seasons on the Arsenal books. Many fans expected the centre-back to be a key player in Arteta’s defence last campaign, but he was surprisingly sent out on loan to Marseille – and won the Ligue 1 young player of the year award forRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester City have denied suggestions from Cristiano Ronaldo that he came ‘close’ to signing for them in the summer of 2021. Ronaldo sought to leave Juventus following three seasons in Turin, and it was reported in August 2021 that a move to the Etihad Stadium was possible. The Portugal international claimed in his recent TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan that a deal to join City was ‘close’, only for him to re-sign for Manchester United following an intervention from Sir Alex Ferguson. However, ESPN report that City are disputing this version of events, insisting that their interest in Ronaldo was merely ‘mild’. At theRead More →

[ad_1] One of the major debates before any World Cup squad announcement is whether the coach should be prioritising experience or youthful exuberance. Of course, a mix is often the way to go but sometimes in certain positions, a coach may have no choice but to go with a young star who has never been to a World Cup but has shown enough promise to be worth a go. At the 2022 Qatar World Cup, the youngest squad by average age is Ghana, who are also the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. The average age of Otto Addo’s squad is 23.5 years old, narrowly beatingRead More →

[ad_1] At least one conversation that you’ve had this week has started with: “So…that Cristiano Ronaldo, eh?” The mercurial forward has been writing his own headlines in the wake of his bombshell sit-down interview with Piers Morgan. Oh, what a joy it has been to watch these two completely self-aware beings have a man-to-man before our eyes. Ronaldo has done a lot of finger-pointing as to why his career is on the decline, and it inspired us to resurrect our ‘Who is to blame?’ series. There will never be a better time to dust it off. Here are the 30 main things to blame forRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Portugal’s only warm-up friendly before the start of the World Cup due to a stomach bug. Portugal face Nigeria in Lisbon on Thursday night before heading out to Qatar, with the squad having gathered at the national team facilities earlier in the week. Ronaldo trained on Monday and Tuesday as normal but was then absent on Wednesday. “Ronaldo has a gastritis and did not train today in order to recover and rest,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said after the session. “It’s a condition that doesn’t help much, as it affects the players a lot, they lose aRead More →