Sport

Sir Bobby Charlton, Man Utd, England Legend dies aged 86

By Web News 1145

Manchester United and England legend, Sir Bobby Charlton has died at the age of 86.

A statement by the legend’s family reads,” It is with great sadness that we share the news that Sir Bobby passed peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was surrounded by his family”.

“His family would like to pass on their thanks to everyone who has contributed to his care and to the many people who have loved and supported him. We would request that the family’s privacy be respected at this time.”

Sir Charlton came through the Manchester United youth system and went on to become one of the club’s greatest-ever players, famously surviving the Munich air disaster at the age of 20.

The former forward went on to score 249 goals in 758 games for the Red Devils, winning three league titles and the FA Cup.

He also lifted the European Cup with Manchester United in 1968, scoring twice in the 4-1 final win over Benfica.

Manchester United also paid a heartfelt tribute to Charlton and offered their sympathies to his family.

“Manchester United are in mourning following the passing of Sir Bobby Charlton, one of the greatest and most beloved players in the history of our club,” read a statement.

“Sir Bobby was a hero to millions, not just in Manchester, or the United Kingdom, but wherever football is played around the world”.

“He was admired as much for his sportsmanship and integrity as he was for his outstanding qualities as a footballer; Sir Bobby will always be remembered as a giant of the game”.

“Following his retirement, he went on to serve the club with distinction as a director for 39 years. His unparalleled record of achievement, character and service will be forever etched in the history of Manchester United and English football; and his legacy will live on through the life-changing work of the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation”.

“The club’s heartfelt sympathies are with his wife Lady Norma, his daughters and grandchildren, and all who loved him”, the Manchester United statement added.

Goal/Maxwell Oyekunle

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Sport

Mason Greenwood: All Charges Dropped, Criminal Proceedings Ended

By Web News 542

Manchester United footballer Mason Greenwood has had all charges against him dropped following the “withdrawal of key witnesses”.

The 21-year-old forward faced allegations of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault with all three charges related to the same woman.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it had a “duty to stop the case” following the “withdrawal of key witnesses and new material that came to light”.

Those developments meant there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction”, it added.

The investigation began just over a year ago, in January 2022 with a trial date earlier set for 27 November this year.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the decision to drop the charges had “not been taken lightly”.

GMP’s head of public protection, Chief Superintendent Michaela Kerr, said it was “only fair” that the force publicised the latest development given the “significant media coverage of this case”.

She added: “The investigation team has remained in regular contact with the legal team, providing any updates of note, and so understand the rationale for the discontinuation of proceedings at this stage, and that this decision has not been taken lightly”.

Ms Kerr did, however, appeal to people who felt they were, or might have been, a victim, reiterating GMP’s “commitment to investigating allegations of violence against women and girls”.

Also, Manchester United has not made any comments about the development yet.

It would be recalled that Greenwood has been suspended by the club since January 30 last year, with the club adding that he would not return to training or play any matches “until further notice”.

Sportswear giants, Nike, also suspended and later terminated its sponsorship deal with Greenwood, while Electronic Arts confirmed he had been removed from active squads on its FIFA 22 game.

The Bradford-born player came through the United academy and made his senior debut in a Champions League victory away to Paris Saint-Germain in March 2019.

He has one senior cap for England, playing in the Nations League match against Iceland in September 2020.

Sky Sports/Maxwell Oyekunle

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Manchester United Appoints Erik Ten Hag As Manager

By Web News 789

Manchester United have appointed Ajax coach Erik ten Hag as their next manager.

The Dutchman, 52, will take over from interim boss Ralf Rangnick at the end of this season on a three-year deal which can be extended by a year.

Rangnick, who replaced the sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November, is set to move into a consultancy role.

Ten Hag will become United’s fifth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

‘It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United’

“It is a great honour to be appointed manager of Manchester United and I am hugely excited by the challenge ahead,” said Erik ten Hag.

“I know the history of this great club and the passion of the fans, and I am absolutely determined to develop a team capable of delivering the success they deserve“.

“It will be difficult to leave Ajax after these incredible years, and I can assure our fans of my complete commitment and focus on bringing this season to a successful conclusion before I move to Manchester United.”

BBC

Sport

Man Utd, Real Madrid, others Condole with Ronaldo over Newborn Son’s Death

By Web News 669

The football world rallied around Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner Georgina Rodriguez on Tuesday after they announced that their newborn son had died.

The 37-year-old Manchester United forward had revealed in a social media post last October that the couple was expecting twins.

In a post released on Monday on the Portuguese international’s Twitter account, they confirmed the birth of a baby girl.

“It is with our deepest sadness we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away. It is the greatest pain that any parents can feel,” Ronaldo and Rodriguez said in a jointly signed statement.

“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.

“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.”

The couple, who met during Ronaldo’s time at Real Madrid, have a four-year-old daughter together, while Ronaldo has three other children.

“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all their expert care and support.

“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time.”

The announcement was met with widespread sympathy from across football.

“Your pain is our pain, Cristiano,” Manchester United tweeted. “Sending love and strength to you and the family at this time.”

On their web page, Real Madrid said that the club and its officials “deeply regret the death of one of the children that our beloved Cristiano Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, were expecting”.

“Real Madrid joins the grief of the whole family and wants to show them all our love and affection,” the Spanish giants said.

Rival clubs, among them Leeds United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, also sent condolences.

“All of us here at Liverpool FC send our deepest condolences to you, Georgina and the family,” Liverpool tweeted.

Ronaldo’s United teammates also joined the outpouring of sympathy.

“Thoughts are with you and Georgina, brother I’m so sorry,” forward Marcus Rashford wrote on Twitter.

Goalkeeper David de Gea responded to Ronaldo’s announcement with a simple heart emoji.

AFP/Punch

Sport

Cristiano Ronaldo Loses Baby Boy

By Web News 1076

Manchester United striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, has lost his baby boy, the Portuguese star said on Monday.

The 37-year-old’s partner Georgina Rodriguez had given birth to a twin boy and girl. But a brief statement released by the duo confirmed the death of the boy.

“It is with the deepest sadness that we have to announce that our baby boy has passed away,” they said in a statement posted on Ronaldo’s social media handle. “It’s the greatest pain any parents can feel.

“Only the birth of our baby girl gives us the strength to live this moment with some hope and happiness. We would like to thank the doctors and nurses for all the care and support.

“We are all devastated at this loss and we kindly ask for privacy at this very difficult time. Our boy, you are our angel. We will always love you.”

Manchester United Facebook/Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Former Man United Manager Louis Van Gaal Reveals He has Prostate Cancer

By Web News 570

Former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says he is battling prostate cancer.

The Dutchman, currently in charge of the Netherlands national team, made the announcement on Dutch TV programme Humberto on Sunday.

Van Gaal, 70, said he had kept the news from his players during the recent international break.

“I didn’t want to tell it to my players because it could have influenced their performances,” he added.

Van Gaal is in his third spell as Netherlands head coach, having led them to third place at the 2014 World Cup and now to the 2022 finals in Qatar.

He added: “In each period during my time as manager of the national team I had to leave in the night to go to the hospital without the players finding it out until now, while thinking I was healthy, but I am not.”

In a two-year spell at Manchester United, Van Gaal led them to FA Cup success in 2016 before he was replaced by Jose Mourinho.

He has also won league titles with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AZ Alkmaar and Ajax, where he led the Dutch side to Champions League glory in 1995.

BBC/Olaolu Fawole

Sport

Manchester United Sacks Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

By Web News 614

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been sacked as Manchester United manager after an “embarrassing” 4-1 defeat at Watford, with Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino the club’s top target to take over next summer.

United have confirmed Solskjaer’s assistant Michael Carrick will be placed in temporary charge, with the club also revealing their intention to appoint an interim manager until the end of the season.

Pochettino is the club’s first choice as Solskjaer’s permanent replacement, with the former Tottenham manager potentially becoming more attainable by the summer than he is currently.

Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag is understood to be United’s second choice.

Solskjaer signed a new three-year deal in July but leaves after overseeing five defeats in their last seven Premier League matches – a run which sees them 12 points behind leaders Chelsea.

The Old Trafford hierarchy had ignored increasingly vociferous calls to relieve Solskjaer of his duties in the wake of a humiliating 5-0 loss to rivals Liverpool and a 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester City in early November.

But his position was discussed by United officials on Saturday evening following the crushing defeat at Vicarage Road before the announcement of his dismissal followed.

A club statement said: “Manchester United announces that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left his role as manager. Solskjaer leaves Manchester United after failing to win a trophy in nearly three years as manager.

Culled from Skysports

Sport

Europa Quarter-Final: Manchester United to Play Granada, Arsenal Face Slavia Prague

By Web News 643

Manchester United have been drawn against Granada in the Europa League quarter-finals, while Arsenal will face Slavia Prague.

Ajax have been drawn against Roma, while Dinamo Zagreb play Villarreal.

In the semi-finals, the winner of the Granada v Manchester United tie will play Ajax or Roma and Dinamo Zagreb or Villarreal will play Arsenal or Slavia Prague.

The two-legged quarter-final ties will be played on 8 and 15 April.

The semi-finals are scheduled for 29 April and 6 May.

The draw means Manchester United and Arsenal could play each other in the final, which will take place in Gdansk, Poland on 26 May.

The Gunners were involved in the last all-English Europa League final against Chelsea in 2019, with the Blues winning 4-1 in Baku.

Granada are playing in Europe for the first time and their last-eight tie against Manchester United will be their first meeting with English opposition.

The Red Devils are one of only two previous winners left in the competition along with 1992 champions Ajax, who United beat in the 2017 final.

Slavia Prague meanwhile have been drawn against a British club for the third time this season having beaten Leicester and Rangers in the previous rounds.

Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb reached this stage after a remarkable 3-2 aggregate victory against Tottenham.

Europa League quarter-final draw

Granada v Manchester United

Arsenal v Slavia Prague

Ajax v Roma

Dinamo Zagreb v Villarreal

Europa League semi-final draw

Granada/Manchester United v Ajax/Roma

Dinamo Zagreb/Villarreal v Arsenal/Slavia Prague

BBC

Sport

UEFA Holds 2020/2021 UCL Draws

By Web News 3031

The group state draws for the 2020/2021 season of UEFA’s flagship competition, the UEFA Champions League will hold today.

The draws take place from 4:00 PM Nigerian time on Thursday 1 October at the RTS studios in Geneva, Switzerland.

The draws will pit last year’s winners, Bayern Munich of Germany against other top teams across all European football leagues who qualified for the group stage either via topping their various leagues or winning their playoff matches.

Teams like winners of last season’s UEFA Europa League, Sevilla FC of Spain, their La Liga counterparts, Real Madrid, champions of England, Liverpool, Juventus of Italy, Paris Saint-Germain of France, Russia’s Zenit St. Petersburg and Portuguese League champions FC Porto will be in Pot 1 for the draws.

While other top teams like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea FC, all of England, FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid of Spain, FC Dortmund of Germany and so on will be in pot 2.

Also, winners of various categories of UEFA Awards will be announced at the awards, with both Manuel Neuer and Robert Lewandowski of FC Bayern Munich and Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City in the running for the top prize.

Maxwell Oyekunle

Sport

Manchester United Captain Bags Suspended 21 Months Prison Sentence

By Web News 855

Manchester United Defender, Harry Maguire has been given a suspended prison sentence of 21 and 10 days after being found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and repeated attempts of bribery.

The sentence will be suspended because it is a first offence and charges were misdemeanours.

Maguire was convicted of all the charges against him by a court on the island of Syros He was arrested with his brother and a friend after a fight broke out while he was on holiday in Mykonos over claims his sister was injected with a suspected “rape drug”.

The court had been asked to postpone proceedings over the incident, which happened last Thursday during a family getaway.

But the trial went ahead in the absence of all three defendants – Maguire, his brother Joe and their friend Christopher Sharman.

Maguire said: “Following the hearing today, I have instructed my legal team with immediate effect to inform the courts we will be appealing.

“I remain strong and confident regarding our innocence in this matter – if anything myself, family and friends are the victims.”

Speaking after the verdict, the lawyer who assisted the prosecution said the victims are still waiting for an apology.

He said: “When you’re a sportsman and a role model you have to accept what you’ve done and say sorry.

“Until today, we haven’t had that – they have said it’s all the fault of the policeman.

“This was not accepted by the court. The victims and the policeman were assaulted. The only thing they want is an apology.”

He said the victims were “totally appalled” by Maguire and his co-defendants’ behaviour.

Manchester United said in a statement: “Manchester United notes the verdict of the Greek court today. Harry Maguire pleaded not guilty to all of the misdemeanour charges made against him and he continues to strongly assert his innocence.

“It should be noted that the prosecution confirmed the charges and provided their evidence late on the day before the trial, giving the defence team minimal time to digest them and prepare.

A request for the case to be adjourned was subsequently denied. “On this basis, along with the substantial body of evidence refuting the charges, Harry Maguire’s legal team will now appeal the verdict, to allow a full and fair hearing at a later date.”

The prosecution alleged that once Maguire, who has been named in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad despite the ongoing court case, arrived at a police station, he said: “Do you know who I am? I am the captain of Manchester United, I am very rich, I can give you money, I can pay you, please let us go.”

Maguire, who was not present in court, pleaded not guilty, denying charges of aggravated assault and attempted bribery of an official.

Source: Sky Sports Football

Sport

EPL Ends with Man Utd, Chelsea in Top Four; Watford, Bournemouth Join Norwich in Relegation

By Web News 711

English Premier League, EPL, ended today with Manchester United and Chelsea joining Liverpool and Manchester City in Champions League qualification.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’ tutored Man Utd beat Leicester 2-0, thus finishing third on goal difference ahead of France Lampard’s side, Chelsea which also defeated Wolves by 2-0 margin.

Watfford, which lost 2-3 to Arsenal slumped into relegation with Norwich. Same for Bournemouth, their hope of escaping the hard drop was dashed despite thrashing Everton 3-1, as Aston Villa and West Ham ended their game one all.

Simeon Ugbodovon