Manchester United

Tottenham star Bale admits idolising Real Madrid ace Ronaldo

2013-02-01T07:06:00.003-08:00

02/01/2013

Tottenham star Gareth Bale admits he idolises Real Madrid ace Cristiano Ronaldo.

Bale's ability to cut in from the touchline and fire powerful shots at goal stirs memories of Ronaldo's time at Manchester United, and like the Portuguese, he has also become adept at playing through the middle.

"You put your targets high," Bale said. "The way Ronaldo plays, he's the best all-round player in the world.

"People have said things in the past and the stuff he does is similar to what I do.

"He is a benchmark for every player who wants to be that good and it's useful to look at other players, watch how they do things and take my game to another level."

He added: "Look at the way he takes free-kicks - he scores a lot of goals from them. He is obviously doing something right and he is on another level.

"Can I get there? One day. He's one of the players who we all try to match. Apart from Lionel Messi, Ronaldo is on a different planet and I'd love to be half as good as him."

Man Utd not dropping interest for Benfica defender Garay

2013-02-01T07:04:00.001-08:00

02/01/2013

Manchester United will continue to monitor Benfica defender Ezequiel Garay this season.

A Bola says United failed in a €15million bid for Garay, but are continuing to monitor his form at Benfica.

The Argentinian is being watched by United and it is suggested managerSir Alex Ferguson will consider whether to make another move in the summer for the defender.

PREMIER LEAGUE TRANSFERS: All the January deals

2013-02-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

02/01/2013

Below are all the updated transfer deals for Premier League clubs at the close of the January window.

Arsenal
Ins
Nacho Monreal (Malaga, SPN, undisclosed)

Aston Villa
Ins
Yacouba Sylla (Clermont, FRA, £2m)

Outs
Stephen Warnock (Leeds United, free)

Chelsea

Ins
Wallace (Fluminense, BRA, undisclosed)
Demba Ba (Newcastle United, £7m)

Outs
Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool, £12m)

Everton
Ins
John Stones (Barnsley, undisclosed)

Outs
Anton Forrester (Blackburn Rovers, free)

Fulham
Ins
Chris David (FC Twente, NED, undisclosed)

Outs
Stephen Kelly (Reading, undisclosed)

Liverpool
Ins
Philippe Coutinho (Inter Milan, ITA, £8.5m)
Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea, £12m)

Outs
Alexander Doni (Botafogo, Bra, free)
Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund, GER, loan cancelled)
Joe Cole (West Ham United, free)

Manchester City
Ins
Godsway Donyoh (unattached, free)

Outs
Mario Balotelli (AC Milan, ITA, undisclosed)

Manchester United
Outs
Robbie Brady (Hull City, undisclosed)
Joshua King (Blackburn Rovers, £1m)

Newcastle United
Ins
Kevin Mbabu (Servette, SUI, undisclosed)
Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse, FRA, undisclosed)
Massadio Haidara (Nancy, FRA, undisclosed)
Yoan Gouffran (Bordeaux, FRA, £1.5m)
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa (Montpellier, FRA, £7m)
Mathieu Debuchy (Lille, FRA, £5.5m)

Outs
Xisco (released)
Demba Ba (Chelsea, £7m)

Norwich City
Ins
Luciano Becchio (Leeds United, undisclosed/swap)
Lee Camp (Nottingham Forest, free)

Outs
Simon Lappin (released)
Steve Morison (Leeds United, undisclosed/swap)

Queens Park Rangers
Ins
Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham, undisclosed)
Christopher Samba (Anzhi Makhachkala, RUS, undisclosed)
Yun Suk-Young (Chunnam Dragons, KOR, undisclosed)
Loic Remy (Marseille, FRA, £8m)
Tal Ben Haim (free agent)

Outs
Kieron Dyer (released)

Reading
Ins
Nick Blackman (Sheffield United)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham, undisclosed)
Hope Akpan (Crawley Town, undisclosed)
Daniel Carrico (Sporting Lisbon, POR, £600k)

Southampton
Ins
Vegard Forren (Molde, NOR, undisclosed)

Stoke City
Ins
Brek Shea (FC Dallas, USA, £2.5m)
Jack Butland (Birmingham City, £3.3m)

Outs
Ryan Brunt (Bristol Rovers, undisclosed)
Michael Tonge (Leeds United, undisclosed)
Danny Higginbotham (Sheffield United, free)

Sunderland
Ins
Danny Graham (Swansea City, £5m)
Alfred N’Diaye (Bursaspor, TUR, £3m)

Outs
Louis Saha (released)
Fraizer Campbell (Cardiff City, undisclosed)
Blair Adams (Coventry City, undisclosed)
David Meyler (Hull City, undisclosed)

Swansea City
Outs
Danny Graham (Sunderland, £5m)
Jamie Proctor (Crawley Town, undisclosed)

Tottenham
Ins
Lewis Holtby (Schalke, GER, undisclosed)
Ezekiel Fryers (Standard Liege, BEL, undisclosed)

Outs
Jermaine Jenas (QPR, undisclosed)
Carlo Cudicini (LA Galaxy, USA, free)

West Bromwich Albion
Outs
Sam Manton (Walsall, free)
Chris Wood (Leicester City, £1.5m)
George Porter (Leicester City, undisclosed)

West Ham United
Ins
Joe Cole (Liverpool, free)
Sean Maguire (Waterford United, undisclosed)

Wigan Athletic
Ins
Roger Espinoza (Sporting Kansas City, USA, free)

Man Utd skipper Vidic hails 2-goal Rooney: We need him

2013-02-01T06:59:00.002-08:00

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic hailed two-goal Wayne Rooney for victory over Southampton.

Rooney struck twice in the 2-1 win.

"Wayne is important for the team," said the centre-back. "He is working hard. Obviously, he scored the goals and I think the more games he plays, the better he is. We need him, especially for the second half of the season, as we need all the players to be fit. We have a good squad now and it's going to be hard for the

Man Utd, LA Galaxy great Beckham joins PSG and will play for nothing!

2013-02-01T06:57:00.003-08:00

01/31/2013

David Beckham has completed his move to French giants Paris Saint-Germain with his salary to be donated straight to a children’s charity.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and LA Galaxy star has penned a five-month deal with PSG and will earn around £2million from the move but has revealed the money he is entitled to will be donated to charity.

"We decided on something quite unique. In this time I won't receive any salary. My salary will go to a local children's charity in Paris,” he said.

"That's one of the things we are very excited about and proud to do.

"It's something exciting and something I'm not sure has been done before.

"It's something the guys will decide, but it's a very good figure.

"That's one thing we're very excited about. To be able to give a huge sum to a children's charity in Paris, it's very special."

Beckham capped off a successful six-year spell with the Galaxy by winning a second straight MLS Cup last season.

Man Utd boss Ferguson: Current strikers best I've had here

2013-01-28T07:32:00.001-08:00

January 28, 2013

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says his current group of strikers are the best he's had at the club.

Ferguson rates Javier Hernandez, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Robin van Persie ahead of his 1999 Treble winners.

Ferguson said: "I think so, yes. The four in ‘99 were fantastic players, and you couldn’t possibly criticise them, but we have four today that are equally as good."

Ex-Palace boss Burley: Man Utd signing Zaha just like Maradona and Bestie!

2013-01-28T07:23:00.001-08:00

January 28, 2013

Former Crystal Palace boss George Burley has likened Manchester United signing Wilfried Zaha to Diego Maradona!

Burley draws the mouthwatering comparison with the style of Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and George Best.

"Straight away, I was looking at Wilfried and thinking, ‘There’s something special about this lad’,” said Burley to the Telegraph. "He had that flair for running with the ball and taking players on. He has great balance.

"He was the type of lad who, if people tackled him, he didn’t fall over. They just seemed to bounce off him and then he had that amazing ability to go again. That’s what stuck out.

"Maradona had the strength as well. Messi and Wilfried are smaller in frame but it doesn’t mean you are not strong and tough to take challenges.”

He continued: "It’s all sixth sense; co-ordination with a ball and quick feet from when he was out playing on the streets with 20 kids around him. He has not been manufactured.

"It’s great to see and you don’t see much of it now. Society has changed and that hasn’t helped the development of players, especially in Britain.

"Wilfried was brought up in an area where they are out on the streets and out in the parks playing football for hours. That has certainly developed the boy’s skill. It was similar with Georgie Best.”

Goal of Wayne Rooney

2013-01-26T11:34:00.001-08:00

Wayne Rooney's Goal

[FT] Manchester United 4 - 1 Fulham

2013-01-26T11:24:00.002-08:00

Manchester United 4 - 1 Fulham

Manchester U. [4 - 1] Fulham

[1 - 0]

R. Giggs (pen.)

50'

[2 - 0]

W. Rooney

52'

[3 - 0]

J. Hernandez

66'

[4 - 0]

J. Hernandez

77'

[4 - 1]

A. Hughes

Wayne Goal today

2013-01-26T11:22:00.001-08:00

Previous · Next

Manchester United - Fulham

2013-01-26T11:04:00.001-08:00

Manchester United 4 - 0 Fulham

4th Goal by Chicharito...in 66min

Manchester United - Fulham

2013-01-26T11:02:00.001-08:00

Manchester United 3 - 0 Fulham

3rd Goal by Chicharito...in 52min

Manchester United - Fulham

2013-01-26T11:00:00.002-08:00

Manchester United 2 - O Fulham

2nd Goal by Wayne Rooney...in 50min
yeah...yeah!

Manchester United - Fulham

2013-01-26T10:58:00.003-08:00

Man United 1 - O Fulham
By:Ryan Giggs 11 (Pen')
in 2min...Game just Starting

Man Utd fear Arsenal will drive Van Persie price to £30M

2012-07-21T12:33:00.000-07:00

21-07-2012

Manchester United fear having to pay over the odds to land Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

The Daily Mail says United fear it could take as much as £30million to prise Van Persie away from Arsenal.

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that he has made a bid for Van Persie, with United ready to battle rivals Manchester City and Juventus for the 29-year-old Holland striker.

But club sources believe United will have to raise their opening offer to close to the record £30.75m it took to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham four years ago, and there is also concern that Ferguson’s chequered history with Arsene Wenger could also be a major stumbling block in any deal.

Man Utd defender Ferdinand courts more Twitter controversy after Safari pics

2012-07-21T12:31:00.002-07:00

21-07-2012

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has again courted controversy on Twitter.

The Daily Mail reports Ferdinand posted a picture of himself holding a spear and shield alongside a Zulu warrior during United’s trip to PheZulu Safari Park on Thursday, and wrote: "Me + my Zulu friend out in the bush just before we hunted and killed a Lion + a Wilder beast!!"

Even though the park has no lions or wildebeest, some followers took him seriously. One wrote back: "Why did Rio Ferdinand have to kill a Lion while here in SA???? He could have spent the money on CONSERVATION!!!"

Ferdinand was forced to clarify his comments on Friday when he tweeted: "had an amazing time in Durban – safari was unbelievable and for those concerned I didn’t hunt any lions… can some of u please lighten up!"

Ex-Man Utd keeper Bailey impressed by De Gea, Lindegaard

2012-07-21T12:30:00.002-07:00

21-07-2012

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Gary Bailey is impressed by the club's two current shot-stoppers.

Anders Lindegaard and David De Gea both have their fans in the battle to be United's No1.

Bailey told manutd.com: "Each one has his own qualities. David De Gea is a wonderful shot-stopper and he's also very composed and confident with the ball at his feet. He's done a lot in football when you consider he's only young. It's unusual for goalkeepers to blossom so early, but he's an exceptional talent.

"The only thing David needs to get used to is the physical nature of English football; it's very different to the Spanish game. Anders is a little older and I think sometimes you need that experience. He's great in the air and commands his penalty area. They're two fantastic goalkeepers and they keep each other on their toes. The manager has a tough choice to make when it comes to picking the right man to start."

Man Utd target Oliver Torres only thinking of Atletico Madrid stay

2012-07-21T12:29:00.002-07:00

21-07-2012

Atletico Madrid whiz Oliver Torres has again declared his commitment to the club.

The teen is being linked with Manchester United.

"I've had the opportunity to leave in the past, but stayed because all I want is to succeed at Atletico Madrid. The players I model myself on are Xavi and [Andres] Iniesta."

Man Utd, Man City have bids in for Arsenal's Van Persie

2012-07-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

21-07-2012

Manchester City and Manchester United have both made offers for Arsenal contract rebel Robin van Persie.

The Sun says City offered Arsenal around £15million yesterday and United boss Alex Ferguson also confirmed a bid, understood to be about £13m.

The Gunners want at least £20m for the striker.

Juventus are also in the running and have said they will pay £8m for the Arsenal skipper.

The Londoners are resigned to losing last season’s Premier League top-scorer but told him yesterday in talks they will hold out for the full amount.

Man Utd boss Ferguson sees Carrick as their most important

2012-07-21T12:26:00.002-07:00

21-07-2012

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Michael Carrick will make or break their season.

It is not Wayne Rooney, Nani or even Paul Scholes that Fergie sees as the man to guide United back to the top.

He explained: “I think Michael Carrick is the key to it. He did really well in the second half of last season and I think he’s going to be the key man.

“Scholes will obviously play his part, Ryan Giggs as well and Tom Cleverley hopefully as well as Anderson if he keeps fit.

“They will all play a part — but, for me, Carrick is the key player.

“If you look at the central midfielders in the Premier League, he can match up against any of them in terms of quality.”

Man Utd boss Ferguson admits not taking Champions League seriously

2012-07-21T12:25:00.002-07:00

21-07-2012

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says he won't take the Champions League as lightly as he did last season.

Ferguson believes he simply took the competition too lightly last season given that United usually sail through the group stages. But last term they won only two games of their six and went out after an away defeat to Swiss side Basel.

Ferguson said: “That definitely won’t happen next season, there is no chance of that.

“Over the last few years we have used the group stages in Europe as an opportunity to play some of the youngsters.

“We have done it two or three times — but last season it backfired for us.

“We changed the team too much and we won’t be doing that this season.”

Man Utd keeper Lindegaard still regrets timing of last season's injury

2012-07-21T11:38:00.001-07:00

07/21/2012

Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard admits last season's injury couldn't have at the worst time.

Lindegaard, 28, lost his place in the United goal when he picked up an ankle knock in January.

He had starred in his last six games for the club but could only watch on as David De Gea snatched back the No1 jersey.

He told The Sun: “If you look at it objectively, it was maybe one of the worst situations a football player has ever been in.

“I had worked for that spot since I was four.

“From the first time I touched the ball, that is what I dreamed of.

“It has been a very frustrating period, from the day I got injured until after the Euros.

“But I have to try and use it in a positive way. The disappointment was so big, if I let it drag me down, I will never get out of that hole again.”

Chinese bank-busting offer prepared for Man Utd ace Rooney

2012-06-24T09:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Manchester United face a battle to keep Wayne Rooney away from a bank-busting move to China.

Backed by billions from businessmen seeking political influence through football, the success-hungry Chinese are prepared to splash out fortunes on young superstars rather than ageing ones.

That’s why Rooney, other up-and-coming Premier League stars – and even Barcelona star Lionel Messi – are now being targeted as potential big money recruits who can expect to be paid even more than the £220,000 a week Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is reported to be banking from his new club, Shanghai Shenhua.

“They are not prepared to accept Europe’s cast-offs any more. They want the likes of Rooney, Sergio Aguero and Bastien Schweinsteiger,” Professor Simon Chadwick, head of the business strategy faculty at Coventry University, told the Sunday Express.

“Players like them would be much more significant – and then the floodgates really will open.”

Man Utd scouting Greece pair Torosidis, Papadopoulos

2012-06-22T07:41:00.003-07:00

06/21/2012

Manchester United have maintained a watching brief of Greece's games at this month's Euros.

United have been linked with Schalke defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Olympiakos fullback Vasilis Torosidis.

Torosidis is under consideration at United as manager Sir Alex Ferguson seeks to strengthen his fullback options this summer.

AS Roma are also interested in the wing-back.

Man Utd defender Ferdinand holds no grudge against Liverpool's Kelly

2012-06-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

06/22/2012

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand was among the first to text Martin Kelly over theLiverpool defender's England selection.

Kelly was the shock last-minute call-up to Roy Hodgson’s squad after Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill broke his jaw against Belgium.

But questions were raised over why the experienced Manchester United central defender Ferdinand was not selected instead.

Ferdinand, 33, is veteran of more than 80 caps for his country.

But he has told Kop youngster Kelly that there are no hard feelings on his part and urged him to enjoy the experience, says The Sun.

Ferdinand also kindly invited 22-year-old Kelly to ring him any time he wants to for advice.