Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived in England after completing his remarkable return to Manchester United.
Ronaldo, who left United in 2009 to join Real Madrid before going on to play for Juventus, completed a move back to the Premier League club on Tuesday.
The switch had been announced last Friday, when United confirmed they had agreed a fee with Juve. The Serie A club subsequently confirmed United would pay €15million for the 36-year-old in a series of instalments.
Ronaldo had seemed all set to join United s rivals Manchester City, but with the assistance of club great Alex Ferguson – cited by the Portugal captain as the main reason for his Old Trafford comeback – United completed a sensational swoop.
However, after leaving Turin a week ago, Ronaldo …
Barcelona have completed the signing of full-back Hector Bellerin following an agreement with Arsenal to terminate his contract.
The 27-year-old joined the Gunners from Barca s youth ranks in 2011 and graduated from Arsenal s academy to become a regular in the first-team squad.
Named in the PFA Team of the Year in the 2015-16 season, Bellerin won the FA Cup three times with Arsenal, but ultimately fell out of favour under Mikel Arteta.
He joined Real Betis on loan last season, making 23 LaLiga appearances and helping Manuel Pellegrini s team win the Copa del Rey.
Betis were reportedly keen on signing Bellerin on a permanent basis but were unable to do so due to his wage demands, while Sassuolo were eager to bring him to Italy.
However, Barca hav…
AS Roma have triggered the option to turn the loan of Angelino from RB Leipzig into a permanent transfer, according to Fabrizio Romano. The Spanish left-back was apparently wanted by several Premier League clubs who tried to enter the race for his services, but Roma will not allow any interference with head coach Daniele De Rossi very keen on having Angelino in his squad.
The Serie A side are expected to pay €5.2 million to sign Angelino permanently, and they ve already agreed a contract with the 27-year-old worth €2 million net per year, with add-ons devised to boost his income further under certain conditions.
Having started his football journey at Deportivo La Coruna, Angelino moved to Manchester City s youth system and went on numerous loan spells. The trend con…
Portugal coach Fernando Santos insists his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo is unchanged despite dropping the captain for Tuesday s 6-1 win over Switzerland at the World Cup.
Ronaldo was benched after Santos expressed his disappointment with the striker s attitude following his substitution during last week s defeat to South Korea.
Santos said on Monday the matter had been resolved internally, but Ronaldo was then dropped to the bench for the clash at Lusail Stadium, starting a major-tournament match among the substitutes for the first time since 2008 (31 games).
A fan poll on the website of Portuguese newspaper A Bola suggested 70 per cent of Portugal fans wanted Ronaldo out of the team, and the Selecao went on to produce one of their best performances at a m…
The Maracana will host next year s Copa Libertadores final, South American football governing body CONMEBOL has announced.
Rio de Janeiro s iconic ground saw off competition from seven stadiums, including five others in Brazil, to claim hosting rights for the showpiece match on November 21, 2020.
A number of other high-profile fixtures have previously been staged at the Maracana, including games at the 2014 World Cup, 2016 Olympics and 2019 Confederations Cup.
CONMEBOL also revealed on Thursday that the 2020 Copa Sudamericana will be played at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Cordoba, Argentina.
¡La final de la 2020 se jugará en el estadio Maracanã, en Río de Janeiro!
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores)
…
Brighton have confirmed the signing of Georginio Rutter from Leeds United for a club-record fee.
The Seagulls activated his £40million release clause and the forward has signed a five-year contract with the Premier League side.
Rutter joined Leeds in January 2023, making 66 appearances in all competitions and netting eight goals.
He scored six of those in the Championship last season, though had the second-most shots of anyone in the team (122), behind only Crysencio Summerville.
His 15 assists last term were also the most of any Leeds player, while only Leif Davies provided more in the competition.
It was worth the wait. Georginio is a Seagull!
— Brighton Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC)
Fabian Hurzeler said: Georginio is a playe…
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Getting their Europa League qualifying adventure underway on Thursday night, Kilmarnock will welcome Cercle Brugge to Rugby Park.
Kilmarnock
Starting with the hosts, while Kilmarnock might have signed off the 2023/24 campaign by winning just one of their final five Premiership appearances, Derek McInnes’ camp did gain plenty of plaudits from across Scotland’s elite. Wrapping up a fourth-place finish and securing their most fruitful top-flight campaign since 2019, the former Aberdeen boss will be looking to mount a similar charge this time around. Excited to get their Europa League qualifying adventure underway on Thursday night, Killie will take plenty of positives from their pre-season preparations. Picking up some perfect moment…
Jurgen Klopp: Rivalries, records and kingpins of his career as 1,000th game arrives for Liverpool bo
Jurgen Klopp reaches 1,000 games as a head coach and manager on Saturday when Liverpool tackle Chelsea, and it has been quite a ride.
From a relegation battle with Mainz in the German second division to the heights of Champions League glory with Liverpool, Klopp has achieved more than anyone expected of a man whose playing career was distinctly modest.
It would be stretching it to say the signs were there from day one, but they were certainly there from day two.
Klopp was named as an interim replacement for Eckhard Krautzun when Mainz decided on a change of leader on February 27, 2001.
One day later, Klopp made his debut as a coach in the second tier of the Bundesliga. He had been a player in the team until that point, but this marked the beginning of a n…
Kevin De Bruyne became the second player to reach 100 Premier League assists for one club as the Manchester City playmaker teed up Erling Haaland for the hosts third goal in a 3-1 win over Leicester City.
The result cut Arsenal s lead to three points at the top of the table, ahead of the Gunners trip to West Ham on Sunday.
Saturday s games saw Ollie Watkins remain in eye-catching form for Aston Villa, but there were grim home defeats for London giants Chelsea and Tottenham as Brighton and Hove Albion and Bournemouth celebrated impressive victories.
Here Stats Perform, guided by notable Opta match facts, unpicks the finer detail from the day s Premier League action.
32 Erling Haaland has equalled the Premier League record for goals in a 38-game season (32)…
Inter Miami are sitting comfortably at the top of the Eastern Conference table but face a challenge on Thursday when Columbus Crew visit for an MLS clash at Chase Stadium.
The Herons are two points clear at the summit of the East standings after snatching a 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia Union last time out.
Yet Wilfried Nancy s Crew have triumphed in their last four road games in the league, battling to a 3-2 victory over New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Friday.
It s a massive run and just shows how good we are mentally Mohamed Farsi said of the streak.
I think we have more away wins right now than last year all season. I think so or the same, so I m happy for that.
Farsi has become a central figure for Columbus and scored the go-ahead goa…