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Cristiano Ronaldo confirms United Move

Cristiano Ronaldo confirms United Move

Cristiano Ronaldo has come out on Instagram to confirm his sensational return to Manchester United after leaving Juventus last week.

Ronaldo (36) left Juventus after 3 years in Turin. It looked like he was on the verge of signing for rivals Manchester City, but they pulled out according to reports.

The Premier League club will pay £12.9 million-plus a further £6.9 million in bonuses for the five-time Ballon D’or winner.

United, who the player enjoyed six honour filled years at, scoring 118 goals in 292 games for United between 2003 and 2009, winning three Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup and two League Cups.

After both United and Juventus reached an agreement last Friday, Ronaldo posted to Instagram to confirm his return to England after 12 years.

The post read;

Everyone who knows me, knows about my never-ending love for Manchester United. The years I spent in this club where absolutely amazing and the path we’ve made together is written in gold letters in the history of this great and amazing institution.

I can’t even start to explain my feelings right now, as I see my return to Old Trafford announced worldwide. It’s like a dream come true, after all the times that I went back to play against Man. United, and even as an opponent, to have always felt such love and respect from the supporters in the stands. This is absolutely 100% the stuff that dreams are made of!

My first domestic League, my first Cup, my first call to the Portuguese National team, my first Champions League, my first Golden Boot and my first Ballon d’Or, they were all born from this special connection between me and the Red Devils. History has been written in the past and history will be written once again! You have my word!

I’m right here!
I’m back where I belong!
Let’s make it happen once again!

PS – Sir Alex, this one is for you…

For more news and stories on all things, Premier League click here.

Rio Ferdinand apologises over Phil Jones Comments

Rio Ferdinand apologises over Phil Jones Comments

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has come out and apologized to Phil Jones over comments made about the Englishman, amid criticism from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Manchester United centre-back has suffered from injuries since his arrival at Old Trafford in 2011. While barely featuring the past two years due to niggling injuries.

Sir Alex Ferguson was so confident in the player back in 2011, that he admitted that Jones, could be their greatest ever player.

After Jones was given a new contract to stay on with the club, Ferdinand came out and criticised the deal, claiming he should leave to give youth team players a chance in the first team.

Rio Ferdinand apologises over Phil Jones Comments

Ferdinand told the Vibe with Five YouTube channel;

“He’s taking up a youth team player’s position in that squad right now,”

“He’s had too many injuries… I was in the same team as Phil Jones, he came from Blackburn as a young kid, everyone was saying he was going to be this great player.

“Huge potential but injuries have absolutely annihilated his career and then confidence issues at certain times as well. He’s never been able to fully establish himself in the team. Whether it’s injuries, lack of form, lack of confidence.”

 “I think he should’ve gone ages ago. He should’ve gone before Chris Smalling went. Find a new club and play some football.

“I am baffled at how he’s still been given a new deal at the club given his past few years at the club. It just doesn’t make sense to me how you get a new deal.”

Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer Response

After the comments were made, Manchester United manager Solskjaer came out to defend his player, claiming his former teammate was “out of order”.

“Phil has had a horrible 18-19 months and probably a year before that as well with injuries,” said the United boss. “I think Rio was a bit, not out of order, but a bit unlucky.

“He should have called me and asked why Phil hasn’t played or why Phil hasn’t been here. Phil is a no-fuss, get on with it type of guy.

“I think that was out of order completely. I know more than anyone how it feels to be injured at that stage.”

Ferdinand Apology

The United legend was quick to apologise after his harsh comments, admitting that he was unaware of Jones’s constant injury setbacks and feels sorry for the player’s situation.

He said; “The one area where I would apologise to Phil Jones and anyone at Manchester United who has been a part of his journey.

“From speaking to people behind the scenes last week, he’s had real issues with injuries.

“To the extent that Bruno Fernandes only trained with him for the first time last week – so that tells you how long he’s been injured.

“So I didn’t know that, that’s not been communicated to the public. So from that standpoint, for someone who’s been injured, knowing what that does to you from a mental point of view, I hold my hands up and I apologise.”

For more News and Stories on all things football, click here.

Declan Bonner To Remain Donegal Senior Football Manager

Donegal GAA have announced that their county board has agreed to retain current inter-county manager Declan Bonner.

Bonner is four years into his second stint as manager of the county and will remain for at least two years longer, should he see out his contract.

The 1992 All-Ireland winner has been at the helm since September 2017 and has led his side to two Ulster Championships in that time and one unsuccessful final in 2020.

They also won Division Two of the Allianz National League in 2019 after suffering relegation in Bonner’s first season back.

However, Bonner has yet to reach the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as manager of the side.

The forgotten county fell short in the Super 8s in 2018 and 2019, losing out to Tyrone (and Dublin) in 2018 after winning the Anglo-Celt Cup.

Defeat to Cavan in the 2020 Ulster Championship final knocked the side out of the All-Ireland final after changes were made to the Championship set-up because of the pandemic.

2021 saw them wrap up their season without reaching an Ulster final – the first time they have done so under Bonner in his second stint.

Donegal fell to Tyrone in a six-point loss at the semi-final stage in the provincial competition.

A statement on the county board’s website reads: “At last Wednesday’s County Committee meeting Declan Bonner presented his report on the 2021 Allianz League Division 1 campaign and the Ulster Championship and announced that he was interested in another term as Senior Donegal County manager.

“Chairman Mick McGrath noted that as Declan’s term was over the position was also open to other candidates and invited clubs to nominate candidates by 5 pm on Sunday evening.

“As of the deadline on Sunday evening no club had nominated another candidate and this evening the County Executive recommended Declan for a second two-year term to County Committee who approved this decision.”

Paralympic Cycling: O’Reilly wins bronze in men’s Time Trial

Team Ireland had two athletes competing in the road cycling this morning on Day Seven of the 2020 Paralympics

Richael Timothy – Women’s C1-3 Time Trial

Timothy began her Paralympic day early, just after 09:00 in Tokyo. She was looking to go one step further on some of her performances earlier in the competition.

Timothy managed to break some personal best records while cycling in the Velodrome but today she took to the roads of Japan.

The athletes would start the race in stagnated runs with Timothy riding in the final three. Today would not be her day as she finished in 13th place with a time of 30:55.24.

Japanese cyclist Sugiura would take the gold medal on her home track. The silver medal would go to Sweden’s Beck while Australia’s Greco took a close third place.

Gary O’Reilly – Men’s H5 Time Trial

The men’s event began only 20 minutes after the women’s event with O’Reilly setting off as the sixth cyclist. Using the handcycles, he was in with an outside shot for a medal.

His first two laps were steady as he tried to find his rhythm on the road. As the second lap finished, he became a man on a mission as he blitzed the competition, opening out a 37-second lead for the lap.

His main source of competition was from Netherlands De Vries who rode along with him.

The 28-year-old finished his final lap in a time of 39:36.46 only a minute and a half behind the leader and good enough for him to claim a bronze medal.

The gold medal was well-earned by the Netherland’s Valize even after he fell against the fences on a tight bend. The silver medal was given to France’s Vergnaud.

This becomes Ireland’s fifth medal of the Paralympics so far and O’Reilly will be one to watch in the men’s road race tomorrow.

Paralympic Athletics: Comerford fails to reach 100m final

Team Ireland had one sole athlete in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium this morning for the women’s 100m race in athletics

Orla Comerford – Women’s T13 100m race (Heats)

Comerford had to psyche herself up for a tough morning race starting at 10:45 in Tokyo.

This is her first and only event at this year’s Games, the 23-year-old from Howth made her debut at the Paralympics five years ago in Rio de Janeiro. She wanted to show her real quality today after being disappointed with her performance in 2016.

She should be happy to have made it this far after undergoing surgery on her left ankle in 2019, resulting in her barely competing over a three-year period.

This morning she ran in the third and final heat with the Howth woman running in lane six. This was a good chance for Comerford as she came into this race with the third-fastest personal best of her opponents.

The two fastest athletes from each heat would be guaranteed places in the final.

After a false start that only resulted in talking to the Ugandan athlete, the race got underway. Comerford started strong but by the halfway mark, the top three athletes started to break away.

She held onto a fourth-place position in a time of 12.87, she would have needed to cut down 0.67 seconds to reach the qualifying places.

Azerbaijan’s Elena Chebanu qualified in the first place and was narrowly followed by Spain’s Adriaratou Iglesias Forneiro in second.

This marks the end of another Paralympic journey for Orla Comerford but she can keep her head held high as it was remarkable how she managed to reach these Games.

 

FAI Agree Equal Pay For Women’s And Men’s National Teams

The FAI have announced that they will pay their women’s and men’s national team athletes equally after reaching an agreement.

The historic three-way agreement between the Men’s and Women’s squads and the FAI was brokered by FAI CEO Jonathan Hill and Ciaran Medlar, advisor to the male and female international players, alongside captains Katie McCabe and Seamus Coleman.

Ongoing talks between all parties reached a successful conclusion ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualification games involving Stephen Kenny’s Senior Men’s side and Vera Pauw’s Senior Women’s team.

The men’s squad have agreed to reduce their international fees, with the FAI matching their contribution to ensure that the Senior Women’s team match fee is increased and all male and female players receive the same match fee from the September international window onwards.

The FAI has also agreed to equality of approach with the Senior Men’s and Senior Women’s squad with regard to any future tournament qualification.

Welcoming the announcement today, Ireland Senior Women’s Team captain Katie McCabe said: “This is a great day for Irish football. We have taken a huge step forward with this deal and have shown the world what can be achieved through unity as we offer male and female international players the same opportunities.

“I am very proud as Ireland captain of the work that has been put in to get us to this point, not just by the current team but by so many Irish players in the past. They are the real heroes in this story, they took a stand and they passed on the baton to the current generation.

“Seamus Coleman and his team-mates in the Senior Men’s squad also deserve credit for being brave enough to support us in such a progressive way on this issue. It is really appreciated.

“I also want to thank Jonathan Hill and Ciaran Medlar for their roles in this agreement. The relationship between the FAI and the Senior Women’s team is stronger than I have ever known it and we look forward to continuing to work together to make Irish football better for everyone who plays our game, regardless of their identity or background.”

Senior Ireland Men’s team captain Seamus Coleman added: “On behalf of the Senior Men’s squad, I welcome this news today. We are delighted as players to do what we can to ensure that our female international players are treated equally and fairly and we remain fully committed to doing whatever we can to achieve that goal together.

“This deal is the right one for everyone who plays international football for Ireland, no matter which team they represent.

“We have been working towards this agreement for some time now with Katie, Jonathan and Ciaran and I hope this acts as an inspiration to many other nations to follow suit.”

FAI Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Hill commented: “Speaking on behalf of the Board of the FAI and myself, we are delighted to announce this historic agreement today. As we celebrate our Centenary and begin to build out the strategic plan for a new FAI, the Board agreed unanimously that this is absolutely the right thing for us to do as an Association.

“This is another important milestone in the FAI’s own transformation journey and I believe this equal pay programme shows us to be the progressive footballing nation we have always aspired to be.

“It is also another step forward in our key strategic goal to grow the women’s game in Ireland in a sustainable and systematic way. For some months now, I have been working with Katie, Seamus and Ciaran on this agreement.

“Katie and her team-mates are role models to all the young girls playing football in Ireland whilst the actions of Seamus and his fellow players in our Senior Men’s squad to make this equal pay proposition possible should not be underestimated.

“When the proposal was first discussed, the Board was also united in its commitment to support the approach which we firmly believe is the right way forward for a modern, progressive and inclusive sports organisation.

“Our women footballers have worked tirelessly to get to this point and I am delighted to see their ambitions for equality come to fruition with today’s announcement, one which all involved with Irish sport should celebrate. We now wish Vera, Katie and the whole team the very best for their upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup qualification campaign.”

Liverpool Sporting Director Michael Edwards Expected To Leave In 2022

Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards is expected to step down from his role at the club next summer, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

Edwards’ contract runs until the end of the current season and he is believed to have informed the hierarchy at Liverpool of his intention to leave.

Ornstein added that the situation is not final and that discussions are ongoing to keep the popular sporting director at the club.

However, the expected outcome is that the long-term relationship Edwards has with the club will come to a close when his existing contract ends.

Julian Ward, who was promoted to assistant sporting director in December, is the man expected to replace Edwards if he leaves.

Edwards was hired by Harry Redknapp to be Portsmouth’s Head of Performance Analysis in 2003 and stayed at the club for six years.

He was in the same role at Tottenham Hotspur under Redknapp for two years and joined Liverpool in 2011.

Edwards has been Liverpool’s sporting director since November 2016 and has sculpted a Premier League-winning side in a number of years alongside Jurgen Klopp and recruitment staff.

The former Peterborough United player signed the likes of Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Fabinho to the club, helping to grow Klopp’s Liverpool into one of the best sides in the world.

His sales have also been impressive as the Englishman has had a history of getting great deals for outgoing players in his time in the role.

Rhian Brewster moved to Sheffield United last summer for a fee of £24 million while Dominic Solanke, who scored one goal for the club, was sold to Bournemouth for a fee in the region of £20 million.

He oversaw the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona for a massive £142 million – a move that kick-started Liverpool’s evolution into one of the greatest sides in the world.

Dan James in ‘advanced talks’ for move to Leeds

The latest reports suggest that Welsh winger Dan James is very close to a permanent move to Leeds from Manchester United

This transfer has been three years in the making since James was a prodigy in Swansea. The red side of Manchester is starting to get a bit cramped, especially after the return of icon Cristiano Ronaldo.

United now has stars like Sancho, Rashford, and Pogba in their ranks and it seems hard for the young Welsh man to get more game time.

According to The Athletic, James will now leave for Leeds before the end of the transfer window. At first, this move seemed to be only a loan but now he is being linked with a move on a more permanent basis.

Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano also issued an update on the transfer saga saying that the two clubs are in ‘ongoing discussion.’

The 23-year-old started in two of the club’s opening matches this season as manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needed to blend their new signings into the squad. Although he was not involved in any of the team’s goals, he proved to still be a fast attacking threat down the right-wing.

Last season he only made 15 appearances in the league, scoring three goals and providing an assist. He instead was a big part of the team’s Europa League run as they lost out in the final on penalties.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has been a very big admirer of James for the last few years and it is easy to see why. His speedy, energetic play fits in perfectly with the Whites’ style of play.

James would also provide great competition for positions with mainstays Jack Harrison and Raphinha.

Leeds has not made the best start to the season with a bad loss to United followed by two draws to Burnley and Everton. They will next face Liverpool on Sunday 12th August in Elland Road.

A signing like this could rejuvenate the squad and improve their standing in the league as they push for top 10.

 

Ireland Finish Second In T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier

The Ireland Women’s cricket team have finished second in the T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier after a win over the Netherlands on Monday morning.

Ireland came out on top against the Netherlands in a battle that determined who finished behind Scotland in the qualifiers.

The side had beaten France on Sunday morning to set up the showdown with the Dutch.

Batting first, Ireland posted 111/9, with Eimear Richardson hitting a half-century and posting 53 runs.

Gaby Lewis also put up a respectable 32 runs to help Ireland to a strong start against their opponents.

This left Lewis on 145 runs across the qualifiers – the most in the tournament.

Eva Lynch picked up four wickets for the Dutch, while Iris Zwilling also chipped in with three scalps.

In the chase, a lack of contribution from the batters, apart from Robine Rijke who added 32 runs to her cause, proved costly as the Netherlands fell short of the total by 24 runs.

Captain Laura Delany and Cara Murray picked up three wickets apiece for the Irish.

With the victory, Ireland finished behind Scotland, accumulating 6 points in four matches.

Richardson was awarded Player of the Series after spectacular performances throughout the tournament.

Scotland finished at the top of the qualifiers with an unblemished record, earning maximum points and winning all four games.

The Scots comfortably beat France by ten wickets, much like Ireland did on Sunday morning, to finish with a 100% record.

The French were bowled out for 24 when they batted first as the Scottish bowlers wreaked havoc.

The French batters couldn’t register a double-figure score and Scotland gained control of the contest early on.

For the Scots, Megan McColl was the pick of the bowlers with astounding match-figures of 5/3 in her spell of four overs while Abbi Aitken-Drummond also picked up two wickets.

With a small total to chase, the Scottish women went hell for leather, which led to them losing three wickets. But the target was accomplished after only 2.2 overs, continuing their dominant run in the tournament, winning four matches out of four to top the Europe Qualifier.

Scotland will progress to the global qualifier which will begin in 2022 – Ireland have a chance to join them if they are the highest-ranked team on November 30 that did not win their group.

All Blacks Squad For Rugby Championship And Northern Tour Revealed

The All Blacks squad has flown to Australia for the Fortinet Rugby Championship and then onto the Northern Tour to the USA and Europe.
The side has played one game in the Rugby Championship and had their second game against Australia postponed due to lockdown restrictions in Aotearoa.
They reclaimed the Bledisloe Cup this year and beat their old rivals 57-22 on the opening weekend of the Rugby Championship.
All Blacks Head Coach Ian Foster said:  “We’ll be playing ten Tests in 12 weeks in both the southern and northern hemispheres, and with Covid-19 travel and quarantine restrictions, this will be a tour like no other for us in the professional era.
“We can’t wait to get underway and once again represent our country on the world stage.”
The All Blacks’ next Test is against Australia before Tests against Argentina and World Cup winners and Championship leaders South Africa to round out the Rugby Championship.
The Rugby Championship runs until Saturday, October 2 and New Zealand are on a mission to reclaim the trophy they won last year.
South Africa are on a mission to take back what was once theirs after sitting out the 2020 instalment of the tournament.
The All Blacks initial travelling squad is as follows:
Forwards:

Hookers: Asafo Aumua, Samisoni Taukei’aho and Codie Taylor.
Props: George Bower, Ethan de Groot, Nepo Laulala, Tyrel Lomax, Joe Moody, Angus Ta’avao, Karl Tu’inukuafe and Ofa Tuungafasi.
Locks: Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Patrick Tuipulotu and Tupou Vaa’i.
Loose forwards: Ethan Blackadder, Akira Ioane, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papalii, Ardie Savea and Hoskins Sotutu.

Backs:

Halfbacks: Finlay Christie, TJ Perenara and Brad Weber.
First five–eighths: Beauden Barrett.
Midfielders: Braydon Ennor, David Havili, Rieko Ioane, Anton Lienert-Brown and Quinn Tupaea.
Outside backs: Jordie Barrett, George Bridge, Will Jordan, Damian McKenzie and Sevu Reece.

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