Premier League
MANCHESTER UNITED’S LEGENDARY MANAGER, FERGUSON GIVES KLOPP SEAL OF APPROVAL
Ex-United boss, Sir Alex Ferguson has paid tribute to Liverpool manager, Jurgen Klopp who was honoured for leading team to title.
The former Manchester United manager said Liverpool’s Klopp thoroughly deserved his success this season and was even willing to forgive the latter for waking him up in the early hours of the morning to announce his league triumph.
Klopp was presented with the Alex Ferguson Trophy on Monday after being named the League Managers’ Association (LMA) manager of the year for guiding the Merseyside club to their first top-flight title in 30 years.
The title was sealed when Chelsea beat Manchester City 2-1 on a Thursday night late last month, but Klopp clearly waited a few hours before getting in touch with the sometimes gruff Scot.
“I will forgive you for waking me up in the morning at half-past three to tell me you won the league. Thank you,” a jovial Ferguson, a five-time LMA winner, said in a congratulatory video. “You really thoroughly deserved it. The performance level of your team was fantastic. Your personality runs right through the whole club. I think it was a marvellous performance.”
The Scot, who made good on his pledge to knock Liverpool off their perch by leading United to 13 titles from 1993 to 2013, enjoys a good relationship with Klopp and once sounded out the German about succeeding him at Old Trafford.
Former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp opted to go to Anfield in 2015 instead and has gone from strength to strength. His team are also the reigning European and world champions.
He told Sky Sports: “I’m absolutely delighted to get this wonderful trophy, it’s really wonderful. I saw who won it before, some really big, big Liverpool names involved, not only Liverpool names like Bill Shankly I think, Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Kenny (Dalglish) whose name seems to be all over the trophy. Brendan (Rodgers) also won it, which was well deserved.”
Chris Wilder, last year’s winner, settled for the runner-up spot this time after Sheffield United’s impressive first season back in the Premier League.
Klopp also pipped Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and Wycombe Wanderers manager Gareth Ainsworth to the prestigious award, voted for by their peers, and the 53-year-old credited his coaching staff and players.
“I’m okay as a manager, but they make us a really special bunch of football brains and I love to work with them together,” he said. “Pep Lijnders, Peter Krawietz, John Achterberg, Vitor Matos and Jack Robinson – it’s a pleasure. I could carry on with the list because we have so many great people here who make it happen.
“To my players, I take this and I love it for all of us.”
-Reuters, AFP
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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