LONDON: Erik ten Hag insists Cristiano Ronaldo still has a future at Manchester United after the Portugal star suffered the embarrassment of being dropped for his side’s rousing 2-1 win against Liverpool. United looked far more dynamic without Ronaldo as they stunned Liverpool to end a dismal run of two successive defeats at the start of the Premier League season. With the aging Ronaldo reduced to a substitute appearance in the closing minutes at Old Trafford on Monday, United were finally able to successfully deploy Ten Hag’s aggressive game plan. Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga formed an attacking triumvirate that gave United the pace and energy they lacked in the 2-1 defeat against Brighton and the subsequent 4-0 humiliation at Brentford. Vindicating Ten Hag’s decision to axe Ronaldo and igniting fresh debate about his future, it was Sancho who scored United’s opener and Rashford who doubled their lead. After missing United’s pre-season tour due to “family reasons” amid reports he had told the club he wanted to leave, Ronaldo was already unsettled heading into the new season. United’s failure to qualify for this season’s Champions League convinced Ronaldo he should quit a club without a major trophy since 2017, giving Ten Hag a major headache just weeks after his arrival from Ajax. But, with United insisting Ronaldo is not for sale, the former Real Madrid and Juventus striker has found himself in limbo. The 37-year-old, who finished as United’s top scorer last term, hardly appeared committed to the Ten Hag regime when he walked out of Old Trafford before full-time after being substituted during a pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano. A limp substitute appearance in the second half of the Brighton defeat was further evidence of a potential rift between the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and his manager. Ronaldo played the entire 90 minutes of United’s loss against Brentford, but he offered little attacking threat in one of the club’s worst results in recent memory. That left Ten Hag with a major decision to make as he pondered his team for the crucial clash with Liverpool. Dropping Ronaldo and then watching United lose to their arch rivals would have put huge pressure on Ten Hag. But the Dutch coach refused to be cowed by the situation as he left out by Ronaldo and England defender Harry Maguire, a bold move that paid dividends as United climbed out of the relegation zone with their first win this season. Now United have won impressively without Ronaldo — surely consigning him to the bench for the immediate future — there could be fresh impetus from the striker and his agent Jorge Mendes to force through a transfer. It is hard to imagine Ronaldo being able to adapt to Ten Hag’s high-tempo philosophy in the twilight of his career. But, publicly at least, Ten Hag is adamant Ronaldo has a part to play in his plans. “I think he can. In his whole career he did it under several managers, in several styles and systems. He always performed so why can’t he do this? His age is not an issue,” Ten Hag said after the Liverpool game. “We have a squad and we have a way of playing, a style and a game plan. You look at what is the best approach to the game. Today it was those players, Saturday it could be different.” In Ronaldo’s absence, United’s defiant attitude against Liverpool provided the template for the Ten Hag era. New signing Casemiro, recruited from Real Madrid, epitomises that spirit and Ten Hag wants to see the same from Ronaldo. “We were talking about leadership, today we had leadership on the pitch, he is one as well,” Ten Hag said of Casemiro. “Ronaldo has it, so you need some and it is like guidance for young players who didn’t achieve the trophies.” Pressed on Ronaldo and Maguire’s future, Ten Hag added: “I don’t have to mention Harry Maguire and Ronaldo, they are amazing players and they will play a role in the future, the short (term) future as well. “It is always difficult (to leave them out) but I have decisions to make.” Whether that olive branch is enough to stop the Ronaldo dilemma from derailing Ten Hag’s United revolution remains to be seen.
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium: Max Verstappen oozed authority and calm on Friday as he topped the times in practice at the Belgian Grand Prix and dismissed concerns about starting Sunday’s race from the back of the grid. Red Bull’s world champion and series leader clocked a best lap in one minute and 45.507 seconds to outpace title rival Charles Leclerc of Ferrari by eight-tenths of a second to delight his ‘orange army’ of fans at the majestic Spa-Francorchamps circuit. “We’re pretty happy with that,” he said. “There’s not much to do or worry about, with the grid penalty — we were just looking at setting up the car in the best possible way. “There’s some fine-tuning to do, but we’re pretty happy with the first run and the plan. The car is working well, which is positive, but we would have liked to do a bit more running.” Both Verstappen and Leclerc are taking new power-unit components, that take them beyond their permitted allocation for the season, and will have grid penalties. That means they will start from the back of the field along with another four drivers who have chosen to switch to new engines for the Belgian race weekend. “I’ll have to try and work through from the back of the grid,” said Verstappen. “But at least we should have dry conditions. I think today was the worst of the weather.” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner explained why they chose this race to fit a fourth engine, turbo-charger and other parts, saying it was a strategic decision because the long and high-speed Belgian circuit offers easier overtaking opportunities. “We looked at the calendar and we were running out of options, but this is a good track to overtake and we feel we should be quick here,” he said. On an inconclusive and slightly topsy-turvy day, Lando Norris was third for McLaren ahead of Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz, who was fifth in the second Ferrari after topping the times in the morning’s opening practice. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who is chasing a sixth consecutive podium position in Sunday’s race, was sixth for Mercedes ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Alpine and George Russell, in the second Mercedes. Daniel Ricciardo, who on Wednesday announced he would leave McLaren at the end of the year after agreeing to terminate his contract, was ninth and Sergio Perez 10th in the second Red Bull. Hamilton said Mercedes believed they could recover from a disappointing Friday performance and mount a challenge again, particularly if other drivers were taking penalties. “We’re not very quick and I don’t know why, but I went out and gave it everything. It could be tires, temperatures or something else,” he said. “But it’s not disastrous out there and we often find this on Fridays and things can change on Saturdays. I have hope that we can turn it round.”
DUBAI: Conflicting media reports linking Manchester United’s Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo to European clubs on Friday continued to surface with the latest relating him to France’s Ligue 1 side Marseille. European media have suggested that last season’s second-place league finishers Marseille have been conducting a financial study to determine what Ronaldo could bring to the French club. Former Marseille player Jean-Charles De Bono said: “A study is being carried out to find out what Ronaldo could bring to the club financially.” Mail Online said Liverpool’s ex-striker Djibril Cisse took to social media in a bid to lure Ronaldo to Marseille for the current season. However, Sports Brief reported Marseille President Pablo Longoria as vehemently denying rumors that his club was looking to sign the Portuguese forward. With the 37-year-old star reportedly keen to leave the English Premier League to join a Champions League-playing football club, Ronaldo has been linked with several top-tier teams including Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Napoli, and Chelsea. If a deal goes through ahead of the summer transfer market’s deadline on Sept. 1, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would fulfil his wish to play this year’s Champions League competition with Marseille against his former club Sporting Lisbon in the group stage. In a tweet on Wednesday, Cisse said: “Cristiano come my friend I will look after you.” Germany’s Bild reported that any transfer for the player would bring with it a massive increase in sponsorship deals and TV viewership. Having played in the top leagues in Portugal, Spain, Italy, and England, a move to France’s Ligue 1 would see Ronaldo compete in a fifth European league, becoming one of few players to do so. Meanwhile, Manchester United’s newly appointed head coach Erik ten Hag has repeatedly maintained that Old Trafford’s No. 7 was not for sale. However, Ronaldo was not in the starting lineup to face arch-rivals Liverpool on Monday and instead remained on the bench until the closing minutes of the game that United won 2-1. According to Sports Brief, Longoria stressed that CR7 (Ronaldo) will not be joining the French club this summer and denied all reports of a surprise move. Football news platform 90min reported Longoria as saying, “it’s the social media world full of fake news. We want reality. The Ronaldo deal is not for us.”
NEWCASTLE: The arrival of Alexander Isak is making Eddie Howe excited — and the head coach believes Newcastle United fans should be too.
The Sweden international frontman on Friday sealed a move to United believed to be worth $70 million, breaking the club’s previous record purchase by more than $20 million.
Former Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund forward Isak has penned a six-year deal on Tyneside. And it represents a huge coup for the Magpies, with the 22-year-old very much seen as one of Europe’s hottest prospects, courted by every major club on the planet.
Howe said: “He’s had a lot thrown at him for a young player. The experiences he’s had is incredible really for someone so young. He’s played in Germany, Holland, and Spain — big clubs as well — at a very young age. He’s had some great experiences.
“England and the English game will suit his profile. He’s a really good athlete and technically very good so I think he’s got a whole host of things going for him. His best years are still ahead of him,” he added.
On the excitement building among the Geordie faithful, Howe said: “I can understand. I’m excited about trying to bring good players to Newcastle. If we can complete the transfer, I’ll be excited too.”
United’s transfer plans were altered this week when the news of Callum Wilson’s hamstring injury was revealed.
The experienced striker, who has two goals in his first three games this season, is likely to be out for a number of weeks with a hamstring problem, the type of issue that has blighted his time at St. James’ Park.
And this forced a transfer war room rethink, with United’s search for a wide forward shelved in order to plough funds into getting the deal for Isak done.
United’s interest in Isak goes back to the start of the summer when a fee could not be agreed, however former Bournemouth and Burnley boss Howe has been keeping a watch on the player for some time.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game with Wolverhampton Wanderers, he said: “I don’t know the exact date but the first time I saw him play was for Sweden many years ago and I was immediately hugely impressed. He instantly caught my eye.
“Always when you’re trying to do transfers, there’s two things. The selling club and the buying club, they’ve got to meet. If they don’t meet, the transfer won’t get done. Thankfully, they seem to have come together for us.
“He’ll add pace, technical ability, dribbling ability. He’s got a bit of X factor about him, he’s slightly different, and is capable of scoring,” Howe added.
Top scorer from the last two seasons Wilson, will be frustrated to likely miss at least United’s next three games.
Howe knows the player he signed and sold to United while on the south coast with the Cherries, will come back stronger than ever.
He said: “Naturally with Callum’s injury — which we don’t believe to be serious by the way, we’re hopeful Callum will only be out for a couple of weeks.
"But naturally, we acted slightly off of that in terms of we were always looking for an attacking player, but it changed our focus slightly on the type. We’re delighted to hopefully sign Alex — he’ll be a big player for us.
“I back Callum 100 percent. I’ve known him for a long time, and I’ve never known someone with a better attitude to sport and a better professional.
“He is hugely disappointed to miss every game but I back him and his quality. He’s such an important part of our future this season. He’s already shown that with the goals that he’s scored — the two goals he’s scored have been at the highest level. I don’t doubt him for a second,” Howe added.
It has been a long time since United have possessed two top strikers in their ranks and while the system Howe plays at present would not have room for both, when fit, he is not ruling out playing them together.
Howe said: “I see them playing together. I think they’re very different players so, if the transfer is completed, it’s something I can definitely envisage. Alex is a very, very different player to Callum vice versa but they’ve both got unique strengths.”
GENEVA: Manchester United will start another season in the Europa League in a group with Real Sociedad, Sheriff and Omonoia after the draw was made Friday. United, who won the Europa League in 2017 and were the beaten finalists two years ago, entered the second-tier competition by placing just sixth in the Premier League last season. It was unclear Friday if Cristiano Ronaldo will still be at the club for the first round of games on Sept. 8 with more speculation linking him to a move from Old Trafford, this time with Napoli which are in the Champions League. On Thursday, Napoli were drawn in the same group as Liverpool. The draw brings United face-to-face again with long-time Manchester City favorite David Silva, who returned to Spain to play for Sociedad, and involves two of the longest journeys to away games in the draw – to Moldova and Cyprus. The Russian war on Ukraine has affected United’s trip to face Sheriff, who have been playing European home games in Chisinau instead of their home city Tiraspol. Tiraspol is in the Russian-supporting breakaway region of Transnistria which borders Ukraine. UEFA decided in June to block Sheriff playing in Tiraspol citing “the large-scale military escalation resulting in the invasion of the Ukrainian territory by the Russian army.” Russian teams are also currently banned from all UEFA competitions. Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine – who will play their home games in neighboring Poland – will face Rennes, Fenerbahçe and AEK Larnaca. Arsenal’s fifth Europa League campaign in six seasons will be in a group with PSV Eindhoven — coached by former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy — Bodø/Glimt and Zürich. Roma coach Jose Mourinho is back in the competition he won with United five years ago. The Europa Conference League title holders were drawn in a group with Ludogorets, Real Betis and HJK Helsinki. The group-stage draw in the third-tier Europa Conference League was being made later Friday at the same venue in Istanbul, which also staged the Champions League draw Thursday. Lazio were among the top-seeded teams and were grouped with Feyenoord, Midtjylland and Sturm Graz. The Europa League starts early this season on Sept. 8 and ends more than one month sooner than usual on Nov. 3. That is because of the World Cup in Qatar, which starts Nov. 20. The six rounds of group-stage games span just eight full weeks before a midwinter break until the knockout playoffs round starts Feb. 16. Group winners advance direct to the round of 16 in March and runners-up go to the knockout playoffs with the eight teams switching across from the Champions League after finishing third in a group there. The Europa League final is on May 31 at the 65,000-capacity Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary. Third-place teams in Europa League groups in November move to the knockout playoffs in the third-tier Europa Conference League. Europa League teams share about €465 million ($466 million) in UEFA prize money. Each team gets a basic fee of €3.63 million, plus €630,000 per win and €210,000 for each draw in the group stage. Payments increase for advancing through each knockout round. A team starting in the Europa group stage and eventually winning the title can earn about €40 million euros in UEFA prize money. That’s about one-third of expected earnings in Champions League prize money.
LONDON: Mikel Arteta said on Friday Arsenal could sign a replacement for Nicolas Pepe after the Ivory Coast winger left the Premier League leaders to join Nice. Pepe’s loan move to Ligue 1 has increased the chances of Arsenal making another move into the transfer market before the summer window closes on September 1. Arsenal has been linked with a move for Wolves winger Pedro Neto and Arteta admitted he could adapt his transfer philosophy after prioritising early deals for Manchester City duo Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko at the start of the window. “We have done it in a different way. At the start of the window we signed players before getting other players out,” Arteta told reporters. “Now we have done something different, we have let a player go and maybe we’ll be able to recruit somebody. “But it’s not a guarantee because the players are still not here. What I guarantee is the day the window closes, for me this is the best team in the world and I will try to get the best out of them, that’s it.” Arsenal are the only club to boast a perfect start to the Premier League season with three successive wins. They host Fulham on Saturday looking to consolidate their surprise position at the top of the table. Pepe’s departure removes one distraction after Arsenal’s club record £72 million ($85 million) failed to live up to the hefty price tag following his 2019 move from Lille. Arteta praised Pepe’s attitude during his struggles, but conceded the loan move was best for a player who scored 27 goals in 111 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal. “I think Nico has tried to deal with that in the best possible way, he is not responsible for the price a club pays for him,” Arteta said. “He has tried everything, his attitude is just phenomenal. You just have to meet the person because you just love him for the way he is. “It’s been three years and he had some very good moments, some others where he hasn’t really contributed much in terms of minutes. “We decided for every party it was the best decision to allow him to go. He needs to play minutes, he needs to play football. He was really adamant to do that and we decided that it would be best for everybody to do it.”