Author Archives: Kelvinclinton

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has left the city of Manchester, but only temporarily as he’s expected to still be in charge at Old Trafford in the meantime.

Following the 2-nil defeat at home to Premier League champions Man City last weekend, Ole’s job is said to be increasingly under threat, with various candidates like Ralf Rangnick, Rodgers and Zidane all touted to become Solskjaer’s replacement.

The hashtag “OleOut” has been trending for weeks now, with Man United fans seemingly fed up with their coach.

Amid the pressure to turn things around at Man United, Ole has now decided to take some time off work and go on a short holiday to Norway with his family as they were spotted in Manchester airport earlier on today.

However, this could be the Norwegian’s last days as the club’s coach if what happened to Louis Van Gaal should repeat itself again.

Back in 2016 after Van Gaal guided the Red Devils to an FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace in Wembley, Man United reportedly provided a private jet which flew the Dutch manager from Manchester to his holiday home believed to be in Portugal.

Reports had it that United made sure Van Gaal was out of the UK before making an announcement that he’s been relieved of his duties as the club’s first team coach, and that might just be the case in Solskjaer’s situation.

During the Van Gaal era, there was no obvious indication from the Glazers that they wanted to sack him, but once he was out of England, news of his sack made headlines

So far, Ole has been backed by Ed Woodward, Glazers and even Alex Ferguson, but the sight of him leaving Manchester today may signify his time is all but up.

But peradventure he stays beyond the ongoing international break, then games against Watford, Villarreal and Chelsea will probably be must-win matches in order to ease some pressure off his shoulders.

Almost a month after Brazil’s abortive World Cup qualifier against Argentina, a most unexpected figure faces hefty punishment having been caught up in the messy aftermath of that farcical episode.

Once health agency ANVISA went on the record as saying that not just Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero and the rest of the Albiceleste’s Premier League contingent, but any player coming from the United Kingdom would have to meet quarantine requirements, the magnifying glass turned on two blockbuster signings from the English top flight.

New Corinthians star Willian was stopped just in time from making his debut within the prohibited period, but Andreas Pereira slipped through the net.

The Manchester United loanee appeared for Flamengo for the first time just eight days after arriving in Brazil, and two weeks before ANVISA read of his case in the papers.

The midfielder now faces a maximum six-match suspension for his alleged flouting of the sanitary regulations, and it is a testament to just how bright he has looked since moving to Rio de Janeiro that such a sanction would be a huge blow to Flamengo at a critical stage of the season.

Pereira, 25, decided to take in his first taste of Brazilian football – he is in fact a dual national, having been born in Belgium and nurtured in the ranks of Dutch giants PSV prior to joining United – when it became clear his career at Old Trafford had stalled.

The timing could not have been more opportune. The Red Devils were keen to sanction another loan spell following similar moves to Lazio, Valencia and Granada, while the player jumped at the chance to represent a club of Flamengo’s prestige and stature.

“Flamengo are the best club in the Americas,” he beamed at his presentation. “All foreigners and my club friends say that if they were to play in South America, it would be for Flamengo.

“My puppy is called [Flamengo and Brazil legend] Zico, my dad always used to show me his videos. I always liked his style.”

The Rio side too had everything to gain from Pereira’s arrival.

While for the last three seasons Flamengo have arguably been the strongest side on the continent, and by some distance, coach Renato Gaucho had to adjust in the transfer window as Gerson, the cornerstone of the club’s midfield, left for Marseille.

Typically for a team which has held no qualms over flexing its immense financial muscle, they swooped for not one, but two potential replacements, bringing in both Pereira and Kenedy to fill that creative gap.

The ex-Chelsea man has taken a while to settle in, but his former Premier League rival looks right at home, turning in a string of excellent performances in both Serie A and the Copa Libertadores to banish thoughts of the Estadio Maracana’s former favourite now being in France.

“He plays more or less like Gerson, but he is much faster. He’s also more dynamic than Gerson was,” Flamengo idol Junior, a team-mate of Zico’s at both club level and in that wonderful Brazil side of the 1980s, told Globo.

“He fights very hard, he comes from a school of play, the English game, in which you need to battle, and that might have been what was missing in this Flamengo team.”

Pereira will now have to wait until Friday’s Superior Football Sports Court hearing to find out if, or for how long, this most promising of starts will be interrupted.

He will at least be cleared for Wednesday’s vital Serie A match against Red Bull Bragantino, which Flamengo need to win to keep in touch with leaders Atletico Mineiro at the top.

Key players such as Gabriel ‘Gabigol’ Barbosa, Giorgian de Arrascaeta and Everton Ribeiro are on international duty, meaning that Pereira’s precise passing and steady presence in midfield will be more important than ever against dangerous, in-form opposition.

Fortunately, any potential suspension will not interfere with his pursuit of the biggest prize, the Copa Libertadores.

Flamengo powered past Ecuador’s Barcelona to book a meeting with defending champions Palmeiras in November’s final, an intriguing clash of styles which pits the free-flowing club against Abel Ferreira’s dour yet supremely effective counterattack experts.

It is the stuff Brazil’s stars dream of growing up, and represents a remarkable turn-around for a player like Pereira who, at the start of the transfer window, could hope for little more than another loan stint somewhere in Europe with scant prospects of either lifting trophies or impressing those in charge back at Old Trafford.

And who knows, if he keeps raising eyebrows at the Maracana, the midfielder could yet become an outside bet to make Brazil’s World Cup plans in 2022, having already become their first overseas-born player in a century when he debuted for Tite’s side in 2018.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s position as the newly-crowned highest goalscorer in men’s international football was confirmed after he received a certificate from Guinness World Records.

The Portugal forward has long been chasing down Iranian Ali Daei’s seemingly impossible record of 109 international goals, and drew level with him at Euro 2020 earlier this year.

But Ronaldo finally broke Daei’s record on Wednesday night after coming to Portugal’s rescue in trademark style by scoring two late headers to secure a 2-1 victory over Ireland in their World Cup qualifier.

Ironically, Ronaldo had the chance to take the record earlier in the game but saw his penalty saved.

Ronaldo took to Instagram on Friday, posting a picture of himself posing with the Guinness certificate confirming his spectacular achievement, and his comment suggested he wasn’t done scoring for Portugal.

‘Thank you to the Guiness (sic) World Records,’ he wrote. ‘Always good to be recognised as a world record breaker. Let’s keep trying to set the numbers even higher!’

Iran legend Daei took to social media to praise Ronaldo’s achievement in breaking his record, hailing the Portuguese’s ‘humility and kindness’.

On breaking the record, Ronaldo posted a message thanking Daei ‘for holding the record for so long and thanks for always showing so much respect for me every time I scored and as I became closer and closer to his outstanding number’.

Ronaldo has cemented his position as Portugal’s greatest ever player, having astonishingly scored more than twice the number of goals as the nation’s next highest scorer – Pauleta with 47.

Even the legendary Eusebio, who managed 41 goals, is left trailing in Ronaldo’s wake, and the 36-year-old looks far from finished.

Providing he remains fit, he will almost certainly feature in Portugal’s four remaining World Cup qualifiers, and there are also two upcoming friendlies against Qatar, the first being played on Sunday.

Having just made a stunning return to Manchester United, it is clear Ronaldo has his sights set on a full season of domestic football ahead of next year’s World Cup in Qatar, which takes place in November.

With Portugal looking very likely to qualify, it seems Ronaldo will significantly extend Daei’s record and have it stand for a very long time to come.

However, even Ronaldo would have to do something almost miraculous to chase down the all-time international goal-scoring record held by Canadian female footballer Christine Sinclair, who has scored 187 goals in 304 games for her country.

C. Ronaldo makes U-Turn. Ronaldo returns to Man United after 12 years

Manchester United’s official statement reads:

“Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.

“Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.

“In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games.

“Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”

Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes offered the former Red Devils forward to Man City after they missed out top target Harry Kane, but City dropped out of the race on Friday.

That allowed United to make a £24 million (€28m/$33m) bid to bring the 36-year-old back to Old Trafford, where he starred between 2003 and 2009.

In a statement on their club website, United said: “Manchester United is delighted to confirm that the club has reached agreement with Juventus for the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, subject to agreement of personal terms, visa and medical.

“Cristiano, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has so far won over 30 major trophies during his career, including five UEFA Champions League titles, four FIFA Club World Cups, seven league titles in England, Spain and Italy, and the European Championship for his native Portugal.

“In his first spell for Manchester United, he scored 118 goals in 292 games. Everyone at the club looks forward to welcoming Cristiano back to Manchester.”

In a press conference on Friday, Pep Guardiola suggested City’s squad will remain the same despite failing to replace Sergio Aguero who left for Barcelona at the end of last season.

“The position right now this is my feeling that I am more delighted with the squad I have and we will say the same,” said Guardiola.

“I am incredibly happy with the squad I have more than satisfied. We are the same squad except one player leaves Sergio and we have Jack [Grealish].”

United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, earlier on Friday, refused to rule out a deal.

“I don’t want to speculate too much. Cristiano is a legend of this club, he is the greatest player of all time,” said Solskjaer.

“He’s such a tremendous human being so let’s see what happens with him; everyone who’s played with him will have a soft spot for him.”

When pushed on whether or not United would be making a move for Ronaldo, he replied: “I didn’t think Cristiano would turn out leaving Juventus and it’s been speculation the last few days. We’ve always had good communication. I know Bruno [Fernandes] has been talking to him as well and he knows what we feel about him and If he was ever going to move away from Juventus he knows we’re here.”

Juventus boss Max Allegri confirmed at his news conference that Ronaldo has no “intention of staying” with the Italian club.

He was seen leaving Juventus’ training ground on Friday morning while the rest of the team began their session, before boarding a private plane out of Turin.

City held some talks over the possibility of a deal but there was no agreement on terms between the player and club.

Ronaldo was believed to be open to a move to the Etihad Stadium despite saying in the past that he would never line up for one of the Red Devils’ main rivals.