Page 9 - English Premier League

Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment cost Man United nearly $44 million

Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment in Manchester United cost the club $43.78 million in fees, according to financial figures released Tuesday. United's latest quarterly results also showed current gross debts of nearly $1 billion. Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, last month bought a 27.7% stake in the Premier League club more than a year after American owners the Glazer family invited offers from potential buyers. United's results stated an exceptional item of 9.6 million pounds ($12.28 million) for costs incurred in relation to the Group's strategic review and agreed sale to Ratcliffe. United said that was on top of a $31.5 million fee to U.S. investment bank Raine Group, which oversaw the deal. Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for his minority stake and made an added investment of $200 million. United has said Ratcliffe intends to invest a further $100 million by the end of the year. While his arrival has been warmly greeted by United fans, large sections of supporters have lon

EPL 2023-24: Fernandes and Rashford lead Man Utd to 2-0 win over Everton

Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford converted first-half penalties won by Alejandro Garnacho as Manchester United beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday to recover from back-to-back Premier League losses that had jeopardized its Champions League qualification hopes. Fernandes tucked away his spot kick in the 12th minute for his first home goal since August after James Tarkowski clipped the leg of Garnacho just inside the area. The Portugal midfielder then handed over penalty duties to Rashford after Garnacho went down under a rash lunge by Ben Godfrey. Rashford slotted his kick into the corner after a stuttered run-up to double the lead in the 36th. Sixth-place United, which was coming off losses to Fulham and Manchester City in the league, trimmed the gap to Tottenham in fifth to three points. Spurs, which plays fourth-place Aston Villa in a crucial match on Sunday, has two games in hand on United. United will be hoping the Premier League has five places rather than the current four in ne

EPL today's match: Liverpool vs Man City match time, predictions, streaming

Liverpool will take on Manchester City at the Anfield Stadium on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports and can also be live-streamed on Disney Plus Hotstar in India

Man City's 3-1 win against Man United provides reality check for Ratcliffe

Good luck trying to knock Manchester City off its perch. With new investment and renewed hope, Manchester United fans have been encouraged to believe the good times will return. That great revival felt as far away as ever after a humbling 3-1 loss to City in the Premier League, which could have been even worse Sunday if not for a spectacular miss from Erling Haaland and a series of saves from United goalkeeper Andre Onana. "This team is legendary," City manager Pep Guardiola said afterward. The same cannot be said for United after a 16th defeat in all competitions this season and its 11th loss in the league. The latest setback delivered another blow to Erik ten Hag's hopes of securing Champions League qualification, with his team in sixth and 11 points off fourth-place Aston Villa. City, meanwhile, marches on in its three-pronged defense of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. "Don't forget City, at this moment, is the best team in the world," Ten Hag said. Such word

EPL: Liverpool is exhausted, injury-hit and relying heavily on youngsters

Exhausted, injury-hit and relying on a bunch of academy prospects, Liverpool continues to pull off victories in the business end of Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge. No English Premier League win by the Reds has been sealed as late as the one at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez came off the bench and glanced home a header in the ninth minute of stoppage time to sink Forest 1-0 and move Liverpool four points clear. It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for Liverpool and a fourth in an 11-day span that included an extra-time victory over Chelsea in the English League Cup final. "If you'd told me 12 days ago we would win all four games, I would have said no chance it was impossible," said Klopp, who will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nearly nine years. "In the circumstances, winning the games is ridiculous." Second-placed Manchester City will look to restore the gap to Liverpool to one point by beating Manchester Unit

Jota out for months, confirms Klopp; Liverpool's injury crisis deepens

Liverpool forward Diogo Jota will be missing for months because of injury, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Tuesday. The Portugal international hurt his right knee in the first half of Liverpool's 4-1 win at Brentford in the English Premier League on Saturday. We have Diogo with a knee issue ruled out it will obviously take months, Klopp said ahead of Liverpool's home match against Luton on Wednesday. The injury potentially threatens Jota's involvement in the European Championship in Germany starting in June. Liverpool's injury crisis has deepened, with nine senior players unavailable heading into a key period of the season that includes the English League Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday. Klopp didn't give a return date for injured pair Curtis Jones or Alisson Becker and he described Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai as longer term problems. Striker Darwin Nunez was replaced at halftime against Brentford as a precaution.

EPL: Haaland comes to Man City's rescue in 1-0 win over Brentford

Erling Haaland added Brentford to his list of Premier League conquests when he came to Manchester City's rescue with a 71st-minute goal to clinch a 1-0 win Tuesday. It looked like City would be dropping points in a tight title race for the second time in four days after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea only for Haaland to finally get some space behind Brentford's defense in a counterattack. Julian Alvarez played the ball forward, Haaland collected it and raced past center back Kristoffer Ajer, who lost his footing. One on one with Mark Flekken, Haaland took his shot early and placed a low finish to the Dutch goalkeeper's right for his league-leading 17th goal of the campaign. Of the 21 teams Haaland has faced since arriving in the Premier League last season, Brentford was the only one he'd failed to score against. Not anymore. He's the best in the world," said Oscar Bobb, Haaland's City and Norway teammate who made his first Premier League start on Tuesday. The narrow and nervy win move

Man United to make a move for key Newcastle official amid club's reboot

He has worked in the shadows in English soccer for more than a decade, instilling a so-called "DNA" into its improving national teams and then shaping the growth and philosophy of Premier League clubs Brighton and Newcastle. Now Dan Ashworth could be handed maybe his biggest task yet: Overseeing the reboot of fallen giant Manchester United. Ashworth has reportedly been placed on leave by Newcastle amid interest from Man United about taking up the role of sporting director amid an overhaul of the club's soccer operations under British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe. Neither Newcastle nor Man United have officially commented about Ashworth, though Newcastle manager Eddie Howe spoke last week of wanting a quick resolution of any potential deal. If Ashworth was to eventually make the switch to Old Trafford, he would be tasked with knitting together the various arms of Man United's soccer operations soon to be controlled by Ratcliffe's INEOS Sport division which would include overseeing ..

Premier League: Mo Salah scores on return as Liverpool routs Brentford 4-1

Mohamed Salah made a scoring return for Liverpool as the Premier League leader routed Brentford 4-1 on Saturday. Salah had been out for a month since sustaining a hamstring injury at the Africa Cup of Nations. He came on as a substitute just before halftime at the Gtech Community Stadium and struck his 19th goal of the season in all competitions in the 68th minute. Liverpool already led 2-0 at that point, after Darwin Nunez opened the scoring in the 35th and Alexis Mac Allister added another from Salah's assist. Ivan Toney pulled a goal back for Brentford in the 75th, scoring for the fourth time in five games since returning from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules. But substitute Cody Gakpo sealed a 4-1 win for Liverpool in the 86th, which provisionally extended its lead at the top of the table to five points. Second-place Manchester City and Arsenal, in third, were due to play later on Saturday. Defending champion City was playing Chelsea and last season's runner-up

English clubs' financial power is $25bn of European soccer economy: UEFA

The financial power of English soccer was detailed in a UEFA report Thursday analyzing the record 24 billion euros ($25.75 billion) economy of top-tier clubs across Europe. The 20 Premier League clubs' total revenue of 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion) in 2022 was almost equal to the next two richest leagues combined Spain's La Liga and Germany's 18-team Bundesliga each had about 3.3 billion euros ($3.54 billion). Those 20 Premier League clubs combined had as much revenue as all 642 clubs in the 50 countries outside the big five leagues of England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, UEFA said. Closing the gap on English clubs' spending power had been cited in 2021 as a reason why clubs in Spain and Italy pushed hardest for the breakaway Super League project that failed. UEFA's annual review of club finances suggested the industry has recovered from lingering pandemic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak that shut down European soccer in 2020. It predicted total revenue topping 26 billion

Man United and Jim Ratcliffe get EPL approval over deal to buy 25% of club

The Premier League has approved Jim Ratcliffe's proposed bid to buy a minority stake in Manchester United, the club said. In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, United said it had already been granted approval under its rules over who is allowed to be an owner or director of a soccer club. It also said it expected clearance from the Football Association as British billionaire Ratcliffe closes in on completion of his deal to buy 25% of the club. League rules disqualify people from becoming owners or directors for reasons such as criminal convictions, sporting bans or involvement in other clubs. Ratcliffe is one of Britain's richest people and the owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS. He agreed a deal to buy a stake in United in December and on Monday the deadline for completion was extended from Feb. 14 to Feb. 17. As part of the deal, Racliffe's INEOS Sport division will take over control of United's soccer operation after more than a decade since it won th

Erling Haaland to relax and stay positive: Manchester City's Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola called on Erling Haaland to relax and stay positive after being concerned by the prolific striker's on-field demeanor before he scored the first goals of his comeback from injury. Guardiola was critical of his players' body language during the 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, which saw Haaland score twice in the second half after a frustrating first 45 minutes for the Norwegian. In that moment, he has to be positive," Guardiola said Monday, a day before Haaland and City take on FC Copenhagen away in the first leg of the Champions League's round of 16. "When he scored a goal, he reacted but he doesn't need to score because he helps us for many things. He is defined by goals but it is not just scoring a goal. As much it's how he is clapping, encouraging his mates and the first intense press. This is what we need from Erling." Not that the 23-year-old Haaland ever goes too long without scoring. He was the top scorer in his .

Manchester City keeps the pressure on Liverpool in EPL title race

Watch out, Premier League. The competition's most lethal attacking combination is back in tandem. Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne both recently back from long injury absences linked up for the clinching goal in Manchester City's 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday in what will be a worrying sight for the defending champions' rivals. Liverpool remained in first place after a 3-1 victory over Burnley but City is ominously placed on the leader's shoulder, two points behind with a game in hand, and with its superstar attackers back in the groove. Make it 12 times that De Bruyne has set up Haaland for a goal since they started playing together at the beginning of last season following the striker's move to England. No other Premier League partnership has delivered that many goals in this period. With him, I know I'm going to get it perfect. You know the ball is going to come, Haaland said of De Bruyne, English soccer's king of the assists. I watch a lot of football and I already saw

Man Utd's Harry Maguire's appeal in Greek court postponed due to strike

The appeals trial of Manchester United defender Harry Maguire over a nightclub brawl on the Greek island of Mykonos has been postponed for a year because of a lawyers' strike, court officials told The Associated Press. The 30-year-old England international is appealing a 21-month suspended sentence following the incident in 2020. His case was due to be heard on Wednesday at a court on the island of Syros, the region's administrative capital. Yannis Paradeisis, a Syros lawyer assisting with the prosecution and representing four police officers allegedly assaulted in the brawl, said a new trial date was set for March 12, 2025. "The hearing has been postponed. It's because of the lawyers' strikes that have been occurring over the last few months," Paradeisis told the AP. Lawyers and other Greek self-employed professionals are protesting tax reforms announced last year. The strikes have added to a huge backlog in court cases. Maintaining his innocence, Maguire said he intervened to ..

EPL 2023-24: Klopp to step down as Liverpool manager at end of season

Jurgen Klopp has announced he will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of this season. Klopp has led Liverpool to a Champions League title and Premier League championship in his tenure after being hired in October 2015. He made the shock announcement Friday that he will resign at the end of the season, saying he is running out of energy. I have to. I will leave the club at the end of the season. I can understand that it's a shock for a lot of people in this moment when you hear it for the first time, but obviously, I can explain it or at least try to explain it, Klopp said. I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team. I love the staff. I love everything. That I still take this decision probably shows you that I'm convinced it's the one I have to take. It is that I'm how can I say this? that I'm running out of energy.

Premier League: Tottenham twice comes from behind to draw 2-2 at Man United

Tottenham twice came from behind to draw 2-2 at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday as British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe attended his first match since agreeing a deal for a partial takeover at Old Trafford. Ratcliffe's agreement to buy a 25% stake and take control of soccer operations has brought some hope to a club that has fallen off the top of the English game under its owners, the Glazer family. But it is a long way back and fans will continue to protest the Americans' involvement, no matter how diminished, with Ratcliffe getting a first-hand look at the challenge he is taking on in the draw with Spurs. The 71-year-old Ratcliffe, who grew up supporting United, sat next to former manager Alex Ferguson in the directors' box at Old Trafford and only had to wait three minutes to celebrate as summer signing Rasmus Hojlund hammered home a shot into the roof of the net. Richarlison headed in a 19th-minute equalizer from a corner for his sixth goal in as many Premier Lea

City's Haaland to miss 9th straight game, Guardiola hopeful of early return

Erling Haaland has been ruled out of Manchester City's Premier League game at Newcastle on Saturday because of a foot injury, and he is likely to be out until the end of January. The Norway striker has missed the past eight games in all competitions though he's still the co-leading scorer in the league with 14 goals. Haaland hasn't played since a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on Dec. 6. Hopefully at the end of this month he'll be ready," City manager Pep Guardiola said. "It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. It's the bone. It needs time. With every injury you can do whatever you want but it's a question of time. On Friday, Guardiola also confirmed that defender John Stones (ankle) won't suit up against Newcastle. Erling is out and John is out, the manager said. The 23-year-old Haaland, who has returned to training, has also scored five goals in Champions League play this campaign. Playmaking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne is set for more minutes Saturday, possibly as

Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold to miss three weeks due to knee injury

Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold will be sidelined for three weeks because of a slightly torn knee ligament, the team said Tuesday. The right-back hyperextended his knee during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Arsenal in an FA Cup third-round game Sunday. Tests showed a little tear to the lateral ligament, assistant manager Pep Lijnders said ahead of the team's League Cup semifinal first leg against Fulham at Anfield on Wednesday. He will be out probably three weeks big blow, Lijnders said at a press conference. He was one of our most important players. Liverpool leads the Premier League by three points and was already preparing for an extended stretch without top scorer Mohamed Salah, who is on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations. Jurgen Klopp's team is also missing left-backs Andy Robertson (shoulder) and Kostas Tsimikas (collarbone), as well as central defender Joel Matip (ACL). Virgil van Dijk is available to play Wednesday after missing the Arsenal g

EPL: Tottenham signs Germany forward Timo Werner on loan from Leipzig

Tottenham signed Timo Werner on loan from Leipzig on Tuesday, giving the Germany forward another shot at the Premier League after his inconsistent stint with Chelsea. The 27-year-old Werner joined Spurs on a six-month deal that included an option to make the transfer permanent this summer. In the short term, Werner would plug a gap left by the departure of captain Son Heung-min to the Asian Cup with South Korea potentially until mid-February. The move could also boost Werner's resum ahead of the European Championship this summer in Germany. Werner played for Chelsea from 2020-22 and helped the London club win the Champions League, but it was still an underwhelming stint in English soccer. He tallied 23 goals in 89 total appearances in his time at Stamford Bridge. Werner returned to Leipzig in the summer of 2022 and scored 16 goals last season. But he's made only four starts under coach Marco Rose this campaign. The speedy Werner said he was encouraged by his discussions with Spur

Werner, Toney, Henderson ... Mbapp? Key players set for possible transfers

It has been a slow start to the January transfer window in the Premier League. Expect that to change pretty quickly. Deals are being mooted, speculation is starting to fly, and sought-after stars like Kylian Mbapp and Ivan Toney have chosen to talk about their future to the media. Here's a look at the situation surrounding some key players and teams: TIMO WERNER Timo Werner might have won the Champions League during his time with Chelsea from 2020-22, but it was still an underwhelming stint in English soccer for the Germany forward. It looks like he'll be returning to England to London again, too in a bid to ignite his career ahead of the European Championship. Werner is widely reported to be close to joining Tottenham from Leipzig, initially on loan, but with a view to a permanent move. In the short term, he would plug a gap left by the departure of captain Son Heung-min to the Asian Cup potentially until mid-February. It's right that Timo wants to go on loan," Leipzig coa