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Manchester United reportedly seem to be
accepting that re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo
last summer was an ‘error of judgement’.
This is according to a report from the Daily
Mirror, which also suggests that the Red
Devils won’t block Ronaldo from sealing a
transfer away this summer if the opportunity
comes along.
There has been growing speculation
Over Ronaldo’s future, with the Portugal
international not really looking himself lately,
and with time surely running out for him to
win major trophies in Europe before retiring.
The Portugal international will turn 38 next
season, and the Mirror suggest we might not
see much more of him in the Premier League
as Man Utd come to their senses.
The report explains that United largely
signed Ronaldo to prevent him joining rivals
Manchester City, while commercial factors
were also key to the deal.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United future
is in some doubt
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Man Utd last
summer
In the end, it’s clear that Ronaldo has not
brought the success many will have hoped
for, with his occasionally stroppy behaviour
becoming an unwanted distraction.
The 37-year-old probably won’t be short of
suitors this summer, but big clubs could do
well to take note of how MUFC seem to be
feeling about the deal now.

Speaking to Caughtoffside earlier this week,
former United ace Luke Chadwick said he
hoped Ronaldo would stay as he could still
have something to offer.
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“There’s always going to be speculation about
someone like Ronaldo because he’s such
a big name, and when things aren’t going
well people start to talk, there’s a lot of noise
around him” Chadwick said.
“You’d like to think he’d like to leave United in
a better position than when he arrived. He still
has time left in him, he might not be able to
play 90 minutes every single game, but he’s
got a role to play”

The latest chapter of the long-standing rivalry
between Leeds United and Manchester City
gets underway on Sunday in front of sold-out
Elland Road.

For the first time in over 18 years, the Elland
Road crowd will get to watch Leeds vs
Man United in top-flight action as their last
season’s Premier League encounter here took
place behind closed doors.
Coming into this matchday, the Whites lost
3-0 to Everton at Goodison Park, taking their
winless league streak to three matches (D1,
L2).
That must be music to the Red Devils’ ears
as they hope to solidify their position ina
keenly-contested top-four battle following a
2-0 midweek triumph over mid-table Brighton.
But since Leeds are only six points clear
of the relegation territory, Marcelo Bielsa’s
men will fight tooth and nail to fend off
fourth-placed Man United and avoid sliding
into a danger zone.

The scars of a thrashing 5-1 defeat on the
opening matchday of the season are still
fresh in the Whites camp, which is likely
to amplify their ambitions to upset Ralf
Rangnick’s side.
It won’t be easy, though, especially after
United received a double injury boost ahead
of this game.
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Head-to-Head
Barring a 1-0 loss at Elland Road in
September 2002, Man United have gone
unbeaten in 15 of their last 16 Premier League
clashes against Leeds (W10, D5).
Yet, despite their impressive H2H form, the
Red Devils are still seeking their first league
double over the Whites since the 1999/2000
season.
Man United have held Leeds at bay in their
last two Premier League away meetings,
as many clean sheets as they had in their
previous nine matches at Elland Road in the
competition.

Manchester United Preview
Since suffering a crushing 4-1 defeat at
Watford in November, the Red Devils have
gone unbeaten in their last six Premier
League road trips (W4, D2).
Worryingly, though, Rangnick’s men have
dropped six points from winning positions,
turning the leads against Chelsea, Aston Villa
and Burnley into draws.
Since a goalless draw with Leeds in April
2020, United have found the net in all 14 away
league games as they enter this round as the
only Premier League side to have scored in
each travel this season.
However, it is worth noting that they have
netted precisely once in five of their last
seven top-flight fixtures on hostile turf.
Player to Watch
Bruno Fernandes broke his four-game scoring
duck with a late strike to seal Man United’s
2-0 win against Brighton last time out, taking
his tally for the season to eight Premier
League goals.

The Portuguese playmaker enjoys playing
against Leeds, though, as witnessed by his
haul of five goals and one assist from three
league appearances against the Whites.
Leeds United vs Manchester United
Predicted Line-ups
Leeds United (4-1-4-1): llan Meslier; Luke
Ayling, Diego Llorente, Pascal Struijk, Junior
Firpo; Robin Koch; Raphinha, Rodrigo,
Mateusz Klich, Jack Harrison; Daniel James.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): David de Gea
Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire,
Luke Shaw, Fred, Scott McTominay; Bruno
Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford,
Cristiano Ronaldo.

Utd
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick
has insisted that Harry Maguire will stay
the club’s captain for the remainder of the
campaign.

Maguire has experienced a tough season with
the Red Devils, and there have been questions
raised over his position in the starting line-up.
Amidst this, there have been calls from some
fans and pundits to drop him, and Rangnick
has given his complete support to the
centre-back.
A recent report from Ihe Mirror claimed that
Rangnick has personally spoken with Maguire
and Cristiano Ronaldo over the leadership
situation.
It was added that Ronaldo could be the new
captain, but Rangnick has dismissed the story
in his press conference ahead of the Leeds
United game.
He said via Manchester Evening News: “Well,
to start with, I must say this is absolutelyy
nonsense.”
T have never spoken with any player about a
possible change of captaincy, Harry was fully
aware of that, so was Cristiano and the other
players. This has never been an issue for me.

“It’s me who decides who’s the captain and
therefore there is no reason for me to speak
about that with another person.
“Harry is our captain and he will stay our
captain until the end of the season and there
is nothing else to add on to that”
Our view:
Maguire has struggled for consistency
over the course of the season. He has been
culpable to positional errors that have proved
costly for the club.

Despite this, he has had the continuous
backing. First from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and
now from Rangnick, who considers him as a
key player.
The England star has the ability to turn things
around, and it remains to be seen whether he
can repay the faith of the German tactician.
Else, there could be genuine concerns
over his future at the club, considering the
speculation that United are eyeing another
centre-back.
Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo has emerged as
a top target ahead of the summer, but the
Uruguayan may want an assured starting role.

Scorers: Ferran (PEN) 57; Zielinski 29′
A contentious second half penalty was
enough to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw at home
to Napoli in front of an almost sell-out homme
crowd.
The Europa League anthem may take some
getting used to to Barcelona fans but there
was a very healthy crowd here at Camp Nou
for the visit of Napoli.
The Blaugrana were on the front foot from the
off with Nico going close after 15 minutes as
his close range effort was saved.
But after Ferran Torres went close for the
home side it was Napoli who took the lead as
Piotr Zielinski lashed home a rebound.

Into the second half and Xavi’s side were
pushing for the equaliser but were frustrated
by poor quality in the final third- Adama
Troare being a particular culprit.
They did get their equaliser though as after a
controversial VAR review a penalty was given
and Ferran Torres dispatched from the spot.
The former Manchester City man had at least
two more chances to win the game but fluffed
his lines as both sides shared the spoils.

Leicester City midfielder Wilfried Ndidi insists
Brendan Rodgers was right to give his players
a “wake-up call” after the loss to Nottingham
Forest.
The Foxes were eliminated from the FA Cup
after going 4-1 to the Championship club.
When quizzed on what the players made
of Rodgers’ comments, Ndidi said: “It’s the
honest truth. The club is bigger than every
player.

“We as players know what we want. We know
what we want for the club, and what we want
as players. It’s about the concentration of
where you are and looking forward to those
achievements you want as a team and as a
player.
“It’s just a wake-up call for us for the manager
to say those things and for us to concentrate
more”
He added: “Yeah, we needed it (the wake-up
call). He (Rodgers) is always there for us. He’s
been there for us, so yeah, we needed it.

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé has
been linked with Real Madrid for what feels
like forever. But he could be set to stick
around in France after all.
According to the Independent on Thursday,
the French club is ready to prepare a new
contract offer to make the 23-year-old the
highest-paid player in world footbal.

Additionally, the report claims individuals
close to Mbappé attended meetings with PSG
on Wednesday following the big Champions
League win, with the idea that Real Madrid’s
squad is “stale” discussed, further urging the
Frenchman to stay in Paris.
Mbappés current contract ends in June and if
a new deal is not signed, he has the ability to
join the Spanish club for free.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw
believes they can win the Champions League
this season.
The Red Devils have struggled for
consistency throughout the campaign, even
under the guidance of interim coach Ralf
Rangnick.
They are battling to finish in the top four in the
Premier League, but Shaw believes they can
win Europe’s top club competition to play in it
again next term.
The England defender told the Mirror: “This
is the crunch time of the season and it is
very important in the league to get some
momentum.
“As a team we believe we can win the
Champions League.
“Not many people on the outside will think it
and some will think I’m stupid for saying that.
“But we have that belief and confidence that
we can win it.

“T’m sure everyone in this dressing room-the
players, staff and management- all have that
belief that we can.
“Now we need to pick some momentum up,
get results and keep playing well”

Tottenham Hotspur brought in both Dejan
Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from
Juventus in January, but manager Antonio
Conte admitted that his squad was now
weaker than when the transfer window
opened.
The north London club allowed Tanguy
Ndombele, Lo Celso, Dele Alli and Bryan Gil
all to depart last month, while both Kulu and
Bentancur arrived in the final week of the
window.

The manager has now admitted that his side
is weaker than when the window began, by
telling Sky Sport Italia(via the BBC): “What
happened in January was not easy..
Spurs boss Conte added: “We lost four
players. Four important players for Tottenham
and we brought in only two.
“So even just in terms of numbers, rather than
reinforce the squad, we, on paper, may have
weakened it”
Juve on the other hand, we brought in two
players whilst allowing two to leave, and are
very much a stronger squad with a better
balance within our team, and are most
definitely going to profit from our transfer
dealings. While Conte’s side have lost both
their league matches since signing the pair
from us, we have been in top form thus far,
with Vlahovic already scoring two from his
three outings also.
Patrick

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool grabbed
a “deserved” win over Inter Milan on
Wednesday.
The Reds grabbed a 2-0 victory at San Siro in
the first leg of the Champions League last-16
tie.

Van Dijk admitted his team suffered during
the clash but ultimately deserved their victory.
“It’s a tough place to come, a really good team,
a good system, van Dijk said. “They were
difficult to break down. The atmosphere was
incredible, I really enjoyed it out there.
Obviously it was very important with the set
pieces, it’s a strength of ours. Hopefully we
can keep using this. Overall it’s a very solid
performance and a good result to take back
home. I think it’s a well-deserved win, but it
was very hard work.
Everyone expected to be under pressure,
because they are a very good team and it is
the Champions League. We needed to be
ready to suffer and do the hard work, and we
definitely did. Happy days.”