Donny van de Beek has chosen to wear the no.34 jersey at Manchester United, a tribute to his friend and former Ajax team-mate Abdelhak Nouri.
Van de Beek completed a transfer from the Dutch giants on Wednesday in a deal that could eventually cost United £39.1million (€44m).
Soon after his move was confirmed, the Red Devils announced Van de Beek s choice of shirt number, as the 23-year-old made a classy gesture.
Nouri, with whom Van de Beek came through the Ajax academy, had worn 34 during his time with the senior side before a tragedy cut short his burgeoning career in 2017.
Then just 20, Nouri collapsed during a pre-season match and suffered a cardiac arrhythmia attack that left him with permanent brain damage and in a coma, from which he only awoke i…
Scotland are this year making their first appearance in a European Championship since 1996, but they face one of the tournament s staple sides in the Czech Republic.
While the Czechs are not the force they once were during the mid-2000s, they are taking part in their 10th Euro (Czechoslovakia included), including their seventh in a row – an uninterrupted streak since 1996.
Only Germany (13) and France (eight) are currently on longer such runs, but, surprisingly, Scotland and the Czech Republic have never met in a major tournament.
The omens are good for Steve Clarke s team, however, as Scotland have won each of their last three matches against the Czech Republic, their longest current winning run against any of the other 23 nations qualified for Euro 2020.<…
Manchester United face a wait for the Premier League title if rivals Manchester City continue to spend, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
United have not won the league since 2012-13 and Mourinho s side are already eighth and 18 points adrift of reigning champions City after 15 matches this season.
The Red Devils, who are winless in their past four Premier League matches, finished 19 points behind City last term and Mourinho warned the club s trophy drought could continue unless City s spending is reined in.
I don t know, Mourinho said when asked how long it would be before United won the Premier League again.
It depends on our evolution but also others evolution. If the ones above us keep going in the same direction, and if their ambition and investm…
Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei s all-time international goalscoring record as he held his nerve to haul Portugal to a 2-2 draw with France and into the knockout rounds of Euro 2020.
Ronaldo scored the first of three penalties awarded by Spanish referee Mateu Lahoz at the Puskas Arena, although his old Real Madrid strike partner Karim Benzema levelled from the spot and put the world champions ahead at the start of the second half.
At that stage, the holders were staring at elimination as Les Blues eyed a measure of revenge for their Euro 2016 final defeat, but Ronaldo stepped up again at his country s hour of need when Jules Kounde was penalised for handball.
Having already overhauled Miroslav Klose – whose countrymen Germany flirted with disaster before s…
The Mirror understands that Manchester United are ready to revamp their defence in the summer, which could spell the end of Chris Smalling’s and Phil Jones’time at the club.
The England pair could be set to move on after the Red Devils were linked with moves for Rafael Varane of Real Madrid and Leicester City’s Harry Maguire.
Having made just thirteen professional league matches for Fulham, Smalling signed for United in the summer of 2010 and has since racked up two hundred and seventy-three appearances in all competitions, scoring fourteen goals.
Jones moved to Old Trafford from Blackburn Rovers a year later and have made one hundred and eighty-eight outings, with five goals to his name.
Together they have won a host of major honours including…
Real Madrid were unable to reclaim top spot in LaLiga as Carlo Ancelotti’s men drew 0-0 at home with derby rivals Rayo Vallecano.
The stalemate at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu leaves second-placed Real two points behind table-toppers Girona, and two ahead of Barcelona in third.
Athletic Bilbao are fifth after surviving a late Villarreal fightback to win 3-2 at El Madrigal, where Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta, Nico Williams and Inaki Williams had the visitors three goals up inside the opening half an hour.
FT 0-0
A derby that ends in a draw… |
— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN)
Gerard Moreno and Alexander Sorloth scored in quick succession late on but Athletic held on.
A Pepelu penalty gave Valencia a 1-0 home win over second-bottom …
Premier League clubs can begin reinforcing their squads for next season in earnest after the transfer window opened on Thursday and there are plenty of shrewd signings to be made.
Manchester United look set for a particularly busy close-season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hinting on more than one occasion that several players could depart Old Trafford, while Manchester City and Liverpool will be eager to keep pushing themselves.
Tottenham have reached the Champions League final this term despite not adding to their first-team squad since January 2018, so presumably Mauricio Pochettino will be liaising with Daniel Levy about what business can be done this time around.
Then there will be those eager to bridge the gap to the top four, others wanting to move further aw…
Thomas Tuchel wants to reinforce Paris Saint-Germain with up to four new signings as the German closes in on his first league title.
PSG will be crowned Ligue 1 champions for the sixth time in seven seasons on Sunday if they beat Strasbourg and Lille do not win at Reims.
Tuchel s men are also through to the Coupe de France final but were dumped out of the Champions League in sensational fashion by Manchester United in the last 16.
The club s desire to make an impression in Europe could prompt another off-season influx, with the failure to land Barcelona-bound Frenkie de Jong and Adrien Rabiot s expected departure highlighting midfield as a likely area for improvement.
It s hard to say [how many players will arrive] because I don t know what s going to …
Roberto Mancini has opened the door to Mario Balotelli making an international return as he prepares to take charge of Italy.
On Wednesday, former Inter and Manchester City boss Mancini addressed the media for the first time since being confirmed as the Azzurri s new head coach and Balotelli was predictably a topic of conversation.
Mancini served as a mentor to the enigmatic striker after Balotelli came through the ranks at Inter and bought him to England in 2010.
Although FA Cup and Premier League glory followed, alongside cult-hero status with the City support, a volatile relationship between player and manager ended with Balotelli joining AC Milan in January 2013.
After an ill-fated loan stint at Liverpool, the 27-year-old has impressed with 43 goal…