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    ‘He would bite your hand off’ – Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to join Man Utd rivals in shock transfer this summer

    CRISTIANO RONALDO has been tipped to make a sensational return to the Premier League – but not with Manchester United.The five-time Ballon d’Or winner – who had two stints with the Red Devils – is on the brink of becoming a free agent.Cristiano Ronaldo’s contract with Al-Nassr expires at the end of the seasonCredit: GETTYA move to Manchester City – whom he nearly joined in 2021 – could be on the cardsCredit: PAFormer Red Devils hitman Teddy Sheringham could see Ron returning to ManchesterCredit: GETTYThe 40-year-old’s contract with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr expires at the end of the season, although it’s claimed he’s agreed an extension.Ronaldo’s seemingly imminent free agency has opened up the possibility of a move to Prem champions Manchester City.And former United hitman Teddy Sheringham believes the Portuguese would “jump” at the chance to move to the Etihad.When asked about CR7 potentially joining City, he told Casino Apps: “I mean, Man United fans wouldn’t be happy.READ MORE IN FOOTBALL”If the figures add up, Ronaldo would probably jump at the chance.”He can definitely score a goal, can’t he? That, there’s no denying.”Yeah, they [Man City] looked a little bit lost without their focal point [Haaland in the Manchester derby], didn’t they?”They didn’t have that same flow to their team, but I don’t know.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSInside Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible lifeAS arguably the greatest player of all time, Cristiano Ronaldo lives a life befitting such a superstar.”Wow, I’ve not even thought about that, Ronaldo would definitely be excited by it [moving to Man City]. That would be funny.”I bet if you offered him the chance to go to Man City, he would bite your hand off.”‘Bro you don’t look like me, you’re very ugly’ – Cristiano Ronaldo destroys lookalike fan at Al-Nassr matchRonaldo opened the door to a shock move to the Etihad at the Globe Soccer Awards last December.When asked if he’d be willing to give City – who he nearly joined before his 2021 return to Old Trafford – a ‘helping hand’, he replied: “You never know what is going to happen.” More

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    Mo Salah wears luxury £730,000 watch for Liverpool contract announcement as he seals new deal in style

    MOHAMED SALAH signed his new Liverpool contract in style with a swanky new watch.Salah, 32, put an end to months of uncertainty that would have seen him becoming a free agent in June with Saudi Arabian clubs tabling astronomical bids.Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah finally signed a new contractAnd Salah did so in style with a luxury watchSalah donned a Richard Mille RM17-02 watchLiverpool star Salah’s watch costs a staggering £730,000The drawn-out saga came to a happy end on Friday with the winger putting pen to paper on a new deal worth a reported £400,000 per week that ties him to the Reds until 2027.And the Egypt international looked totally classy as he posed for the cameras ready to sign the dotted line.Salah wore a luxury blue ceramic Richard Mille RM17-02 watch on his left wrist.The Egyptian star’s timepiece costs a staggering £730,000, which comes as no surprise as he will become the Premier League’s second highest earner.Read More on FootballThe ex-Chelsea ace will only be behind Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, who now makes £500,000 per week after signing his own mammoth new ten-year deal in January.Salah posted a number of pictures to social media showing him posing at Anfield.And the ex-Roma star revealed he rejected Saudi offers due to his legacy, his desire to break more records and to fulfil his ultimate dream of winning the Ballon d’Or.Reports from Egypt suggested the former Fiorentina ace was offered annual wages from the Saudi Pro League worth a whopping £130m.Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSSalah has been dominating the Premier League this season as he is the competition’s top scorer with 27 goals and 17 assists in 31 appearances.The versatile forward is also leading Liverpool to the title as they are 11 points ahead of second-placed Arsenal.Moment Mo Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold are pulled apart after apparent spat during Liverpool training Virgil van Dijk is now set to follow his star team-mate and sign a new contract before his current one runs out in June after agreeing his own extension. More

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    Pep Guardiola does an Ange Postecoglou with gesture to his own fans in bizarre scenes after Marmoush goal for Man City

    PEP GUARDIOLA made a bizarre gesture to his own fans in a move straight out of the Ange Postecoglou playbook. The Premier League champions found themselves trailing 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace after goals from Eberechi Eze and Chris Richards.Pep Guardiola made a bizarre gesture to his own fansCredit: X formerly Twitter / @beINSPORTS_TRGuardiola pointed to his ears as Man City levelledCredit: X formerly Twitter / @beINSPORTS_TRFans online compared him to Ange PostecoglouCredit: X formerly Twitter / @beINSPORTS_TRKevin De Bruyne pulled one back for City – kickstarting an emphatic 5-2 fightback with Omar Marmoush levelling only minutes later.It sent the home City fans wild – but manager Guardiola appeared to make a goading gesture to his own supporters. The Spaniard pointed his finger to his ear and waved his arms up and down to the Etihad faithful – as some fans questioned if it was in reference to boos around the stadium. Guardiola has been known to gesture to supporters before in a bid to get them going as the 12th man. READ MORE IN football But fans online could not help but compare the ex-Barcelona boss to under-fire Tottenham manager Postecoglou. One said: “Is he Ange in disguise!”Another added: “Pep thinks he is Ange.” A third joked: “Pep turning into Ange.” Most read in FootballCASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITSPostecoglou surprised Spurs fans by replacing Lucas Bergvall with Pape Matar Sarr at Stamford Bridge earlier in the month. The away contingent responded by chanting: “You don’t know what you’re doing.”‘People like you will be happy’ – Postecoglou snaps at Sky Sports reporter in ‘generational meltdown’ after Chelsea lossHowever, Sarr then fizzed a long-ranger into the back of the net.And Postecoglou reacted by appearing to cup his ears towards his club’s own fans – only for the goal to be chalked off by VAR.Spurs lost 1-0 and Postecoglou explained: “I want them to be happy – we’ve just scored a cracking goal.”I wanted them to get really excited. I felt at that time we could potentially go on and win the game.”Postecoglou cupped his ears to Spurs fansCredit: Getty More

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    ‘Please come back’ – Man Utd fans go crazy as Fiorentina make decision on David de Gea contract after Onana shambles

    FIORENTINA are set to trigger an extra year in David de Gea’s contract.The Serie A side signed the Spaniard 12 months after he was released by Manchester United in 2023.David de Gea has excelled since moving to ItalyCredit: GettyAndre Onana was poor in Man Utd’s 2-2 draw at LyonCredit: GettyDe Gea, 34, had wanted to stay at Old Trafford and was willing to halve his £375,000 a week salary.But United chiefs subsequently withdrew their offer, allowing De Gea to leave after 12 years in Manchester.The Red Devils subsequently signed Andre Onana from Inter Milan in a £47million swoop.Onana’s time in Manchester, however, has been littered with errors.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLFollowing a war of words with Nemanja Matic, which saw the Serbian dub him one of the “worst goalkeepers in Man United history”, Onana made two blunders in the Red Devils’ 2-2 draw with Lyon on Thursday.De Gea, meanwhile, has excelled since signing for Fiorentina last summer.Speaking about their No1, Fiorentina president Rocco Commisso said: “He will stay with us also next season.”Following 12 months out of the game, United’s former stopper has appeared to be a man reinvigorated in Italy.Most read in FootballBEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UKHe has kept 10 clean sheets in Serie A, with a 74 per cent save percentage.De Gea has not made a single error leading to a goal, or even shot.Man Utd legend David De Gea shows off his skills in manic training session He has also stopped two penalties.Seeing that De Gea is staying in Italy, one Man Utd fan wrote on X: “Please come back to Man U.”And a second claimed: “David de Gea still better than Onana currently..”A third commented: “Manchester United must be kicking themselves.”And another added: “Remember when United fans thought he was the problem.”During Thursday’s draw in France, Man Utd legend Paul Scholes said in reference to Onana’s row with Matic: “He (Onana) has probably wished he had kept his mouth shut before the game.“It’s a really bad mistake. It’s a decent ball but I’m not sure what the keeper is trying to do. It’s an awful mistake from him.”Boss Ruben Amorim defended his stopper after the game, saying: “If you look at the season, I’ve made more mistakes than them during these last games and during these last months.”There’s nothing I can say to Andre in this moment that will help him.”So the most important thing is to be natural and then when the time comes I will choose the best XI to play.Read More on The Sun”But I’m really confident in Andre.”Despite that, Onana is now said to be at risk of being axed for Sunday’s trip to Newcastle. Ruben Amorim has defended his under-fire stopperCredit: AFP More

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    Man City 5 Crystal Palace 2: Kevin De Bruyne leads dramatic comeback in seven-goal thriller days after announcing exit

    KEVIN DE BRUYNE gave Manchester City fans a glimpse of what they’ll soon be missing by leading the comeback in a bizarre game.Crystal Palace’s quickfire start had earned them a shock – but fully merited – early 2-0 lead, thanks to goals from Eberi Eze and Chris Richards.Kevin De Bruyne inspired Man City’s stunning comebackCredit: PAOmar Marmoush was amongst the goals againCredit: ReutersMateo Kovacic scored after being set up by a clever De Bruyne passCredit: APJames McAtee latched onto a long ball and netted City’s fourthCredit: GettyNico O’Reilly’s fifth ensured they moved into the top four of the tableCredit: PABut then De Bruyne, who manager Pep Guardiola has chosen to offload at the end of the season, rolled back the years and took command.The City skipper has been a shadow of his magnificent self for much of the campaign, but against Palace we got the brilliant Belgian of old.De Bruyne scored one and had a hand in THREE others, and the Etihad paid homage by bellowing out his name.He had already seen one follow-up strike blocked for a corner, and a whipped effort which rattled the upright before making it third time lucky on 33 minutes.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLEveryone knew what was coming as De Bruyne stepped up to take the free kick after Nico Gonzalez was chopped by Daichi Kamada.But stopping it was something else entirely, and keeper Dean Henderson never got close as his shot went through a huge gap and in off the post.A couple of minutes later De Bruyne turned provider by nodding James McAtee’s cleverly lofted cross back intro the danger zone.Ilkay Gundogan missed out with an awkward-height volley, but Omar Marmoush was never going to at the far post and it was all square.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSYet it was far from comeback complete, because two minutes after the break City were ahead – and once more De Bruyne had a part to play in a marvellously crafted strike.Gundogan began it by feeding Nico O’Reilly down left. He dragged it back to De Bruyne, who stopped the ball dead and laid it off for Mateo Kovacic to smash into the corner.Ten minutes later keeper Ederson was the unlikeliest of creators when he pumped a clearance downfield and McAtee raced beyond everyone.The City youngster – on Bayer Leverkusen’s summer hit list – took a touch to control, another to steady himself and the third was to stroke it into an empty net.It was just about all Ederson had to do in the second half, before limping out of the closing stages with a muscle strain.City, though, still hadn’t finished and ten minutes from time Nico O’Reilly was celebrating a first Prem goal when his left foot volley clipped Nathaniel Clyne and flew into the corner.De Bruyne finally took his bow for the closing minutes, leaving to a standing ovation. You suspect there will be a few more before he finally exits the Etihad for good.Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze opened the scoringCredit: PAChris Richards gave Palace a shock 2-0 lead with a header from a cornerCredit: GettySemi-automated offside technology helped rule out Palace’s thirdCredit: @PLMatchCentre More

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    History-making Premier League legend retires immediately after featuring in Man City vs Crystal Palace match

    PREMIER LEAGUE mainstay Darren Cann has officially retired from assistant refereeing.Cann, 58, has been running the line in the English top-flight for over 25 years and is one of the most recognised officials in the country.Assistant referee Darren Cann has retired from officiatingCredit: AFPCann began his officiating journey all the way back in 1991Credit: PACann has officiated the most matches in Premier League history and called time on his career after Manchester City’s win over Crystal PalaceCredit: AFPCann cut an emotional figure after the final whistle of his careerCredit: TNT SPORTSBut after helping officiate 579 Premier League fixtures – the most of any official in the competition’s history – the veteran linesman has decided to hang up his flag.Cann’s final Prem appearance came in Manchester City’s 5-2 win over Crystal Palace at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.Ahead of the game, Cann, who reffed over 1000 games in his career, said: “It’s been an honour to serve the professional game for the last 25 years.“Officiating the World Cup final and the Champions League final are memories I will cherish forever.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWS”But, above all, I’m proud of the fact I’ve given 100 per cent in every single match throughout my career.“I would like to thank every single person who has helped and supported me to work in this wonderful sport, PGMOL and The FA as well as all of the clubs, managers, players and fans that have made the Premier League the greatest league in the world.“It’s been the privilege of my life to serve the game that I love.”Cann, who played in Crystal Palace’s youth team as a striker alongside Ian Wright, began his refereeing journey in 1991.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSCity skipper Kevin De Bruyne had some words for the retiring Darren Cann after the final whistleCredit: TNT SPORTSIt would take him ten years to be promoted to the Football League, where he’d officiate for four years.Cann would go on to represent England on the global stage, taking part in 140 international fixtures – including games at the Euro 2008 and the 2010 and 2014 World Cups in South Africa and Brazil.Ruben Amorim’s Garnacho dilemma explained ahead of Manchester derbyHe was part of the refereeing team that officiated the 2010 Champions League and World Cup finals, which were contested by Bayern Munich and Inter Milan and Spain and the Netherlands, respectively.PMGOL chief Howard Webb, who knows Cann all too well having worked alongside him in the Champions League and World Cup finals, was quick to pay tribute to the retiring official.He said: “As I know first-hand from working with Darren on many matches.”He is an official of extraordinary talent and he has performed at the very highest level with distinction.”His professionalism and dedication have made him an outstanding ambassador for English officiating.”We wish him all the very best as he steps away from the field.”Though we’re sure his impact will continue to be felt for many years to come.”Darren Cann was part of the officiating team for the 2010 Champions League and World Cup finalsCredit: GETTY More

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    Premier League history made as Eberechi Eze has goal ruled out for Crystal Palace vs Man City

    PREMIER League history has been made after the new semi-automated offside technology chalked off its first goal.Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze thought he had made it 3-0 to the Eagles against Manchester City this afternoon.Eberechi Eze was judged to be offside by the semi-automated systemA tracking system using 10,000 plus data points for each player recognised that the Palace ace was ahead of the City defender’s kneeCredit: @PLMatchCentreIt then produced a graphic of the offside to show Eze had gone too earlyCredit: @PLMatchCentreThe England midfielder sprinted in behind the City defence and finished beyond Ederson before being flagged offside by the linesman.Eze was adamant that he had timed his run to perfection, wagging his finger in disbelief at the decision.The goal was immediately checked by VAR’s semi-automated offside technology and within seconds it was confirmed that he had narrowly gone too early.It was the first time in Prem history that a goal was disallowed following the new check.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLThe decision proved to be a major turning point as City fought back from 2-0 down to level before eventually going 4-2 ahead.Chalking off Eze’s goal was semi-automated offside’s second use in the game after it supported the on-field decision to award his first strike after a possible offside in the build-up from Ismaila Sarr.In the second-half it was also used to confirm City’s fourth goal by James McAtee.Fans praised the new system, with one saying: “Semi-automated offside is pleasant to see.”Most read in FootballBEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERSAnother added: “Took a matter of seconds yet it took till April with only six games of the league season left for the Premier League to bring it in.”Others disagreed, commenting: “Oh look, finally a decision graphic but it doesn’t even show that they’ve gotten the timing of the pass correct. This is useless.”The new system, devised by the US-based company Genius Sports, aims to reduce offside waiting times to an average of 30 seconds.Fans left stunned at worst VAR offside line in history as they joke ‘absolutely NOT rigged’ – but all is not as it seemsA whopping 28 cameras per match are deployed to track 10,000 plus data points for each player to reach the decisions.Explaining the tech, a Prem statement read: “Semi-automated offside technology automates key elements of the offside decision-making process to support the video assistant referee (VAR).“It provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using optical player tracking, and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans.“The technology maintains the integrity of the process while enhancing the speed, efficiency, and consistency of offside decision-making.”Eze was in disbelief over the offsideCredit: AFP More

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    FA Cup to keep hated rule next season despite pleas by Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer to change it after Man Utd clash

    FA CUP fixtures next season will include extra time – despite calls for them to follow the Carabao Cup’s lead.The EFL scrapped extra time in the Carabao Cup in 2018, with all fixtures – barring the final – being decided by a penalty shootout in the event of a stalemate.FA Cup chiefs have decided against scrapping extra-time for next seasonCredit: GETTYThey have been facing calls to get rid of it to give lower league teams chances of victoryCredit: REXBut FA chiefs, according to The Times, aren’t planning to follow suit.That’s despite their recent scrapping of replays, which used to be huge money-spinners for lower league clubs.The decision to axe replays was widely condemned, with many believing it was made to cater to Premier League clubs’ fixture schedules.Lower league sides are at a clear disadvantage in terms of squad depth and fitness levels when games go to extra time.READ MORE FOOTBALL NEWSThat fact couldn’t be more apparent when non-League Tamworth Town took Tottenham Hotspur the full 90 minutes in their third-round tie in January.The Lambs did extraordinarily well to hold Spurs to a 0-0 draw but conceded three goals in extra-time against the much fitter Premier League side.Extra time that day cruelly denied Tamworth a huge payday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.The money generated from a replay would’ve been invaluable to The Lambs.Most read in FootballJOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUSExtra time cruelly denied Tamworth Town a replay against TottenhamCredit: GETTYGetting rid of extra time and going straight to penalties would somewhat level the playing field between lower league clubs and teams in the top-flight.Additionally, it would go some way to helping tackle the issue of player fatigue, with Prem clubs having far bigger and fitter squads.Gary Lineker blames Sir Alex Ferguson for Man Utd’s decline as he points to ‘state’ club left inSeveral high-profile figures are keen on scrapping extra time in FA Cup matches, including Gary Lineker.Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, he said: “We’ve argued many times, just get rid of extra time. Just go to penalties. It makes so much sense.”Particularly with the amount of football teams are playing now, the amount of injuries we’re getting. Just play 90 minutes, then settle it on penalties.”Because once it goes to extra time, the vast majority of us are thinking, particularly when it’s as bad as it was last night [Man Utd vs Fulham], you’re just thinking, ‘Come on, penalty shootout, a bit of excitement.'”Co-host Alan Shearer was in full agreement, saying: “Straight to penalties, I’m all for that.” More