Champions League

FINNISH entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus joined the race to buy Manchester United – but is now set to bid for Inter Milan.Zilliacus was tossed aside by United in favour of Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Thomas Zilliacus has claimed he aims to bid for United’s European rivals
The Finnish businessman, formerly Nokia’s global communications chief who now lives in Singapore, declared himself an early runner in the Old Trafford takeover battle. 
He vowed to finance £3billion of the asking price if fans coughed up a staggering £1.5bn.
His “bid” for United was swiftly rejected by the Glazers.
But six months after claiming his XXI Century Capital investment had a “multi-billion dollar fund” to plough into the game he now insists he is set to make a takeover bid for Inter Milan.
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Zilliacus, who hinted at a £2bn buy-out, said: “I’m serious – this week or at the latest next, the current owner of Inter will receive an adequate offer for the club.”
The Finn has his doubters despite his bullish self-publicity.
One prominent source in Finland told Sun Sport: “I wouldn’t take him seriously on anything.”
Zilliacus was coy in the interview as to who his investors were, and refused to discuss who was working on his claimed bid.
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Last season’s losing Champions League finalists Inter, who have a £239m loan plus interest to pay back before next summer, lost £74m in 2022-23.
Milan president Steven Zhang appeared unwilling to sell during last month’s annual shareholder’s meeting.
But now he is reportedly ready to consider bringing in a minority shareholder and refinance the club’s loan with investment firm Oaktree.
Zilliacus does have experience in the footballing industry as he was chairman of Finnish club HJK Helsinki from 1982 to 1986.
His approach for the Red Devils was quickly dismissed, and they eventually opted for Ratcliffe following the withdrawal of Sheikh Jassim amid the slatemate.
The INEOS founder is set to purchase 25 per cent of United from the Glazers, and is set to improve the Old Trafford club’s infrastructure.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe looks set to improve the infrastructure at Manchester United More

OLIVIER GIROUD was left in hysterics as Jamie Carragher failed to pronounce his name.The French striker was being interviewed after netting the winning goal for AC Milan in the Champions League clash against PSG.
Jamie Carragher struggled to pronounce Olivier Giroud’s nameCredit: Twitter @CBSSportsGolazo
Giroud was left in hystericsCredit: Twitter @CBSSportsGolazo
During the interview, CBS host Kate Addo asked Giroud if he ever gets annoyed at how Carragher pronounces his name.
The former Liverpool star pronounces the striker’s name with a hard “d” at the end of the Giroud.
Giroud did admit that he is not bothered about the pronunciation as he said: “They have been calling me like that for nine years in the Premier League.”
Carragher then asked to be “educated” by Giroud in order to say his name correctly.
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Giroud responded by saying his name in his French accent.
Kate then perfectly pronounced his name while Micah Richards’ attempt saw him get it slightly wrong by over-exaggerating the ‘r’ in Giroud.
It then came to Carragher to have a go and his first attempt as he appeared to say “Olivier Griloud”.
Giroud said: “No, no, not with an ‘L’.”
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Carragher then had another go but again got it wrong as he said what sounded like “Olivier Girwoo”.
Giroud then said: “No not with a W,” leaving the studio in hysterics.
The AC Milan star put in a vital contribution to help his side overcome PSG at the San Siro.
Giroud headed the winning goal in the 50th minute of an exciting Champions League clash.
Former Chelsea star Ruben Loftus-Cheek also earned plaudits for his performance.
Meanwhile, former Milan star Gianluigi Donnarumma was pelted with fake money by protesting home fans. More

FORMER England goalkeeper Joe Hart left fans baffled after attempting to save a shot from BEHIND his goal-line.The 36-year-old started between the sticks for Celtic for their Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday – a demoralising 6-0 demolition.
Joe Hart attempted to make a save from behind the goal lineCredit: Twitter @PenaCartel
Some fans joked that the goalkeeper ‘glitched’Credit: Getty

However, his goalkeeping methods were called into question when he conceded from a late Saul Niguez shot.
As the midfielder lined up his close-range effort, Hart could be seen retreating into the mouth of the goal.
And by the time he attempted to make the save, the ball had already crossed the line.
Stunned fans took to social media to react, with one person tweeting: “Trying to make saves while yards behind the goal line is certainly a bold strategy from Joe Hart. Surprisingly, it didn’t work.”
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Another added: “I have no idea how he can possibly do this.”
A third fan quipped: “He glitched.”
While a fourth joked: “Joe Hart been playing to much fifa with dodgy keeping skills.”
Atletico Madrid went on to convincingly win the match 6-0, with Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, Samuel Lino and Saul all scoring.
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Celtic now sit bottom of Group E with just one point from four games.
Hart joined the Scottish side in 2021 after spending a year at Tottenham.
The prime of his career was spent at Manchester City, where he won two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
After falling out of favour at the Etihad he was loaned to Torino and West Ham respectively before being sold to Burnley. More

RUBEN LOFTUS-CHEEK has been hailed by fans following his stunning performance against Paris Saint-Germain.The former England and Chelsea man starred in the AC Milan midfield against the Ligue 1 giants in the Champions League.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek impressed against PSGCredit: Getty
He was vital to AC Milan’s winCredit: Getty
He contributed to defence and attack
He saw plenty of the ball
Loftus-Cheek, 27, lined up against stars such as Manuel Ugarte, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery at the San Siro.
But the summer signing was not deterred as he put in a supreme performance which helped Milan to a richly-deserved 2-1 win.
The midfielder was arguably his team’s top performers as he drove the Italian team on.
He also put in a shift defensively as he won the ball back five times and came out on top in nine duels.
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Loftus-Cheek was hailed on social media by excited fans.
One supporter said: “Loftus Cheek owned that PSG midfield yesterday.”
A second posted: “He is class man.”
A third wrote: “Ruben the tank engine, huge difference with him in the middle!”
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A fourth commented: “Bullied Ugarte many times.”
A fifth said: “Absolute monster – protect and keep him fit at all costs.”
Another added: “A whirlwind force through midfield. A sensational watch.”
It was not just fans that spotted the performance, as French media outlet L’Equipe likened his efforts to a “prime Patrick Vieira”.
After the match, the midfielder roasted Micah Richards over his haircut on CBS Sports.
Milan bought Loftus-Cheek from Chelsea during the summer transfer window for just £15million. More

MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand was left seething after being handed a Manchester City cake on his birthday.The former defender, who was celebrating his 45th birthday on Tuesday, joined Laura Woods and Joleon Lescott on TNT Sports ahead of City’s Champions League clash with Young Boys when he was handed a cake that was adorned in sky blue.
Rio Ferdinand was handed a Man City birthday cake made by the Etihad staffCredit: TNT Sports
The Man Utd legend joked that it was ‘disrespectful’Credit: Alamy
Woods went on to reveal that it was a gift from the Etihad Stadium, leaving the pundit stunned.
Ferdinand said: “I actually think that’s disrespectful!
“Thank you very much, but it’s the wrong colour! It’s the wrong colour, isn’t it? Can I push it off, shall I let it fall over?”
Fans were left in stitches, with some comparing it to the birthday cake incident that almost saw Yaya Toure leave Man City in 2014.
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Nine years ago, Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk criticised the club for not celebrating the midfielder’s 31st birthday.
He even went as far as suggesting that they were considering a transfer as a result.
Seluk told BBC Sport: “He got a cake but when it was Roberto Carlos’ birthday, the president of Anzhi gave him a Bugatti.
“I don’t expect City to present Yaya with a Bugatti, we only asked that they shook his hand and said ‘we congratulate you’. It is the minimum they must do when it is his birthday and the squad is all together.
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“I hear one newspaper has written that City congratulated him from Twitter but this is a joke. It is better they don’t put anything on Twitter if they are not saying anything to him.
“The club’s owners ate a 100kg cake after winning the Premier League this season but when they and the players were all together, none of them shook his hand on his birthday. It shows they don’t care about him.
“Of course Yaya is upset about this. If this happened to you as a journalist in the BBC and nobody shakes your hand, you will say bye-bye and go to work for somebody else. It is normal.”
While Toure initially denied having a role to play in his agent’s outburst, he then changed his tune and tweeted: “Everything Dimitri said is true. He speaks for me.”
However, the fallout did not escalate any further.
Fans took to X to react to Ferdinand’s birthday cake fiasco, with one person writing: “Nobody let Yaya see this. Could be a catastrophe.”
Another quipped: “Bet Yaya is fuming.”
A third fan added: “We can do them for rivals but not Yaya.”
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While a fourth wrote: “I don’t know whose idea it was but give them a raise. Worth every penny just for the look on his face.”
Man City went on to win the match 3-0 thanks to goals from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden. More