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    Man Utd’s ‘England stars including Rashford and Maguire irritated by Ronaldo’s clique’ in worrying dressing room split

    MANCHESTER UNITED’S Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire are allegedly irritated by Cristiano Ronaldo’s clique, according to sensational reports in Germany.And Bild journalist Christian Falk says the England internationals have been left ‘annoyed’ by the 37-year-old’s behaviour.
    Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘clique’ is causing problems inside the Man Utd dressing-roomCredit: Getty
    Captain Harry Maguire is one of those ‘irritated’ by the Portuguese legendCredit: Getty
    The Portuguese superstar, who finally ended his goal drought with a strike in last night’s win over Brighton, is reportedly ‘annoying’ the Red Devils squad as he wants to ‘lead’ the club.
    Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford last summer and is currently their top goalscorer with 15.
    But he has suffered a dramatic dip in form since Ralf Rangnick’s arrival and had gone six matches without finding the net until his effort against the Seagulls.
    However, United are enduring a difficult campaign and face a huge fight to secure their top four status.
    That has led to speculation that Ronaldo could leave at the end of the season with some speculation stating he wants a crisis meeting with his agent Jorge Mendes over the coming weeks.
    There have also been rumours of dressing-room unrest and a number of cliques within the United squad.
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    Ronaldo is allegedly part of a mini-group that includes Diogo Dalot, Fred, Alex Telles and Bruno Fernandes
    Falk tweeted: “True, the English players like Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford & Co are irritated that Ronaldo wants to lead the dressing room with his own clique.
    “There is a risk of a split in the team @ManUtd.”
    Both Rashford and Maguire have publicly praised Ronaldo since his big homecoming.
    But if this astonishing report is true, then a major split could be forming behind the scenes at the Theatre of Dreams.
    Maguire and Rashford were both named as stars who had a problem with Ronaldo’s cliqueCredit: Reuters
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    Man Utd morphing into Arsenal as their obsession with finishing fourth grows but David de Gea urges club to dream bigger

    THE FIRST worry as the barren years began was that Manchester United would do a Liverpool.Nobody thought back in 1990 that it would take the Kop another 30 years to lift the title again.
    De Gea has urged United to dream biggerCredit: PA
    The Red Devils find themselves in fourth after a 2-0 win over BrightonCredit: GETTY
    So when Sir Alex Ferguson left, and the following season they finished seventh, the mantra coming out of Old Trafford was that the club was simply too big for that prospect to befall them.
    Fast forward and if they don’t win it next season it will be a decade since the Premier League trophy has been lifted at the famous old ground.
    They haven’t even put up a challenge since Sir Alex bowed out.
    Now the greater fear still is that they are morphing into Arsenal.
    A club where the title is a distant dream and just finishing in the top four is the sum of their capabilities and the odd FA Cup.
    Red Devils fans’ hearts must have sunk when Ralf Rangnick said this ahead of Tuesday’s game against Brighton: “Right now, this is exactly what Manchester United needs and wants – to finish fourth in the league. This is the highest possible achievement we can get”
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    He’s right, it just sounded ominous.
    Following the game David De Gea, the only one in the dressing room to have won a title with United could barely hide his disappointment at that being the one thing they may have to ‘celebrate’ this season.
    De Gea said: “Of course, we should be fighting for more, better things than we are doing at the moment.
    “We should be fighting for more things than the top four but this the realistic thing we have to fight for, fourth.
    “This is the objective. Finishing in the top four is very important for us.
    “We will go game by game giving 100 per cent every game.”
    ‘We should be fighting for more things’, says the SpaniardCredit: GETTY
    Tuesday’s win pushed them back into that fourth spot.
    But it’s been a grind and there is no guarantee they will stay in those Champions League places.
    In the eleven league games Rangnick has been in charge of he has won six, drawn four and lost one.
    Only one of those games has been against a team in the current top seven and that was the one they lost, against Wolves.
    The trip to Leeds Sunday won’t be easy and two of the next four in the league after that are away to champions Manchester City and second-placed Liverpool. On April 23 they travel to Arsenal.
    A fixture that used to be about winning titles now about who can finish on the coattails of the top three
    Ronaldo ended his six-game goal drought with a fine finishCredit: GETTY
    Mind you there are no guarantees that maximum points will come from any of the other fixtures, see the recent struggle they had drawing away to bottom-placed Burnley for evidence of that.
    At least they could celebrate a home win on Tuesday, although the 2-0 scoreline does not tell the whole story.
    Having led through a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo strike shortly after half-time, they did not seal the deal until the sixth minute of injury time through Bruno Fernandes and they had played against ten men from the 54th minute onwards.

    De Gea said: “I think we need to be much more consistent. Not just play 45 minutes – the first 45 or just the second 45.
    “We have to be consistent for 90 minutes and then it’s going to be easier to win games. We try to play the 90 minutes at the same level, same desire and that’s what we have to improve.”
    It is all very disjointed and at times chaotic at the back amidst rumours of unrest behind the scenes under Rangnick.
    There are rumours of unrest behind the scenesCredit: PA
    De Gea says he is ignoring all the noise.
    He said: “I’m not reading much, to be honest. He’s a different coach, he tries to make us press high and be more aggressive.
    “That’s what we did in the second half. Not in the first one, but in the second half we showed more of what he wants us to do.”
    Still, in that second-half Jakub Molder hit the bar and former United striker Danny Welbeck missed a sitter header in the last minute of normal time.
    The game was played to a very subdued backdrop.
    One of the worst atmospheres in recent times.

    Fans now can barely sum up the energy to have a go.
    There is an air of resignation.
    It’s a bit like, well, supporting Arsenal.
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    Furious Cristiano Ronaldo kicks post as Man Utd team-mate Jadon Sancho fails to square him the ball but shoots instead

    CRISTIANO RONALDO was left fuming and booted the POST after Jadon Sancho didn’t pass to him.The Manchester United star, who has sulked at various points this season, was at it again during his side’s 2-0 win at home to Brighton.
    Cristiano Ronaldo was furious at not being passed to and booted the postCredit: Sky Sports
    It was a beautiful backheel from Ronaldo to lay in SanchoCredit: Sky Sports
    Sancho saw his shot parried out by Brighton keeper Sanchez – much to Ronaldo’s disgustCredit: Sky Sports
    [embedded content]
    The score was at 0-0 when Brighton defender Adam Webster failed to control the ball to let in Ronaldo.
    After bursting into the box the 37-year-old cleverly back-heeled to team-mate Sancho.
    The former Borussia Dortmund star smashed his shot straight at Brighton keeper Robert Sanchez – instead of passing it, leaving Ronaldo furious.
    He threw his hands up in the air, before slamming them back down and spinning around angrily.
    Sancho refused to give up however, and went after the ball, collected and cut inside before firing another shot at goal that was deflected over the bar.
    But Ronaldo was NOT impressed and decided to boot the woodwork.
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    But the Portugal star was all smiles in the 51st minute when he finally ended his barren run without scoring to put United 1-0 up.
    His strike – ending a six-game drought that was his worst in front of goal since 2009 – came courtesy of Scott McTominay picking the pocket of a dithering Yves Bissouma.
    The ball landed at Ronaldo’s feet and he sent an unstoppable shot past Sanchez in the Seagulls’ net.
    Ronaldo ditched his trademark ‘Siu’ celebration as the tension was lifted at Old Trafford.

    And the win was sealed in the 97th minute when Bruno Fernandes fired home against ten-man Brighton who had Lewis Dunk sent off on 54 minutes.
    And after the victory, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronny took to social media to send a message to his fellow players and the United faithful.
    He wrote: “Back on track! Nobody gives up and there’s only one way to get back on track: hard work, team work, serious work.
    “Everything else is just noise. Let’s go Devils!”
    Cristiano Ronaldo sent a strong message to his team-mates after ending his goal drought in the win against Brighton
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    ‘Self preservation’ – Man Utd legend Gary Neville knows who is behind ‘disgusting’ dressing room leaks undermining club

    GARY NEVILLE has claimed he knows who is behind the “disgusting” dressing room leaks that are undermining Manchester United.A number of stories from within the Old Trafford camp have been exposed in recent weeks under Ralf Rangnick’s leadership.
    There is a growing toxic atmosphere surrounding Manchester United at the momentCredit: AP
    Ralf Rangnick and assistant Chris Armas have been publicly criticisedCredit: PA
    Neville is furious with the fact details from the squad are being revealed to the press – and suggested he knows which players and representatives are responsible.
    Speaking on his Sky podcast, the former right-back said: “I remember when I joined Sky and we had the Champions League in the early years, and I went over to Napoli to do a game involving Chelsea.
    “It was when Andre Villas-Boas was their manager and he left out Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Ashley Cole – four or five prominent players.
    “That is what managers tend to do in their final days at a club, as they see it as a free hit.
    “I remember sitting there at lunchtime with our team and they were getting messages of team news being leaked and the manager being slagged off, and I sat there thinking ‘does this actually happen’?
    “Players agents and PR teams were briefing the media on a matchday about what was going on inside a club, and it was the first time I had seen it and known for it to happen – it really unnerved me.
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    “That is happening at Manchester United now – they are at it, the PR teams, the agents and the marketing teams, as a self-preservation for their own player.
    “But what they do not realise is that unfortunately, when they go to the media then those media people go to us – so we know who is briefing.
    “The reality is that we do not like it, but we know who it is.
    “We are not going to throw people under a bus here because we have that journalistic respect – but they are it in the same way that Chelsea were all those years ago.
    “They need to stop it and work as hard as they can.”

    Recent reports implied there are divisions within the playing staff as cliques strengthen.
    Rangnick’s training methods were labelled as ‘old fashioned’ while others are said to dislike the 11v11 match scenarios at Carrington and would prefer specific drills to improve skills.
    And in a further leak, Rangnick’s assistant Chris Armas – who takes many of the sessions – gets called Ted Lasso in reference to the hapless TV comedy character football coach.
    ‘DOWNRIGHT DISRESPECTFUL’
    Neville added: “I thought that was downright disrespectful on Friday – I did not find it funny at all.
    “That they were describing Ralf Rangnick’s number two as Ted Lasso was not funny at all and not only was it disrespectful, but I found it disgusting.
    “It sums up what I think of them: that they are disrespectful.
    “I think if I was Ralf Rangnick and his number two, I would gain strength from that because I would not want to be on the same page of some of those players who are leaking those types of stories.
    “That never happened in my time but we had the greatest level of stability.”
    Neville is also unhappy with how things are going on the pitch, too.
    He saw his beloved side let another lead slip on Sunday as Southampton left Old Trafford with a well-earned point as Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire came under particular criticism.
    ⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford
    Neville tweeted: “Breaking every rule in the book here United on how to chase a goal!
    “Don’t give fouls away, don’t give the ball away, don’t force it, don’t lose your discipline and chase the ref etc etc!”
    The Red Devils sit fifth in the Premier League table but are just one point clear of Arsenal who have two games in hand.
    Gary Neville hit out at the players and PR agents who leak the storiesCredit: AFP More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo could QUIT Man Utd over shock slump with Poch’s PSG and Jose’s Roma among clubs set for transfer war

    CRISTIANO RONALDO’S Manchester United future remains uncertain – with a trio of top European clubs circling if he quits Old Trafford.Paris St Germain, Bayern Munich and Roma, who are led by the star’s former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, have expressed an interest in the striker.
    Ronaldo may quit United in the summer if they fail to make the Champions LeagueCredit: EPA
    SunSport has told how Ronaldo, 37, had hoped to end his career at United after rejoining the club earlier this season.
    But his agent Jorge Mendes held talks with new Old Trafford supremo Richard Arnold over concerns about his team’s poor form.
    They were knocked out of the FA Cup by Middlesbrough and are in a real fight for fourth place in the Premier League after disappointing draws with Burnley and Southampton.
    The ex-Real Madrid man is also struggling and will be looking to end his longest goal drought in more than a decade when United host Brighton this evening.
    Ronaldo is understood to only wish to stay if United qualify for next season’s Champions League.
    He also has concerns over the attitude of some of his team-mates amid their recent struggles.
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    A source said: “Ronaldo is really torn about his future. He would love nothing more than to win trophies at United, but at the moment that seems like it’s going to be a struggle.
    “He doesn’t want to spend the last couple of years of his stellar career in mid-table.
    “Some big clubs are monitoring the situation and have put the feelers out already.”

    A move to PSG could be the most likely option if Kylian Mbappe heads to Real Madrid.
    It would also see him link up with former Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, something fans have dreamt of for years.
    Bayern still dominate German football while Mourinho would be keen to add Ronaldo to his squad.
    That is despite the pair enduring a fractious relationship at Madrid.
    Ronaldo could reunite with his former Real Madrid boss Jose MourinhoCredit: AFP – Getty More

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    Watch Schmeichel send Carragher, Henry and Richards into hysterics with bold claim Man Utd can win Champions League

    PETER SCHMEICHEL sent Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Micah Richards into hysterics by boldly claiming Manchester United can win this season’s Champions League.The footballers-turned-pundits were all on duty for American network CBS Sports on Tuesday night as Europe’s elite competition returned to action.
    Peter Schmeichel’s prediction that Man Utd can win the Champions League was met with laughterCredit: CBS Sports
    Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards were in hysterics following the Dane’s commentsCredit: CBS Sports
    Thierry Henry also struggled to contain himselfCredit: CBS Sports
    The quartet were treated to a fine display of football from Manchester City, who thrashed Sporting Lisbon 5-0.
    And they also witnessed two of this term’s favourites battle it out as Paris Saint-Germain secured a late win over Real Madrid.
    However, talk quickly turned to United’s chances amid their dismal season under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
    The German oversaw a fortunate 2-0 win against Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday, ending a run of three games without victory.
    And ex-Red Devil Schmeichel was soon put on the spot by his co-stars over whether Rangnick could emulate Chelsea’s Thomas Tuchel by leading his underperforming side to the continent’s greatest prize. 
    When asked by Richards to give an ‘honest’ answer over whether United can win the Champions League this season, Schmeichel cried: “Yes!
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    “Of course I do! What kind of question is that?!”
    It prompted Carragher, Henry and Richards to break down in fits of laughter, with the trio unable to comprehend Schmeichel’s response.
    Carragher then cheekily chimed in, with the Liverpool icon quipping: “What kind of answer is that?!”
    Should United stand any chance of winning the Champions League for the first time since 2008, they will have to get past Atletico Madrid next week.
    Diego Simeone’s no-nonsense Spaniards are sure to prove stern opposition in the last 16, first leg tie at the Wanda Metropolitano.
    But should United come through that unscathed, they could indeed start dreaming of a miracle charge towards European football’s holy grail.
    ⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford More

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    Man Utd ace Varane recalls ‘special’ moment Sir Alex Ferguson visited his mum in bid to sign him over a DECADE ago

    RAPHAEL VARANE has recalled the ‘special’ moment Sir Alex Ferguson visited his mum in a bid to sign the defender for Manchester United… over a DECADE ago.Varane, 28, completed a £42million move to Old Trafford from Real Madrid last summer.
    Raphael Varane has recalled the ‘special’ moment Sir Alex Ferguson visited his mumCredit: AP
    Fergie went to Varane’s house to sign him for Man Utd 10 years ago… but lost out to Real MadridCredit: Getty
    But he could have arrived at United 10 years earlier after Fergie launched a charm offensive when the centre-back was playing for Lens.
    Varane previously revealed that the legendary boss came to his house in 2011, hoping he could convince the Frenchman to snub Real Madrid for United.
    Varane ended up opting to move to the Bernabeu instead.
    And he has now opened up further about Ferguson’s visit to his mum’s home.
    The World Cup winner told United’s official site: “Yeah, he came to my mother’s house and it was a special moment.
    “I was very young and it was a great experience. 
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    “Man United has always been a special club for me with a big history.
    “I have followed this club and have great memories about the Champions League or great games in the Premier League.
    “Obviously it’s a great club and of course I always followed Man United.”
    Varane has so far clocked up 19 appearances for the Red Devils in his first season.
    However, the four-time Champions League winner has struggled to recapture his Los Blancos form.
    He was forced out of Tuesday’s Premier League game against Brighton after falling ill in the warm-up.
    But United managed to pick up their first win in four attempts as goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes downed the 10-man Seagulls.
    ⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford More

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    Watch Cristiano Ronaldo score spectacular goal against Brighton to end 587-minute drought for Man Utd

    CRISTIANO RONALDO’S goal drought is finally over after he broke the deadlock against Brighton.The Manchester United forward, 37, looked on the verge of tears during Saturday’s draw with Southampton as his barren run continued.
    Cristiano Ronaldo scored a spectacular striker against BrightonCredit: Reuters
    The Portuguese star grabbed his first goal of 2022 against BrightonCredit: Getty

    For the third game running, the Red Devils took the lead but were pegged back as the game finished 1-1.
    And footage of Ronaldo appeared to show the Portuguese superstar struggling to contain his emotions.
    In the clip posted by beIN Sports, he cuts a forlorn figure, looking up to the sky helplessly and then closing his eyes to compose himself.
    Ronaldo was on his longest goal drought for 13 years, with his last strike coming way back on December 30.
    However, his misery finally ended on Tuesday as he fired United ahead against the Seagulls in the 50th minute of their 2-0 victory.
    Scott McTominay stole possession from Yves Bissouma and found the run of Ronaldo.
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    The veteran still had plenty to do but he sent three Brighton defenders to the floor with a dummy before blasting a fierce drive into the corner of the net to end his 587-minute drought – just moments after old foe Lionel Messi had missed a penalty for PSG against Real Madrid.
    And he exploded with emotion as he raced off to perform his famous goal celebration in the corner after his first strike since December.
    Ronaldo’s flash of brilliance against Brighton ended his droughtCredit: Rex

    Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in dramatic fashion last summer, signing a two-year deal.
    However, things have not quite gone to plan with just this just his ninth Premier League goal this season.
    As revealed by SunSport, he is sensationally considering quitting the club.
    The iconic forward has told pals he is finally starting to feel his age and his relationship with Ralf Rangnick is reportedly ‘totally fractured’.
    He has not helped himself by storming down tunnels and publicly moaning on and off the pitch.
    ⚽ Read our Manchester United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford More