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      in Motorsport

      Lewis Hamilton is the best F1 driver ever and before Schumacher and Senna because he is a ‘clean’ racer, Walker said

      by

      THE LATE Murray Walker said Lewis Hamilton is a better driver than Michael Schumacher or Ayrton Senna – because he’s a “clean” racer.The legendary commentator, who passed away in March aged 97, watched hundreds of F1 drivers across eight decades.
      Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton was lauded by legendary commentator Murray WalkerCredit: PA:Press Association
      Hamilton faces a near-ipossible task to win a record eighth world title this seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      But Walker revealed last year that the seven-time world champion is the cream of the crop because he has never used dirty tactics to win races.
      Both Schumacher and Senna had contentious moments during their careers, but Walker claimed Hamilton is as “clean as a whistle”.
      Speaking about the Brit, who finished sixth at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday, he said: “Well, people say to me, ‘Who is the greatest?’, and I always say, ‘Look, I think it’s impossible to say, because the drivers and the circuits and the cars were different’.
      “Juan Manel Fangio took a lot of beating, Jim Clark, Sir Jackie Stewart — there again I could go on — but which is the best I really don’t know.
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      “I used to say Fangio. I think I’m going to have to say very shortly Lewis Hamilton, because if you look at it in terms of statistics, he’s already got more poles than Schumacher.
      “He’s got at least three years in him if he doesn’t hurt himself or leave Mercedes for some reason or they decide to stop, in which case he’s got at least another three championships ahead of him, so statistically he will become the greatest.
      “But he’s also in my opinion — and this is very contentious indeed — better than either Schumacher or Senna because both of them, Schumacher and Senna, adopted at various times in their career highly debatable driving tactics.
      “Like Schumacher stopping deliberately at Monaco to prevent Fernando Alonso getting pole position, like Schumacher colliding with Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez in 1997, like Senna with Alain Prost in 1990 in Japan, and Lewis Hamilton has never been anything like that.
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results for season as 2022 gets underway
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      Michael Schumacher won a total of 91 Grand Prix races as well as seven world championshipsCredit: EPA
      “He’s always driven as clean as a whistle. He’s an extremely nice, gigantically talented driver, and I don’t think we’ve ever seen anybody like him before.”
      Formula One celebrated its 70th anniversary at Silverstone last season.
      But while Hamilton has dominated for much of the last decade, Walker says the sport’s best era was in the 1970s and 1980s but believes it is still just as exciting.
      Speaking to In the Fast Lane, the official podcast of the Australian Grand Prix, Walker added: “A lot of it is looking backwards through rose-coloured glasses.
      “It’s still mighty exciting when you take into account what a contest it is with man and machine.
      “But I have to admit that for me the 70s and 80s were the most exciting time — but then I was very much more involved with it at the time because I was literally a part of it and having to communicate to the public worldwide what was going on.
      “It was very exciting times, when people like Jackie Stewart were driving, and we got the most incredible races at Silverstone, with Nigel Mansell beating Nelson Piquet, for instance, and various others.
      “You have to bear in mind that I’m an old codger. I was actually at the first grand prix they held at Silverstone in 1948 — and that was before Formula One even began.
      “In those days of course the engine was in front of the driver, the driver wasn’t wearing any safety clothing.
      “They used to wear a skullcap and no crash helmet. The medical facilities were absolutely minimal, the cars were mobile deathtraps.
      “They are infinitely more sophisticated now than they were, and it’s no less exciting from my point of view.” More

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      in Soccer

      Best ever Man Utd foreign XI features Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba and Kanchelskis, but no Tevez or Fernandes

      by

      MANCHESTER UNITED have boasted some of the finest foreign players to ever grace the Premier League.The likes of Eric Cantona, Jaap Stam and Cristiano Ronaldo have all cemented their legacy at Old Trafford.
      Only one player from the current Manchester United side has made the XI
      Now Ronaldo is BACK, and alongside his countryman Bruno Fernandes, they are undoubtedly the star men for the current crop of Red Devils.
      But just who are the club’s greatest non-British players?
      United End editor Tom McDermott has already given his say on the club’s best British XI in the Premier League, and now he’s chosen a star-studded line up made up of foreigners:
      Peter Schmeichel
      Could it have been anyone else? David De Gea and Edwin van der Sar are the obvious contenders, but Schmeichel is the outstanding choice.
      The £505,000 signing from Brondby was the finest keeper on the planet for several years, and probably left sooner than he should after Champions League glory in 1999.
      Patrice Evra
      Evra has five Premier League titles, three League Cups, five Community Shields and a Champions League medal in his locker from his time at the club.
      But, you’d never have thought that would be possible after his disastrous debut away to Manchester City in 2006.
      The Frenchman started the match, but was substituted at half-time after a horrendous opening 45. It did though prove to be a minor blip in an outstanding United career.
      Jaap Stam
      Ferguson’s best foreign defensive signing. The defender was sold to Lazio in 2001, which Sir Alex Ferguson later admitted was an error.
      Stam had everything required to be a great central defender and was pretty much unbeatable on his day.
      The image of Inter Milan’s Ivan Zamorano backing into him during the 1998/99 treble season still brings a smile to my face.
      Jaap Stam is widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs to play in the Premier LeagueCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
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      Nemanja Vidic
      Had Stam’s strength and ability to read the game, but perhaps not the pace.
      That said, he went on to forge a formidable partnership with Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the defence, and during that period established himself as one of the best central defenders in the word.
      Antonio Valencia
      Signed from Wigan as a winger, but ended his United career as a right full-back. The move probably prolonged his time at the club and he adapted his game accordingly.
      Just to be clear, Valencia was no ‘Gary Neville’ but his strength and speed meant that he was quickly able to get himself out of tricky defensive situations.
      Andrei Kanchelskis
      One former United player who played with Kanchelskis said that the winger just appeared to get faster and faster when in possession of the ball.
      He’ll always be remembered for his hat-trick against Manchester City in 1994, but disruptive representatives meant that his stay at Old Trafford ended sharply and he was sold to the blue half of Liverpool.
      Paul Pogba
      I toyed with Ander Herrera, Juan Veron and even Anderson, but Pogba starts because of his role in helping United claim their first ever Europa League title in 2017.
      On his day, he’s world class, but the frustration is that we don’t see it often enough.
      It looks increasingly likely he will leave the club this summer.
      French midfielder Paul Pogba appears to be on his way out at Old TraffordCredit: PA:Press Association
      Cristiano Ronaldo
      Arguably United’s greatest foreign signing of the Premier League era. Ronaldo terrorised defences and secured his first Ballon d’Or while at the club in 2008.
      Ronaldo has had an impressive return to Old Trafford – scoring 24 goals in 37 appearances this season.
      He is a real icon of the game and United supporters will never forget the contribution he made for them, particularly in the final few seasons before heading to Real Madrid in 2009.
      Cristiano Ronaldo has been a star again at Old Trafford
      Eric Cantona
      The pied piper was the final piece of the jigsaw that helped Ferguson’s United secure their very first Premier League title.
      It was a surprise to secure his signature from Leeds United, but of equal surprise after such a turbulent career, was his ability to embrace the Old Trafford stage in such a way.
      Cantona was absolutely vital to Ferguson’s first period of domestic success. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn’t signed.
      Ruud van Nistelrooy
      Van Nistelrooy was the ultimate centre forward. You only need to look at his goalscoring record to see that.
      Paul Scholes recently mentioned that Van Nistelrooy would be annoyed after a game if he found out that Arsenal’s Thierry Henry had scored more goals than him that afternoon.
      That says all you need to know, because he was a goal machine who always wanted one more than what he got.
      Cristiano Ronaldo and Ruud van Nistelrooy spent three seasons together at Old TraffordCredit: Getty – Contributor
       Robin van Persie
      Van Persie just edged ahead of Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov because of his outstanding 2012/13 season where his goals shot United to a twentieth league title.
      United was the right move at the right time for Van Persie who helped provide departing manager Ferguson with his final trophy at the club.
      Van Persie talked about the ‘little boy inside of him’ screaming for a move to Old Trafford. The little boy managed to fulfil his dream, and in some style.
      *Follow Tom McDermott – United End editor on Twitter here…
      ⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news and transfer gossip from Old Trafford

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      Man Utd and England star Jesse Lingard bulked up by eating McDonalds and lifting weights with powerlifter granddad

      by

      JESSE LINGARD could never have imagined it as he sat in his room at Leicester’s Marriott Hotel eating his chips.It was 2012 and he was on loan at the Foxes but not getting a game in the Championship. Neither was Harry Kane, also on loan, or Jamie Vardy.
      Man Utd star Jesse Lingard revealed he would eat McDonald’s as a kid to try and bulk upCredit: The Players’ Tribune
      Lingard shows off his impressive abs while on holidayCredit: Instagram/Jesse Lingard
      Who could have envisaged that years later they would become heroes for both club and country?
      ON DIFFERENT PATHS
      Lingard told the Players’ Tribune in 2019: “We all got different paths in this game. There’s so many things you don’t see.
      “You know what’s so crazy to me? I was sat in that Marriott back in 2012, eating my room service chips, and I was barely getting a run-out for Leicester.
      “And in that same dressing room you had Jamie Vardy and Harry Kane, and they were going through the same struggles.
      Lingard with his granddad – who was a powerlifter for Team GBCredit: The Players’ Tribune

      “We were all just trying to get a game in the Championship.
      “Six years later, we’re all walking out for the World Cup semi-final, representing England. How do you explain that?”
      NEEDED A LIFT
      It’s been an incredible journey for Lingard, 29, whose grandad devoted himself to making the Warrington-born youngster into a footballer.
      The Manchester United ace said: “Him and my nan helped raise me. I actually used to sleep on a mattress on the floor of their room.”
      It was his grandad, a former Great Britain powerlifter, who put together a makeshift gym in a garden shed for Lingard to bulk up.
      His grandson thought regular trips to McDonald’s would have the same effect.
      The midfielder, who tore it up on loan at West Ham last season, said: “The problem was that I was so, so small. I couldn’t put on weight. I was banging down the Maccies, and I was still so skinny. My grandad would always say, ‘When you coming out to the garden with me? You need to put some muscle on’.
      SIZE MATTERED
      Lingard recognised just how far behind other players he was physically when he was 15 years old and playing in a tournament against Roma.
      Lingard knew he also had to hit the weights to bulk upCredit: Instagram @jesselingard
      Jesse Lingard scoring at the 2018 World Cup for England against PanamaCredit: Getty – Contributor
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fans and journalists in anti-Conte rant
      He said: “I always knew my size was going to be a challenge.
      “Even as I got older, I was still swimming in my kit. There’s this photo of me from the Nike Cup, and my brother always laughs about it.
      “We’re playing AS Roma — I’m 15, looking like I’m ten. And these Italian lads are 15, looking like they’re 25.
      “I remember walking out and seeing these boys had proper stubble, and I was thinking, ‘Sheesh’. You gotta find this photo. I look like a mascot who just run out onto the pitch for laughs.”
      Jessie Lingard does crazy toilet roll ‘Stay at Home Challenge’ More

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      Chelsea’s £4.25bn takeover more than DOUBLES record for most expensive in sport history and dwarfs Man Utd fee by £3bn

      by

      CHELSEA’S proposed £4.25billion takeover is set to more than DOUBLE the record for the most expensive in sporting history – and it dwarfs the fee paid for rivals Manchester United.Todd Boehly’s consortium have signed a deal to purchase the club after Roman Abramovich decided to sell up.
      Todd Boehly is leading a consortium that looks set to buy Chelsea for a record £4bnCredit: Getty

      Chelsea confirmed £2.5bn will be deposited into a frozen UK bank account with the intention to donate it all to charitable causes.
      The remaining £1.75bn is for investment into the club including developments of Stamford Bridge and the women’s team.
      Boehly was pictured outside the ground on Friday night with fellow members of his group including ex-chancellor George Osborne.
      However, the mega-deal is not over the line just yet and needs to go through due processes with the Government and the Premier League but is expected to be completed by May 31.
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      We take a look at the ten most-expensive takeovers in world sport, based on today’s US Dollars to British Sterling exchange rate…

      US couple Jimmy and Dee Haslam bought the Ohio-based NFL team in 2012 for £754m.
      It’s claimed they have already helped double the value of the franchise in their decade spell at the club.
      Despite that, the business couple have been unable to deliver a first NFL championship since 1964.
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      9. Toronto Maple Leafs – Ice Hockey – £760m
      Rogers Communications and BCE Inc – Canada’s largest telecoms companies – bought a 75 per cent share of the NHL franchise in 2012.
      The two companies had worked together at the 2010 Winter Olympics – held in Vancouver, Canada – and teamed up again to buy the ice hockey giants.
      The Maple Leafs have won 13 Stanley Cups – the second-most in NHL history – but haven’t clinched the title since 1967.
      =7. Seattle Mariners – Baseball – £920m
      US businessman John Stanton led a 17-strong consortium to take majority control in 2016 – having first bought into the team in 1992.
      The group have added over £150m to the value of the team already after partnering with streaming service DirecTV.
      However, the team have never clinched the MLB title – only ever qualifying for the playoffs four times in their 45-year history.
      =7. Miami Marlins – Baseball – £920m
      MLB legend Derek Jeter grabbed the headlines after throwing his hat into the ring to buy the Florida-based franchise.
      But the New York Yankees icon had some powerful backers, with billionaire Bruce S. Sherman helping finance the deal worth just shy of £1bn.
      Jeter is claimed to have fronted roughly £16m for the deal, with Sherman’s input into the hundreds of millions.
      But the Marlins are still waiting to break their near 20-year title drought, having last won a championship in 2003.

      Terry Pegula and wife Kim purchased the NFL side in 2014 – and kept the team in Buffalo, despite rumours of a relocation.
      Terry made his money in natural gas and real estate before expanding his empire into sports and entertainment.
      And the couple splashed over £1bn on the American Football side – helping break their 17-year playoff drought in 2017 and helping them make the post-season all but one season since then.
      The Glazer family, pictured with club legend Sir Bobby Charlton, spent £1.15bn on Man Utd in 2005Credit: Getty

      The oldest entry on the list, the Glazer family’s investment in United in 2005 make it the only non-US sports team to crack the top ten most-expensive takeovers in sport.
      At the time of the deal, the Glazers spent £790m on the club – which converted into today’s money equates to £1.15bn.
      United had been privately run for nearly a century before the family’s takeover, with fans famously unhappy with their current owners for lumbering the team with a mountain of debt.
      The Glazers enjoyed early success with five Premier League titles during Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign.
      But their relationship with supporters has soured further amid the club’s worst run since they were last relegated 48 years ago.
      United haven’t won a trophy in five years and have failed to launch a title bid since Fergie’s farewell season in 2012-13.
      =3. LA Dodgers – Baseball – £1.53bn
      Guggenheim Baseball Management paid a staggering $2bn to buy the Los Angeles side in 2012 – with NBA legend Magic Johnson part of the consortium.
      Incoming Chelsea owner Boehly was also involved and has a 20 per cent ownership.
      Since the takeover a decade ago, the Dodgers have reached the World Series three times – winning once, in 2020.
      =3. LA Clippers – Basketball – £1.53bn
      Another Los Angeles sporting giant high on the list, Microsoft co-founder Steve Ballmer bought the NBA side in 2014.
      It was the most-expensive takeover in basketball history at the time, famously replacing Donald Sterling who was forced to sell having been caught making racist remarks about the team.
      Ballmer is regularly found passionately cheering the Clippers on court-side – and has helped the team rise out of their LA rivals, the Lakers’, shadow.
      The Clippers have still never won the NBA title, but did reach the Western Conference Finals for the first time ever in 2021, only to fall short against losing NBA finalists, the Phoenix Suns.
      2. Houston Rockets – Basketball – £1.68bn
      Another NBA side on the list, American businessman Tilman Fertitta tried to buy the Texas-based franchise in 1993 only to miss out – and finally fulfil his dream in 2017.
      Still a record buy for an NBA team, Fertitta spent £1.68bn on the Rockets.
      The team have twice reached the Western Conference Semi-Finals since the takeover and one made it to the Conference Finals.
      But last season, the Rockets were the worst team in the entire NBA with just 17 wins from their 72 matches.

      The most-expensive takeover ever – for now – is the purchase of the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
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.nk-headline-heading{color:rgba(71,30,121,1);}.css-1uyse24:before{content:”;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;position:absolute;z-index:1;}.css-n392go{border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-1p5s3t0{padding:0;border-width:0 1px 1px 1px;border-style:solid;border-color:rgba(155,201,183,1);padding:12px;max-height:104px;min-height:98px;}.css-124tga5{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-5jzxpx{overflow:hidden;-webkit-line-clamp:3;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;display:-webkit-box;word-wrap:break-word;line-height:1;}.css-i1acvs{margin:0;padding:0;color:rgba(34,99,73,1);text-transform:uppercase;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;font-family:The 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      Hedge fund billionaire David Tepper splashed £1.76bn on the team – but is yet to deliver a Super Bowl crown.
      In fact, the Panthers haven’t even made the playoffs since the takeover… More

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      in Soccer

      Liverpool star Mo Salah was a flop on day one of Basel trial, but was a ‘gentle killer’ by day three, says ex-coach

      by

      FORMER Basel boss Heiko Vogel claimed that “gentle killer” Mohamed Salah failed to impress on his first day on trial in 2012.The 46-year-old offered the Liverpool winger a week-long trial after he netted twice for the Egyptian U-23 side in a friendly against the Swiss side.
      Mohamed Salah signed for Swiss side Basel in 2012 from Egyptian club El MokawloonCredit: Action Images – Reuters
      And after observing Salah extensively in video clips before the clash, Vogel has claimed the player was so bad he wondered if he had a twin brother.
      The ex-Bayern Munich II gaffer told Goal and SPOX: “I told him, ‘Listen, just train as you like, we’ve already made our decision anyway.’
      “Then he trained on the first day, everyone watched the session and we wondered if he might have a twin brother.
      “The second day was a bit better, but not good. And then came the third day. It was then that he destroyed everything, he was really unstoppable.
      “It was absolutely extraordinary. He was so agile, so explosive. If he had the ball on his left foot, it was a goal.
      “After that performance everyone knew why we wanted to sign him.”
      Salah netted a total of 20 goals in 79 games for Basel before joining Chelsea in January 2014.
      Vogel has admitted he didn’t expect the former Roma forward to become a global superstar as he questioned whether he had the right mentality.
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      He added: “If you knew him… he is not a world star, he has such a gentle character.
      “It was always clear to me that he is an outstanding player, but whether he had the mentality? I didn’t know that exactly. Momo is a gentle killer.
      “I would be lying if I said had prophesied such a massive global career for him.”
      Mo Salah ‘walk on water’ in new adidas advert to take God-like status at Liverpool to whole new level More

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      in Soccer

      Mohamed Zidan was told by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ‘100 times’ that he was a better player than Mo Salah

      by

      MOHAMED SALAH has excelled since joining Liverpool from Roma back in the summer of 2017.He has bagged a quite brilliant 155 goals in 249 appearances for the Reds and been an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s transformation at the club.
      Mohamed Zidan was told by Jurgen Klopp he was ‘100 times’ better than Mo Salah while at Borussia Dortmund
      But fellow Egyptian Mohamed Zidan once revealed the former Borussia Dortmund boss told him he thought he was ‘100 times’ better than Salah while at the German side.
      Speaking to ON Sport in January 2020, Zidan said: “Klopp told me that I was better than Salah 100 hundred times but I needed to be more professional.
      “Klopp said to me that I have a great talent and skills but I need to concentrate more. If I did this I could be one of the best players in the world.”
      However, while Zidan enjoyed a solid career with teams such as Dortmund, Mainz, Hamburg and Werder Bremen, he admits he lacked a good work ethic, which meant he never hit the heights Salah has done in recent seasons.
      “I had to be more dedicated to training and be more professional to reach Salah’s level in the past,” he added.
      “Salah is more professional than me and more dedicated to football like Ronaldo and Messi.”
      Zidan netted 102 club goals in 294 games throughout his 16-year career, but never managed to bag 20 in one season.
      One of his career highlights was scoring the only goal for Egypt in a 3–1 defeat to England in March 2010.
      Salah, on the other hand, scored 44 times in his first season for Liverpool and followed that up with 31 and then 30 in the last two campaigns.
      And upon arriving at Anfield, Zidan said back in November 2018 that Salah was carrying on a long legacy of Egyptians playing in the Premier League.
      Mohamed Zidan scores for Egypt against England in 2010Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      Mohamed Zidan celebrates his goal against EnglandCredit: Bradley Ormesher – The Times

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      Speaking to Goal, he said: “He’s a good example, as we were before – me and other Egyptian colleagues who played in Europe, like Mido, Ahmed Hassan and many other players who played in top leagues.
      “Now Mo Salah is continuing the legacy of Egyptian players in Europe to make the Egyptian kids keep dreaming, because he’s one of us.
      “Today is Mo Salah time, it is going very well, he is giving hope to all Egyptians and then in the future it will be other kids from Egypt that will play in Europe.” More