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      in Boxing

      Tyson Fury reveals he’s learning surprising new skill after retiring from boxing

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      RETIRED boxing champ Tyson Fury is ready to take on his next challenge — playing the piano.The Gypsy King has a giant grand piano in his seaside mansion, but he can’t play it.
      Tyson Fury says he wants to find a teacher to help him play the pianoCredit: Getty
      Now he’s looking for a trainer to help him tinkle the ivories.
      Fury, who lives with wife Paris and six kids in Morecambe, Lancs, put out an SOS on social media.
      He said: “I’m looking for a piano teacher as I have a piano and I can’t play it.
      “Please hit me up if you are up for the job.”
      READ MORE TYSON FURY
      The lessons are yet another example of him taking things easy after retiring from the ring.
      Unbeaten Fury, 34, insists he won’t fight again, despite teasing a third clash with Derek Chisora, 38, or a unification bout with the winner of Anthony Joshua, 32, and Oleksandr Usyk, 35.
      Most read in The Sun More

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      in Soccer

      Man Utd star Harry Maguire mocked after messing up lines in £249 charity videos

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      ENGLAND’S Harry Maguire is selling charity video messages for £249 each — but has been ribbed by fans for messing up his lines.The kind-hearted Manchester United captain, 29, is getting flak for making mistakes in his Cameo films.
      Harry Maguire is selling charity video messages for £249 each — but has been ribbed by fans for messing up his lines
      Maguire, who could be dropped for his side’s clash with Liverpool on Monday, was given a paltry two stars out of five by one fan.
      They wrote: “Good video but you left out my nephews Alfie and Bradley. Disappointed.”
      Another supporter, who asked Maguire to send a video message for his son, said: “I know he will like it but you missed one thing.”
      Maguire has posted five messages on video-sharing site Cameo, filmed in his home or car.
      Read More on Harry Maguire
      The £190,000-a-week defender said in his introduction video: “I’m on Cameo to help raise money for SoccerAid for Unicef.
      “Let’s connect and together we can help kids around the world.”
      Several ex-England stars are also on the site, including David Seaman, Michael Owen and Robbie Fowler.
      Most read in Football
      Maguire and his United teammates have been blasted after a dismal start to the season.
      A source close to the star said: “He’s obviously a footballer not an actor but happy to get involved to help children here and around the world.”
      Harry said in his intro video: ‘I’m on Cameo to help raise money for SoccerAid for Unicef’Credit: Getty More

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      in Soccer

      By a ‘man’s game’ Graeme Souness meant tough – but women are that too

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      BEING a bit of a coward, I’m disinclined to criticise Graeme Souness, even from a distance.He frightens the life out of me. As a mate of mine from Stourbridge used to say about a local hard man: “If he says it’s Tuesday, it’s Tuesday.”
      Being a bit of a coward, I’m disinclined to criticise Graeme Souness, even from a distanceCredit: Getty
      Graeme frightens the life out of me, so why would I want to argue with him?Credit: Getty
      So if grizzly Graeme wants to describe football as a man’s game, why would I want to argue?
      Well, Mr Souness, sir, while I’m not exactly arguing with you, I do humbly ask for leave to make a few points.
      After the match at Stamford Bridge, when he said, “it’s a man’s game all of a sudden now”, I don’t for a minute believe he was saying that we, he, whoever, had somehow got football back after women had taken control of it for the summer.
      Neither, I think, does he believe that football “belongs” to men in any sense.
      READ MORE ADRIAN CHILES
      His meaning was simply that referees have started letting more stuff go and stopped giving fouls every time one player comes into contact with another.
      A good fifth of all fouls given aren’t really fouls at all, they’re more about the fouled player winning the foul than the supposed fouler doing much wrong in the first place.
      Seething with indignation, Souness later clarified his position on TalkSport, saying of referees that: “They were blowing the whistle all the time and it wasn’t a good watch.
      “Our game has always been unique, more meaty, more in your face and more intense . . . that is the kind of football I remember playing in. We’ve got to be better for it.
      Most read in The Sun
      “The directive to the referees is long overdue, we’ve got our game back.”
      Whether you agree or not about last Sunday’s spiteful match at Stamford Bridge being what we want football to be, Souness is perfectly entitled to make this point.
      The problem is the phrase “man’s game”.
      Simon Jordan, on the radio with Souness, railed at the absurdity of a world in which “a man describing a game featuring men, can’t apparently use the word ‘men’ in conjunction with a game that featured solely men”.
      I can’t believe that Jordan, a bright guy, doesn’t know he’s missing the point.
      As Souness himself explained, what he meant by “man’s game” was a sport that was meaty, in your face and intense.
      He’d probably go on to use words like tough, uncompromising, ruthless, physical and so on. And that would have been fine too.
      But suggesting that these attributes are the preserve of men is just a bit silly.
      Manhood on the block
      I for one, at home and at work, have had as many women as men in my life who I’d describe — in the nicest possible way — as tough, intense, uncompromising, ruthless and physical. Meaty, perhaps not, but you take my point.
      Furthermore, as Souness surely witnessed, England’s superb women players were triumphantly all of the above in winning the Euros this Summer.
      To be fair to him, Souness isn’t the only one wrong about this notion of “manliness”, the dictionary definition of manly is bang out of date too. Mine says it means brave, dignified and noble.
      Eh? Aren’t women these things too?
      So, those professing fury about the fiery Scotsman’s few ill-chosen words might consider chilling out a bit.
      And on the other hand, for blokes to suggest this controversy constitutes yet another vicious attack on the idea of masculinity, well they should have a word themselves too.
      No one’s suggesting cancelling Souness or slapping his manhood on a butcher’s block.
      There’s a simple fix here: Just say something other than “man’s game” next time. Tough game, physical game, brutal game will do the job just fine.
      Surely a man of Graeme Souness’s intelligence gets this.
      Instead of coming out steaming, all bristling and defensive, he might simply have said something like: “Aye, OK, I get it, no offence intended, lesson learnt.”
      That would have been, in language he might appreciate, the manly thing to do.
      Finland PM is good at party politics
      To Sanna Marin I award the title of best-looking leader ever in the history of the worldCredit: Instagram
      The video of her going wild at a party has tipped me over the edge
      IT WAS an American politico called Paul Begala who said that politics is showbiz for ugly people.
      There might be something in that, but he can’t have clapped eyes on Sanna Marin.
      We’re often told that Finland leads the world in education, saunas, various winter sports, wellbeing and even, indeed, happiness itself.
      To this list we must now add heart-stoppingly beautiful prime ministers.
      I do not demean her intelligence or political acumen one bit when I award her the title of best-looking leader ever in the history of the world.
      The video of her going wild at a party has tipped me over the edge.
      Helsinki here I come. I don’t even want to meet her – I’d be rendered speechless – I just want to be able to vote for her.
      No1 is some feet
      I’m sorry to report that the soles of my feet are very dryCredit: Getty
      I’M sorry to report that the soles of my feet are very dry.
      To address this, I bought some special stuff. The tube carries the boast that it is “The No 1 Foot Cream In Sweden”.
      This seemed random as hell to me.
      What next, the bestselling deodorant in Portugal? Or Estonia’s leading shoe polish? But I’m told Swedes are known for their skin creams. Who knew?
      I’m trying to think of what product might be marketed abroad as the UK’s best. In other words, what are we renowned around the world for being the best at making?
      I don’t know what it says about me, or the country, that I can’t really think of anything.
      The best I’ve come up with is something for ale.
      Whoever’s shifting the most could market their brand as Britain’s No 1 Warm Beer.
      Crashing into faith
      EARLIER this week, as I was walking to the shops, some lads in a car recognised me and yelled what I’d describe as abusive banter.
      As I looked up, they shunted the car in front. I hurried away.
      I now feel sorry for the driver of the car they rear-ended, and a bit sorry for the lads, who possibly meant no harm.
      But at the time, I simply thought: “Yes, there is a God.”
      Don’t judge me.

      Strike simply ho-hum
      Every day a new strike is either happening or being calledCredit: LNP
      EVERY day a new strike is either happening or being called.
      I make no comment on whether they’re justified. But I do wonder if strikes really work like they used to. I think they’re losing their impact.
      A few years ago these massive rail strikes, and the postal strikes to come, would have caused an almighty stink.
      The upheaval and chaos would have consumed us all.
      Not, I sense, any more.
      Yes, they’re a nightmare for the economy; infuriatingly inconvenient for passengers and costly too for the strikers losing pay.
      But somehow we’re taking it all in our stride. This is because of the pandemic, during which the upheaval and chaos was unlike anything any of us had experienced.
      Having got through that, we feel we can get through anything.
      Strikes every other week don’t seem to bother us.
      For heaven’s SAKE, Japan?
      THE tax authorities in Japan are trying to get young people there to drink more. Yes, really.
      Alcohol sales are in decline and so, therefore, is the tax take.
      A contest is being launched to challenge 20 to 39-year- olds to come up with ideas to get that age group boozing more.
      As an advocate of moderate drinking, I often bang on about how devastating it would be for the drinks industry if we all drank within the Government’s guidelines.
      But this is a reminder that it would be a problem for the exchequer too.
      So here’s yet another excuse to drink: It’s your patriotic duty.

      We’re a Brit special
      THE pollster Ipsos MORI has released some fascinating work this week on what makes us most ashamed about being British.
      The top three are ignorance of other cultures, drinking too much and complaining too much.
      The Royal Family, with the NHS and our history, are one of the key things that make us proud to be BritishCredit: Getty
      Conversely, they’ve also looked at what makes us proud to be British.
      Here the top three are the NHS, our history, and the Royal Family.
      These are interesting questions.
      If I ask them of myself, my main conclusion is I am proud to be British.
      What am I most proud of? Our sense of humour, definitely. As far as I can see there is nobody to touch us.
      And the same for our music, another field in which we punch above our weight.
      As for what I’m ashamed of, I’d plump for our transport infrastructure.
      Read More on The Sun
      The roads, the railways, buses and our airports are all generally shambolic.
      Please, no jokes about them – I’m having a sense of humour failure. More

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      in Soccer

      Footballers get stick over their money, but they do the right thing because they’re working class boys, says Ian Wright

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      IT has not been a good week for Premier League football.With headbutts, managerial red cards and multi-million pound transfer requests, stars have again been accused of being overpaid and over-pampered.
      Ian Wright says criticism footballers from politicians is unwarrantedCredit: Louis Wood – The Sun
      Ian Wright is Arsenal’s second highest ever goalscorer behind Thierry HenryCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
      But Ian Wright, one of top-flight football’s most successful players of all time, reckons the abuse from politicians and Co is “hypocritical”.
      Ian, 58, says: “There’s always a backlash against footballers.
      “When the pandemic started, everybody was sitting at home saying, ‘footballers should do this, footballers should do that’.
      “Actually footballers always do the right thing because they’re working-class boys.
      READ MORE IAN WRIGHT
      “They’ve got families, like myself, who are still earning the minimum wage, so they’re never gonna be people who are out of touch.
      “The thing with the politicians is that they love to jump on the bandwagon because they look at the salaries.
      “If it was my son, obviously I’d be happy for him to earn that, and if it was their sons they’d want their sons to earn that money as well, so I can’t listen to that bulls***. It’s hypocrisy.”
      Former England striker Ian, who signed for Arsenal from Crystal Palace in 1991 for a then-record fee of £2.5million, has also defended players’ salaries.
      Most read in The Sun
      He does, however, admit today’s wages are “extortionate”, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.
      He continues: “It’s probably down to market value. Look at (Man City’s) Kevin De Bruyne. For his new contract he showed them the algorithms and what that means for the club.
      “When you do something like that, and show what your worth is, how can you say he shouldn’t be earning what he’s earning?
      “Of course it’s an extraordinary and extortionate amount of money in respect of one person getting £1million a week.
      “I can’t comprehend that. But if a player can show what he can do for his football club, then how can I stand there and say, ‘well, he shouldn’t?’.
      “Yes, it’s a lot of money when you consider the normal man in the street earning between £25,000 and £31,000. These are two different worlds, and obviously I’ve still got family around that earning capacity.”
      Since retiring from the game in 2000, Ian, irritatingly, has barely aged a day.
      Still super-fit, he works out three times a week with his two personal trainers and remains one of the most recognisable faces in the game.
      A fixture on Match Of The Day, alongside anchor Gary Lineker and former international team-mate Alan Shearer, he has also won a legion of new fans after championing the women’s game.
      The Gunners’ second highest goal scorer — behind only Thierry Henry — Ian was part of the BBC’s main presenting team for the recent Euros.
      After roaring the Lionesses to victory against Germany, he admits he burst into tears once the cameras stopped rolling, as did fellow pundit Alex Scott.
      And, just like Alex, another former Arsenal player, Ian says he has been slammed for having a working-class accent.
      Ian, who grew up on a tough council estate in Lewisham, South East London, insists it no longer bothers him.
      Ian Wright says he is no longer affected by criticism of his pronounciation on TVCredit: BBC
      He explains: “I drop my aitches and people jump on that — ‘ooh, the BBC are dumbing down’, or ‘what’s Ian Wright doing on there?’, and you just think, ‘It’s really not important, it doesn’t matter’.
      “People used to say a lot of things, like I can’t string a sentence together and all this sort of stuff. I feel a lot more comfortable in myself now though, I’m not so worried about what people say.”
      On the topic of the Lionesses, Ian believes they should be made Dames, not just given OBEs, adding: “Let’s face it, the men would be given knighthoods if they won the Euros.”
      He also firmly believes the Government should make it mandatory for all schools to offer football to both boys and girls, explaining: “I want the women’s game to go to the next level now, get the funding it deserves, and more money from sponsors poured into it.”
      Ian, who won 33 caps for his country, didn’t turn professional until he was 21.
      Working as a labourer until then, he was on today’s equivalent of the minimum wage.
      He has just been signed up by M&S to front its new Eat Well, Play Well campaign, helping kids to make healthier food choices, and get into football by winning a training masterclass with the England men’s and women’s football teams, among other prizes.
      I didn’t know food. Rare or well-done steak?What were they on about?
      Food is a topic close to his heart, and something that once proved a grave source of embarrassment.
      He says he was briefly bullied at Palace and Arsenal because he didn’t know how to eat “posh” food, or even how to order a steak.
      Chatting at his local pub over a pint of Guinness and seabass — no such food issues now, it would appear — he says: “When I was younger I used to eat to be full, to stave off hunger.
      “We mainly ate West Indian food and it’s only when I went to Palace that I started eating pasta, I’d never had it before.
      “Eating with the rest of the players was a nightmare. I stopped eating with the team because they used to tease me.
      “I didn’t understand menus, I didn’t know what a sauté potato was, and when they asked me how I wanted my steak — rare, medium or well done — I didn’t know what they were on about.
      “So I said ‘well, please’, thinking that meant it would be, you know, cooked the best.
      “They would tease me for that. I found restaurants intimidating and used to get my mum to make me food and I’d bring it with me and eat it in secret on my own.
      “I stopped eating with them because older players were just bullying me, really. I was intimidated because six months earlier I had been on a building site, eating my mum’s food.
      “But now I’m passionate about eating well to fuel the body and look after myself.”
      Ian Wright was greeted by wife Nancy Hallam after his stint on I’m A CelebCredit: Rex
      The dad of eight, married to second wife Nancy Hallam since 2011, certainly looks fiddle-fit.
      Naturally, though, he is concerned about recent reports that link heading the ball with neurodegenerative disease.
      A 2019 study found that the risk of dying from such a condition was three and a half times higher for former footballers.
      As a result, Ian believes that financial compensation measures should be in place for anyone who develops problems in retirement.
      Ian, who shattered my 11-year-old Spurs-supporting heart with a last- minute nodded winner against Tottenham in 1993, was never one to shy away from a header.
      Tony Adams on Strictly? I can’t say I’ve seen him do too many moves
      Taking a philosophical swig of Guinness, he says: “It’s like some-times you go into a room and you think ‘what am I here for?’
      “You have those moments but I’m feeling like I’m at a stage where if those things are happening to me I probably would have had them before.
      “I feel like, being 58 now, forgetting things is quite normal.
      “Alan Shearer is really deep into it and he talks to me about it all the time. He probably headed the ball more than both me and Gary, but it’s something the defenders have to worry about too.
      “Our defenders, Tony Adams, had to head the ball so much. They had to keep pounding it and pounding it, even in training, so it’s some-thing you worry about for them.
      “But for me, you know, if there’s a link between you heading a ball and something happening to you, whatever needs to happen for you to get your compensation, you should get it.
      “If people are getting ill from the effects of heading the ball then their family should be compensated.
      “But there’s no way I’m not going to play football, I’m still gonna play and then you deal with the consequences.”
      Ian Wright says he will be cheering on former teammate Tony Adams on StrictlyCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Ian’s former team-mate of course, Tony appears to be in perfect health.
      Ex-captain Tony, 55, will soon appear fake tanned to the hilt, and head to toe in sequins in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.
      Despite Tony dropping poor Steve Morrow from his shoulders on to the Wembley turf following Arsenal’s 1993 League Cup Final victory, breaking his arm, Ian reckons Tony could be a Strictly dark horse.
      Tony’s wife, Poppy, is godmother to one of Ian’s daughters and of his good mate he says with a smile: “We are very close still. When I saw that he was doing it, I did think ‘I can’t say I’ve seen Tony do too many moves’.
      “He never did any dancing when we were playing, none. But one thing I know for sure is that no one will try harder to do it. And we’ll be cheering him on.”
      Today Ian, who says he’s turned down Strictly “loads of times” because of a fused ankle, is a household name.
      He did a stint in the jungle in I’m A Celebrity in 2019 and says he gets asked for a selfie “three or four times a day”.
      During our interview two people come over to say hello to him (albeit one to ask for a cigarette lighter: Wrong crowd, love.)
      Despite his wealth and fame, he remains remarkably grounded and charming (he also pays for my car parking meter when I fail to correctly use the app).
      He credits his wife, whom he clearly adores, for keeping his ego in check: “She’s like my counsellor, and she’s amazing at keeping my feet on the ground.”
      He says: “As a 58-year-old there are a lot of footballers who have done a lot better than me. I can’t be thinking to myself, ‘I wish, I wish, I wish’.
      “Being in the Premier League Hall of Fame is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.
      Read More on The Sun
      “I said that to my missus and she said ‘what about the kids?’, and I said, ‘that’s a whole different story’.
      “From where I came from, to end up in the hall of fame . . . I’ve done it.”
      Ian Wright has turned down Strictly ‘loads of times’Credit: SportsfileIan Wright: Quickfire round

      Q. Would you get into the Lionesses starting XI?
      A. Yeah, No9
      Q. What’s your changing room anthem
      A. Firestarte
      Q. Who’s the better player, you, Gary Lineker or Alan Shearer?
      A. Shearer
      Q. Most embarrassing TV moment
      A. Taking off my jersey when I hadn’t broken the Arsenal scoring record. F***ing hell, what was I thinking?
      Q. Last time you cried
      A. Couple of days ago, watching the film Don’t Look Up.
      Q. Who is the most famous person in your phone
      A. Idris Elba
      Q. What would you choose for your death row meal?
      A. Spaghetti Bolognese
      Q. Who’s got better hair, David Beckham or Jack Grealish?
      A. David Beckahm
      Q. MOTD or Strictly?
      A. MOTD – not even a question

      Shop the Eat Well range at all M&S stores to be in with a chance of winning a training session with England’s football heroes and more, see marksandspencer.com/football More

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      in Soccer

      Man Utd star Cristiano Ronaldo’s ‘£615k engagement ring’ for Georgina Rodriguez is most-expensive sparkler ever for Wag

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO may be bottom of the Premier League but he is top of the footballers’ engagement ring league by giving his fiancee the most expensive sparkler of all Wags.The Manchester United star, 37, is thought to have splashed around £615,000 on the diamond number for Georgina Rodriguez.
      Ronaldo splashed out more on an engagement ring than any other footballer
      Cristiano Ronaldo splashed out £615,000 on Georgina Rodriguez’s engagement ringCredit: Instagram @cristiano
      Georgina fuelled speculation Cristiano Ronaldo had bought her the £615,000 engagement ring by commenting on this Instagram post earlier this yearCredit: Social media
      According to GamblingDeals, who compiled a list of the most expensive engagement rings in football, England keeper Jordan Pickford was second on £500,000 for wife Megan Davison.
      Ashley Cole’s £275,000 ring for ex-wife Cheryl ranked third.
      But England captain Harry Kane was just tenth with £180,000 for wife Katie Goodland, according to jeweller Roseanna Croft.
      Georgina and Ronaldo have three-year-old daughter Alana together and are raising his other three children – surrogate twins Eva and Mateo, three, and ten-year-old Cristiano Jr.
      Read more on Ronaldo
      The couple first went on a string of dates towards the end of 2016.
      Ronaldo is thought to have asked the Spanish beauty to marry him in 2018.
      In January 2022, a Netflix documentary called ‘I Am Georgina’ was released about the couple’s life.
      In it, Ronaldo said he was convinced that he will marry Georgina Rodriguez and stated it could happen very soon.
      Most read in Football
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      He commented: “I always tell Georgina that when we get that click, like everything with our life and she knows what I’m talking about.
      “It could be in a year, or it could be in six months or in a month. I’m 1000 per cent sure it will happen.”
      Georgina has been snapped wearing a ring a number of times and in 2018 gave the biggest hint she was engaged to Ronaldo by commenting on a post of a Cartier sparkler.
      The shop assistant-turned-model posted four heart-eyes emojis in response to a snap of the ring Ronaldo is rumoured to have bought her.
      She was seen sporting the diamond sparkler at a glamorous partyCredit: Instagram @cristiano
      Georgina showed off another huge sapphire ring on InstagramCredit: georginagio/Instagram
      Ronaldo has always insisted they’ll get hitchedCredit: Instagram More

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      in Soccer

      Inside lavish world of Man U suitor Jim Ratcliffe who made billions from chemicals but was once fired for a crazy reason

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      HE may no longer be Britain’s Richest Man but Sir Jim Ratcliffe is still the world’s wealthiest Mancunian.And with a personal fortune of around £11BILLION he can certainly afford to buy Manchester United.
      Mancunian Jim Ratcliffe has a personal fortune of around £11BILLIONCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
      Jim with wife Alicia at French footie club NiceCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe was honoured with a knighthood by Prince William in 2018Credit: PA:Press Association
      Jim with sons Sam and GeorgeCredit: Getty
      This week he let it be known he would jump at the chance to buy into the Premier League football colossus, owned by the American Glazer family.
      Eventually Sir Jim hopes to take over the entire club, said by the club’s current owners to be worth £5billion.
      He is so wealthy he would not need to borrow a penny to buy Man United, invest heavily in new players and modernise Old Trafford.
      And the money men certainly think he is serious.
      Read More on Jim Ratcliffe
      United’s shares on New York’s stock exchange had yesterday jumped 15 per cent to more than £11 each.
      Sir Jim offered £4billion to buy Chelsea in May but admitted he only made the — the team he has followed since boyhood — wasn’t available.
      As he approaches his 70th birthday, the joiner’s son who grew up on a Manchester council estate, could land the present he has always dreamed of — owning Old Trafford and the Red Devils.
      Sport-mad Sir Jim has come a long way from Dunkerly Avenue, Failsworth, where he lived until he was ten and went almost every other week to watch Sir Matt Busby’s team in action.
      Most read in Football
      In 1999 he was in Barcelona at the Nou Camp stadium when United came back at the death to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 to win the Champions League.
      Sir Jim described it as “three minutes you never forget in your lifetime”.
      So some things are priceless, even for a man whose mega-fortune comes from a 60 per cent stake in a privately owned chemical giant he always claims is “the world’s biggest company you have never heard of”.
      In total 26,000 people work for Ineos at more than 194 sites in 29 countries.
      The 60million tons of chemicals it makes each year go into almost everything we use, from antibiotics, toothpaste and clean water to insulation and food packaging.
      All this means Sir Jim can afford a luxury home in Monaco, a £6million waterside mansion in Hampshire and a house in Chelsea, West London, near the Grenadier pub, where he came up with the idea for building a 4×4 to replace the Land Rover Defender.
      He also owns a mega-house on Lake Geneva, Switzerland, near F1 star Michael Schumacher’s home, and a 260ft super-yacht, Hampshire II.
      If Sir Jim does eventually buy Man United from the American Glazer family he won’t be step-ping into the unknown because he already owns two football clubs.
      In 2017 he bought Swiss side FC Lausanne-Sport — they were relegated last season into Swizerland’s second tier.
      And in 2019 Sir Jim snapped up Nice, who play in France’s Ligue 1 for just under £100million.
      He also spent £40million buying Sky’s Tour de France-winning cycling team and he regularly goes on training rides with stars of the Ineos Grenadiers.
      He has shares in Mercedes’ Formula 1 operation and backs Sir Ben Ainslie’s bid for sailing’s America’s Cup, which Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is part of.
      I was fired for having mild eczema. I was told ‘You can’t work here, not with eczema. We can’t spend the money on training you for five years and then find you’ve got an allergy, so you’re on your bike.’Jim Ratcliffe
      Amazingly, Sir Jim only made his eye-watering fortune in the past 25 years.
      Until then his life had been unremarkable.
      He struggled at school because of his obsession with football, got into university with some of the worst A-level results of his college peers and got sacked from his first job.
      His success came as a complete surprise to him too.
      Sir Jim says: “You should see a picture of the council house where I started out. I just played football, really. That’s all I was interested in.”
      His dad, who started out as a carpenter, worked his way up to run a factory making furniture for science labs.
      His mum worked as a secretary.
      The family moved to Beverly, East Yorks, when his dad landed a new job and Jim got into the local grammar school. In the sixth form he organised tours of local factories.
      He says: “I suppose I did have this inkling that I wanted to be successful — that I wanted to be a millionaire one day. So those things were in my head at 18. But I was just dreaming, really.”
      He chose to study chemical engineering at the University of Birmingham.
      But he arrived at the chemistry department to find a group of students clustered around a noticeboard, reading a list of the 99 students on his course, ranked according to their A-level results.
      Ratcliffe was embarrassed to find himself near the bottom.
      Northern soul Jim as a youngster in Manchester
      Jim came up with the idea for building a 4×4 to replace the Land Rover DefenderCredit: Jon Bond – The Sun
      Ratcliffe with Chris Froome and Team INEOS Principal Sir Dave BrailsfordCredit: PA:Press Association
      He says: “It lacked a bit of sensitivity. But you could say it was fair. There were a lot of guys who had worked very hard at school while I was out playing football.”
      Working for BP during the summer holiday he was offered a permanent job only to be sacked within three days.
      He says: “I was called in by my boss who had been reading my medical report — they’d not bothered until then. I was fired for having mild eczema. I was told ‘You can’t work here, not with eczema. We can’t spend the money on training you for five years and then find you’ve got an allergy, so you’re on your bike.’”
      Jim failed to persuade BP to take him on as a trainee accountant so he moved to fabric and chemicals firm Courtaulds, where he stayed until he was in his thirties.
      Lured by the perk of a much better car, a white BMW 535i, he switched to becoming a dealmaker with the venture capital company Advent International.
      He says: “They tripled my salary and offered me a fancy car. I did like that car — it was better than the one the chairman of Courtaulds had.
      “The venture capital world is very simple. If you do bad deals, you get fired. If you don’t do any deals, you get fired. I took that job because it would present a lot of opportunities. I always had a feeling that a really good one would come along.”
      In 1992, he bought BP’s specialist chemicals operation for about £40million, floating it on the stock market two years later.
      But Jim quit the company in 1998.
      By then his ten-year marriage to first wife Amanda Townson, with whom he has two sons, George and Samuel, had ended in divorce.
      He has a daughter with second wife, Alicia. He is now believed to be with current partner Catherine Polli.
      His fortunes changed for the better when he bought an Antwerp-based chemicals business which became the start of Ineos.
      I suppose I did have this inkling that I wanted to be successful — that I wanted to be a millionaire one day. So those things were in my head at 18. But I was just dreaming, really.Jim Ratcliffe
      Jim and his new business partners, Andy Currie and John Reece, became masters at spotting untapped potential in flagging plants and factories.
      Sir Jim says: “We’d look at businesses that were unfashionable or unsexy, facilities owned by large corporations. We’d run them a bit better, make them busy and very profitable.”
      The deals got bigger and bigger and by 2018 Jim’s share of the business made him Britain’s richest man with a fortune of £21billion.
      A supporter of Brexit and fracking, he wants Britain to manufacture more.
      He says: “You can’t have an economy of 70million people where you don’t make any products. If you do, every time you want to buy a product you first have to buy some foreign exchange and find a country to sell it to you. That’s dumb — you end up with a fragile economy.”
      While United’s fans are praying Sir Jim will come to the club’s rescue — they are at rock bottom after two games that both ended in defeat — business experts were warning them not to get too hopeful.
      Read More on The Sun
      While the Glazers say United is worth £5billion, the stock market values the club at much less.
      Sky TV Business Presenter Ian King says: “Sir Jim Ratcliffe has never knowingly overpaid for anything in his career.”
      F1 drivers Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas celebrate with JimCredit: AFP
      Ratcliffe with the Mercedes F1 TeamCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe meets staff at the Grangemouth plant as the first ship carrying shale gas from the US arrives in the Firth of ForthCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe’s childhood home on Dunkerly Avenue, Failsworth, Lancs
      Aerial view of Lake Geneva where Ratcliffe owns a mega-houseCredit: Getty
      Ratcliffe’s 260ft super-yacht Hampshire IICredit: Alamy
      The Sun reported on Sir Jim’s interest in buying Man Utd More

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      Man City ace Ruben Dias’s mystery lover revealed as sexy cabaret dancer

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      MANCHESTER CITY ace Ruben Dias’s mystery lover can be revealed as sexy cabaret dancer Ginevra Festa.The Sun revealed earlier this week he was snogging a mystery woman on a boat after splitting from his pop star girlfriend.
      Manchester City ace Ruben Dias’s mystery lover can be revealed as sexy cabaret dancer Ginevra FestaCredit: BackGrid
      The Sun shared photos of Dias and Festa earlier this week snogging on a boat in FormenteraCredit: BackGrid
      Less than 12 months ago, the Portuguese centre-back, 25, ended a three-year relationship with stunning singer April Ivy.
      But now he has moved on with leggy brunette Ginevra after the pair were seen getting close on a holiday in Formentera.
      The sultry dancer has shared jaw-dropping snaps on social media, where she describes herself as an ‘Ibiza dancer’.
      She posed with a beautiful array of red and white flowers from a romantic admirer, hinting the Prem giant was behind the gesture.
      READ MORE ON RUBEN DIAS
      Pictures show her entertaining crowds at Spain’s Lio cabaret, starring on a catwalk in a dazzling red-sequin dress and lace-up boots, with her hair tied behind her head.
      And a video of her performance showed her strutting on stage as a suited male dancer grabbed her from behind and kissed her neck.
      Away from work, Ginevra shared images of her with cropped hair in a purple bikini on a speedboat – the same swimsuit she wore when romping with defender Dias.
      Her distinctive tattoos were on display, including an inked serpent which stretches down her right arm.
      Most read in Football
      Ginevra, who has also worked in Dubai, is among the performers at the “world’s most glamorous cabaret”, in which dancers, singers and acrobats entertain guests over dinner.
      The evening ends with all visitors being invited to dance, and the good news for Dias is that the cabaret venue is due to open restaurants in Mykonos, Las Vegas and London – meaning she could work nearer his Cheshire home.
      The lovers have made no attempt to hide their new relationship after following each other on social media.
      He has a massive 1.4m followers on Instagram, while she has 5,200 fans.
      Dias was seen enjoying himself as he relaxed on a boat off the coast of the Spanish island in The Sun’s published snaps.
      And his pin-up partner also chilled out in a skimpy bikini as the pair took in the glorious sunshine.
      His previous relationship with pop star April ended because of lifestyle differences, with he being “more discreet” than her, a Portuguese celebrity mag said.
      April then drew attention back towards their relationship two months later after she brought out a song which appeared to be about the famous footballer.
      “Broken Apologies” opened with the words: “I tried to give you what you needed. But you didn’t see I tried.
      “In my mind I can’t find a reason for you to leave us both behind.”
      It continued: “So I’m sorry I gave you all my love, sorry I didn’t mess this up, sorry that I wasn’t enough for you.
      “So I’m sorry I give my world for you but when you’re in love that’s what you do. I’m hoping you hear this and forgive me.”
      Reigning champions City kicked off their Premier League campaign with back-to-back wins.
      They followed up a 2-0 opening weekend victory over West Ham with a comfortable 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at the Etihad last Saturday.
      Read More on The Sun
      Next up for Dias – who has started both games – is a tough trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle on Sunday.
      The couple were contacted for comment.
      Ginevra has shared jaw-dropping snaps on social media, where she describes herself as an ‘Ibiza dancer’
      Less than 12 months ago, the Portuguese centre-back ended a three-year relationship with stunning singer April IvyCredit: Instagram @aprilivymusic More

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      Glory-grabbing John Terry shows off catch of the day on fishing trip… netted by his teen son

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      GLORY-grabbing footie ace John Terry shows off the catch of the day on a fishing trip — after it was netted by his teen son.The retired Chelsea and England captain — famed for gatecrashing teammates’ celebrations — watched Georgie land a whopper on holiday.
      Glory-grabbing footie ace John Terry shows off the catch of the day on a fishing trip — after it was netted by his teen son Georgie
      Terry was mocked for donning full Chelsea kit to lift the Champions League trophy even though he missed the gameCredit: Corbis – Getty
      And he showed he’d lost none of his scene-stealing skills as he joked the success was all his.
      Terry, 41, captioned the snap on Instagram: “Georgie catching the only fish of the morning. But I’m taking all the credit.”
      JT was mocked for donning full Chelsea kit to join teammates lifting the Champions League trophy in 2012 even though he missed the game through suspension.
      And he was all in blue again as he held up the big fish on holiday in the Maldives with wife Toni, 41, and twins Georgie and Summer, 16.
      Read More on John Terry
      Internet wags were quick to spot the fishy snap of Terry, now a Chelsea coaching consultant.
      Steve O’Connor joked: “Full kit job.”
      Another laughed: “Ah I see, one fish and you all nick a photo with it. Classic.”
      It is not the first time Terry has been mocked online over his fishing prowess.
      Most read in Football
      Two years ago the then Aston Villa assistant manager posted a picture showing him posing proudly with a tiddler.
      His friends and social media followers called him out, with some suggesting he had bought the tiny fish at a local stall. More