Ronaldo claims senior Man Utd figures doubted daughter´s ill health after pre-season absence

Henrikh Mkhitaryan says he was at fault for taking longer than expected to earn a first-team berth at Manchester United, not Jose Mourinho.

The Armenia international arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund with high expectations after being named the Bundesliga Players Player of the Year for 2015-16.

He struggled to adapt, though, and was hauled off at half-time on his first start for the club, a 2-1 derby defeat to Manchester City, after which Mourinho said Mkhitaryan was guilty of turning in a really poor individual performance .

Mourinho subsequently suggested that Mkhitaryan would struggle under the pressure of a crunch match with Arsenal, but the playmaker insists he did not fall out with his manager.

There was no bad relation with him [Mouri…

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has named Napoli forward Jose Callejon in his squad for next month s World Cup qualifiers against Italy and Albania.

Callejon has not featured for La Rioja since a pair of substitute appearances in 2014 but has been in superb form this season, with five goals in six Serie A appearances.

Real Madrid defender Nacho and Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico are also in having missed out on Lopetegui s first squad for the September internationals against Belgium and Liechtenstein, while Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta is back from injury.

Isco returns to the national team fold despite playing just 54 LaLiga minutes for Madrid this season but fellow midfielder Cesc Fabregas misses out once more.

Concluye la conferencia de prensa de . Turn…

As reported by the club on social media, have officially confirmed the signing of . The 29-year-old midfielder joined on loan from struggling Swansea City back in January, and in that time, a lot of things have changed. Mesa has been able to quickly establish himself as an important member of the first team squad, whereas the Swans now find themselves back down in the English Championship after suffering relegation from the Premier League.

Mesa initially signed for Swansea back in July 2017 for a deal that was said to be worth around £11 million. Unfortunately, despite making over a dozen appearances for the club, he was unable to adapt to life in Wales and the search began for a place he could go on loan.

If Swansea had been able to maintain their Premier League plac…

Philippe Coutinho wanted to leave Barcelona at the end of last season as he prepares to join Bayern Munich on loan, according to Ernesto Valverde.

Barca and Bayern confirmed on Friday that an agreement is in place for Coutinho to move to the Bundesliga champions for the 2019-20 campaign – the deal including an option to buy the playmaker.

Coutinho had been linked to Paris Saint-Germain as a makeweight in a possible deal for former Barca star Neymar, however, the Brazilian is now set for Munich after watching Friday s shock 1-0 loss at Athletic Bilbao from the stands.

Asked about Coutinho following Barca s disappointing LaLiga opener, head coach Valverde told Movistar: It is a situation that last season when the league ended the player had it in his head.

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A Saudi investment company are in talks to buy George Gillett s stake in Liverpool. He currently holds 50 per cent of the clubs shares with compatriot Tom Hicks owning the other 50 per cent. If the Saudi company succeed in buying out the co-owner it could lead to a major shift in power in the English game.

Will Liverpool become the new Manchester City?

The company is headed by Saudi prince Faisil bin Fahd bin Abdullah  and will be expected to give Rafa the Gaffer the money to take the club to the Premier League title. The question I m now asking myself is will Liverpool now have the same financial clout that Manchester City now have?

Do this Saudi group have big financial muscle?

When groups of middle eastern investors are mentioned it seems…

Inverness CT have announced seven new signings as manager Terry Butcher s squad takes shape ahead of next season.

One of the additions is 20-year-old Ben Greenhalgh, who spent 18 months playing for Inter after winning a half-year deal, which was extended, with the Serie A club through a reality show.

The midfielder was part of Sky1 s Football s Next Star in 2010 and he honed his skills under new Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho before he returned back to England to join Ebbsfleet United.

The player will be joined by Adam Evans, who has been released by Burnley, Marley Watkins, who arrives from Hereford United, and former Kidderminster Harriers player James Vincent.

The other new signings include defender Harry Hooman, Danny Williams and former Northern Ir…

Harry Kane and Tottenham believe they can win the Premier League this season after falling short last term.

Tottenham went toe-to-toe with champions Leicester City in 2015-16 until falling away late in the campaign as Kane and Co. eventually finished third behind Arsenal.

Kane and his team-mates are in the title race again, second in the table behind leaders Chelsea, and the England international striker says Tottenham have what is needed to reign supreme.

Definitely [we can win the league], we came very close last year, that was a great experience to be part of, he said.

I think we have got better as a team and grown as a team, and we can hopefully use that experience to help us this year.

We are on great form, high on confidence, so if we con…

Roma sporting director Monchi insists the impending exit of Alisson does not demonstrate a lack of ambition as the goalkeeper closes in on a world-record move to Liverpool.

The Premier League club have long been linked with the Brazil international and a deal  rumoured to be for £67million  is nearing completion.

Alisson enjoyed an impressive 2017-18 season with Roma after taking over as first choice from the departed Wojciech Szczesny, and his arrival at Anfield could finally solve a problem position for manager Jurgen Klopp.

Monchi confirmed the player has travelled to Liverpool after the Serie A side decided to accept a very substantial bid for the 25-year-old.

We haven t finalised anything yet [with Alisson]. But it is true that the negotiat…

England boss Gareth Southgate watched from the stands as Jordan Henderson made his “special” Ajax debut in a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.

Former Liverpool captain Henderson played the full 90 minutes at the Johan Cruyff Arena as Steven Berghuis’ opener for Ajax was cancelled out by Luuk de Jong.

Henderson joined Ajax in mid-January after spending less than six months at Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, but his first appearance was delayed while he waited for a work permit.

Loved every second of that. Lots of positives to take. On to the next one

— Jordan Henderson (@JHenderson)

The England midfielder said of Southgate’s visit: “Hopefully he picked a good game and he enjoyed the game.”

He added: “The atmosphere was incred…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has told Jamie O Hara to remember where his ultimate allegiance lies after the midfielder said he wanted Fulham to knock Spurs out of the FA Cup.

O Hara is a lifelong Spurs fan but he is on loan at Portsmouth, who will face the winners of Wednesday s replay in a Wembley semi-final.

But the 23-year-old s deal means he would not be eligible to play against Tottenham and he said: It is a weird one because for the first time in my life I will be hoping Spurs lose. I want to play at Wembley.

Redknapp, who as Portsmouth manager guided the south coast club to FA Cup glory in 2008, sympathised but added O Hara could not forget he would be heading back to Tottenham at the end of the season.

Jamie shouldn t say that, real…