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What Man Utd must do to return to glory days – Cristiano Ronaldo

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Cristiano Ronaldo underlined his iconic status last week by reaching a record-breaking milestone of 900 career goals.

Ronaldo turns 40 next February but the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is showing no signs of slowing down and has already declared his intention to reach 1,000 goals by the time he retires.

While Ronaldo continues to flourish for Portugal and Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, his old club United are facing familiar struggles, back-to-back Premier League defeats piling fresh pressure on beleaguered boss Erik ten Hag.

Ronaldo and Erik Ten Hag did not get on during the forward’s second spell at United, which ended acrimoniously nearly two years ago. In an explosive interview, Ronaldo said he had no respect for Ten Hag and felt “betrayed” by him, leaving United no choice but to terminate his £400,000-a-week deal.


Despite that ugly ending, Ronaldo retains a deep affection for United and has set out what he thinks must happen if they are to get back to the glory days he enjoyed there in his first spell, winning the Premier League, Champions League and being one of the dominant forces in world football.

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“The club needs time to rebuild, because it’s still one of the best clubs in the world – but they need to change,” Ronaldo told old team-mate Rio Ferdinand. “They understand that this is the only way. This is why they show, they start to change again, the structure of the club, the president, the infrastructures and everything. The owners of the club.

“They’re investing in the training ground. So I’m happy because [things are changing]. I’m not happy the way it all happened, but in the same way, we cannot control some points of our life sometimes, but it’s done, already done.

“But I believe that the future will be bright. I believe, but they don’t depend only on the talents. It’s more than that. It’s all club, all, not only players, club, everything as a unit – united – you know?

“They have to rebuild from the bottom. If not, they cannot compete. It will be impossible. They can do good things, yes, they can win the Carabao Cup, yeah, but I mean, Champions League or Europa League or Premier League? Difficult, in my opinion. I wish that I’m wrong, I wish, but it will be difficult.”

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Ten Hag has been backed in the restructuring of his coaching staff, which included the return of former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who scored 150 goals in 219 games for the club.

 

Ronaldo claimed Ten Hag will only turn United’s fortunes around if he listens to Van Nistelrooy, who knows first-hand what it takes to be successful at Old Trafford.

“If Ten Hag listens to Ruud, maybe he can [help himself],” said Ronaldo. “I think it can help a lot, because he knows the club and the club should listen to the guys who were there. You [ Ferdinand ], Roy Keane or Paul Scholes or Gary Neville, whatever, Sir Alex Ferguson. You cannot rebuild a club without knowledge. Not guys who work in the office. They understand.

“The people who understand football are the people who were there in the dressing-room. They know how to deal with the players. It’s the people who understand these things.

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“So I believe that Ruud is going to help, because he was inside the club. He knows the club. He knows the fans. If the coach listens to him, I think they can improve the club a little bit.”

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Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

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City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.

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WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

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Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

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The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

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