Nothing separates Manchester United & Chelsea

A cagey game in which both sides were happy to settle for a point, Monday night's stalemate at Old Trafford lacked the explosiveness many had predicted.

Perhaps not as unlikely, however, were the comments from Jose Mourinho after the match, who called on Wayne Rooney to clarify his situation at Manchester United.

"If now, he doesn't want to leave, we are out of the thing. We need to know what is happening," said the Chelsea boss.
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Premier League ready for more fairytales in 2013-14

IT'S BACK!!! After a summer off, the Premier League returns with 10 fixtures over the weekend. 

Sir Alex ended his time at Old Trafford in fitting fashion, securing his 38th trophy as Manchester United manager, while past seasons have seen dramatic title races, narrow brushes with relegation and unlikely heroes. 

The footy is back and that means a fresh slate ready for a whole host of new fairytales in 2013-14!

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Cheers! Manchester United players talk transfers

 

Rio Ferdinand has told of how he and his Manchester United team-mates sit around "like fellas in a pub" discussing transfer rumours over the summer.

The centre-back let us into the world of millionaire footballers and their opinions, revealing phrases such as "I don't think he'll be any good, he'll be a great big waste of money" - he's not talking about Wayne Rooney, is he?! 

Stuck in the middle with Roo as Premier League heavyweights clash

 

The transfer window ramped up a notch on Wednesday morning as reports surfaced of a Chelsea offer for wantaway Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney.

Though the initial report claimed Juan Mata or David Luiz were offered in part-exchange, Chelsea refuted the suggestion with a timely statement following news that United had rejected the bid.

However, one thing is for certain; the Blues have identified Rooney as their No.1 transfer target, as Jose Mourinho indicated later that afternoon. For now though, Rooney is left as the man in the middle of Moyes and Mourinho. 

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Mourinho rides in to rescue Rooney

 

Despite David Moyes' best efforts to end all Wayne Rooney transfer speculation, talk of the Manchester United striker's potential summer exit continues.

Moyes insists Rooney is not for sale, but that has not stopped Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho declaring his admiration for the former Everton forward.

"Rooney is a player I like very much but I can say no more than that," he said. "Being fast and direct, I like that, but he's a Manchester United player."

Mourinho's comments prompted a response from Old Trafford boss Moyes, who is adamant the Premier League champions will reject advances from potential suitors.

"Unless I was speaking double Dutch, I said Wayne Rooney is not for sale," Moyes said.

"People are entitled to talk about players. I think I have really covered all the things on Wayne. Manchester United is about a team, not one individual." 
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Moyes tight-lipped on Rooney future

 

David Moyes hosted his first press conference as Manchester United manager on Friday and spent the most part batting away questions on Wayne Rooney's future.

And while he was at pains to point out that the England striker is not for sale, he refused to be drawn on whether he has categorically stated his desire to stay at Old Trafford. 

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Wenger left with Rooney dilemma

As Goal exclusively revealed on Tuesday, Wayne Rooney is giving a potential move to Arsenal some serious consideration.

Arsene Wenger has already gone public with his interest in the Manchester United striker, but will the Gunners boss stump up the cash to fund the striker's £250,000-a-week salary? 
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#bunchofcaps: Centurion Ashley Cole finally accepts England captaincy

After earning over 100 caps for England, Ashley Cole has finally accepted the captain's armband for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday night.

The left-back has been one of England's most consistent performers for over a decade, but his career has not been without controversy.

Cole was fined in October 2012 by the FA for comments on Twitter related to the John Terry racism case, having given evidence to the independent commission.

The Chelsea defender also allegedly fired an air rifle at an intern at the club's Cobham training ground in 2011.

There had also been some confusion as to whether or not Cole had actually accepted the captaincy following comments from England boss Roy Hodgson.

"Frank [Lampard] and I are happy that [Cole] will lead the team out but Frank still remains the captain of the team," he said, before later clarifying the situation.
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Kung-fu Fergie lining up final battle with Rooney

 

Amid all of the title celebrations on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson dropped one last bombshell after confirming Wayne Rooney's desire to leave Manchester United.

The 71-year-old, who has one final game left in charge of United, has put the ball firmly in Rooney's court regarding his future at Old Trafford.

"I don't think Wayne was keen to play simply because he's asked for a transfer," Sir Alex said.

"I think he wants to think things through in his mind, I think that's a good idea.

"We're not going to let him go. I think he's maybe a bit frustrated that he's been taken off once or twice in the last few weeks." 

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Going, going, gone? Rooney bidding war begins

 

David Moyes' appointment as the next Manchester United manager has sparked uncertainty over the future of Wayne Rooney.

On Thursday, Goal.com exclusively revealed that Arsenal and Chelsea have joined the race to sign the England international, who has already told United that he wants to leave Old Trafford at the end of the season.

Let the bidding war begin. 

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Take that Tevez! Sir Alex & Man United celebrate sweet revenge

 

Manchester United got their own back on rivals City by clinching their 20th league title on Monday night.

Roberto Mancini's men broke United hearts on the final day of last season, and Carlos Tevez infamously celebrated by holding up an "RIP Fergie" banner on their open-top bus tour through Manchester.

But United have roared back this season to leave Tevez et al in their wake, and Sir Alex can once again celebrate in style. 
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Ronaldo might need helping hand to reach Brazil 2014

 

If Cristiano Ronaldo is not worried, he probably should be. Portugal are labouring in qualification for another major tournament - this time, Brazil 2014.

Friday's 3-3 draw away with Israel has left Paulo Bento's men third in Group F, four points behind Fabio Capello's Russia, who also have a game in hand.

If they win, the gap will extend to seven, in all likelihood condemning Portugal to a life-and-death scrap with Israel for second place and passage into a nail-biting qualifying playoff.

There also remains the distinct possibility that Ronaldo, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his or any generation, will not even make it to the World Cup next year.

Missing out could potentially deal a fatal blow to the Real Madrid superstar's hopes of adding a World Cup winner's medal to his heaving collection, and hand Lionel Messi a decisive advantage in their epic rivalry.

With this in mind, he needs all the help he can get. 
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Man City sink without trace as United sail clear in title race

Everton's fine 2-0 win over the Premier League champions at Goodison Park yesterday has left Roberto Mancini & Co. up the proverbial creek without a paddle, with Sir Alex Ferguson's side now 15 points clear of their rivals with just nine games to go after a nervy 1-0 win over Reading at Old Trafford.

There's no doubting City have missed the calming presence of talismanic captain Vincent Kompany at the back of late, while the Red Devils have been able to call on Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie to deliver the goods as Mario Balotelli rocketed off to Milan and Mancini's other forwards decided they didn't really fancy playing football this season.

And all the while there's poor David Platt - if Mancini isn't wearing comedy masks of his face to press conferences, then he's stuck bailing out the sinking ship. Poor David. 
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Rooney headed for Old Trafford trapdoor

 

The writing appears to be on the wall for Wayne Rooney at Manchester United.

Reports emerged on Thursday suggesting the striker will be shown the Old Trafford trapdoor by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer, after the Scot dropped the 27-year-old for the Champions League clash with Real Madrid.

Rooney is reportedly reluctant to leave, though his fashion-conscious wife Coleen may well be pleased with links to Paris Saint-Germain.

United, meanwhile, have reportedly turned their attention to Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski. 
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Rooney mocks class dunce Van Persie

 

Robin van Persie might be razor-sharp on the football pitch, but his Manchester United colleagues seem to have concluded pretty quickly that the Dutchman is not quite as intimidating off it.

When asked who is the easiest to wind up in the Old Trafford dressing room, resident joker Wayne Rooney had no hesitation in identifying his new strike partner.

"I'd have to say Robin. He's not the brightest!" Rooney said in a Google hangout with DHL.

"As much of a good footballer he is, he's definitely not the brightest off the pitch and it’s just easy to get to him."

Don't worry Robin, as long as you keep banging in the goals, the banter will be kept within the confines of the United squad. Just don't go venturing into a classroom anytime soon... 

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England's Wembley win spoils Ronaldinho's parade

 

It was set up perfectly for Ronaldinho. In his unofficial 100th game for Brazil (he has made five appearances in games not recognised by Fifa), he was handed a chance from the penalty spot to get his name on the score-sheet at Wembley. A penalty against England? Well that's as good as a goal isn't it?

WRONG! Joe Hart superbly denied the buck-toothed magician with not one, but two, fine stops to prevent the 32-year-old marking his return to the Selecao (he hasn't played for them since November 2011) with a goal.

It got worse too. Luis Felipe Scolari replaced him at half-time and England went on to win the friendly with goals from Wayne Rooney and the evergreen Frank Lampard - perfectly marking the Football Association's first glamour friendly in their 150th anniversary. 
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Light shines on Rooney in the Craven Cottage darkness

 

For a few minutes at Craven Cottage on Saturday, the pitch looked as black and empty as the scoresheet when the floodlights cut out during Fulham v Manchester United.
When power was eventually restored, the goals still would not come until, in the 79th minute, the light finally shone on Wayne Rooney, who continued his recent renaissance with a curling finish.

Martin Jol's men were left fumbling in the darkness as the United hero ensured that the spotlight was all his, the goal putting 10 points between his side and rivals Manchester City ahead of the Premier League title-holders' Sunday clash with Liverpool.

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Rooney and Van Persie have the Premier League at their mercy

 

Manchester United maintained their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday, and once again, Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie were on hand to fire their team to victory.

The Dutchman grabbed his 12th league goal of the season to open the scoring at Old Trafford, and strike partner Rooney was not far behind with his seventh of the campaign.

Now having disposed of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and arch-rivals Manchester City already this year, the gigantic partnership of Rooney and Van Persie has the Premier League scurrying for cover...
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Sour grapes for Zlatan over Messi nomination

 

Paris Saint-Germain's outspoken centre-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic courted controversy once more last week by stating that Barcelona striker Lionel Messi shouldn't pick up the Ballon d'Or award this year.

The 31-year-old Sweden international believes that after having already won it three times in a row, that the Blaugrana genius would be far from a deserving winner and that it should be shared around more.

With Fifa whittling it down to just a three-man shortlist, and Messi competing alongside team-mate Andres Iniesta and Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovic may have to wait a little while longer to get his wish, with the Argentine the current front-runner and overwhelming favourite.

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Sir Alex immortalised in front of Manchester United legends past & present

 

After 26 barnstorming years at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson was immortalised on Friday afternoon as a bronze statue of the Scot was unveiled at Old Trafford.

During the 70-year-old's reign at the club, United have scooped 12 Premier League titles, two Champions League trophies and FA Cups - a feat which is unlikely to be repeated by a single manager in England.

Around 2,500 supporters, the first-team squad and former United players including Eric Cantona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Peter Schmeichel, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Bobby Charlton were all in attendance to mark Friday's unveiling.

"It's a proud moment," Ferguson told MUTV.

"Normally people die before people see their statue. I'm outliving death!"

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