A convenient truth? Ronaldo, Rooney & RVP out of friendlies

 

Another raft of international friendlies are upon us and, with them, a whole host of convenient injuries to some of Europe's biggest stars.

Cristiano Ronaldo has pulled out of Portugal's clash with Gabon on Wednesday due to a badly gashed eye sustained against Levante this weekend.

Manchester United duo Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, meanwhile, have also withdrawn from duty with England and the Netherlands, despite both featuring heavily in the Red Devils' comeback victory over Aston Villa on Saturday.

Of course, no one would be cynical enough to suggest that 'knocks' like these were crudely manufactured by club managers to buy their key men some crucial rest time, but no one can deny that the absence of their best players is a constant source of frustration to national team bosses.

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Sir Alex sweats as Kagawa & Van Persie limp back

 

With Wayne Rooney already sidelined with a gashed leg, the last result Sir Alex Ferguson will have wanted from the international break is more injuries to his collection of forwards.

He will not have been pleased, then, to see Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa limp off their flights back to Manchester. Van Persie was substituted at half-time in the Netherlands' match against Hungary, while Kagawa did not play for Japan against Iraq.

Sir Alex does, at least, have Javier Hernandez and Danny Welbeck to call upon as the Red Devils prepare to face Wigan Athletic.

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No place like home - RVP settles into life at Old Trafford

 

Those cynics hoping Robin van Persie would take time to settle at Old Trafford were proved wrong on Saturday, as the Dutchman capped his home debut with a goal in Manchester United's 3-2 victory over Fulham.

Van Persie's superb finish helped his side draw level after going a goal down to Damien Duff's third minute opener, and the 29-year-old has claimed he has already been made to "feel at home" in the north west.

Indeed, despite arriving at the club just over a week ago, Van Persie is clearly settling into life quickly at his new ground.
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Fellaini foils Manchester United

 

All attention turned to Manchester United last night as Sir Alex Ferguson's side took on Everton in their first game of the new Premier League season.

New signing Shinji Kagawa started while Robin van Persie was on the bench and introduced in the second half, but neither could make a significant impact in their competitive debuts for the club.

Instead, the star of the show was Marouane Fellaini, who terrorised the Manchester United defence and scored the decisive goal in a surprise 1-0 victory for David Moyes' men.
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The Premier League is back!

 

It's back! After three months of having to pretend to be interested in other sports, football fans can finally relax and indulge themselves in the return of the Premier League this Saturday.

Last year's campaign was one of the most dramatic in living memory, with Manchester City snatching a maiden title victory in the dying seconds of the season.

Yet, with Robin van Persie joining Manchester United, an overhaul at Arsenal, and Brendan Rodgers seeking to kickstart his Liverpool revolution, there is one heck of a stellar cast list for 2012-13 campaign...

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Van Persie & Modric break free at last to land their dream moves

 

Two of the longest-running transfer sagas of the transfer window look to set to reach their conclusion before Saturday's Premier League kick-off, with Arsenal and Tottenham both accepting bids for Robin van Persie and Luka Modric respectively.
The Spurs midfielder's move to Real Madrid has been touted since last summer, and the Croatian is believed to be jetting out to the Spanish capital on Thursday to complete his switch to Santiago Bernanbeu.

Yet Gunners fans will no doubt find their captain's departure harder to swallow, particularly with the Dutchman joining fierce rivals Manchester United...

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RVP the devil in disguise

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Ronaldo's stars align as he tops the Goal.com 50

 

This year's Goal.com 50 has been announced with Cristiano Ronaldo revealed as the top player of the past 12 months.

Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas was surprisingly placed second with Lionel Messi shunted down to third after Los Blancos' title-winning exploits in La Liga last term.
The list has sparked debate and intrigue among fans and pundits alike, and is likely to continue to do so for time to come.

Not everyone has the time to pore over the facts and stats of the list in full so we have brought the entire 50 to you in the simplest of forms.
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Van Persie's glee at new Arsenal arrivals

 

Oh, what do we have here then?'

Yes, that is essentially Robin van Persie's inner monologue after hearing the news that Arsenal are close to sealing deals for Malaga attacker Santi Cazorla and Real Madrid's Nuri Sahin.
Since announcing his intention not to renew his contract, which has just 12 months left to run, the striker could now have a change of heart as Arsene Wenger continues the biggest spending spree seen at the Emirates in years.
 

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Tevez erases dreams of Van Persie

 

Robin van Persie was omitted from Arsenal's tour of Asia earlier this month and is believed to be heading to Manchester City following his decision not to renew his contract.

Yet, a month into the transfer window, the Dutchman remains in north London. Meanwhile on City's very own Asian tour, Carlos Tevez has done his best to remind Roberto Mancini that he still exists, netting his first goal of pre-season on Monday against Malaysia XI.

And so, as the new Premier League season fast approaches, perhaps utilising a revitalised Tevez would overshadow Mancini's dreams of Van Persie.

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Sir Alex keeps fishing for summer capture

 

Manchester United have been reasonably busy so far this summer, having signed Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund and Nick Powell, the young Crewe academy product.

But Sir Alex Ferguson appears to be far from finished in the transfer market, after claiming interest in Robin van Persie this week, and speaking openly about an approach for Brazilian sensation Lucas Moura.

However, Van Persie's future remains unclear, while Lucas' agent claims a move to Old Trafford is off, meaning the Red Devils boss may have to keep fishing for a star signing this summer.
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Ferguson muscles in on Van Persie transfer saga

 

Robin van Persie’s potential Arsenal exit looks set to be the transfer saga of the summer, with Premier League champions Manchester City touted as the Dutchman’s most likely destination until recently.

On Friday, reports emerged that Juventus had told the striker of their desire to pair him with Liverpool’s Luis Suarez in Turin, with Sir Alex Ferguson also revealing that Manchester United had launched a bid to snatch the 29-year-old away from the Emirates.

While Arsene Wenger remains hopeful of keeping his star man, Sir Alex has moved to make sure he is in prime place to make a shock swoop for the striker…
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Wenger halts Van Persie's Great Escape

 

Robin van Persie may have declared his intention not to renew his current contract with Arsenal, but the Gunners have no plans to allow their captain to exit the Emirates Stadium this summer.
After a superb campaign in north London last year, the Dutchman is keen to ply his trade elsewhere, with speculation over a move to current Premier League champions Manchester City refusing to go away.

However, Arsene Wenger is prepared to play hard ball with Van Persie in order to keep his star striker for a final season…

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Van Gaal in the deep end with Netherlands job

 

After a disastrous Euro 2012 campaign which included squabbles within the squad and a string of toothless displays, Louis van Gaal has now been handed the task of getting Netherlands back on track.

A trio of dismal performances in Group B last month condemned Netherlands to an early exit and led to the resignation of Bert van Marwijk.

With a raft of Dutch players airing their differences with each other in public at last month's tournament, Van Gaal will step into the Oranje hotseat for the second time in his career but will instantly face a tough test ahead of the World Cup 2014 qualifiers.
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Wenger in shock as Van Persie drops contract bombshell

 

Once again, Arsene Wenger's hopes of returning Arsenal to the summit of the Premier League have been handed a devastating blow.
Robin van Persie revealed his intention not to sign a new contract on Wednesday, though the Gunners have stated their determination to keep their star striker at the club.

Manchester City have been strongly linked with a move for last season's Premier League top scorer, with reigning Serie A champions Juventus also said to be interested.

Whether this summer or next, though, it looks as if Van Persie will soon be riding off into the sunset...

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The Old Lady fails to woo Van Persie

 

The Netherlands international, who unfortunately had an eye-catching Euro 2012 campaign for the wrong reasons despite scoring against Germany, has just one year left on his current contract with the Gunners and finds himself in a similar situation to Samir Nasri last summer.
Manchester City have also been linked with the 28-year-old, but it appears a move to the Serie A champions is not on the card after The Old Lady failed to lure the hitman to Turin...
 

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Ronaldo passes Euro 2012 exam with flying colours to send Dutch & Danes packing

 

Cristiano Ronaldo answered his critics in stunning style on Sunday night with his virtuoso performance in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Netherlands at Euro 2012.

After enduring a difficult start to the competition, the Real Madrid star scored both goals to book his side's place in the quarter-finals against Czech Republic - sending the Dutch and Denmark home.
That took Ronaldo's tally for the season to an astonishing 65 for club and country, although the 27-year-old will know that his work has only just begun if he is to deny arch-rival Lionel Messi yet another Ballon D'Or.
 

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Messi steals the limelight from Euro 2012

 

All the attention may be on events at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine but Lionel Messi still managed to hog the limelight after his hat-trick in Argentina's 4-3 friendly win over Brazil on Saturday.

The Barcelona star's superb treble in front of 82,000 fans at the Meadowlands Stadium in New York - home of American football teams the Giants and the Jets - took his season's tally to a remarkable 82 goals for club and country to single-handedly beat the combined number of times the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Portugal found the net on the same day.

And with his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo firing blanks, Messi proved once again why he is rated as the world's best player.

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Euro 2012 race set to start

 

The day has finally arrived. Euro 2012 will kick off this evening as tournament co-hosts Poland take on Greece in Group A's opening fixture.

With all 16 nations having made all of their final preparations ahead of the tournament, it's now left to us to sit back and enjoy day after day of world-class football.
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Europe's giants take an unlikely beating

 

Saturday saw shock results all over the continent as some of Europe's best and brightest were brought down to Earth by the smaller nations.

Netherlands lost 2-1 at home to Bulgaria, Germany were blown away by Switzerland in an extraordinary 5-3, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal could only draw 0-0 with lowly Macedonia.

It was a day in which the Davids of European football delivered some unexpected beatings to the much-fancied Goliaths, putting preconceptions into doubt ahead of Euro 2012...

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