Author: bigbanng

When Erling Haaland broke onto the scene, he came out of nowhere, and immediately swept every talent under the rug. Tall, fast and fearless, the Norwegian is the definition of a supreme footballer. At his best, he plays like a giant among mortal humans and leaves defenders trailing and sprawling on the ground in his wake. It wasn’t Red Bull Salzburg who first introduced the football world to his electric and boisterous playing style, but it was the Austrian outfit that made him into one of the best talents in world football today. Without Salzburg, the Norwegian may never have…

How much of a win comes down to motivation, grit, desire, and all those other intangibles? How much of a win comes down to a team functioning better, both tactically and in identity? How much of a win comes down to a team’s winning pedigree and a confidence in the result? Xavi coaching against Real Betis All three of these questions will be answered in the Spanish Super Cup Final, one which on paper means a whole lot more to Barcelona than it does to Real Madrid. Carlo Ancelotti has the advantage with his team selection and possibilities to maximize…

The wording was brutally harsh but it made the diminished esteem Manchester United are now held in by much of the business world abundantly clear. It was, the investors of the club’s shirt sponsor TeamViewer said in November, a sign of “appalling judgment” to agree a £235m deal with a club that has not won a trophy since May 2017 and failed to qualify for this season’s Champions League. Less than a month later it was announced that a “mutual” agreement had been reached that would see United buy back the rights to shirt sponsorship from the German firm. This may be one example at…

Individual awards are becoming an increasingly prominent part of modern football, something that was originally started by the Ballon d’Or. It has been furthered in recent years by the creation of the FIFA Best Awards. For players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, individual awards have become another way to measure them against each other in a way that is not related to how many club trophies they have won. The next edition of the award will be held on February 27 in Paris and the shortlist of players to win the award can be seen below. Julian Alvarez…

Manchester United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford in what is likely to be the most fiercely contested derby between the sides for some time. Erik ten Hag side have been relentless in recent months, having put together eight consecutive victories and suffered just one defeat in 18 games. Meanwhile, City sit in second place in the Premier League, five points adrift of table toppers Arsenal. Pep Guardiola’s side has been in stuttering form in both the league and cup, as evidenced by a lifeless 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton earlier this week. Here are the latest odds and predictions…

It does not get bigger than playing for Real Madrid in any top footballer’s career. Given the club’s trophy-filled cabinets and rich history, players dream of receiving Los Blancos’ interest in the transfer market. The converse also is seemingly true. Once recruited by the Merengues, any move away is perceived as a step-down. Thus, some would prefer to stay on the bench at the Bernabeu than play elsewhere. According to reports from AS (h/t Madrid Xtra), Jesus Vallejo is the latest to take the aforementioned decision. The centre-back wants to stay at the club even if he is the fifth-choice centre-back for Carlo Ancelotti. While the…

Manchester United appear set to continue their busy January transfer window with a couple of moves having already been completed. The Red Devils have sealed the services of Jack Butland on a loan deal until the end of the campaign, whilst they have also agreed to take Dutch striker Wout Weghorst to Old Trafford for the next few months. It remains to be seen if any more arrivals follow the pair in becoming Red Devils. With that being said, here are the latest rumours coming out of Old Trafford over the last 24 hours with the window having now been open for two…

EPL 2023 transfer news, Manchester United sign Wout Weghorst, rumours, gossip, latest, Premier League, Burnley Manchester United completed the loan signing of Dutch international Wout Weghorst for the rest of the season on Friday to bolster Erik ten Hag’s forward options in the wake of the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The 30-year-old had been on loan at Besiktas from Burnley, but the Turkish giants announced they had received 2.8 million euros (£2.5 million/$A4.35m) to cut that deal short. United subsequently paid Burnley £2.6 million in a loan fee until the end of the season – and will pay his full…

Ten Hag: Our players are good enough to compete with all the City players Erik ten Hag has spoken to the press ahead of tomorrow’s Manchester derby.  It is the 189th time the two Manchester sides have met in a competitive clash and tomorrow provides a lucrative opportunity for the Red Devils to strengthen their hold on the top four, as well as boost their pursuit of a potential title race. A win tomorrow takes them to within one point of Manchester City in second place. The Reds also face Premier League leaders Arsenal next Sunday at the Emirates –…

It is no secret that Real Madrid have had to deal with injuries throughout the course of the ongoing season. There have been several key players who have had to spend time out on the sidelines with respective issues and the club have barely been fully healthy at any point of time. There is some good news for Carlo Ancelotti’s side ahead of the Super Cup final against Barcelona though. Several players had picked up knocks in the game against Valencia in the semi-final. And while Lucas Vazquez has been ruled out for six to seven weeks, the others like Eduardo Camavinga,…

Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek has been ruled out for the rest of the season, Erik ten Hag has confirmed. The Netherlands international suffered the injury during United’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth on 3 January. While it has ended his season, ten Hag initially feared the injury would keep him sidelined for even longer and believes he will be back when United begin their pre-season campaign in the summer. ‘It is his knee,’ Ten Hag said. ‘In the long term it is looking really good and he will be back for the start of pre-season. The rest of the season he is out.’…

Manchester United is closing in on the signing of Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst to help fill the void left by the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Weghorst is set to join on loan from Burnley until the end of the season, but he will not be eligible to play against Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday. “I think we are close … he won’t be available for tomorrow,” United manager Erik ten Hag said at a news conference on Friday. Weghorst, who was already on loan at Turkish club Besiktas, appears a surprising replacement for Ronaldo. The soccer great…

Manchester United are in the best shape they have been all season ahead of the Manchester derby, winning eight consecutive games and keeping five clean sheets in the process. Rivals City have been a dealt more difficult hand since the World Cup. They have picked up some important results, including a 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup and back to back wins against Chelsea, but their momentum was deflated in their most recent game against Southampton, a 2-0 defeat in the Carabao Cup. City boss Pep Guardiola said this week he had some “ridiculous ideas” for the derby. What…

The trust Real Madrid lay in their younger players is one of the biggest reasons behind the heavy success of those talents at the club. Eder Militao, Aurelien Tchouameni, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, and Eduardo Camavinga are just a few of the many players to shine at the club very early in their careers. One of the key factors responsible for setting up such a healthy environment at the club is Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian tactician has always backed his youth stars and stayed far from making hasty decisions, thus helping build their confidence. According to reports from MARCA, Real Madrid have…

Britain’s richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been forced to accelerate his plans to buy Manchester United or miss out. It comes as the club told interested parties to formalise their interest by mid-February as the Red Devils hope to conclude a sale by the end of the season. The Glazer family, who bought United in 2005, put the asset up for sale in November and are looking for as much as £8billion to sell. Ratcliffe, who is a fan of the Red Devils, could make an offer and United chiefs believe that he will enter the race to take over the club. However, he is not…

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Instagram posts show he’s been all smiles during his training sessions with his new club Al-Nassr. But one star he appears to be particularly fond of is his side’s goalkeeper, and former Arsenal goalkeeper, David Ospina. The 37-year-old is yet to make his debut for Al-Nassr after joining the side earlier this month for a jaw-dropping contract worth a reported £175million-a-year. Having missed two games through suspension from his time in the Premier League, Ronaldo is raring to go in Saudi Arabia. And his Instagram uploads show he’s loving being in the Middle East and his new teammates – particularly David Ospina.…

Marcus Rashford and Erling Haaland will be in the Manchester derby spotlight on Saturday as the pair go head to head at Old Trafford. Here we look at how the two strikers are shaping up as United host City in an eagerly-awaited Premier League clash. Rashford’s current form mirrors that of a United side rejuvenated under Erik ten Hag. United have chalked up eight successive wins and Rashford has built on his World Cup form for England, scoring in every game since his return from Qatar, with seven goals in six appearances. Haaland hit the ground running after his World Cup break as Norway…

The Spanish Football Federation have officially confirmed that the 2023 Spanish Supercup Final between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be played this Sunday at 20:00 CET, as initially expected. This one will be the second El Clasico of the 2022-2023 season and a decisive one as the winner will conquer the trophy. The Spanish Supercup has never been a priority for either club, but this match could very well carry a lot of momentum for the rest of the year. Madrid and Barcelona are set to fight for LaLiga title, so confidence and momentum could be huge for the next few weeks. Both teams…

Rio Ferdinand didn’t enjoy the last Manchester derby. No Manchester United fan did. City’s fans olé’d their way through the final 15 minutes as hat-trick scorers Erling Haaland and Phil Foden squabbled over who would take home the match ball. The post-Fergie era has been defined by sky blue success and red regret; never in the past decade has the chasm between the clubs appeared so vast. Yet it is a mark of United’s rapid progress under Erik ten Hag that, three months on from that Etihad embarrassment – described by the Dutchman as both a “reality check” and a “lesson” –…

Cristiano Ronaldo left his new Al-Nassr team-mate stunned after a spectacular display of athleticism. The 37-year-old icon joined the Saudi Arabian club earlier this month after being offered a whopping £175million-per-year deal. He has endured swathes of criticism both for his recent performances and behaviour at Manchester United – and then for Portugal at the World Cup. But as he approaches 38 next month, the iconic forward has showcased exactly why he still has ‘it’ and is now the highest-paid player of all time. The Portuguese superstar was snapped in training in a tweet posted by Al-Nassr’s official account. It showed the ex-Real Madrid…

Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick vs Man Utd earlier this season (Image: Getty) Manchester United must come up with Plan B against Erling Haaland if they are not to suffer a second derby day embarrassment according to Joleon Lescott. The Red Devils’ first attempt at nullifying the striker with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane getting physical proved a spectacular flop in the first meeting between the two Manchester side with Haaland smashing a hat-trick in a 6-3 rout in October. And former City centre half Lescott believes if they are avoid a repeat United manager Erik ten Hag has to come up with…

Rayo Vallecano defender Fran Garcia is reportedly edging closer to rejoining Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. According to Defensa Central, Fran Garcia has rejected a move to Real Betis. The 23-year-old Rayo Vallecano defender does not want to join the Andalusian club as he is closing in on rejoining Real Madrid in the summer transfer window. Fran Garcia is a graduate of Real Madrid’s famed La Fabrica academy. The Spanish defender joined Real Madrid nearly a decade ago before rising through the ranks at the club. But he could never establish a foothold at the Santiago Bernabeu and moved to Rayo…

Manchester United are edging towards completing their first signing of the January transfer window. Dutch striker Wout Weghorst has flown over to the UK to put pen to paper on a six-month loan with the Red Devils with an agreement having been struck with his parent club Burnley and his current employers Besiktas. Once he is officially announced, attention will very quickly turn to who could potentially follow him to Old Trafford. Dortmund issue Moukoko update Borussia Dortmund CEO, Hans-Joachim Watzke has reiterated his desire to keep United target Youssoufa Moukoko at the club with just six months remaining on his current contract with the…

An official poster for nominees for the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2022. /FIFA An official poster for nominees for the Best FIFA Men’s Player 2022. /FIFA After the only glaring omission on Lionel Messi’s illustrious CV was sensationally filled in at the end of last year when he led Argentina to the World Cup triumph, the debate about the 35-year-old’s superiority over eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo is finally settled. A nitpicker might insist that the Portuguese talisman still holds the lead over the Argentine maestro in some goal-scoring records and individual accolades. For instance, Ronaldo has been crowned the Best…