Antonio Valencia coming to Old Trafford very soon?

Red Devils to sign the Ecuadorian winger Valencia soon?
Here's a video about Antonio Valencia:

As we can see, Antonio Valencia can make some beautiful crosses. He made a similar cross like David Beckham in the video, what a beautiful cross it is. Okay, he may not be as good as Ribery, Kaka, Ronaldo or Benzema but look, he is only 23 years old and the transfer fee is reasonable, 16 millon. Why should we buy Ribery which costs us around 60million pounds and he is 26 years old? United rarely plump for established superstars too(Berbatov was the exception in recent years), instead preferring to cast the net at an earlier age. It is a tactic that is so often reaped benefits for the club, largely because younger players find it easier to adapt to a new playing style and are eager to soak up the experience from United’s older heads. Valencia was also one of the best players at the JJB in the past two seasons and he has the experience in England which Benzema and Ribery don't, not all players can adapt well into the Premier League

News about the transfer:
Antonio Valencia flew in last night to complete his dream £16million move to Manchester United - and end Sir Alex Ferguson's wait for a first signing of the summer. Ecuadorian ace Valencia cut short a break back in his homeland to make the trip and will have a medical at Old Trafford today while his contract details are sorted out. Valencia has been holding out for a move to United for five months since Fergie first showed his hand and tried to buy him from Latics in the last window. Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were given the brush-off by Valencia and his camp because he wants to make the trip along the M62 and join the champions as Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement. It is a dream move for Valencia who can expect to quadruple his wages and sign a deal worth around £75,000-a-week.
Source : Alan Nixon, Daily Mirror

They came from Serbia...

Stars in the making !
Serbs signing keen to follow example of Reds' successful yongsters

Ever mindful of the need to plan for the future as well as the present, the Reds announced the capture of Serbian duo, Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic from Partizan Belgrade in January.

The pair may have been relative unknown to most football fans , but the youngsters were already familiar names at Carrington, thanks to almost two years of extensive research by the club's scouts.


Name : Zoran Tosic
Age : 22
Position : Left Winger
Zoran Tosic is a good free-kick taker, and could replace our wing wizard Ryan Giggs in the future.


Name : Adem Ljajic
Age : 17
Position : Attacking midfielder
Well honestly, I dont know much about him but a lot of people said that he is far better than Zoran Tosic and could be the next Kaka.


Here's an interview with Zoran Tosic and Adem Ljajic: (Source : One United booklet)
How excited are you to be part of this great club?
Adem : I feel very happy. Everyone at the club has made me feel very welcome and I've really enjoyed training with the first team. Im looking forward to join in January.
Tosic : I've been a fan since I was five. I keep playing that night in Barcelona when they won thee Treble back in my mind. I liked United before that, but that was a decisive moment. I said to myself then :"You will play in Manchester"

What have you learned from the other players so far?
Adem : I am a big admirer of them and I learn things in every training session. I try to copy what they do and I hope I can keep improving.
Tosic : I am learninng every day and I hope United can count on me very soon. I will continue to work hard because I want to become a top player and not waste the opportunity of being a member of the greatest football family.

How much has it helped having fellow countryman Nemanja Vidic at the club?
Adem : It's been great. I have spent a lot of time with both Nemanja and Zoran whenever I have been in Manchester and they both shown me around.
Tosic : Vida told us what a great place United was before we joined, but both Adem and I knew what an amazing club it was and we both feel very proud to have signed.

Sir Alex has always put a lot of faith in the club's young players. Is he one of the major reasons why you joined?
Adem : Yes, he is a great manager. I was excited to meet him. Vida had to translate for us, but we had a good discussion. I'm looking forward to work with him.
Tosic : We saw the way he brought Giggsy, Beckham, Scholesy and Gary into the team and helped them develop. We hope he'll do the same with us and help us improve

Conclusion : The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't mean that Manchester United will rot in the future. The Red Devils still have some rising stars and potential stars like Tosic, Adem, Macheda, Welbeck, Rafael, Fabio and Evans. Maybe one or two signings will do for Man United but seriously, I think Manchester United wont buy Frank Ribery in the summer. I also think that Karim Benzema will be a Red Devil soon and he's only 21 years old at the moment. Its time for Manchester United to be an 11-men team, no longer dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo

Carlos Tevez departing from Old Trafford

Carlos Tevez leaving Manchester United


It is extremely sad to see one of our best players to quit Old Trafford this summer... For the past two seasons, Carlos Tevez contributed a lot to the club and will be remembered forever. From my point of view, I think Carlos Tevez is also the most hardworking player at Manchester United but was known as "running around like a headless chicken". His goals are vital throughout the season. Without his goals, we might not be Premier League champions and back to back Champions League finalists.

Video (Carlos Tevez, farewell):





Carlos was at his best for the Reds when tucked just in behind the main striker, although he also had the pace to play on the shoulder of the last man. Covering an awful lot of ground, his constant harassment of defenders often forced errors. Games against Villa and Spurs at Old Trafford, Carlos Tevez proved his worth from trying to get the ball back from a Villa player with his head and overcoming a two-goal deficit from Spurs to emerge 5-2 winners against Spurs, his contribution in both games was priceless.

Thank you Carlos Tevez for all the contributions! You will be remembered forever. It was Manchester United that caused him quit the club as they did not make an effort to sign him before his loan-spell ends. Carlos Tevez will be remembered forever while Cristiano Ronaldo will be hated forever. Adios, Carlos !


Two Seasons of Tevez:
Season 2008/09:
Appearances: 51 (34 starts, 17 subs)
Goals: 15
Honours: Barclays Premier League, FIFA Club World Cup, Carling Cup, FA Community Shield


Season 2007/08:
Appearances: 48 (39 starts, 9 subs)
Goals: 19
Honours: Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo : I don't care if the fans hate me !

CRISTIANO RONALDO stuck two fingers up at his critics and insisted he doesn't care if his mega move makes him a hate figure.

Many Manchester United fans say they are glad to see the back of the Portugal winger. But Ronaldo remains defiant after his world-record £80million switch to Real Madrid.

He said: "I love it when people jeer me. I love to see the hate in their eyes, to hear the insults. It doesn't bother me. It's true lots of people hate me but there are even more who love me and who support me. I feel bad only when I play badly. Fortunately, that happens rarely."

The winger, 24, grabbed heaps of silverware during his time at Old Trafford but added: "I still have a long way to go. I really want to re-write the history of football.

"I am aware I'm already among the best of the best but I want to continue to write many more beautiful pages."

In an interview which will appear in French magazine So Foot this month, Ronaldo claims he is capable of eclipsing even the classiest of rivals, like Barcelona wizard Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo added: "I have nothing to envy Lionel for. I don't compare myself to others. I am Cristiano Ronaldo - and I can win more medals than anybody else. I don't like to relax. The fans want to see a great Cristiano Ronaldo so I try to never disappoint."

Ronaldo could return to Old Trafford in next season's Champions League group stages. Real's modest recent record in the competition sees them provisionally seeded as only the ELEVENTH-BEST side in Europe.

But Real president Florentino Perez will aim for an instant turn-around in fortunes, especially as next year's final is at the Bernabeu.
(Source : newsoftheworld.co.uk)


Wilkins: I rather have Rooney : http://espnstar.com/football/premier-league/news/detail/item281984/Wilkins:-I-rather-have-Rooney/

Goodbye , Spoilt Cristiano Ronaldo (Part 2)

About Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer (some information and comments):

Additional video: http://espnstar.com/media-player/?goTo=http://publish.vx.roo.com/espnstar/flashmain/?vxSiteId=1458d2e1-b8e3-4d73-8b76-e8420617f8b8&vxChannel=English%20Football&vxClipId=2168_ESSFEF_110609ronaldo&vxBitrate=300

CRISTIANO RONALDO: TRUTH BEHIND MOVE
United players were happy to see him go
SIR ALEX FERGUSON might have had the final say - but the whispers from the dressing room were becoming hard to ignore.

Cristiano Ronaldo is leaving - but he won't be lamented. Twelve months ago, when Real Madrid first came calling, Ronaldo was inundated with text messages from senior Manchester United players - urging him to stay. This time, there have been none.

Ronaldo had grown apart from his team-mates, Ferguson had sensed it - and that is why the Old Trafford manager was happy to take Real Madrid's £80million.

On the training ground, they were tiring of his tantrums. On the pitch, they were fed up of his selfishness and it culminated in fury from senior players after Ronaldo tried to single-handedly beat Barcelona in the Champions League final last month.

A United insider told the News of the World: "To many, that was the final straw and showed what he had become. "Wayne Rooney had to change position three times to accommodate Ronaldo. The experienced players in the squad had seen it coming and weren't happy about it.
"Ronaldo had been getting more and more temperamental in training and the others were getting fed up with him. They knew his mind was elsewhere and they thought he was becoming a distraction.

"The senior guys couldn't believe it when he threw the tantrum during the Manchester City game." That tantrum came after an hour of the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on May 10. Ronaldo had fired United ahead with a trademark free-kick and after Carlos Tevez made the points safe on the stroke of half-time, Ferguson decided his Portuguese star would benefit from a rest ahead of the crucial Premier League trip to Wigan three days later.

That decision sparked a furious reaction from Ronaldo - who shook his head in disbelief when he realised his number was up.The winger snatched his training top aggressively and sat on the bench, mouthing his disgust.

Publicly at least, Ferguson brushed aside the incident, witnessed by millions on TV, insisting: "He wanted to stay on. He is in great form. But I've got to look at the big picture. I've got to think about keeping our players as fresh as we can for the games ahead."

Privately, though, there is no doubt Ferguson and many of Ronaldo's United team-mates were irked by the petulant show of defiance.

And as Ronaldo hogged more and more of the limelight, there was increasing sympathy for Rooney - a player, unlike his departing team-mate, who is liked by everyone at Old Trafford and at the club's Carrington training complex

The England striker was always the one forced to make a positional sacrifice and, towards the end of the season, grew frustrated at being edged out towards the left flank. His annoyance with Ronaldo during the Champions League final in Rome was plain to see.

The departure of Ronaldo should see Rooney play more in his favoured position - the second striker role he has filled so spectacularly for England and it will also mean the way is clear for Rooney to be rewarded for his unstinting commitment by being handed a new contract and being made the highest-paid player at Old Trafford.

Rooney, 23, has two years left on his current £100,000-a-week deal but United will open negotiations with his advisers later this summer. And that will lead to a new, six-year deal which will start at a basic £125,000-a-week and rise sharply.

The United insider explained: "Ferguson has always said that if he had to lose either Ronaldo or Rooney, it would be Ronaldo every time. Rooney is the future of United and everyone there knows they can count on his loyalty and his team ethic."

Rooney, of course, was involved in the infamous incident in Gelsenkirchen at the 2006 World Cup which saw Ronaldo winking as the England striker was sent off as Sven Goran Eriksson's team crashed out on penalties. Although Ronaldo was forgiven, the moment was never forgotten.
United, meanwhile are facing a £2.5m scrap with Sporting Lisbon over Ronaldo's switch to the Bernabeu. The Portuguese club are set to slap in a claim to United for "development costs" during Ronaldo's time at Sporting. They reckon they are entitled to cash from the sensational £80m which will be heading into the Old Trafford coffers.

A Lisbon source said: "Sporting spent a lot of time and money on Ronaldo during his formative years and they feel they are entitled to some compensation."

Real's new president Florentino Perez made Ronaldo his second megabucks capture of the summer after signing Brazil playmaker Kaka from AC Milan for what - for a few days, at least - was then a new world record fee of £62m.

But Spanish sources claim the man who invented the galactico ethos is expected to tie up a £35m deal to sign Valencia's Spanish international striker David Villa this week - making the Spanish international the third high-profile Bernabeu deal inside a fortnight.

But there will certainly be no tears shed around Old Trafford at Ronaldo's imminent departure. And the mood of the players is best summed up by Nemanja Vidic, who was asked about Ronaldo's future before it was confirmed he was heading off.

Vidic declared: "It is not a situation I know anything about but what I will say is that I and the players have total trust in the manager. The fans have seen him over the years lose players and build new teams - but never has he lost that winning mentality.

"No matter who has gone, the manager has continued to be successful. It is the only way he knows. He has lost major players over the last 10 years but he has proved that no player is ever bigger than the club."

. . . And from what a lot of the players saw, Cristiano Ronaldo had begun to think he was just that. (Source : newsoftheworld.co.uk)

FINGER POINTS - Sir Alex Ferguson (bottom right) makes his point to Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the Champions League Final

IF LOOKS COULD KILL - Dimitar Berbatov (right) looks at Cristiano Ronaldo during the Champions League Final

Rooney more important than Ronaldo : http://espnstar.com/football/premier-league/news/detail/item281461/Roo-more-important-than-Ronaldo/

Goodbye, Spoilt Cristiano Ronaldo !

Record Ronaldo bid accepted by Manchester United
At the request of Cristiano - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

"Bye Ronaldo! We dont need you!! We lost Becks, Cantona, Yorke, and Cole... But we still keep winning...... Hope you feel the same like Beckham, Owen, Woodgate, Gravesen, and others.. Remember, "Manchester United and Sir Alex build your career".. Shame of you! Booooooo!"
This was one of the United fan's reaction at the Official Manchester United forums. I agree with that. Without Manchester United, Ronaldo wont be the world best player today...

Some quotes from the newspaper at UK:
"The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo can be the making of Wayne Rooney. Rooney has become a frustrated figure at Manchester United, having been pushed wide left to accommodate Ronaldo. That was never more apparent than in the Champions League final defeat by Barcelona when Ronaldo played for himself and Rooney was left throwing his arms around in despair. The central danger area should be Rooney territory, as he has proved by his brilliant goalscoring run - 10 in his last seven games - for England. Coach Fabio Capello revealed he has got the best out of Rooney by telling him to play in the middle where goals are scored. Simple, yes, but amazingly effective." Shaun Custis, The Sun

"Think of United and many special images blur into one: the history, the ground, the support, the glimpse of Sir Alex Ferguson in the dugout, Sir Bobby Charlton in the directors’ box and the statue of Sir Matt Busby standing proudly outside. All these sights and sounds form the emotional force-field that is Manchester United. No player can ever dream of being bigger than that. No chance. Yet Ronaldo acted during last month’s Champions League final as if marching solely to his own beat, not Ferguson’s, not his team-mates’. It is time for United to be an 11-man team again. Thanks for the memories, Cristiano, and let’s all move on." Henry Winter, Daily Telegraph

"It might have been hard to like Ronaldo but it was harder still not to admire him. Even if Ferguson is allowed to invest all the £80m from his sale in the purchase of new players, United will be a poorer team without Ronaldo. The sad thing is that Ronaldo will almost certainly be a poorer player without United, too. At Old Trafford, he had men like Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez who would run themselves into the ground for the team and leave the glory to him. Despite that, he has agitated for a move to Madrid like a little boy tugging at his mummy’s sleeve, whining and whimpering until he gets what he wants." Oliver Holt, Daily Mirror

"The northern sky is dimmer with Ronaldo's proposed £80m move from Manchester United to Real Madrid, but broken hearts are fewer than expected. About the only prize not claimed by the Fifa World Player of the Year in his six years in England was the adoration of the wider public, who loved his skills but not his ways." Paul Hayward, The Guardian

"Such is the ability of Ferguson to rebuild that even on the day he seems about to lose the world’s best player, he has never been in a stronger position. The sale of Cristiano Ronaldo may mark the end of yet another era but the arrival in his place of Franck Ribery – Ferguson’s most likely target as a replacement – will inevitably usher in another. It is like something out of Doctor Who, and this will be the biggest budget series yet. Bryan Robson became Eric Cantona. David Beckham regenerated as Ronaldo. Each wore the famous No7 shirt, each played the role differently with his own supporting cast." Matthew Dunn, Daily Express
(Source : manutd.com)
Conclusion : Cristiano Ronaldo = Who?

Video about the spoilt Cristiano Ronaldo:

Q&A about Ronaldos transfer by Ian Griffiths and Kelvin Leong
(Source : espnstar)
What now for Man United?
Kel: Don't panic United fans! Ferguson seldom makes decisions without a backup plan.
If my guess is right, United probably have got a replacement lined up already. And the man in question is Franck Ribery.
Fergie has long been an admirer of the French maestro who is an ideal sort of player for the Red Devils. He has the speed, guile and tenacity to fit into United's attacking gameplan with ease.
And with 80 million pounds in the bag, the Old Trafford head honcho could very well get the two players he has courted for the past few seasons. Karim Benzema and Ribery. Au revoir!

Ian: Don't panic United fans indeed! You Red Devils should be running for cover as this must be one of the darkest days in the club's transfer history. Losing someone of Ronaldo's class will be a major blow to Fergie's men and I would already say that they will not win the Premier League next season. No matter who United sign, they will need time to fit in and time is one thing you just don't have in England's top-flight. United will finish third or fourth if they are lucky.

Has Ronaldo betrayed Sir Alex and the Red Devils?
Kel: In this modern day and age, loyalty is almost extinct. The days of a Ryan Giggs or a Paolo Maldini have long gone.
Ronaldo has never for one second of his life pledged any form of loyalty to the United flag. From the start, he stated his desire to win titles in the three biggest European leagues namely, Serie A, La Liga and Premier League.
How can it be a betrayal when United are making a seven fold return in investment? This is a good piece of business.
His heart no longer bleeds the red of United. Let him pale in the shadows of Madrid's white.

Ian: Absolutely. Throughout this transfer saga, Ronaldo has gone on record to say that he was happy to stay at Old Trafford - what nonsense.
The guy clearly never wanted to remain in Manchester and always wanted a move to Real. Ronaldo is the archetypal modern day footballer - greedy and egotistical. I doubt Cristiano even knows what loyalty is. What a disgrace!

Which club benefited more from the Ronaldo transfer?
Kel: Definitely United. Now the club can start planning for the future. The deal has been concluded so early into the summer simply because Fergie wants a peace of mind and continue with his business. No player is bigger than a club.
I feel Madrid could very well be heading for disaster with the signing of Kaka and Ronaldo. Both players are superstars in their own right and both will want time and space on the ball. Kaka has shown that he can be a team player at AC Milan but Ronaldo's penchant for wanting everything his way could send Madrid into chaos.

Ian: Real by a mile. Kaka was a superb deal for them, but Ronaldo has outdone the Brazilian. Cristiano was the key piece in Real's summer jigsaw puzzle and will help take them back to the top of Spanish and European football.
I'm not convinced United can match Ronaldo's quality when they look around Europe in their hunt for new players.


Cristiano Ronaldo Factfile: (Bad ones)
2005 October 19 - Arrested and questioned by police after an allegation of rape at a London hotel is made against him. Ronaldo asserts his innocence. No charges are brought.

2006: July 1 Protests to referee Horacio Elizondo after United team-mate Wayne Rooney clashes with Ricardo Carvalho in the World Cup quarter-final between Portugal and England. Rooney is sent off and television pictures catch Ronaldo winking towards the bench. Scores the winning penalty in the shoot-out to knock out England

November 30 - Sent off for two yellow cards in the Manchester derby, the second caution coming after a bizarre handball incident.

2009: January 8 - Escapes uninjured after writing off his Ferrari sports car by crashing into a roadside barrier under a tunnel near Manchester Airport on his way to training.

Reaction from Barcelona:
Barcelona finance director Xavier Sala i Martin is bewildered as to how Real Madrid are funding their summer spending spree.

With a reported transfer budget of 300million euros at their disposal, Madrid president Florentino Perez has this week set about creating a second 'galacticos' era.

The Spanish giants today had a world-record bid of £80million for Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo accepted by Manchester United, hot on the heels of Monday's 68million euros acquisition of Brazil playmaker Kaka from AC Milan.

And Sala i Martin, whose team finished nine points clear of Madrid at the Primera Division summit last month, is puzzled by how the purchases are being financed.

He told Radio Station RAC1: "I don't know where the 300million euros that Florentino Perez expects to invest on signings are coming from.

"He says he will recover that money by selling shirts but, in order to do that, he will have to sell 30million shirts, that is impossible."

Sala i Martin is stunned Madrid are able to spend so much money in such a difficult economic climate.

He added: "I guess someone will have to give him that money and it would be good for him to explain where it will come from.

"How can it be that a football team is loaned so much money, considering the current financial crisis in the country and the policy of restricting credits that banks are currently following? I can assure you that we will not pay 65million euros for a player."

"For that amount we would buy the whole Barcelona team that won the Champions League in Rome." (Source : http://www.espnstar.com/)

• Barcelona can use that 80million pounds to buy the whole Barcelona Team
• Where did Real Madrid's huge amount of money come from?
• Can't Real Madrid develop their own youngsters?

The end for Liverpool?

These are dark times for Liverpool Football Club and their long-suffering, hopelessly devoted, hopelessly romantic band of supporters.

Without a trophy to celebrate in three years, Liverpool fans are now faced with the possibility their storied club could disappear from the face of the Earth altogether.

The news came just days after the most successful club in top-flight history missed out on Gareth Barry - who went to a club with more ambition in Manchester City.

It comes on the back of a Premier League season that saw Liverpool stumble like a startled goat from the summit and hand bitter rivals Manchester United yet another title.

And it comes in the wake of a second successive Champions League campaign that ended at the hands of nouveau-riche pretenders Chelsea. That has to hurt.

Is it just Early Doors, or does the miracle of Istanbul suddenly seem a very long time ago?
Isn't it ironic that the team who fought back so valiantly against the mighty Milan in 2005, could ultimately be humbled by a pen-pushing team of accountants.

But it seems Liverpool's ego has been writing cheques the club can't cash. And just as money is the ladder to glory in the Premier League, lack of it is a snake to relegation...or worse.
Liverpool's debt has reportedly doubled to £86 million and Kop Holdings Ltd has a net debt of £299.5m. (ED suspects Steven Gerrard's collection of duck houses and Jamie Carragher's moat made an impression on those figures)

But ED is not one for numbers. It was this statement from KMPG that got the papers' attention: "(There is a) material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt upon the group's ability to continue as a going concern."

Meanwhile, owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks have about six weeks to refinance their £350m debt.

All of which cannot bode well for Liverpool's dalliances in the transfer market this summer - which have already ended in failure on Barry and probably seen them miss out on Glen Johnson to Chelsea. Gary Neville may be available though, and Liverpool fans could surely learn to love him.

ED is not among the frenzied fools who actually expect the club to fold. Liverpool's global pulling power is such that there will always be somebody, somewhere, willing to bail them out.
The real problem now is in the short term. With their transparent financial shortcomings, Liverpool will surely struggle to lure top-class players to Anfield.

And if the club stand still while those around strengthen, Liverpool face the possibility they could slip further from grace, miss out on those coveted Champions League spots, and lose even more money in the process.

All of which will be sweetened by the success story that is Everton. And probably another title for United.

(Source : http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/early-doors/article/173941/)





"We will go to Anfield next season with 18"