Ronaldo wants to leave (Image: 2022 Manchester United FC)/Photo Courtesy
Manchester United have received a €30million (£25million) offer from an unnamed club in Saudi Arabia for Cristiano Ronaldo, but the forward is set to reject the move.
The 37-year-old has been offered a two-year deal with the same club on a salary worth £2.24million a week, which would equate to £233million over the course of the contract.
But Ronaldo is minded to turn down the move as he wants to play in the Champions League next season, rather than leaving the European game for a mega-money contract offer.
The forward's future at United is in doubt after he expressed a desire to leave following their failure to qualify for the Champions League.
He had been linked with a move to Chelsea, but they have now distanced themselves from making a move for the forward and the uncertainty around his future has led a club in the Saudi Pro League to launch an audacious bid to sign him.
Ronaldo is yet to return to pre-season training at United as he deals with personal issues, with the club granting him a leave of absence.
United are currently in Melbourne on the second leg of their pre-season tour and it looks increasingly likely that Ronaldo won't join up with the squad while they are in Australia. They return to Manchester after the final game of the tour a week tomorrow. Manchester Evening News
As far as fate is concerned, what are the odds that a team finds itself in a David and Goliath affair having to prove that they have what it takes to conquer?
Well, ahead of the last Group C ties set for Sunday at the ongoing TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, the debuting Burundi find themselves between a rock and a hard place as they prepare to face the most successful team in women’s football on the African continent – Nigeria who have won nine titles.
On paper, many would like to think that they can predict the outcome except that the beautiful game has provided us with upsets over the years to learn from.
“We are going to play against a very experienced team at the WAFCON. We want to go into this game to correct our past mistakes in the two games that we have played so far and we hope to do well,” explained Falonne Nahimana, who turns out for Huddersfield TAFC in the UK.
About featuring at the biggest tournament for women’s football on the continent, Nahimana added that, “I am very grateful to the federation for giving me the opportunity to play for the Burundian team and tomorrow's match is a match of my dreams to play against a great team like Nigeria is a great opportunity. For us as players, we need to go and fight as a team and do it with respect for our country.”
For Gustave Niyonkuru’s side, this is a lifetime chance to announce their arrival at the big stage. The Swallows have played two games and lost both 4-2 to Botswana and 3-1 to South Africa but Nahimana believes that they have what it takes to make amends.
Meanwhile, Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum said that, “We want to build on the confidence that we got from winning our second game. When you go into the third group game, as the coaching staff, we start looking at who we want to play, who should rest.”
“Some of our players have played 90 minutes twice already and it is a long tournament. If you are fortunate enough to make it through six games, we have to be mindful so these are some of the challenges that we have. So we have to try and find that balance.”
This fixture will be played at the same time 2100hrs as South Africa vs Botswana with two places in the quarterfinals up for grabs for Nigeria, Botswana and Burundi. The two games will be live on SuperSport. - Confédération Africaine de Football
President Uhuru Kenyatta Flags off the WRC Safari Rally at Kasarani Stadium. Photo/PD/ALEX NJUE
President Uhuru Kenyatta today officially flagged off the 2021 World Rally Championship (WRC) Safari Rally Kenya at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre grounds.
President Kenyatta flagged off the first ten rally cars that included Kenya’s Mcrae Kimathi. From KICC, the cars will head to Kasarani for the Super Special Stage (SS1), which is the first stage of the competition, then head to Naivasha for an overnight stay.
On Friday morning, the cars will restart the competition and tackle the second stage (SS2) in Naivasha.
The event was also attended by Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Sports Amb. Amina Mohamed who hailed the iconic sporting event that has been ranked among the best in the World Rally series.
President Kenyatta commended the event organizers and all stakeholders for the hard work that ensured the resumption of the safari rally after a 19-year hiatus.
‘’We are proud to host this famous event. The event attracts millions of fans and is considered as one of the toughest events in the WRC series. The event unifies all walks of life in Kenya. The competition is not an enmity as it brings us all together,” President Kenyatta said.
"The rally contributes over Sh6 billion to our economy. Thanks to FIA for the support. Thanks to all the drivers and the best of competition.”
McRae Kimathi and Mwangi Kioni were the first to be flagged off followed by Maxine Wahome and Waigwa Murage. Sean Johnston and Alexander Kihurani were the first foreign crew to be flagged off by President Uhuru Kenyatta. The drivers then headed to Kasarani just after 2:00 pm and will later be heading to Naivasha where the main event is expected to take place from Friday morning.
Nine-time world champion Sebastien Loeb, returning to the Safari after 20 years, on Wednesday said although shorter, the Safari still looks the same.
There are two categories in this year’s Safari rally. The FIA category and the KNRC category
FIA category
Kalle Rovenpera/Jonne Halttunen (Toyota Yaris), Thierry Neuvilla/Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai), Takamoto Katsuta/Aaron Johnston (Toyota Yaris), Ott Tanak/Martin Jarveoja (Hyundai), Elfyn Evans/Scott Martin (Toyota Yaris), Craig Breen/Paul Nagle (Ford), Sébastien Loeb/Isabelle Galmiche (Ford), and Gus Greensmith/Jonas Andersson (Ford).
Others are Sébastien Ogier/Benjamin Veillas (Toyota Yaris), Oliver Solberg/Elliott EdmonDson (Hyundai), Andrien Fourmaux/Alexandre (Ford), Jourdan Serderidis/Frédéric Miclotte (Ford), Kajetan Kajetanowicz/Maciej Szczepaniak (Skoda), Martin Prokop/Zdeněk Jurka (Ford), Sean Johnston/Alexander Kihurani (Citroen), and Gaurav Gill/Gabriel Morales (Skoda Fabia).
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