Bruno Fernandes has said that Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo asks him about Manchester United.

Fernandes and Ronaldo are teammates for the Portugal national football team.

Ronaldo was on the books of United from 2003 until 2009 when he moved to Spanish and European giants Real Madrid.

The 35-year-old was hugely successful during his time in Spain, and for the past two seasons, he has starred for a Juventus team who have won Serie A titles.

Fernandes joined United from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window, and he has said that Ronaldo still talks about the Red Devils.

“Of course, I spoke with Cristiano after and he spoke very well about the club. I spoke with him some days ago, again.

Every time I speak with him, he asks …

Manchester United have secured the arrival of Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley until the end of the season.

Weghorst had been playing for Besiktas, but United have taken over that arrangement, with the Turkish club confirming they received €2.8million (£2.48m) for the inconvenience.

Erik ten Hag was in the market for a new striker following the acrimonious split with Cristiano Ronaldo, whose contract was terminated in November after he criticised the manager and club in a controversial interview.

The United boss was open about his desire to bring in attacking reinforcements and seemed to confirm the club s interest in Weghorst when acknowledging Anthony Martial could not handle the physical demands of being their only striker.

Lin…

Celtic were again tormented by Lukas Julis in another 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague as they crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday.

Neil Lennon s Bhoys had lost by the same scoreline at home to Sparta earlier in the month and Odsonne Edouard s opener in the away fixture provided only a brief moment of respite before the hosts responded.

Dismal defensive lapses allowed David Hancko and Julis the hat-trick hero in Scotland scoring twice this time to prematurely end this year s European adventure.

And Sparta substitute Srdan Plavsic added the final flourish in the closing seconds.

full-time.

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)

The brutal conclusion was at odds with an encouraging Celtic start which saw Edouard lead a brilliant br…

Aston Villa made a statement with their unreal victory over European heavyweights Bayern Munich, according to Emiliano Martinez.

Villa won 1-0 on Wednesday to make it two victories from two games in the Champions League, as they claimed their second triumph over Bayern from as many meetings, with their previous success against them having come by the same scoreline in the 1982 European Cup final.

The German giants dominated possession and accrued 1.42 expected goals (xG) to Villa s 0.4, but the only stat that mattered at Villa Park was the scoreline.

Substitute Jhon Duran was the hero as he scooped a brilliant finish over Manuel Neuer from outside the box in the 79th minute, with Martinez subsequently pulling off a string of fine stops to deny Bayern an equaliser…

There has been plenty of uncertainty around the future of Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez, but the 33-year-old has finally come out to confirm he would be staying at the Santiago Bernabeu past this summer, despite receiving offers from elsewhere. His new 12-month contract is expected to be signed in the coming days. Further more, he will reportedly be named as club captain, following the departure of Karim Benzema.

Nacho is yet to put on a shirt of another club. He was a product of the Real Madrid academy, having gone through every level of their youth ranks to earn first-team promotion from the Castilla side in 2012. Since then, he s gone on to make a total of 319 appearances in the famous white shirt, scoring 16 goals.

Though rarely a member of the starting XI wh…

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.

The 28-year-old Spain international, who joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, is contracted at the Bernabeu until June next year.

Real needed a new keeper after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.

A statement on Real’s official website said: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed on the loan of the player Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is linked to the club this season, until June 30, 2024.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)

“In his five seasons at Chelsea, he has won one Champions League, one Club World Cup, one European Super Cup and one Europa League.<…

Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has put his failure to land a Ballon d Or award down to not fitting the Mr Perfect mould of perennial winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Despite registering over 500 club goals for the likes of Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, Ibrahimovic has never finished in the top three of the voting for the prestigious individual prize.

The Sweden international s highest finish came in 2013 when claiming fourth place behind Franck Ribery, Messi and Ronaldo, the latter two having taken the award 12 times between them (Messi 7, Ronaldo 5).

Indeed, only Luka Modric in 2018 – after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and playing a starring role in Croatia s run to the World Cup fin…

Kai Havertz may have scored the winning goal in a Champions League final but his late header to seal victory over Brentford and send Arsenal top of the Premier League was also a “dream” moment for the forward.

With title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City facing off 24 hours later, any victory for Arsenal would have taken them to the summit for the first time in 2024.

It looked like they were on course to miss out after returning goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale gifted a goal to Yoane Wissa to cancel out a brilliant Declan Rice header, only for Havertz to convert with four minutes remaining and secure a 2-1 victory.

After a slow start following his summer move from Chelsea, where he netted the only goal of the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City, H…

Defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has signed a new deal with Arsenal.

The Japanese star joined the Gunners in August 2021 from Serie A side Bologna and has made 73 appearances in all competitions.

The PA news agency understands Tomiyasu’s new contract is for two years, with the option of a further 12 months.

Manager Mikel Arteta said: “We are so pleased to have Tomi commit his future with us. Together with his natural ability and strength, Tomi’s attitude, mentality and values are first class.

“Tomi is loved by everyone and has been an integral part of the squad since joining us. The way he trains, with his desire and determination to be the best version of himself every day, is admirable. We look forward to continue working with Tomi in the future years…

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With an AFCON final spot hanging in the balance on Wednesday evening, Nigeria will meet South Africa at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake.

Nigeria

Starting with Nigeria, watching a host of African icons shockingly crashing out at the group stage last month, the Super Eagles are certainly smelling the chance to make more AFCON history. Collecting seven points from their three Group A appearances, Jose Peseiro’s men have quickly gained a reputation for their pragmatic approach. Making a statement on January 27th as they punched their quarter-final ticket thanks to a 2-0 victory against historic rials Cameroon, the mood in Niergia’s camp should be at a real high. Suffering just a single defeat from any of their previous 13 straight appe…