David Moyes has taken the toughest job in world football replacing the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. The former Everton boss inherits a Premier League winning squad full of talent and a transfer kitty that he has never been used to at Goodison Park. With the aim for next season sure to be retaining the Premier League title, and putting a challenge in for the Champions League, smart moves in the transfer market are needed this summer.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Greatest XI - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson takes charge of his last ever game at the club against West Brom next Sunday, after over 26 years at Old Trafford.
Alex Ferguson and his grandchildren celebrating Manchester United's 20th title
Here is Alex Ferguson's all-time greatest XI in his time at Old Trafford:
GK Peter Schmeichel
Signed in 1991, Peter Schmeichel became one of the greatest 'keepers of all time by the end of his illustrious career.
Manchester United's future is bright but full of speculation - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
As managerial reigns go, few can hold a candle to Sir Alex Ferguson's time at Manchester United. In 26 and a half years, Sir Alex won 38 trophies, helped to develop numerous world-class stars like Roy Keane, Peter Schmiechel, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo, oversaw the rapid expansion of Old Trafford to its current 75,000-plus capacity and made us a team to be feared.
Manchester United's striker shortlist to replace wantaway Wayne Rooney - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney is reportedly eager to leave the newly crowned Premier League champions this summer, with the striker claimed to want a fresh start. Although the Red Devils are thought to want to keep the England international, a move abroad may well be on the cards.
The best Sir Alex Ferguson Quotes - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
From the famous (or infamous, depending on where your loyalties lie) knocking Liverpool off their perch to comparing Arsene Wenger with a 15-year-old boy, Sir Alex Ferguson has never shied away from speaking his mind it's a different story that he banned some of the journalists from his press conferences though.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Manchester United for Real Madrid almost four years ago. Speculation has been that this season will not only be Ronaldo's last in Madrid (who has two years left on his deal), but boss Jose Mourinho's as well.
PSG has been most commonly linked with a move for Ronaldo, but a recent report says that Manchester United mean business and are dedicated to getting their former Portuguese winger back to Old Trafford.
"Ma, it's Gareth. We're going to need a bigger cabinet"
Late last night, Tottenham talisman Gareth Bale won both PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Yearat the Grosvenor House Hotel, becoming only the third player ever to do, the other two being Andy Gray (1976/77) and Cristiano Ronaldo (2006/07).
Gareth Bale has become just the third man to be crowned PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in the same season. Bale picked up the two trophies tonight in an awards ceremony, and joins Andy Gray and Cristiano Ronaldo on the proud achievement.
Meanwhile in London, the Professional Footballers' Association named their PFA Team of the Year, which was:
De Gea (Manchester United), Zabaleta (Manchester City), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur), Baines (Everton), Hazard (Chelsea), Carrick (Manchester United), Mata (Chelsea), Bale (Tottenham Hotspur), Suarez (Liverpool), Van Persie (Manchester United)
What's your opinion about the PFA Team of the Year and whether there are any glaring omissions or players you feel that shouldn't have been selected?
Pop band One Direction appear to be making plans for careers in football when the bubble bursts on their music careers. After recently training with Newcastle, the group have now taken part in a Real Madrid training session. Jose Mourinho handed out personalised shirts to the lads, before they lined up in a wall to [.
An equally divided Santiago Bernabéu saw Los Rojiblancos celebrating at the end of a 125-minute match. A header at the 98th mark from Miranda allowed Atletico Madrid to come back to lift their tenth Copa Del Rey title.
Jose Mourinho's side was favored as Real Madrid had beaten Atletico twice this season in La Liga and manager Diego Pablo said in a press conference before facing Real that Los Blancos, "are better than us," but he also said that "in a game its different.
Real Madrid were understandably confident going into Friday's Copa del Rey final. Atletico Madrid had not beaten them in over a decade and Jose Mourinho had to win in order to avoid the first season of his top-flight career without a trophy. But then Mourinho was sent off. And so was Cristiano Ronaldo.
18.05.2013 -"El que busca la verdad escucha mi voz", respondió Jesús. Pilatos entonces dijo: "¿Qué es la verdad". SAN JUAN 18:38 Con goles de Diego Costa (´34) y Miranda (´98) Atlético Madrid venció (1-2) a Real Madrid (Cristiano Ronaldo ´14) en el Santiago Bernabeu y se consagró campeón de la Copa del Rey (12-13).
Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo were both sent off as Atletico Madrid beat Real Madrid for the first time since 1999 to win the Copa del Rey final 2-1 in extra time. Real Madrid fell victim to the woodwork and Atletico keeper Thibault Courtois, who made a couple of tremendous saves to thoroughly frustrate Real.
During this evening's Copa del Rey final, won by Atletico Madrid in extra time at the Bernabeu (big win, that one), Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo were both sent off. The latter was unjustified, though Cristiano probably could've been sent off for kicking Juanfran off the ball earlier, and there's no way to know what Jose actually said.
Paris Saint-Germain have been linked with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo for most of the season and they are preparing a mammoth offer for him with the hope of hijacking his move to back to Manchester United.
According to 'L'Equipe', PSG will offer Real Madrid €100m for the striker and that the French Champions will offer a salary that would make him the second best paid footballer in the world, only behind Samuel Et'oo.
Barcelona were crowned Spanish champions for the fourth time in five years after Real Madrid could only draw 1-1 with Espanyol on Sunday. The Catalans celebrated their success with a 2-1 win at third placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Atletico threatened to spoil Barca's party at the Vicente Calderon when they fell behind to Radamel Falcao's 28th goal of the season early in the second half.
Fabio Coentrao was not selected for the Real Madrid squad that faced Espanyol on Saturday, yet he still took a seat on the bench anyway. When his teammates who were supposed to be there caught on to his mistake, they had Iker Casillas inform him. Coentrao gave him a blank stare before laughing at his error.
Unsettled Ronaldo a long way from Manchester United - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Manchester United could well be looking to bolster their attack this summer with Wayne Rooney's future up in the air, and a dream move for all those concerned with the club would be the resigning of former star Cristiano Ronaldo.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep Manchester United out of the headlines in the last few days. Even before the dust has settled after Ferguson's retirement, United are already in the headlines in trying to bring one of their former stars back to Old Trafford. It has been four years since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is fair to say that the club has not forgotten the Portuguese.
Could Real Madrid's €100M Neymar deal send Ronaldo back to Manchester United? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Spanish daily newspaper Sport have reported that Real Madrid are set to rival Barcelona for the signature of Brazilian superstar Neymar this summer, and are willing to splurge a new world record transfer fee of €100 million for the Santos star.
Manchester United have been told they will have to include Javier Hernandez as part of any deal to bring Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford, according to The Sun. Real Madrid are reportedly so interested in the Mexico international that they will pursue a £25 million deal for him even if United's pursuit of Ronaldo [.
According to recent reports fromSky Sports, Real Madrid could be set for an English-inspired summer in the transfer market. After elimination from the Champions League at the hands of Germans Borussia Dortmund and a miserable domestic season which is seeing Barcelona run away with La Liga, there is ample speculation linking Cristiano Ronaldo, Jose Mourinho, and Tottenham's Gareth Bale with a summer merry-go-round.
Phil Jones played a blinder at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid and kept Cristiano Ronaldo relatively quiet. Having done a similar job against Gareth Bale too, United fans were looking forward to see what he could do in the return leg.
Unfortunately, Jones went flying in to a challenge against Reading in the Cup and ended up leaving the ground on crutches, ruling him out of the second leg.
Real Madrid attempt to achieve the impossible when they host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday in the second-leg match of the Champions League semifinals (2:45pm, Fox Soccer Channel).
Jose Mourinho's men are given a boost as talismanic midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo returned to training this week, giving them a legitimate chance to come back from the 4-1 scoreline suffered last Wednesday.
After a resounding 4-1 victory over the mighty Real Madrid in Germany last Wednesday, Borussia Dortmund will travel to Spain on Tuesday looking to advance to the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
The world sat stunned last week as Robert Lewandowski scored four goals in a rout of Real Madrid that nobody, surely including Dortmund players and fans, expected.
Real Madrid and Barcelona need miracles to make Champions League final - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
Spanish football has been at the top of the world game for the last number of games, but La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona were well and truly put to the sword in their Champions League semi-final first legs by a new rising force in European football Germany and the Bundesliga.
After a 1-4 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-final first leg, Real Madrid will look to come out of the gates in full-force this week at the Santiago Bernabeu. Both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich asserted their German dominance over the coveted Spanish counterparts of Madrid and Barcelona and will look to do so again in the second leg as well.
Patrice Evra has reiterated what we all knew, that Robin van Persie made the right decision in leaving Arsenal for United, and he has a league winners medal to prove it.
"People forget what he achieved for Arsenal," said Evra. "But he showed them that he hasn't made the wrong choice.
Real Sociedad are on the verge of making club history by earning a Champions League qualification spot for the first time in nine years after coming from behind to beat Valencia 4-2 at Anoeta last night. The last time the Basque side played in the elite competition was in 2003/04, where they scored 71 goals in total, and only five points separate it from fifth place Malaga at the moment.
Welcome to Los Chicas Chismes, your weekly footie gossip special! This week, The Rooneys attend a Beyoncé concert, Real Madrid's 86-year-old legend, Alfredo di Stefano, marries his 36-year-old secretary, Sylvie and Rafael van der Vaart's relationship drama hits insane proportions and Irina Shayk gets her model booker a gift from Cristiano Ronaldo!
Welcome to Offbeat Wednesday, your weekly gossip special! This week, a WAG putting up at a Manchester hotel experiences a nightmare situation, Ronaldo slams new allegations that are affecting his "personal life" with Irina Shayk and Edinson Cavani's divorce settlement.
After his team's unceremonious exit from the Champions League this week, Cristiano Ronaldo may be going through a crisis in his personal life as well.
Congratulations, Rafa. You have proven that you can win the Europa League with the reigning champions of Europe. This is as impressive as Cristiano Ronaldo winning a handsome competition held under a bridge. You did something that should happen. And now you want credit for it like a 15-year-old looking to be commended for not wetting the bed during sleep time.
Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba (which is partnered with Yahoo!) held their annual group wedding for employees, where 688 couples were married. All of the couples included at least one employee of the company and about 81 couples were both employees. But only one couple (we think) married with the groom wearing a Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid shirt and the bride in a Leo Messi Barcelona shirt.
Parke's injury not as bad as feared but Soumare looks set to start against Chicago on Saturday. On rotation and depth. Ansboro on stepping down as SoB prez. Moyes leaving Everton, expected to take over at Manchester United. More news.
When players are guilty of making poor challenges, it is usual that opposition players react by surrounding the referee. For example, when Vincent Kompany made a rash challenge on Nani during our FA Cup clash against City last season, Wayne Rooney ran straight to referee Chris Foy.
"Funny how people think I got Kompany sent off," Rooney said afterwards.
Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale became only the third player to be named the Professional Footballers' Association Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year. Andy Gray in 1976-77 and Cristiano Ronaldo six years ago were the other two.
Bale has been brilliant for Spurs this season, playing with a lot more freedom under AVB.
