Ex-Liverpool star admits he was "very close" to record Man Utd transfer

Rio Ferdinand has revealed that Manchester United's failed pursuit of Karim Benzema is Sir Alex Ferguson's biggest regret at United.Benzema was at his brilliant best at Stamford Bridge in Chelsea and Real Madrid's quarter-final clash in the Champions League. And speaking ahead of their second leg at the Bernabeu, Ferdinand revealed how close United came to landing the Frenchman.The former Red Devils centre-back told the BT Sport studio: "I remember coming off the pitch and Sir Alex Ferguson said don’t worry, I’m trying to get him.

Sir Alex Ferguson's former Manchester United assistant manager has stepped down from his role as Egypt boss after their World Cup play-off defeat.Carlos Queiroz had two spells as Ferguson's number two during the 2000s before moving into international management, most recently as manager of the Egyptian national team. However, he has now left his role after seven months in charge following last months defeat to Senegal in their crucial World Cup play-off.The Portuguese boss confirmed his departure in a tweet on Monday, just over two months after taking Egypt to the final of this year's Africa Cup of Nations.In his tweet, the 69-year-old said: “To all the Egyptian fans, our supporters, my friendly and magical staff dream team and to my wonderful players.“Every new beginning that starts with one painful farewell means that our hearts are full of gratitude, respect, and friendship.

Manchester United appear to finally be closing in on their new manager after a hunt that arguably began when Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s name having been in the ring for years, it seems increasingly likely that the man who will ultimately take the job will be Ajax manager Erik ten Hag.Since Ferguson bowed out, bringing an end to the glory years of English football’s most successful club, United has burned through seven managers.Ten Hag is reportedly not completely convinced by the possibility of taking the job with many major issues that need to be addressed within the squad.But who is ten Hag and what has led him to the position where he could be about to embark on one of the most high-pressure management jobs in football?Erik ten Hag is a professional football manager and former player from the east of the Netherlands.He’s from a rich family and has never needed the financial injection of the big jobs in management having come from a wealthy background. His family own a real-estate company and several other financial firms.His father reportedly wanted Erik to go into the family business, but his natural talent as a footballer saw him go down a different path.He played 336 senior league games, 221of which were for FC Twente, where he retired from in 2002.In that time he scored 15 league goals, his playing career also including stints at Utrecht, RKC Waalwijk and two other spells at Twente.Erik ten Hag has constructed a good managerial record.

Manchester City.The Hungarian admitted that in 2008 while at Tottenham he had a choice of the two clubs in Manchester - but that his intermediary’s choice of going to City really irked him. The former striker, 41, has claimed that he did not want to move to the Citizens, but instead be working under Sir Alex Ferguson and playing for the United ‘badge’.Speaking to the Athletic on video, he said: “It was a true story because I can be really direct when I want to be, and as I said before, I follow my own path and along the way of course there will be people who are disappointed in my decision, like the Spurs fans were when I decided to go and follow my dream.“But then getting close to that dream we get that call from City giving their proposition to my agent.

Former Manchester United academy defender Reece Brown has admitted that current Newcastle United and former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe wanted to sign him.

Manchester United legend Nemanja Vidic has named the defender he believes to be the best centre-back in the world.

Manchester United to drop Harry Maguire due to the defender’s poor form.Maguire once again faced huge criticism following his performance in the 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday. The £80million centre-back had the cruel luck of Anthony Gordon’s strike deflecting off him and going in beyond goalkeeper David de Gea for the goal.And with Maguire’s form at an all-time low after several high-profile mistakes this season, club legend Vidic believes the England star would benefit from being kept out of the limelight for a period.

Manchester United away end at Goodison Park on Saturday appears to show only Jadon Sancho acknowledged the travelling support.The rest of the United players and staff appeared to ignore their fans as they trudged off the pitch and down the tunnel following their loss to Everton. United were beaten 1-0 by the Toffees, with Anthony Gordon's deflected first half strike the difference between the clubs on a disappointing afternoon for the Red Devils.Their fans' frustrations were intensified at full-time as they were blanked by the club's stars, leading to an angry reaction from supporters on social media.Footage from the away end was uploaded to Twitter after the match, showing the away end as the players left the field.Fans can be seen looking shocked at the players' decision not to applaud them, with several shouting expletives in their direction, whilst a flare was also thrown onto the pitch.The fan who uploaded the video captioned their tweet: “Not one barring Sancho applauding the away fans disgrace after that shambles WOW!”Another fan added: “Sell them all, arguably the worst and most toxic squad in this club's history.

Jamie Carragher opened a huge can of worms when he said that the Liverpool-Manchester City rivalry is the greatest we have ever seen.While linking to his piece in The Telegraph, the Sky Sports pundit wrote: “ This @ManCity and @LFC rivalry is the best we’ve ever had in English football!! We’ve never had the two best teams & managers in the world together fighting it out.” Many were up in arms over the summary, claiming that the bitter battles of yesteryear undoubtedly trump that current feud between this season’s title challengers.Here, Daily Star Sport will run you through what we believe to be the best rivalries ever to take place in the Premier League, in order of weakest to fiercest.Kevin Keegan took Newcastle from promotion to almost immediate title contenders in 1994.The Magpies, now known as the Entertainers, were in inches of winning the Premier League title, being 15 points clear at Christmas during the 1995-96 season.But it wasn’t to be as the Sir Alex Ferguson mind games proved too strong and the Red Devils carried on their dominance in the league, snatching the title away from the underdogs.Do you agree with our list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.Just as the rivalry between Ferguson and Arsene Wenger seemed to die down, one Jose Mourinho entered the fray.After winning the Premier League in his first season with Chelsea, Ferguson found himself another boss to go head-to-head with.The jury’s out on who pipped who between these two, though, with both sharing a trophy-laden period. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp have been the top brass in English football for the past several years.

David Moyes has reflected on his time as Manchester United manager while sending a message to the Old Trafford hierarchy over their next appointment. Moyes was selected to replace Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013 but he only lasted 10 months at United.

Manchester United fan who asked him to purchase the Red Devils. Replying to a tweet from Reynolds, one cheeky United fan popped the question: "please buy Man Utd." However, the Deadpool actor was equal with a cheeky response of his own: "I’m already seeing someone."Reynolds and fellow Hollywood actor Rob McElhenney purchased the Non-League Welsh club in November 2020 after receiving the backing of the Wrexham Supporters Trust.

Gary Lineker has branded Manchester United as a 'mid-table team' after they lost 1-0 to Everton on Saturday.The Red Devils missed a great chance to keep their Champions League hopes alive as Anthony Gordon's deflected effort was the only goal of the game at Goodison Park, giving the Toffees a relegation lifeline in the process. United had slipped behind Arsenal and Tottenham who are all chasing fourth spot, but now Ralf Rangnick's side have a mountain to climb.United are sat in seventh, and if they're not careful they may miss out on European football all together.

Grand National once fell flat on his face while trying to climb course race fences.Footage showed the man, completely naked, running along the race track and doing his best to get himself over the obstacles. After getting over one, the mysterious streaker continues his triumphant gallop on the track, before attempting another bush-like fence that no doubt could have a detrimental effect to his bits dangling below.The individual filming can be heard laughing in the background, especially as the streaker falls flat on his face in the mud.

Wayne Rooney has revealed the trick Sir Alex Ferguson would use in order to manage his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo at Manchester United.

Juan Mata has offers to play in the MLS when his Manchester United contract expires in the summer.

Manchester United scouts reportedly watched Arnaut Danjuma during Villareal's surprise victory against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Rio Ferdinand used to be part of a Manchester United side that won so much it stopped bothering with bus parades.But he believes this attitude made the United team he was part of even better and hungrier for more silverware. Ferdinand won 14 major trophies during a glittering spell at Old Trafford under former boss Sir Alex Ferguson, including six league titles and the Champions League.United supporters would give their right arm to see the current team win something tangible, having witnessed the fallen giants fail to win the Premier League since 2013 and silverware of any description since 2017.

Manchester United's pursuit of Erik ten Hag by jibing that the current Ajax boss would not want to join a side that "has been doing badly for years."Ten Hag, 52, tops United's four-man shortlist to replace Ralf Rangnick at the end of the season when the German moves upstairs to take on a consultancy role at the club. Mauricio Pochettino has been identified as the other leading candidate to take the Old Trafford hot seat but United chiefs are said to have held positive talks with the Ajax boss last month.But now Klaassen has claimed United are no longer a European powerhouse and it would be a backwards step for his current boss to join the Red Devils.

England manager Steve McLaren could make a sensational return to Manchester United if Erik ten Hag is appointed manager.The highly-rated Ajax boss has emerged as frontrunner for the job after holding positive talks with United's board last month and is expected to sit down with the club again in the coming weeks to potentially finalise the move. Should that happen, the Dutchman will consider bringing in McLaren as his assistant, according to The Guardian, having worked under the Englishman at FC Twente.It would see McLaren return to the Old Trafford dug-out for the first time since in over two decades after spending two years at the club as Sir Alex Ferguson's No 2.McLaren was highly thought of at United and his work there landed him the Middlesbrough job in 2001.

Manchester City favourite Shaun Goater has revealed that he could have made more money packing groceries than he did when playing for Manchester United as a youngster.Goater is a City icon after scoring 84 goals in 184 appearances during his five-year stay with the club. The 52-year-old was City's leading marksman for four consecutive seasons after joining the club in 1998 and also became the first City player to bag more than 30 goals in a season since Francis Lee in the 2001/02 campaign, with his massive haul helping to fire the club back into the Premier League.He also had his moments after firing City back into the big-time too; most notably by helping himself to a brace against Manchester United in the last derby at City's iconic Maine Road stadium.

Manchester United's interim boss Ralf Rangnick has set a time frame to rebuild the Red Devils.United slumped to a 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Saturday evening - landing a huge dent to their Champions League hopes. And speaking after the game, after concerns about the current crop of United talent, Rangnick suggested it won't be a quick fix at Old Trafford.The German told the BBC: "It takes right decisions and where you want to go to, what kind of players, what kind of manager, and then in every transfer window try to get the best possible solutions."He added: "This is possible.