Tag: Manchester United FC

David Beckham Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
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Here’s a look at the life of retired professional soccer player David Beckham.

Birth date: May 2, 1975

Birth place: London, England

Birth name: David Robert Joseph Beckham

Father: David Edward “Ted” Beckham, an appliance repairman

Mother: Sandra (West) Beckham, a hairdresser

Marriage: Victoria (Adams) Beckham (July 4, 1999-present)

Children: Harper, Cruz, Romeo and Brooklyn

Retired professional soccer (European football) player.

Married to Spice Girl Victoria (Adams) Beckham, nicknamed “Posh Spice.”

Midfielder known for his ability to “bend” his free kicks, curving the ball around or over defenders to score. The movie title “Bend it like Beckham” is a tribute to his kicking style.

Won league titles in four different countries while playing for Manchester United, Real Madrid, Los Angeles Galaxy and Paris Saint-Germain.

Played 115 times for England between 1996 and 2009.

Leadership Council Member of Malaria No More UK.

1991 – At age 16, leaves home to play in Manchester United’s training league.

April 2, 1995 – Premier League debut with Manchester United.

1996 – Gains recognition when he scores a goal from the halfway line, a kick of almost 60 yards.

September 1996 – Makes his international debut in the World Cup qualifier against Moldova. England wins 3-0.

1998 – Is named to the English national team for 1998 World Cup.

1998 – Beckham is given a red card and ejected from a second round World Cup match for kicking out at Argentina’s Diego Simeone, which contributed to England’s elimination.

1999 – Leads Manchester United to a treble, winning the English Premier League, FA Cup and European Champions League trophies.

November 15, 2000 – Is named captain of England’s national team.

April 2002 – Breaks a bone in his foot but later competes in the World Cup finals in June. England ultimately loses to Brazil in the quarterfinals.

May 2003 – Breaks his hand during a 2-1 win over South Africa in Durban.

June-July 2003 – Traded by Manchester United to Real Madrid. He signs a four-year contract with Real Madrid for $40 million.

November 27, 2003 – Receives an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Queen Elizabeth II.

January 10, 2005 – Appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, with a focus on the program Sport for Development.

August 3, 2005 – Is awarded libel damages from the tabloid, the People, that accused him of making hate calls to a former nanny.

March 9, 2006 – Settles a libel case against the British tabloid, News of the World, over a 2004 headline that read, “Posh and Becks on the Rocks.”

January 2007 – Signs on with the Los Angeles Galaxy, an American Major League Soccer team.

July 21, 2007 – Plays his first game with the LA Galaxy. It is initially reported he will receive an estimated $250 million over the life of his five-year contract, but later revealed that the Galaxy will pay him $32.5 million over five years.

March 26, 2008 – Appears for the 100th time in an England uniform. During the England/France game Beckham receives a standing ovation from both sides as he leaves the field during a substitution.

January 2009 – Loaned by the LA Galaxy team to the AC Milan club. He initially agrees to a three-month stint with the Milan team but the loan is extended to six months.

December 2009 – Is loaned to AC Milan a second time until the end of the Italian season in May.

March 14, 2010 – Tears an Achilles tendon during an AC Milan match and is unable to play in the World Cup.

December 1, 2012 – Plays his final game with the LA Galaxy.

January 31, 2013 – Announces that he has signed with Paris Saint-Germain for five months and will donate the pay to a children’s charity in Paris.

May 16, 2013 – Announces that he will retire from professional soccer at the end of his season.

February 5, 2014 – Announces he will establish a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami.

February 9, 2015 – Launches 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, a collaboration with UNICEF to help kids in danger zones around the world.

January 29, 2018 – MLS announces that Miami has been awarded the league’s 25th franchise, about four years after Beckham first announced his intention to exercise his right to buy an MLS franchise in February 2014. The Beckham franchise will be backed by Cuban-American businessmen Jorge and Jose Mas, CEO of Sprint Corporation Marcelo Claure, entertainment producer Simon Fuller and the founder of Japanese telecommunications firm SoftBank, Masayoshi Son.

September 5, 2018 – Beckham’s Miami expansion team announces it name, Club Internacional de Futbol Miami, Inter Miami for short.

March 1, 2020 – Inter Miami plays its debut MLS game.

October 2, 2020 – A company co-founded by Beckham, Guild Esports, lists on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first esports franchise to go public on the LSE.

March 20, 2022 – Beckham hands over control of his Instagram account to a doctor in Ukraine, in a bid to highlight the work of medical professionals caring for patients amid the Russian invasion of the country.

October 4, 2023 – Netflix’s four-part documentary series titled “Beckham” is released.

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April 24, 2024
Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS enters bidding process to buy Manchester United — The Times reports | CNN

CNN
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British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s company INEOS has formally entered the bidding process to buy Premier League soccer club Manchester United, according to The Times on Wednesday.

This comes after United’s owners, the Glazer family, announced they were exploring new investment or the potential sale of the English Premier League side in November 2022.

“I can confirm that we have formally put ourselves into the process,” the spokesperson said without adding details.

Ratcliffe is a majority shareholder of chemical group INEOS which owns French side Nice, Swiss club Lausanne-Sport, the Ineos Grenadiers cycling team and has a partnership with the Mercedes F1 team.

Ratcliffe had previously expressed interest in buying the Red Devils in the summer.

In an email to CNN Sport in August, a spokesman for Ratcliffe confirmed his interest in the renowned Premier League club, saying: “We are simply confirming interest in the club if it is for sale.”

According to Forbes, Manchester United is worth $4.6 billion.

Controlled by the Glazer family, which also owns the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, United is one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world, but it hasn’t won the English Premier League since 2013.

In May, Ratcliffe made a last-minute bid to buy Chelsea FC before losing out to the Todd Boehly consortium.

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January 18, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo begins World Cup campaign with Portugal after Manchester United departure | CNN

CNN
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Two days after his turbulent departure from Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo will begin his World Cup campaign with Portugal and look to put events from the last week-and-a-half behind him.

Portugal faces Ghana at Stadium 974 on Thursday, kicking off what will likely be the 37-year-old Ronaldo’s final World Cup – a trophy that has so far eluded him over the course of his decorated career.

A successful tournament in Qatar would also allow Ronaldo to move on from his messy divorce with United having ended his second spell at the club on Tuesday.

It came after the forward gave an explosive interview to Talk TV in which he said he felt betrayed by United and launched a scathing attack on manager Erik ten Hag.

And as the World Cup gets underway, Ronaldo has offered assurances that the focus of his Portuguese teammates won’t be shaken by the timing of his bombshell interview.

“In my life, the best timing is always my timing,” he told reporters on Monday. “I don’t have to think about what other people think. I speak when I want. The players know me really well for many years and know the type of person I am.”

Following the announcement of his departure from Manchester United, Ronaldo was suspended for two games and fined £50,000 (around $60,000) by the English Football Association (FA) for slapping a cell phone out of a spectator’s hand earlier this year.

The incident came after United’s 1-0 loss against April in Everton. On top of the fine and suspension – which does not apply at the World Cup but will be transferred to any new club he joins – Ronaldo was warned by the FA about his future conduct.

Portugal is the strong favorite against Ghana with 52 places separating the sides in FIFA’s rankings.

But pedigree and star power appear to count for little at this World Cup, a tournament in which underdogs have fared well against mightier opponents.

Saudi Arabia came from behind to defeat Argentina 2-1 while Japan did the same against Germany – clear signs that no team should be underestimated, nor should any team indulge in complacency.

Having not reached the quarterfinals of a World Cup since 2006, Portugal has a point to prove in Qatar and arrives at the tournament with considerable firepower.

Despite missing Liverpool forward Diogo Jota through injury, the likes of Ronaldo, his old United teammate Bruno Fernandes, and Manchester City stars João Cancelo and Bernardo Silva are all likely to feature on Thursday.

Against them will be a Ghana team short on form but with no shortage of quality.

Having been dumped out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a humiliating group-stage defeat against Comoros in January, the Black Stars will benefit from the “signings” of forward Inaki Williams and right-back Tariq Lamptey ahead of the tournament.

Williams switched allegiances from Spain earlier this year and Lamptey from England.

Otto Addo – the only part-time coach at the tournament – also has at his disposal star midfielder Mohammed Kudus and experienced campaigners including Thomas Partey and the Ayew brothers, Jordan and Andre.

Whether Addo, who principally works as a scout for German team Borussia Dortmund, can get Ghana to click remains to be seen.

Also in Group H are Uruguay and South Korea, who play each other at the Education City Stadium on Thursday.

Uruguay is the favorite and will benefit from the experience of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. Liverpool forward Darwin Núñez will also feature in the attack, while midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Federico Valverde have been in excellent form of late.

The positive news for South Korea is that star player Son Heung-Min has recovered from a damaged eye socket and has been training in a protective face mask this week.

In Thursday’s other games, pre-tournament favorite Brazil and Serbia will be the last two teams to get their tournaments underway when they meet at Lusail Stadium.

Five-time champion Brazil arguably boasts the best attacking line-up in the tournament, both in terms of quality and depth.

Neymar Jr – like fellow talismans Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – is searching for his first World Cup trophy, and he will be ably supported upfront alongside Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr., Barcelona’s Raphinha, and Tottenham’s Richarlison.

But Serbia, which topped its qualifying group ahead of Portugal, will be no pushover and has plenty of goalscoring prowess in captain Dušan Tadić, Juventus forward Dušan Vlahović, and Fulham front man Aleksandar Mitrovic. However, Vlahović and Mitrovic have both been nursing injuries ahead of the tournament.

Hoping to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time, Serbia will likely have to battle it out with Switzerland and Cameroon, who face each other on Thursday, to reach the round of 16 – barring any disastrous results for Brazil.

But as this World Cup has demonstrated so far, don’t rule out any eventuality.

Switzerland vs Cameroon – 5am Eastern time

Uruguay vs South Korea – 8am ET

Portugal vs Ghana – 11am ET

Brazil vs Serbia – 2pm ET

US: Fox Sports

UK: BBC or ITV

Australia: SBS

Brazil: SportTV

Germany: ARD, ZDF, Deutsche Telekom

Canada: Bell Media

South Africa: SABC

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November 24, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo Fast Facts | CNN

CNN
—

Here’s a look at the life of professional soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Birth date: February 5, 1985

Birth place: Funchal, Portugal

Birth name: Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro

Father: Jose Dinis Aveiro, a gardener

Mother: Maria Dolores dos Santos Aveiro, a cook

Children: with Georgina Rodriguez: Alana Martina, 2017; Bella Esmeralda and male twin (name unreleased, died in childbirth), 2022; via surrogate: Eva and Mateo (twins), 2017; with mother’s name unavailable publicly: Cristiano Jr., 2010

All-time leading male goalscorer in international football.

First male player in history to score a goal in five different World Cups.

Portugal’s all-time top international goalscorer.

Winner of the Ballon d’Or footballer of the year award five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), and the European Golden Shoe four times (2007-08, 2010-11, 2013-14 and 2014-15).

One of his acts of charity was paying for the brain surgery of a 10-month-old boy. Other acts have included raising money for survivors of the 2004 Indonesian tsunami and paying for treatment for a 9-year-old cancer patient.

His father named him after US President Ronald Reagan.

Early 1990s – Joins local amateur team Andorinha.

Late 1990s – Joins Clube Desportivo Nacional da Madeira, one of Portugal’s leading professional football clubs.

Early 2000s – Signs with Sporting Clube de Portugal.

August 12, 2003 – Signs with Manchester United for £12.24 million ($19.7 million).

August 20, 2003 – Debuts for Portugal’s national team.

June-July 2004 – Represents Portugal in the UEFA Euro and scores a goal in the tournament opener. This is his first major international tournament.

July 2004 – Plays for Portugal during the Summer Olympics. Portugal is eliminated in the group stage.

2005 – Wins the FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year award.

October 2005 – Comes under investigation for an alleged sexual assault but is not charged.

June 17, 2006 – Scores his first World Cup goal against Iran. Portugal wins 2-0.

2008 – Wins the FIFA World Player of the Year award.

2009 – Transfers to Real Madrid. The deal includes an £80 million (more than $130 million) transfer fee.

December 15, 2013 – Opens a museum dedicated to his football career in his hometown of Funchal, Portugal.

January 6, 2014 – Scores his 400th career goal.

January 20, 2014 – Is named Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry.

October 17, 2015 – Officially becomes Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer in the club’s 3-0 victory over Levante at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

November 9, 2015 – The documentary “Ronaldo” premieres in London.

November 8, 2016 – Signs a “lifetime” endorsement deal with Nike.

January 2017 – Is named the inaugural Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2016.

June 13, 2017 – Is accused of defrauding Spanish authorities of $16.4 million in tax between 2011 and 2014.

August 14, 2017 – According to the Spanish Football Federation, Ronaldo is banned for five games following his red card in Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory over rival Barcelona. On top of the one-game ban for the red card, he will miss four further games for pushing referee Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea as he was leaving the field.

October 23, 2017 – Wins the FIFA Best Men’s Player Award for the second year in a row.

December 7, 2017 – Claims his fifth Ballon d’Or, equaling the record set by eternal rival Lionel Messi.

July 10, 2018 – Leaves Real Madrid to join the reigning Serie A champion Juventus, based in Turin, Italy, on a four-year contract and a reported $117 million transfer fee.

September 27, 2018 – Kathryn Mayorga files a lawsuit in Clark County, Nevada, accusing Ronaldo of raping her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. She seeks to void a settlement and nondisclosure agreement she says she was coerced to sign by Ronaldo and his legal team. Ronaldo denies the allegations.

January 10, 2019 – Las Vegas police spokeswoman, Officer Laura Meltzer, confirms that in the course of investigating a rape allegation against Ronaldo they have sent a warrant to authorities in Italy requesting a sample of his DNA.

January 22, 2019 – Ronaldo agrees to settle his tax fraud case with Spanish authorities by paying a fine of $21.6 million and accepting a 23-month suspended prison sentence. Under Spanish law, first-time offenders can avoid prison time if the sentence is under two years.

April 20, 2019 – Juventus defeats Fiorentina 2-1 to claim the Italian championship Serie A title. Ronaldo becomes the first player ever to win titles in the Premier League (with Manchester United), La Liga (with Real Madrid) and Serie A (with Juventus).

May 8, 2019 – The lawsuit filed in Clark County, Nevada, accusing Ronaldo of rape is voluntary dismissed by Mayorga. Larissa Drohobyczer, Mayorga’s attorney, tells CNN that “The state case was dismissed by us because we filed the identical claims in federal court due to federal court rules on serving foreigners, we basically just switched venues, but the claims remain.”

July 22, 2019 – The Clark County District Attorney’s office says that Ronaldo will not face sexual assault charges in Las Vegas. The office says the allegations, which were first made in 2009, cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

August 16, 2019 – Federal court documents reveal that following Mayorga’s 2009 accusation of rape, Ronaldo paid Mayorga $375,000 in a settlement and confidentiality agreement. Mayorga is asking the court to invalidate the agreement on the grounds that Ronaldo and his legal team took advantage of her fragile emotional state to coerce her into signing it.

September 8, 2020 – Scores his 100th international goal in Portugal’s Nations League match against Sweden, becoming just the second man in history to reach the milestone.

October 13, 2020 – Has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement by the Portuguese Football Federation.

September 1, 2021 – Breaks the men’s all-time international goalscoring record after scoring two goals against Ireland in the Group A World Cup qualifier in Almancil, Portugal.

October 6, 2021 – A federal judge recommends that the rape case against Ronaldo be dismissed, because Mayorga’s attorneys improperly obtained and used information from leaked documents. On June 10, 2022, the case is dismissed.

March 12, 2022 – Scores his 806th career goal against Tottenham, breaking FIFA’s all-time record for most goals in competitive matches in men’s football history.

April 18, 2022 – Ronaldo and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez, announce that one of their newborn twins, a boy, has died.

November 22, 2022 – Manchester United announce Ronaldo is leaving the English Premier League club with immediate effect. The announcement comes a week after Ronaldo gave an explosive TV interview about his frustrations at the club.

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November 24, 2022
Spain blanks US; Americans hadn’t lost 2 straight since ’17

PAMPLONA, Spain — Laia Codina and Esther González both scored for Spain in a 2-0 victory Tuesday over the U.S. women’s national team, which lost a second straight game for the first time in more than five years.

Codina scored in the 39th minute. It was the first goal off a set piece that the United States had conceded since last summer’s Tokyo Olympics. Gonzalez added a goal in the 72nd.

The United States hadn’t lost two straight since the March 2017 SheBelieves Cup, when the team lost consecutive games to England and France.

Both teams are preparing for next summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The United States, the world’s top-ranked team, has won the last two World Cups.

Both teams also have been rocked by scandals, with Spain missing some of their best players because of it.

The U.S. players are reeling following the release last week of a report on misconduct in the National Women’s Soccer League. A year-long investigation led by former acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Q. Yates found “systemic” abuse and misconduct in women’s soccer.

U.S. captain Becky Sauerbrunn said players were “horrified” by the revelations. Five of 10 coaches in the NWSL last season were either fired or stepped down amid allegations of inappropriate behavior. Yates also offered recommendations for change going forward.

Meanwhile, a group of Spanish national team players recently called on the federation to professionalize the women’s team. But the federation responded by saying the players asked for coach Jorge Vilda to be fired, which the players denied.

The federation made matters worse by asking the players to apologize and ask for forgiveness. In announcing his team for a pair of friendlies this month, including Tuesday’s game, Vilda excluded the players who called for change, among them Barcelona’s Patricia Guijarro and goalkeeper Sandra Panos, and Manchester United’s Lucia Garcia. Jenni Hermoso and Alexia Putellas were not included because of injury.

The United States was coming off a 2-1 loss to England on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley Stadium. The Americans have conceded goals in their past three matches, after allowing just two total goals in its previous 19 games.

Spain was coming off a 1-1 draw with Sweden in Cordoba.

The United States won the previous three meetings against Spain.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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October 11, 2022