Rooney fit to play against Milan

A very good news for Manchester united, Wayne Rooney started training at Carrington ahead Wednesday's Champions league clash against Milan.

Rooney was in doubt to play against Milan after missing the match against Wolverhampton Wanderers as a result of back to back action at Wembley's energy-sapping pitch.

But Rooney joined the rest of his team-mates at United's training on Tuesday, and Sir Alex later confirmed at his press conference that the forward was fit to play in the game.

"He was extremely doubtful, but he's shown a rapid improvement since Saturday morning and he's okay," revealed the boss. "Unfortunately Wes has had a career blighted by long term injuries and he's got another one. He's broken a bone in his foot and will be out for four to six weeks. I hope we can get him back for some of the season."

Also Wes Brown is out for weeks after the match against Egypt. Also Carrick is suspended for the second leg after receiving his second yellow card of the match.

Rooney doubtful against Milan

Sir Alex Ferguson says Wayne Rooney is a major doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with AC Milan after the striker was forced to sit out United’s win at Wolves.

Rooney missed United's 1-0 victory at Wolverhampton Wanderers with a knee injury which he aggravated playing the full 90 minutes for England against Egypt mid-week.

"Rooney is very doubtful for the Milan game unfortunately," Ferguson told MUTV. "It's one of these bad bits of luck you get -- the Wembley pitch has just killed him."

Rooney started the Carling cup final against Aston Villa on the bench as precaution for the clash against AC Milan. But a hamstring injury to Owen prompted him to come to action. He also played full 90 minutes against Egypt for his international duty. So a back to back wembly action caused him the price.

Ferguson had criticised his leading striker for playing from start to finish in friendly against Egypt.

"It is his own enthusiasm that has caused it. His problem is that he can't say no," He said.

Now Fergie is preparing to start with Berbatov against AC Milan.

"I was pleased with how [Dimitar] Berbatov did against Wolves though and I’ll probably start with him on Wednesday.”

Rooney injury is a big blow for United as they are already without Micheal Owen, Anderson, Ryan Giggs and John O'Shea.

But there is also good news. “We’re not far away from having Owen Hargreaves back and Macheda has now started training,” confirmed Sir Alex. “That’s a bonus because he can score a goal which could be important without Michael Owen for the rest of the season.”

Michael Owen joins Man Utd

Michael Owen completed a shocking move to Manchester United earlier today joining for a two year contract.

This move is all of a sudden as Owen was wondering a move to Hull City or Stoke. But last night United announced the capture of the former Liverpool striker on a free transfer.

Owen signed a two year deal with the option of a third year after passing medical test at a south Manchester Hospital yesterday afternoon.

Owen is now determined to prove that he was once an European Player of the year.

“I had just begun to talk to other clubs when, out of the blue, Sir Alex phoned me on Wednesday afternoon, invited me to have breakfast with him the next morning, during which he told me that he wanted to sign me,” Owen said. “I agreed without a moment’s thought.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for me and I intend to seize it with both hands. I am now looking forward to being a Manchester United player and I am fortunate that I already know so many of the players here.

“I missed pre-season last year and am pleased that I will be starting at Carrington from Day One. I want to thank Sir Alex for the faith he has shown in me and I give him my assurance that I will repay him with my goals and performances.”

Ferguson was thinking of signing Owen in 2005 before Newcastle United signed him. “Michael is a world-class forward with a proven goalscoring record at the highest level and that has never been in question,” Ferguson said. “Coming to Manchester United, with the expectations that we have, is something that Michael will relish.”

Now we will have to wait to see how Owen's career at Manchester United goes.

Breaking News: United Recieved Real's Ronaldo Offer!

It is now confirmed that Manchester United recieved an official offer from Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo. The deal is said to be a world record £80million. United has given Real Madrid the permission to talk to Ronaldo.

According to the Manchester United Official Site:

"Manchester United have received a world-record, unconditional offer of £80million for Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

At the request of Cristiano - who has again expressed his desire to leave - and after discussion with the player's representatives, United have agreed to give Real Madrid permission to talk to the player.

Matters are expected to be concluded by 30 June. The club will not comment until further notice."

Liverpool's Tevez bid for £50m?

According to reports Liverpool will bid a £50m bid for Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez .

Tevez is now on a loan deal at Old Trafford but his contact ends this summer. After that he will be free to go anywhere. Liverpool are reported to offer a whooping £50m to Tevez's owner ,Kia Joorabchian's Media Sports Investment (MSI) company.

Liverpool also ready to offer the striker an initial £26 million for his services.

Yesterday, reports claimed that Tottenham Hotspur also ready to bid for Tevez.

Manchester United still believe Tevez will stay with them, but everything now depend on Tevez.

See also:

Manchester United retain Barclays Premier League

Ronaldo set to stay at Old Trafford as Real eye Ribery

Manchester United go to next week's Champions League final with a firm grip on their winger. Real Madrid's attemp to confirm a deal with Bayern Munich winger Frank Ribery might confirm Ronaldo's staying at Old Trafford.

Ribery's indication to leave Bayern may lead to a exciting transfer period this season. 

Real Madrid were unable to lure Ronaldo to Santiago Barnabue and had been expected to make a big effort this season to bring him to the roster.

But Real's interest for Ribery, along with their interest in Wigan Athletics winger Antonio Valencia, indicates that their plans to bring Ronaldo from Old Trafford are likely to be shelved for another 12 months.

And it will surely end the saga for a while.

See Also:

Manchester United retain Barclays Premier League

Manchester United retains Barclays Premier League

Manchester United secured Barclays Premier League for three succesive year in a row and became the first British team to win hattrick title for the 2nd time.

Manchester United now level Liverpool with 18 titles each and Sir Alex Ferguson claimed his 11th title in 17 seasons, an achievement unlikely ever to be equalled.

Manchester United started the match agaisnt Arsenal in quest for a draw on a win to clinch the title with one game remaining and succeded. It would have been more fascinating if United won the match but nevertheless they drew and won the title.

A relieved Ferguson said: 'That was the longest 90 minutes in history! It was a cautious game and there was hardly a save to make until the last five minutes. But we got there.'

Ryan Giggs agreed, 'The second half was agony to be honest,' he said. 'I'm sure it was for the fans as well. The one team you don't want to play is Arsenal as they keep the ball so well, and they came to spoil the party.'

'Win or lose, I think you should show respect,' said Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger pointedly. 

'The best answer is to play better on the pitch, but when you are young, it's understandable when players are sensitive about this.'

United will now settle their mind on the upcoming Champions League Final against Barcelona and hope to clinch the 4th title on the season.

Fletcher misses Champions League Final

Darren Fletcher's hope to play in his first Champions League Final against Barcelona disapear today when UEFA's deciplinary body rejected United's attempt to overturn the red card against Arsenal in the semi final.

Manchester United submitted a written report to UEFA about the red card to overturn it as the replay showed the tackle on Fabregas was indeed played on the ball.

Manchester United decided not to apeal. A United spokesman said: "Darren is an honest player and we felt we should do what we could to try to help him become eligible for the Champions League final by initially protesting his dismissal. However, we respect Uefa's decision not to admit the protest and we will therefore not be appealing against today's ruling."

Explaining the suspensions, Uefa said: "In reaching its decision, the control and disciplinary body concluded that the protests had not been submitted within the required 24-hour deadline of a match for filing protests – as specified in the disciplinary regulations – and even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referee's original decisions."

Meanwhile Barcelona's Aric Abidal also remain suspended for the Final.

Giggs Wins PFA Award for the First Time

Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs wins this years PFA Player of the Year for the first time in is his 12 years career. He had twice won the Young Player of the Year award but now it increases his amount of trophies with United.

"It's right up there, with personal accolades it's the best to have as it's voted by your fellow players", Giggs said.

"I've been fortunate to win a lot of trophies, I won the young player award twice, but this is the big one."

Giggs also gave a special thanks to his club manager Sir Alex Ferguson for the career he has had.

"The manager has been massive in my career from when I first met him when I was 13," Giggs said.

"That's over 20 years and he knows me better than anyone and our relationship has been brilliant and just gets better.

"I've been so fortunate to have such a great career in so many great teams, it's not even worth thinking about what it would have been like without the manager," he added.

Giggs, whose current contract expires at the end of next season, said of his future: "As long as I'm getting picked, enjoying it and injury-free, I'll carry on as long as I can.

"At 35 you can't look too far into the distance, you just can't."

This years PFA team of the year also include 6 Manchester United players. Others are 2 from Liverpool, 1 from Portsmouth, 1 from Aston Villa and 1 from Chelsea.

PFA Team of the Year:

Edwin van der Sar (Man Utd)

Glen Johnson (Portsmouth)

Rio Ferdinand (Man Utd)

Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd) 

Patrice Evra (Man Utd) 

Ashley Young (Aston Villa)

 Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

 Ryan Giggs (Man Utd) 

Cristiano Ronaldo (Man Utd) 

Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)

 Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

Can Manchester United Win Quadruple?

Manchester United's dream of achiving quadruple recieved a big blow when they agianst Everton on the semi final of the FA Cup. But there are still two more trophies to go. Can United win the remaining tournaments?

United are now in a hanging possition in the Barclays Premier League. They are 1 points clear to Liverpool with a game in hand. But more matches are yet to come and who knows what could happen. But we are still the favourites.

And in the Champions League United are now in the semis tagged up with Arsenal. It will be a difficult last month of the season.

What do you think? Can United win the remaining trophies? Post your comments below.

Referees are wary of give us penalties: Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand believes referees are reluctant of giving penalties to Manchester United. He told after referee Mike Riley refused to give penalty when Danny Welbeck went down under Phil Jagielka's challenge.

"I don't know how the referee didn't give the penalty but that is the way it goes," said Ferdinand. "We don't get many penalties these days. Referees are reluctant to give them to us. Maybe they are being put under pressure by people in the media but that is the way it goes.

"We are not going to harp on about it because, in the end, we were not good enough in the penalty shoot out. There was always going to come a day when you don't have a good time in that situation and this was it."

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes David Moyes' comments has an affect on this. "I think it might have been. I'm not saying that for certain. I've no idea if it affected the decision but you never know. It may have. It can prey on a referee's mind.

"I've seen the video and it looks a penalty kick but in the importance of the game the referee probably has to be dead sure. Why would he [Welbeck] go down when he had the goalkeeper stranded out of his goal? It was a major decision and unfortunately it has gone against us. Nothing you can do about it. We have to move on now.

"When he [Mike Riley] sees it he'll probably realise he's made a mistake but I can't say that's the reason for us losing."

But now United should go forward to win the quadruple after this big blow.

Manchester United wants Kaka and Ribery to replace Ronaldo!

Manchester United are set to offer a world record £70million to get AC Milan's Kaka to Old Trafford for replacing the departing Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Daily Mail.

It says Ronaldo might demand a move to Real Madrid in the summer. So Sir Alex Ferguson is lining up a bid for the Brazilian superstar Kaka with a whooping £70million.

Also wanted is Bayern Munich's French midfielder Franck Ribery, with Wigan winger Antonio Valencia completing a trio of summer signings, report the News of the World.

Five Red Devils in the PFA Award Nominees

Manchester United dominates this years PFA award nominees with five players out of six. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Rio Ferdinand, Nimanja Vidic, and Edwin Van dar Sar are on the list with Liverpool powerhouse Steven Gerrard.

Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to become the first man to win the Professional Footballers Association accolade three times in successive seasons.

Ronaldo was the overwhelming favorite last season, scoring 42 goals to lead the club to the Premier League and Champions League titles.

Defenders Jonny Evans and Rafael da Silva represent United in the young player of the year shortlist. They are competing against Aston Villa duo Gabriel Agbonlahor and Ashley Young, Tottenham's Aaron Lennon and Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland.

Manchester United in Talk with Prudential Over Shirt Sponsorship

Manchester United are close to complete a new shirt sponsorship deal with international financial services company Prudential after AIG announced it would not be renewing its current deal because of their financial crisis.

The company’s new chief executive, Tidjane Thiam, is a Arsenal supporter but is willing to reach an agreement with the Old Trafford club.

A spokesman from Prudential confirmed that the company had been approached by United and talks have been ongoing for some time with a final agreement imminent. 

Edward Brewster, head of group media relations at Prudential, said: "We can confirm we have been approached by Manchester United. We are one of several [companies], we believe, to have been [talking to Manchester United]."

Brewster added that, from Prudential's viewpoint, there was no timeline on a potential deal.

The current deal with AIG, which expires at the end of the 2009-10 season, is worth around £56 million and once the American company announced that it would not be looking to extend the agreement beyond that time, United began actively seeking a replacement.

Macheda's late winner get united back on top

Manchester United are back on top after beating Aston villa by 3-2. Ronaldo scored twice and Macheda's late winner secured United the 3 points they needed to back on top.

Ronaldo opened the scoring from an indirect free-kick inside the box. John Carew's header restored the match to level.

Gabriel Agbonlahor then headed from a lovely little cross from Carew and the next moment they were ahead of United.

United, beated two consecutive matches against Liverpool and Fulham scared of a three consecutive lose then gambled by replacing Nani with debutent Macheda.

United than regain pace and attacked Villa one after one. And then Ronaldo's low shot passed Friedel to the bottom corner of the net and drag United to level.

Sustitute Danny Welbeck then denied by Friedel from 6 yards. But United were not to be denied and Macheda produced a moment of magic to win the game when he turned and curled a peach of a shot into the far corner in the injury time.

Mourinho Manchester United's Next Manager?

Will Jose Mourinho be Manchester United's next Manager after Sir Alex retires? At least Mourinho has no problem.

Jose Mourinho has said he would be interested in taking charge once Sir Alex Ferguson retires.When asked if he would consider the role, the Inter Manager said: "Who can say no? Nobody could say no. Manchester United belongs to a small group of clubs around the world where nobody can say no."

But Mourinho does not believe Ferguson will be leaving very early. "First of all, I don't believe in 2010 he is leaving – I don't believe," he said. "I think year after year he is the same ... healthy, happy ... so I don't see a reason for him to quit. And in a very fair way, I hope he still goes on, because he's good."

Samsung latest for United Shirt Sponsor Talks

South Korean electronic giants Samsung are the latest talks for Manchester United's shirt sponsor for 2009/2010 season. 

United's £56.5m agreement with American insurance giant AIG expires at the end of this season and they are now looking for a new deal before the end of the year.

A Samsung spokesman said: "Manchester United has recently sent an official letter asking if it's possible to seal a new shirt sponsorship deal. Nothing has been decided yet. The club has approached other companies as well."

Indian companies Sahara, Tata and Saudi company Saudi Telecom have already claimed advances from United with a shirt deal with the Premier League leaders.

AIG still owe £14 million to United said they will not renew their contract with United.

Related:

Manchester United in talk with Prudential over shirt sponsorship

United are still title favourites: Alonso

Liverpool midfielder Xavi Alonso admitted that Manchester United are still the favourite to win the premier league this season.

Alonso spoke to Sky Sports News on Thursday, said: “It’s going to be difficult because we can't afford to drop many points and we know that United have a very good team.

“They are the main favourites, of course, but we are going to be doing our best to be challenging until the final weeks of the season.”

“They are the champions,” continued Alonso. “They are in the best position and they have that advantage. We have to do our job and try to make things difficult for them.

“At the moment the team is playing and defending well as a team. “The partnership between Stevie [Gerrard] and Fernando [Torres] is working well for us.

“Of course [Torres] is really important for us. When he’s fit he’s a threat for all the defenders and that’s a boost for us.”

Champions League Draw: Man Utd vs FC Porto

Manchester United have been paired with FC Porto in the Champions League quarter final. The first leg will be played at Old Trafford on April 7. Manchester United will also play the first leg of Semi Final at home. 

Quarter Final Draws:

Villareal vs Arsenal

Manchester United vs FC Porto

Liverpool vs Chelsea

Barcelona vs Bayern Munich

Semi Final Draws:

QF2  vs  QF1

QF3  vs  QF4

The Ronaldo saga goes on again!

Although United told a million times that they will not sell Ronaldo for any amount the saga still on. Former Real Madrid Chairman Ramon Calderon claims that the United Winger will join Real Madrid next summer. Guillem Balague told Revista De La Liga that a deal has been agreed between the club and the player.

"Ramon Calderon is suggesting that is the case," said Balague. 

"Ramon Calderon went on the biggest radio show there is on Monday to say, 'thanks to our work one of the best players in the world will play for Real Madrid next season.'

"A deal has been struck between the player's representatives and Real Madrid. Of course Manchester United has got a say on that, but now it is primarily down to Florentino Perez - who will announce soon his candidacy to be a president of Real Madrid - to accept that deal. 

"Vicente Beluga, the president of Real Madrid, has shown him the papers already and said 'if you want him you can take him'. 

"It's agreed that Cristiano Ronaldo will earn 12million euros, Jorge Mendes will earn 8million euros as a commission, they reckon, as well, they will need 100 million euros or so to get Ronaldo from Manchester United."