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Mark Schwarzer says Cristiano Ronaldo must move on, Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, transfer rumours, next club, updates, latest

Premier League great Mark Schwarzer believes it’s time for Cristiano Ronaldo to part ways with Manchester United, amid the constant speculation about the disgruntled stars future.

Ronaldo appears to be heading towards an ugly exit from Manchester United after he missed the clubs pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia last month.

It’s believed that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is chasing a transfer away from the Red Devils after they failed to qualify for the Champions League last season.

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While Ronaldo did return to Manchester United’s match day squad for a pre-season clash with Spanish club Rayo Vallecano on Monday (AEST), he was subbed off at halftime.

After storming out of Old Trafford with 10 minutes to play in that match, manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly set to bench the star striker for their Premier League season opener on Sunday.

It was an act that had Hag branded as “unacceptable” as the Dutchman looks to assert his authority.

Ronaldo returns to Manchester at last | 00:36

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Schwarzer said that while both the club and ten Hag have done well to manage the recent drama and speculation, it might be time to find Ronaldo a deal with another club.

“It’s time for him to move on. I still think he could add something to Manchester United but I don’t see him as a week-in week-out starter and that’s obviously what he demanded last season,” Schwarzer said on the Gegen Pod.

“He was their leading goal scorer, he was the player that got them out of more trouble than anyone else. I kind of understand it. But now you’re talking about building a side.

“For Cristiano Ronaldo, we all know he’s running out of time. He wants to win trophies, he wants to win things, he wants to win another Ballon d’Or for sure, (but I) don’t think that’s going to happen.

“I reckon it’d be amazing if he went to Atletico Madrid… there’s massive resistance from fans and some people from within the club.”

European giants including Atletico Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich have all reportedly turned down the chance to sign the 37-year-old.

Nunez seals Reds’ Community shield win | 01:28

He has also been linked with a stunning return to his boyhood club Sporting Lisbon, who have qualified for this year’s Champions’ League group stage.

Another player under pressure in Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who was recently warned about his underwhelming form with the Premier League champions last season.

Former Aston Villa striker Tony Cascarino told talkSPORT that Grealish could leave the Etihad and “end up back at Villa” if the £100m player doesn’t improve.

Schwarzer, who is widely considered to be a Premier League legend, doesn’t think that the 26-year-old has lived up to the expectation believed of him when he signed for City.

“I think he’s a million miles away from even the player he was at Aston Villa,” he added.

“He’s an interesting one. His relationship with Erling Haaland, how that’s going to develop, how that’s gonna flourish. We talk about big signings and I think Haaland, Darwin Nunez, these guys they will fit in, they will score goals.

“It will be a battle of who will finish top at the end of the season, I’ve got no doubt.”

The Premier League kicks off with a match between Crystal Palace and Champions League hopefuls Arsenal at Selhurst Park.

Manchester United don’t get their season underway until 11pm on Sunday against Brighton at Old Trafford.

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England wins women’s Euro 2022, Leah Williamson handball, Germany, video, latest, highlights

England won a major women’s tournament for the first time as Chloe Kelly’s extra-time goal secured a 2-1 victory over Germany at a sold out Wembley on Sunday.

In front of a record crowd of 87,192 for any match in the history of the European Championships, Kelly prodded home a loose ball from close range to end English football’s 56-year wait for a World Cup or Euro victory.

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England looked set for victory in the 90 minutes when substitute Ella Toone’s sublime chip over Merle Frohms put the hosts in front.

Germany showed remarkable resilience to bounce back as Lina Magull leveled 11 minutes from time.

But for once, England were not to be denied a major tournament success. Kelly fought back from an anterior cruciate ligament tear to be fit in time for the tournament and made herself a national hero by being in the right place to pounce when Germany failed to clear a corner in the 110th minute.

The Manchester City winger tore her shirt off in celebration in scenes reminiscent of Mia Hamm’s famous reaction to scoring the winning penalty for the USA at the 1999 World Cup.

Fortune did not favor Germany, who lost captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp to a muscle injury in the warm-up.

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But England will feel their time for some luck was due as 12 months on from the Three Lions’ defeat on penalties to Italy in the Euro 2020 men’s final, the nation’s women went one better.

While England enjoy the celebrations, Germany manager Martin Voss-Tecklenburg was left aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty to her side in the first half of Sunday’s Euro 2022 final defeat to England.

Lionesses captain Leah Williamson escaped after the ball hit her hand in a goalmouth scramble with the score still at 0-0.

After a VAR check, Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul was not told to review her initial decision not to give a penalty.

“On this level at the end of the European Championships this shouldn’t happen,” said Voss-Tecklenburg.

“I’d like to have a discussion why did not one look at it? This is something I would really like to ask. It happened to us today, but if it had happened to them I would feel the same. It really bothers me.”

Football's home.  (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
Football’s home. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Germany suffered a major blow even before kick-off when captain and top goalscorer Alexandra Popp was forced to pull out in the warm-up due to a muscle injury.

Voss-Tecklenburg said the Wolfsburg striker, who had scored six goals in five games in the tournament, had suffered the injury in training on Saturday.

“We tried everything. Yesterday at the end of final training there were some problems, which we didn’t expect,” she added.

“This morning it looked a bit better but it was clear the decision had to be hers. I trusted her 1000 percent and today she said she couldn’t run or shoot properly.

“I have even higher respect to her to say that after such a special tournament, she won’t play a final. She is a great personality.”

German newspaper Bild called the final “another Wembley fraud”. England’s only previous major tournament win in either the men’s or women’s game came in the 1966 World Cup with a 4-2 win over West Germany that is still remembered for the Three Lions’ controversial third goal that may not have crossed the line.

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Pre-season games, Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, contract, transfer, rumours, updates

Cristiano Ronaldo played 45 minutes as he made his first Manchester United appearance in 12 weeks during a 1-1 pre-season draw with Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford and later proclaimed: “Happy to be back”.

The 37-year-old Portugal forward, who missed the club’s pre-season tour to Thailand and Australia for personal reasons, reportedly wants to leave the club he rejoined last year.

Former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo finished as United’s top scorer last season with 24 goals.

Ronaldo returns to Manchester at last | 00:36

But the campaign as a whole was a huge disappointment for the club, with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League meaning they missed out on qualification for the Champions League.

Ronaldo was left out of United’s squad for Saturday’s friendly with Atletico Madrid in Oslo.

But, commenting on a post on a fan page about him missing the game in Norway, Ronaldo wrote Friday: “Domingo o rei joga” which translates as “Sunday the king plays”.

Ronaldo applauded fans on both sides of the ground as he led the team out for their pre-match warm-up on Sunday.

The veteran forward had one clear chance during his 45-minute appearance but drove over the bar after running on to Donny van de Beek’s lay-off.

LATEST ON RONALDO: Man Utd star chases stunning reunion with Sporting Lisbon

Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United during the Pre-Season Friendly match.  (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United during the Pre-Season Friendly match. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

After the match, Ronaldo posted a photograph of himself playing in the game on his Twitter feed beneath a caption of “Happy to be back”.

“I cannot tell at this moment [how fit Ronaldo is],” Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag said pre-game.

“He is not on the level of the rest of the squad because he has missed a lot of weeks.

“But he needs games and he needs training, a lot.”

New signings Christian Eriksen and Lisandro Martinez both featured for an hour in a game set up by Ten Hag for the players who did not have major roles in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat by Atletico.

Amad Diallo, who was on loan at Rangers last season, gave United the lead early in the second half when the 20-year-old Ivory Coast winger fired in the rebound after a shot from Alex Telles had been saved.

United’s lead, however, lasted just nine minutes before Alvaro Garcia equalized in similar fashion after Tom Heaton had saved Isaac Palazon Camacho’s initial effort.

United start their Premier League campaign at home to Brighton on August 7.

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Liverpool defeats Manchester City to win Community Shield, highlights, Darwin Nunez goal, Erling Haaland, Julian Alvarez

Liverpool struck first blood against Manchester City ahead of the new Premier League season as Darwin Nunez made an instant impact for Jurgen Klopp’s men to win the Community Shield 3-1.

In a tale of two big summer signings, Nunez came off the bench to win a penalty and score his first goal since an $AUD109 million move from Benfica, while Erling Haaland had a City debut to forget.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold’s blistering strike gave Liverpool a deserved halftime lead in Leicester.

But it was City’s other new forward who hauled Pep Guardiola’s men back into the game after the break as Julian Alvarez equalised.

Tying down Mohamed Salah to a new three-year deal was Liverpool’s other major piece of summer business and the Egyptian was deadly from the penalty spot after Nunez’s header was handled by Ruben Dias.

The Uruguayan then got his own glory moment by stooping to head home in stoppage time before tearing off his shirt in celebration.

Victory saw Liverpool win the traditional season curtain-raiser for the first time since 2006 and lay down an early marker in what is expected to be another battle between the sides for the Premier League title.

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City held off the Reds to win the Premier League for a fourth time in five years by a point in a thrilling finale to last season.

Guardiola’s men had to come from 2-0 down on the final day of the campaign to beat Aston Villa and were again guilty of a slow start.

Salah was the provider for the opening goal as he laid Thiago Alcantara’s cross field pass back to the edge of the box and Alexander-Arnold smashed in off the post with the aid of a slight deflection off Dias.

City had played just two pre-season friendlies to Liverpool’s four and took half an hour to find their feet.

Haaland was denied by Liverpool stand-in goalkeeper Adrian with his first sight of goal.

However, the Norwegian should have opened his City account moments later as he failed to properly connect with Joao Cancelo’s inviting cross.

Nunez was given his chance to shine on the hour mark, but fluffed his first big chance when Ederson prevailed in a one-on-one.

Darwin Nunez got on the scoresheet with Liverpool's third goal.  (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Darwin Nunez got on the scoresheet with Liverpool’s third goal. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

At the other end, City’s new South American striker also got his career in England off to a flying start.

Alvarez’s arrival at the Etihad has gone under the radar in the hype surrounding Haaland.

But the Argentine, who scored six goals in one Copa Libertadores match in May, is also regarded as one of the world’s most exciting young forwards.

Alvarez was quickest to react to the rebound after Adrian saved Phil Foden’s initial effort and the goal stood after a VAR review for offside.

It needed another the intervention of VAR once more for Liverpool to restore their lead seven minutes from time.

Referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot after seeing a replay of Nunez’s header coming back off the arm of Dias.

Salah was deadly as ever from 12 yards as he drilled into the bottom corner despite Ederson going the right way.

Nunez then ended any doubt over the result when he pounced on Andy Robertson’s header across goal.

But City’s miserable day did not end there as Haaland hit the bar with the goal gaping deep in stoppage time to keep the Norwegian superstar waiting to open his account in English football.

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