Dimitar Berbatov: I would rather quit football than leave Manchester United

Dimitar Berbatov has claimed he would sooner walk away from football altogether than leave current club Manchester United. The £30 million striker is the Premier League’s top scorer this season with 11 goals but has divided fan opinion since he joined the Old Trafford club. But the Bulgarian, coming into the final 18 months of his contract, is not about to give up his No.9 shirt.

"I fought to have a chance to play for United and now I can only go down if I leave," Berbatov said, as quoted by the Telegraph. "Why I should do this? It would be better to retire."Berbatov, 29, has been named Bulgaria’s Footballer of the Year for the seventh time and in November became only the fourth player in Premier League history to score five goals in one match, after United’s 7-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Read Full Entry

Manchester United non-executive director Mike Edelson reveals Glazer family intend to sell the club

Manchester United’s future has been thrown into doubt after one of the club’s top officials made it clear that current owners, the Glazer family, will sell up. Mike Edelson, who is the non-executive director at Old Trafford, told The Sun that they will be looking to leave at some stage. "It's no secret that, at some time, the family will sell," he said at a recent Q&A session at the Maccabi Sports Club in Prestwich, Manchester. And with this revelation, it is now believed this has opened the door for the Qatar royal family, led by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to seize their opportunity tio take control of United in a £1.5 billion takeover.

However, with Edelson’s comments it has given the first clear indication that the Glazers are ready to move on, having taken United into debt. It is also believed that the Glazers will almost double their money if they sell, having bought the Old Trafford club five and half years ago, for £790m. According to The Sun, sources have claimed that the Glazers are willing to sell so that they can pay back £252m of the £752m they have accumulated since being the owners at United.

"The belief is that they have already brought in extra finance from a third party in a bid to set the club up for a sale," one top city source was quoted as saying. Meanwhile, a Middle East finance expert has also said that Qatar holdings - who deal with business concerning the royal family - are waiting to strike to gain control of the Premier League giants.

"They have made tentative moves before with little success but this time it looks like they could be going for it," the source said. "Now they have landed the 2022 World Cup, the country wants to expand its influence in the game across the globe."

Read Full Entry

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has no time for retirement talk after beating Sir Matt Busby's record

The Manchester United manager, who celebrates his 69th birthday on New Year’s Eve, eclipsed Busby’s 8,810 days service as United manager on Sunday. And Ferguson will mark 25 years at Old Trafford if he continues to be in the charge of the club next season.

Having changed his mind on plans to retire at the end of the 2001-02 season, Ferguson has since claimed that he would not work beyond his 70th birthday. But with United now chasing a record 19th league title, the Scot admits that he has no idea of when he might call time on his management career. Ferguson said: “The older you get, the more worried you are about retiring. “You start to realise that, whilst you have got your health and good fitness, you should carry on in your job. All thoughts of retirement are in the back of my mind.

He described the decision to say he was going to go as “a mistake”, adding: “At the time there were some reasons for it. It was one of those things.”

United missed out on the chance to extend their lead at the top of the table following the postponement of Sunday’s clash with Premier League champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

But despite the growing threat from across Manchester in the shape of Roberto Mancini’s high-flying City team, Ferguson believes that Tottenham – who entertain United at White Hart Lane next month – can also challenge for the title this season.

He said: “It is a tough league, but do you want Manchester United and Chelsea or Arsenal to steamroller the league every season? “I think the public like what they’re seeing now, all of us dropping points, and you have also got the rise of Spurs.

“They have been fantastic since Harry [Redknapp] went there. They could have won some games and could have lost others, but there has been a real improvement by them. “As Harry says, why can’t they win the league? That is getting through to his players.”

Read Full Entry

Manchester United is not for sale at any price - Glazers

The Glazers have moved to quell the speculation concerning a potential sale of the Manchester United, by declaring that the club is not for sale at any price. There had previously been reports that Qatari Holdings were looking into the possibility of making a £1.5 billion move to takeover the club, with reports pointing towards manager Sir Alex Ferguson being given a mammoth war-chest for transfers.

It had been thought that the current owners may make a profit from the potential sale and walk away, but according to the Daily Star, a spokesman for the Glazers said: "There has been no bid for the club. Any such bid would be irrelevant anyway because the club is not for sale."The Glazers took over United five years ago, for a sum believed to be in the region of £790 million.

Read Full Entry

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny: I beat Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in a battle of wits

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has taken credit for the penalty miss by Manchester United's Wayne Rooney in the recent meeting between the two sides. Park Ji-sung had given the hosts the lead during the first-half, and the former Everton marksman was presented the opportunity to double the advantage from the spot in the second period.

However, the actual shot went awry as the 25-year-old ballooned the ball over the bar. And the Polish sho-stopper believes it was a mental battle in which he beat the England international. "I did prepare myself for a Rooney penalty before the game," Szczesny said, according to The Mirror. "I actually decided to try to delay him, show him my presence and hope for the best.

"Maybe my presence put him off and made him miss it. "It's obviously a mental battle between the goalkeeper and the striker, a psychological battle, so I tried him and stand off my line for as long as possible, until the referee put me on the line. Then I made myself big and he missed. "People were congratulating me for the saves in the second half but I don't think they were fantastic stops.

"Anderson pretty much hit it straight at my chest because I was in the right position at the right time and the second one, I don't think Rooney connected very well. I was a little bit scared when he took it on but if it had been a little bit higher, as he was trying to do, I maybe wouldn't have got it."

Read Full Entry

Wenger: Time to beat Man United

The Gunners remain top of the table after Didier Drogba's stoppage-time penalty miss at Tottenham meant Chelsea dropped down to fourth following Manchester City's win at West Ham on Saturday, which left them level on points with the leaders.

There is certainly little margin for error in what looks set to be one of the tightest championship battles for many seasons, with United still holding a match in hand on the teams around them. It has been four years since Arsenal beat the Red Devils on home soil. However, in each of the seasons in which they went on to win the Premier League, Wenger's side got a positive result at Old Trafford.

The Arsenal manager feels now is the perfect time for his latest generation to deliver. "We have an opportunity to show how good we are - that is what you want in life," Wenger said. "Let's go without any preconceived ideas, not [thinking] about any weakness of Manchester United, nor about any weakness from us, just let's focus on the day, to give your best, play with belief, play for each other and we have a good chance to beat anybody."

Wenger maintained: "I know that my team will be really up for it, and I always have great belief in my players - I know how hungry they are for success and am sure that will come out in the game."

Tonight's game will again pit Wenger against great rival Sir Alex Ferguson, and the Frenchman insists his former spats with the Scot should be taken in isolation. "It's always for me in the heat of the moment,""I'm not somebody who bears grudges for years. I can forgive - indeed, sometimes I need to be the person to be forgiven - but I'm not somebody who thinks for 10 years, forever, 'I will hate you'. "Relations with people go up and down a little bit. Why? Because many things happen in the heat of the moment and you know it's not for definite.

"I had [arguments] not only with him but with other managers."A decision on whether to play captain Cesc Fabregas, who is battling to be fit from a hamstring problem, will be left as late as possible, while Theo Walcott - who impressed when coming off the bench to inspire the Champions League victory over Partizan Belgrade - could make his first start at Old Trafford.

Walcott has struggled to crack the Arsenal first team in recent weeks but Wenger insists his patience will be rewarded. "Frankly I can understand that because for me Theo Walcott is doing well," Wenger said. "For me he is not an impact player, he is a regular player. "At the moment he does not play as often as he should but he will play soon. "In fairness, Theo is fantastic. His attitude and behaviour has been absolutely great."

Read Full Entry