FA Cup final 2016 player ratings: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Marcus Rashford score highly in 2-1 win over Crystal Palace May 21, 2016 A stunning Jesse Lingard strike in extra-time gave 10-man Manchester United a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace and earned the Red Devils a record-equalling 12th FA Cup, their first since 2004. For 110 minutes there was little to separate the two sides. Here's how they rated: Crystal Palace Wayne Hennessey – 7 Made a strong save to keep out [...]
FA Cup final 2016: How much prize money will Manchester United or Crystal Palace make for winning the trophy? May 21, 2016 The financial rewards of the FA Cup will be of little concern to both Crystal Palace and Manchester United in today's final. A winners' prize of £3.4m – a relatively paltry sum when compared to the vast riches on offer in the Premier League – will do little to add extra motivation to a Palace side aiming to win the club's [...]
Aston Villa stadium could be renamed to “Lotus Villa Park” suggests prospective owner Chinese Tony Xia May 21, 2016 Incoming Aston Villa owner Tony Jiantong Xia has suggested he will alter the name of the club's stadium to feature his Lotus Health food business once his £60m takeover is completed. The Chinese businessman agreed a deal to buy the club from current owner Randy Lerner earlier this week, but is still waiting for ratification [...]
Barcelona agree “record-breaking” kit sponsorship deal with Nike, trumping Manchester United’s Adidas deal May 21, 2016 Barcelona have agreed a new kit sponsorship deal with Nike worth a record-breaking £120m per season, according to local reports. The La Liga champions' new deal is reported to be the biggest in world football, worth more than even Manchester United's £75m per year deal with Adidas. The two parties announced a "long-term" extension of [...]
Walter Mazzarri: Watford appoint former Napoli boss as head coach on a three-year deal May 21, 2016 Watford have appointed Italian Walter Mazzarri as their new head coach to replace the outgoing Quique Sanchez Flores. The 54-year-old Mazzarri has signed a three-year deal with the Hornets following spells with Inter Milan and Napoli, who he guided into the Champions League for the first time in 21 years. Despite securing a second consecutive [...]
Major League Soccer salaries revealed: Chelsea legend Frank Lampard paid $6m, dwarfing former team mate Ashley Cole’s $300,000 salary May 20, 2016 Former England midfield partners Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard will be the fourth and fifth best-paid football players respectively in America next season. Gerrard, at LA Galaxy, will earn $6.1m and New York City's Lampard is in line for $6m but it is AC Milan and Real Madrid's former Brazilian forward Kaka who tops the [...]
Pardew aiming to land a blow for English managers by guiding Palace to first major trophy May 19, 2016 Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew is desperate to make it third time lucky in the FA Cup final and land a blow for English managers in the increasingly cosmopolitan upper reaches of the domestic game. Pardew has tasted defeat in the Wembley showpiece twice before: as a player against Manchester United in a 1990 prequel to [...]
Clubs divided over plans for a fifth division of the Football League May 19, 2016 English league football could get a fifth division under sweeping changes being considered for introduction in 2019-20. The current 92-club, four-division system would become five tiers of 20 teams, in a move designed to ease fixture congestion. If approved, the plans could pave the way for a long-discussed winter break and for many FA Cup [...]
Van Gaal: Winning FA Cup would make up for missing out on Champions League May 19, 2016 They may have suffered the ignominy of failing to qualify for the Champions League, but manager Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United can salve that disappointment by winning the FA Cup on Saturday. Beating Crystal Palace would secure not only the first silverware of the under-fire Dutchman’s two-year reign at Old Trafford, but also the [...]
Football betting: Experimental Roy knows his opponents are no Turkeys May 19, 2016 No sooner has the domestic season finished than the countdown to Euro 2016 starts, with England hosting Turkey at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. After naming a 26-man squad on Monday, Roy Hodgson has this friendly, plus two more against Portugal and Australia, to trim his squad and decide on the starting XI for the first group game against [...]