Manchester United made me the player I am now – Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted his time at Manchester United played a huge role in his development.

The Portugal international joined United from Sporting CP in 2003 and matured into one of the best players in the world at Old Trafford.

Ronaldo, who eventually left United for Real Madrid in 2009, has now revealed that the guidance of players such as Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs helped him become the player he is now.

Manchester was a huge education for me, Ronaldo told The Times. There were guys who always arrived for training one hour early. Scholes and Neville were incredible examples. Neville was the most professional player I saw. This is why these guys played in the top level for 10 years.

People like Giggsy, too. I learnt from them.…

Jarrod Bowen: From Hereford and Hull to West Ham’s humble European hero

It has been quite a few weeks for Jarrod Bowen – the family man and England international who welcomed twin daughters into the world last month before delivering Europa League Conference success for West Ham.

Described by his first boss as a “manager’s dream”, Bowen’s last-minute winner in a closely-fought final against Fiorentina on Wednesday night provided an unforgettable end to West Ham’s 43-year wait for a major trophy.

The 26-year-old, whose partner is reality TV star Dani Dyer, has a down-to-earth demeanour which has seen him become a firm favourite among team-mates and the club’s supporters since he relocated to London in 2020.

“The best moment of my career” was how Bowen summed up the 90th minute at Prague’s Fortuna Arena when he latc…

Wilshere out to prove Arsenal wrong

Jack Wilshere is determined to prove Arsenal were wrong to release him when he revisits his old club with West Ham on Saturday.

The 26-year-old spent 11 years at the North London club before joining West Ham on a free transfer in July, and he is set to make his first appearance against them at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

Wilshere played on loan at Bolton Wanderers in 2009-10 and at Bournemouth in 2016-17 but has yet to experience lining up for Arsenal s opposition.

He told West Ham s matchday programme: It s down to me to prove a point to Arsenal that they were wrong to get rid of me.

Happy to make my home debut but not happy with the result. Tough game for us this weekend but we have a week of hard work and preperation in front of us

— …

Agbonlahor fires back at Klopp with reminder of 2014 Anfield win

Gabriel Agbonlahor responded to Jurgen Klopp s criticism of his mentality on Friday with a Twitter post remembering his winner against Liverpool at Anfield.

Agbonlahor s analysis of Manchester United s 4-0 defeat to Brentford last week so frustrated Klopp he almost rang in to talkSPORT to talk to the former Aston Villa striker, the Liverpool manager revealed.

Agbonlahor s scathing review of United s poor performance was unbelievable coming from an ex-player, Klopp suggested.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of Liverpool facing rivals United, the Reds boss said: [Agbonlahor] lost against us 6-0 my first year [Villa v Liverpool, Feb 2016].

I couldn t remember him as a mentality monster on the pitch, but what he said about United on that show, I was clo…

Colts vs 49ers Sunday Night Football Picks and Predictions: Jimmy G Returns For Niners

Sunday Night Football for Week 7 features a non-conference clash between a couple of two-win teams with the Indianapolis Colts visiting the San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco is still dealing with injury issues coming off a bye but was on the board as a 4.5-point NFL betting favorite for this primetime game. Indianapolis kind of enjoyed a bye of its own, thrashing lowly Houston 31-3 last Sunday for its third straight ATS win and fourth payday in the past five games.

Check out our NFL free picks and predictions for Colts vs. 49ers on Sunday, October 24.

Former Florida State OT Just Got His 2012 SEC Championship Ring

Conference realignment is definitely confusing these days, but we're pretty sure Florida State is still in the ACC. In fact, yes, Florida State is still in the ACC; the Seminoles beat Georgia Tech 21-15 last year to win the ACC for the first time in seven years. According to this ring FSU won the SEC for the first time in ever. Menelik Watson, a second-round pick of the Oakland Raiders and former Seminole just tweeted a picture of the championship ring meant to commemorate Florida State's status as 2012 ACC Champions but unfortunately, it commemorates Florida State's status as 2012 SEC Champions, a claim Alabama may dispute. Update: Thanks to reader Jeff, we have evidence that suggests at least one player had the correct conference designation on his ring. Another lo…

Lampard names the ‘offensive’ player England have missed greatly at Euro 2024

Former midfielder Frank Lampard insists that England not having Luke Shaw available has been a big deal for Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024.

Although progressed through to the knockout stage as winners of Group C, Southgate’s squad have yet to spark after successive draws following a hard-earned 1-0 win over Serbia.

With Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon all having impressed when coming off the bench during the second half of the stalemate against Slovenia on Tuesday night, Southgate appears to be weighing up his options ahead of Sunday’s last-16 tie against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen.

with the 28-year-old still getting up to full fitness after Southgate took a risk by including him.

England have struggled to threaten down that left-hand s…