Manchester United's new teenage striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed the club's fabled number seven shirt because of his youth as manager Alex Ferguson plots another era of success at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo, 18, takes over the number formerly worn by George Best and most recently David Beckham after the youngster's £12.24 million (US$19.65 million) signing from Sporting Lisbon made him British football's most expensive teenage signing.
At a news conference yesterday to unveil United's latest signings Ferguson said: "One of the reasons we have given the shirt to Ronaldo is because he's young.
"He's a young lad who's going to get better and better. There have been some famous players at this club [who have worn number seven]. Eric Cantona, Bryan Robson and David Beckham have held the jersey over my time at the club.
"I think it was appropriate that a young player like Ronaldo should take it because hopefully he's going to be at the club for a long, long time."
United also presented Brazilian international Kleberson at Old Trafford following the completion of the midfielder's £6 million move from Atletico Paranaense.
Ferguson does not expect to add to his squad before the closing of the transfer window at the end the month.
But he believes his latest signings, who arrived following the departure of Beckham and Juan Sebastian Veron, will enhance United's chances of retaining the premier league title and give them a better chance of winning the Champions League.
"There's a big issue of European football, which is very important to us now," he added.
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka on Wednesday led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels after a straight-sets victory of his own. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino. Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the final in his past six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4. After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4. He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game
Taiwan’s men’s basketball team on Monday clinched a spot in the FIBA Asia Cup quarter-finals with a 78-64 win over Jordan in Saudi Arabia, securing their best finish in the tournament since placing fourth in 2013. The win was sweet revenge for Taiwan, who were denied a quarter-final spot by Jordan at the same stage of the previous Asia Cup in 2022 after blowing a nine-point lead in the final minute and losing 97-96 on a half-court buzzer-beater. “History is part of the journey,” Taiwan head coach Gianluca Tucci said when asked about the 2022 collapse of the team, who he did
Taiwan’s national basketball team on Wednesday suffered a heartbreaking loss, ending their FIBA Asia Cup run after Iran staged a dramatic comeback to secure a 78-75 victory in the quarter-finals at King Abdullah Sports City in Saudi Arabia. Taiwan were in front for 38 minutes, 30 seconds of the 40-minute game. Iran only took the lead in the final minute, but it was enough to knock Taiwan out of the tournament. With the win, Iran advanced to tomorrow’s semi-finals, when they face Australia. The loss ended a promising campaign for Taiwan, who had been aiming for their first semi-final appearance since the 2013 FIBA
STUMBLE: World No. 2 Coco Gauff confidently won her first set against seventh-seed Italian Jasmine Paolini before being overcome in the second and third sets World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday, while Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain’s second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner
RSS