Sport

June 2004. And Ferdinand is in another United dressing room hearing a speech showcasing another quintessential Ferguson character trait. There are no tears this time, however. Rather than losing his head and delivering the hairdryer, this time Ferguson was showing his bullish side. An unwavering belief that he could, and would, rebuild the Reds – even in the face of …

Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku has been offered to Barcelona by his agent, Ruben Amorim is under no pressure to pick Marcus Rashford for Manchester United, Newcastle could be forced to accept summer offers for Sandro Tonali. The agent of Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku has offered the services of the 22-year-old Frenchman to Spanish giants Barcelona. (Sport – in Spanish), external …

Rashford has scored 138 goals in 426 appearances for the club since making his debut in 2016, having come through the United youth ranks. However, while he managed 30 goals in all competitions in 2022-23, he has struggled for form in three of the previous four seasons and attracted criticism from pundits and fans for a number of laboured displays …

Former France international Diarra, now 39, has been mired in a series of legal battles since his contract with Lokomotiv Moscow was terminated by the club in 2014. Following a dispute with manager Leonid Kuchuk, Lokomotiv alleged Diarra refused to appear at training or accept a lower salary and dismissed him three years before his deal was scheduled to expire. …

Dragons: Huw Anderson; Rio Dyer, Joe Westwood, Aneurin Owen, Jared Rosser; Angus O’Brien (capt), Rhodri Williams; Rodrigo Martinez, Brodie Coghlan, Chris Coleman, Joe Davies, Ryan Woodman, Dan Lydiate, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright. Replacements: Elliot Dee, Aki Seiuli, Paula Latu, Nick Thomas, Shane Lewis-Hughes, Che Hope, Will Reed, Cai Evans Cardiff: Cameron Winnett; Josh Adams, Rey Lee-Lo, Ben Thomas (capt), Gabriel …

Two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Max Purcell has been provisionally suspended after admitting a breach of anti-doping rules. The 26-year-old Australian has taken a voluntary suspension after admitting breaking World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules relating to the “use of a prohibited method”. Purcell, whose major titles came at Wimbledon in 2022 and this year’s US Open, said he had “unknowingly …

The Buffalo Bills were huge favourites against the three-win New England Patriots but divisional games in the NFL are never that straightforward – and it took a big defensive effort for the hosts to claim a 24-21 victory. MVP favourite Josh Allen had one of his quieter games, and also suffered a late hit to his throwing arm, while cornerback …

Watch a Christmas-themed 2 Good 2 Bad from Match of the Day 2, featuring the Grinch on the pitch at Crystal Palace and an incredible save from Manchester City’s Stefan Ortega.

Match of the Day 2’s Jason Mohammad and Glenn Murray discuss Dominik Szoboszlai’s “absolutely fantastic” performance for Liverpool during their 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. READ MORE: Slot’s Liverpool confirm title pedigree as Salah shows value Watch Match of the Day 2 on BBC iPlayer Available to UK users only.

Liverpool’s move for Joao Pedro will have to wait until the summer, Paris St-Germain willing to pay £83m for Alexander Isak, Frenkie de Jong increasingly likely to leave Barcelona. A Liverpool approach for Brighton and Brazil forward Joao Pedro is likely to have to wait until the summer as the Seagulls’ demands for the 23-year-old will make a January move …