Rooney insists confidence is high

Wayne Rooney says the United squad is flying high after last weekend's dramatic derby victory at Eastlands - and Tottenham's defeat of Chelsea - threw the title race wide open again.

Rooney, speaking in an exclusive interview with the matchday programme, United Review, says to have gone from within seconds of being out of the title race to it being "back on" has given everyone at Old Trafford a boost.

"It was a great weekend," he says. "To beat City in the last minute was fantastic, and then Tottenham went and made the day even better for us by beating Chelsea.

"The title race is back on and it’s now between us and Chelsea. We need to win our three games and hope Chelsea slip up somewhere.

"But we’re feeling confident. The win over City has definitely helped and I think you could tell what it meant tous by looking at the celebrations after the final whistle."

United face Tottenham, Sunderland and Stoke, while Chelsea face Tony Pulis' men, Liverpool and Wigan in the climax to incredible season.

"We’re fully focused on getting nine points from our final three games, that’s all we can do," says Wayne.

"Then if Stoke, Liverpool or Wigan can do us a favour then we’d be very grateful! But all we can do is just win our games and hope for the best."

Read the full interview with Wayne Rooney in Saturday's matchday programme.

23/04/10 - ManUtd.Com
 

Brazil ace eyes Man Utd move

Brazil international Luis Fabiano has hinted he could be interested in a move to Manchester United.

The 29-year-old Sevilla striker, who will spearhead Brazil's World Cup campaign this summer, has one year left on his contract with the Primera Division club.

"If you are asking me what team I most admire it is Manchester United," he is quoted as saying in Friday morning's Daily Express. "If you play under Sir Alex Ferguson then you are probably going to win a title or another major trophy."

Luis Fabiano has won two UEFA Cups and a Copa del Rey with Sevilla, for whom he has scored 90 goals in 187 games.

Fletcher: Pressure is on Chelsea

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher believes Chelsea are beginning to feel the strain as the race for the Barclays Premier League title reaches a climax.

With only three games remaining United are point adrift following the late, late derby victory against Manchester City. United will go back to the top on Saturday should they beat a Spurs side aiming to claim a Champions League slot. Chelsea are not in action until the following day against Stoke.

"They are the team leading the league and all the pressure is on them. We are just taking care of ourselves," said Fletcher.

"They were in a situation where they might have felt they could have pulled away and be in a real strong position but they are not.

"We never thought it had gone but is was a disappointing time after the Blackburn game. It was an uphill struggle but it just shows you in one weekend things can change."

Paul Scholes' stoppage-time winner in the derby not only gave United bragging rights but more importantly revived their bid for a record fourth successive crown.

Fletcher said: "Winning that game gave Tottenham something to play for and they did us a favour.

"We are a point behind now. All we can do is win our games. That's all we can do. Whatever happens happens.

"There have been some strange results all season. No one has really put a run together and that is credit to the league. The teams are getting stronger."

 

24/04/10 - Mirrorfootball.co.uk

 

 

Fergie is Dim the Hunt for klaas

KLAAS-JAN HUNTELAAR could be heading to Manchester United in a sensational swap deal with Dimitar Berbatov.

AC Milan bigwig Adriano Galliani has acknowledged the possibility of the Dutch international moving to the Premier League but remained coy on the future of Bulgarian flop Berba.

Milan vice-president Galliani said: "When Klaas was at Real Madrid, he had the chance to go to England, Germany or Italy, and he chose Milan. But England could be a future solution.

"I have read about our interest in Berbatov and I have nothing to add."

SunSport revealed this week United boss Alex Ferguson was looking to offload Berbatov, who has scored just a dozen goals this season, to the Italian outfit.

23/04/10 - Thesun.co.uk

Ferdinand and Brown back for United

Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown have given Manchester United a double boost ahead of Saturday's huge clash with Tottenham by returning to full fitness.

Ferdinand, who missed last weekend's 1-0 win over Manchester City with a groin problem, has resumed full training and is ready to start against Spurs.

And Brown, who has not played since suffering a broken metatarsal against Wolves on March 6, has made a full recovery and is available for selection.

United can go top of the table ahead of Chelsea with a lunchtime win at Old Trafford, with Chelsea not playing Stoke at Stamford Bridge until the following day.

Victory over Spurs would once again pile the pressure on Carlo Ancelotti's men, who went down 2-1 at White Hart Lane last weekend following United's last-gasp win over City.

United midfielder Michael Carrick admitted he will not be able to watch Chelsea's game against Stoke because of his anxiety over what is at stake.

"I can't watch games," said Carrick. "You can't control the match, which makes it really hard. Sometimes it's better to take your mind off it and just get the result after it's all over

 

22/04/10 - Mirrorfootball.co.uk

Tottenham's Gareth Bale is £20M Manchester United Target

MANCHESTER United have made Tottenham's Gareth Bale one of their prime summer targets and are willing to pay £20million to secure his services.

A deal for Bale, 20, could even be discussed when the two clubs meet at Old Trafford on Saturday and the player is understood to be aware of United's interests.

Spurs travel to Manchester hoping to clinch fourth spot - and Champions League qualification would represent their best chance of being able to afford to turn down United and convince Bale to stay at White Hart Lane.

Manchester City and Inter Milan are also monitoring him but it is United's interest that is currently strongest.

Although a left-back, Bale has looked equally comfortable on the left wing for Spurs. He went 24 Premier League games without appearing on a winning side but has excelled since the turn of the year.

Bale scored his first goals of the season in the back-to-back victories over Arsenal and Chelsea, but United's interest in him is not new.

They first wanted to sign him as a 17-year-old from Southampton and Welsh legend Ryan Giggs even tried to persuade him to go to Old Trafford.

At the time, however, Bale was fearful he would not get enough first-team chances and instead chose to sign for Spurs for a fee of £5m, rising to £10m. A serious ankle injury cut short Bale's first season and he struggled to make much of an impact when manager Harry Redknapp joined in October 2008.

But Redknapp will be desperate for Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to rebuff United's advances, having spoken of his relief at turning down City and Inter last year.

"It would have scared me to death to have sold him," said Redknapp after the Bale-inspired victory over Chelsea.

"I knew what he had. The sky's the limit for him now."

Redknapp claimed Bale broke a world record for the ground covered at Wembley in Spurs FA Cup semi-final defeat by Portsmouth, having run about nine miles.

22/04/10 - The Daily Express.co.uk

 

 

Manchester United valued as biggest football club in the world - FACT!

Manchester United scored another title success last night by being valued as the biggest football club in the world.

Despite a turbulent year for British clubs, the Old Trafford side held on to top spot in Forbes Magazine's list of the world's 20 most valuable football teams.

Seven of the 20 teams featuring in the table hailed from England - despite the Barclays Premier League being the most indebted in Europe, according to governing body UEFA.

United, who have now topped the table for six years, were valued by Forbes at £1.19 billion after a 2% fall from last year.

Newcastle, rated as 20th most valuable, were a surprise inclusion after being relegated last year.

Arsenal came third, ahead of Liverpool in sixth, Chelsea in ninth and Tottenham at 12th. Big-spending Manchester City trailed in 19th place.

Peter Schwartz, a business sports writer for Forbes, praised United's resilience as "one of the world's biggest sporting brands".

He said: "The club has really established itself as one of the top brands in world sport.

"New kit deals and great marketing has seen them maintain their status despite all the problems of the global recession."

Real Madrid were forced to settle for second place - despite signing Cristiano Ronaldo from United last summer.

The world's 20 most valuable clubs generated a combined £422million in operating income last season, a Forbes spokesman said.

Combined revenues grew by £23.4million to £3.57 billion for the 2008-09 season, Forbes said.

"The top five clubs took in 86% of the total because their worldwide following allows them to grab much more sponsorship and media revenue," a spokesman added."

Broadcast rights account for 42% of the revenue of Europe's top 20 clubs.

The Top 20 in full is:

1) Manchester United
2) Real Madrid
3) Arsenal
4) Barcelona
5) Bayern Munich
6) Liverpool
7) AC Milan
8) Juventus
9) Chelsea
10) Inter Milan
11) Schalke 04
12) Tottenham Hotspur
13) Olympique Lyonnais
14) Hamburg SV
15) AS Roma
16) Werder Bremen
17) Olympique Marseille
18) Borussia Dortmund
19) Manchester City
20) Newcastle United


22/04/10 - Forbes Magazine's