European Leagues

Man United Set To Make Another Drastic Boardroom Decision

Manchester United’s deputy football director Andy O’Boyle is set to leave after two years at the club.

O’Boyle joined as United’s inaugural deputy football director in May 2022 and his appointment was intended to free up around two-thirds of John Murtough’s week.

John Murtough was formerly United’s football director but left Old Trafford in April as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s boardroom shake-up. O’Boyle is now set to follow him out the exit door, despite assuming more responsibility since Murtough left earlier in the year.

O’Boyle had vacated his role as the head of elite performance at the Premier League to support Murtough and he assisted Sir Dave Brailsford as he made boardroom changes.

The Northern Irishman played an important role as United waited on the appointments of Omar Berrada (CEO), Jason Wilcox (technical director) and Dan Ashworth (sporting director).

Like Murtough, O’Boyle went to university in Liverpool and also has a background in sports science, having been the head of science at Coventry. He was previously Jurgen Klopp’s fitness coach at Liverpool and had stints with Wrexham and England’s Under-21s.

Murtough’s exit from United was a mutual agreement to allow a new football leadership structure to be implemented and O’Boyle’s departure is the natural next step.

Murtough tendered his resignation as United’s football director earlier this year and Ratcliffe said: “We want to thank John for his loyal service over many years and for his support and integrity during this period of transition. He leaves with our best wishes for the future.”

The 54-year-old is yet to take up a new positon in football since leaving United in April.

European Leagues

Don’t Buy Unofficial Final Tickets, UEFA Warns

UEFA has issued a warning to fans ahead of the club competition finals not to buy tickets on the secondary market, from unauthorised third parties, websites, agencies or from touts.

“Tickets issued for the UEFA club competition finals are 100% digital and made available exclusively through the official UEFA Mobile Tickets App, which includes several security features that aim to combat unauthorised ticket sales,” said UEFA.

UEFA said that any tickets bought outside the platform are liable to be cancelled at any time and fans are likely to be refused entry or be ejected from the stadium.

Ticket sales to the general public and fans of the teams in the finals can only be bought via UEFA.com.

UEFA highlighted the precautions against non-official ticket sales, saying:

Ticket transferability rules and restrictions have been implemented for the General Public and each finalist club.
Sharing of accounts is not permitted in the UEFA Mobile Tickets App. Only the phone used to download the mobile tickets will be able to access the stadium.
Screenshots of mobile tickets are not valid tickets. Anyone attempting to enter the stadium with such screenshots will be refused entry.
Paper tickets and print-at-home tickets are not valid tickets.

Enforcement of the rules will include monitoring of the internet, and action (including cancelling tickets) where breaches of its terms and conditions are identified, said UEFA. Some tickets for the finals have already been cancelled in this respect and further cancellations are likely to follow.

UEFA also warned fans against travel to the stadiums without tickets as they will not gain admittance.

Insideworldfootball.com

LaLiga

Yamal To Inherit Messi’s No. 10 At Barca

Lamine Yamal will reportedly inherit Lionel Messi’s iconic No 10 shirt at Barcelona after signing a new contract with the club this summer.

Despite only being 17, Yamal has emerged as a Ballon d’Or contender this season after winning the Euros with Spain last year, and is widely viewed as the game’s biggest talent since Messi burst onto the scene almost 20 years ago.

Similarities have been drawn between the pair, and Yamal now looks set to follow in Messi’s footsteps once again.

According to Memorabilia1899.co, Yamal will celebrate his 18th birthday in July by signing a new long-term contract with Barcelona that will contain a €1bn (£841m) release clause.

The deal will also see Yamal handed the No 10 shirt which is currently occupied by Ansu Fati.

Fati is facing an uncertain future at Barcelona, and will have the famous jersey taken off him by Yamal, who has been donning the No 19 shirt this season.

Lamine Yamal will reportedly take the No 10 shirt when he signs a new Barcelona deal

This will signify another historic moment in Yamal’s fledgling career, after he made his Barcelona debut two years ago when he was only 15.

Since then, he has won LaLiga twice, and starred in Barcelona’s run to the Champions League semi-finals this season before they were knocked out by Inter Milan in a thrilling tie.

Yamal looks primed to dazzle in the No 10 shirt for years to come, just like Messi did after he took the jersey in 2008.

Messi made the shirt his own for 13 years, winning the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions during this period, before adding another to his collection in 2023 after winning the World Cup the previous year with Argentina.

The Argentine icon finished his Barcelona career in 2021 with a staggering 672 goals in 778 appearances, plus 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions League triumphs to his name.

Yamal has big boots to fill, but has already shown that he can light up the biggest stages.

The winger had pundits purring over his ability earlier this month after Barcelona’s 3-3 draw with Inter, as Rio Ferdinand hailed him as the best player in the world, while Jamie Carragher compared him to a prime Messi.

Ferdinand wrote on X: ‘As a pure football talent I’m going as far as to say I think Lamine Yamal is on another level to any player playing the game in the top 5 leagues in world football.

Yamal claimed his second LaLiga title last week, and lifted the trophy over the weekend

Meanwhile, Carragher said on CBS Sports: ‘That (performance) was Messi-esque. That was like watching Messi in his heyday.

‘The whole game almost stopping to just see what he was going to do. It was just brilliant.’

Dailymail.co.uk

Serie A

Klopp ‘Agrees’ To Take Over Roma – Report

Former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp agreed to become AS Roma’s new coach on Sunday shortly after their 3-1 home win over AC Milan, La Stampa has reported in its online edition.

The arrival of the charismatic German coach would lead to “electric” dealings on the summer transfer market, with the acquisition of six new players, according to the report.

Ansa.it