Defender Marc Cucurella has hit back at Gary Neville’s criticism of him following Spain’s win in the Euros 2024 final.
After what has been an action-packed past few weeks since UEFA Euro 2024 first kicked off out in Germany on 14 June, with Gareth Southgate‘s Three Lions squad managing to make it all the way to their second consecutive Euros final, it was Spain who came out victorious in the end and took home the coveted title.
Spain clinched the all-important 2-1 victory thanks to goals by Nico Williams and Mikel Oyarzabal, while England’s effort was scored by second-half substitute Cole Palmer.
While we all know what ended up happening in the end, and while Spain were the clear natural winners on the night, ahead of the highly-anticipated final match showdown, Gary Neville had his reservations and gave his view on what could be Spain’s downfall if the nation were to lose and England should reign supreme.
🗣️ "He's not been convincing, that price tag I think still astounds everybody to this day…"
The former Manchester United and England right-back – who has been serving as a pundit on ITV throughout European football‘s flagship tournament – pointed to Spain’s left-back, Marc Cucurella, as one of the reasons the team may struggle against England.
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He said the Cheslea player is a contributing factor as to why he feels Spain “can’t go all the way” in the tournament.
Spain defender Marc Cucurella has hit back at Gary Neville’s criticism following Euro 2024 title win / Credit: ITV | Marc Cucurella (via X)
Speaking live on ITV on the Spanish team earlier on in the tournament, Neville explained: [Cucurella’s] not been convincing at Chelsea, he’s played a few games towards the end of the season, he’s aggressive, he’s tenacious, he’s a busy little full-back [but I think] that price tag still, to be fair, astounds everybody to this day.
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“The Spanish defence has got a lot of experience now, but there’s something just missing from Spain that makes you feel like they’re going to go all the way.
“And I have to say, [Cucurella] being at left-back probably is another example of why we think that.”
The Spain and Cheslea left-back shared his hard-hitting response on social media / Credit: Marc Cucurella (via Instagram)
It was not long after Spain ran away with the title last night that Cucurella remembered Neville’s pre-match message for him, and so decided to hop on social media to share his own response to the ITV pundit’s strong words.
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Writing on his Instagram story, Cucurella shared a picture with Neville’s quote in writing and commented in response: “We went all the way Gary.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Emily Sergeant -
15th July 2024 
