Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is back to training after a lengthy period on the sidelines ahead of Manchester City’s Club World Cup fixture this week.
De Bruyne returned to first-team training on Monday night as Pep Guardiola‘s squad flew over to Saudi Arabia where they will Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday evening, giving the Blues for the remainder of the season as they head into Christmas.
The Belgian superstar suffered a serious hamstring injury during City’s opening game of the 23/24 Premier League campaign against Burnley back in August and has been out of action ever since. As one of the most prolific playmakers in Europe, let alone England, his absence has obviously been felt.
While it is unclear whether KDB is yet fit enough to make an appearance against the Japanese side, he has now completed his first session back with his teammates.
The 32-year-old’s injury has meant that treble-winners have been without one of their star men all season, which could go some way to explaining their fluctuation in results, at least domestically, over recent weeks and months.
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Having set such high standards for themselves over the past decade, it seems odd to not see them running away with the league already and instead having won just one of their last five in the league.
With that in mind, De Bruyne coming back to training is crucial in reestablishing that dominance and, for many fans, they feel giving him a run out against the Urawa Reds in what will widely be considered a very east game for the City would be a needless risk and, in contrast, a good opportunity for youth players.
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Speaking to The Guardian ahead of his return and potential first minutes back on the grass this week, De Bruyne said his surgery went well and that he is now just “hoping to be back on the pitch soon”, adding: “I want to be the best player in the world. I still have motivation every day.”
In case you need any more idea of just how instrumental Kevin De Bruyne is to what makes the Cityzens tick as well as they do, he racked up a total of 41 goal contributions last season, three-quarters of which came by setting them up.
It was only back in April that he broke the record for becoming the fastest player to reach 100 assists in the Premier League and with lethal striker Erling Haaland also out injured at the minute, City are still missing two of their biggest goal threats. Who knows what the table will look like once they’re both back?
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Manchester City’s Club World Cup fixture against Urawa kicks off at 6pm and will be broadcast live on TNT Sports.
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.
Danny Jones -
19th December 2023 
