Young Manchester United fan Anderson Pollard was recently given the all-clear following a battle with cancer and as his footballing role model was often on his mind throughout his treatment, the club organised for him to meet his hero: Alejandro Garnacho.
Seven-year-old Anderson from Redditch, Worcestershire was sadly diagnosed with a rare type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in May last year after initially being diagnosed with nothing more than constipation.
However, after going back to the GP shortly after, he was immediately rushed to the hospital for a CT scan and was found to have multiple tumours in his stomach, meaning he had to go through months of aggressive treatment including chemotherapy, bone marrow aspirations and several surgeries.
Throughout his treatment, doctors used an emergency question to check his cognitive responsiveness and Anderson’s was a tap-in: ‘Who has played with Ronaldo & Messi?’ His answer each time, without fail, was ‘Garnacho‘. When Man United learned of this, they simply had to get the two of them together.
Garnacho meets his biggest fan, Anderson, after being given the all-clear.
How lovely is this?
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His intense treatment is a lot for anyone to go through, let alone a little kid, but Anderson fought hard and was thankfully declared cancer-free on 18 September 2023. The United Foundation does plenty with local hospitals and children’s charities but they couldn’t help but reach out to the Pollard family.
As his dad Sam says throughout the video, there was pretty much only one thing on the little lad’s mind throughout his time in Birmingham Children’s Hospital and that was his idol, so when United got in touch to arrange for a visit to the Carrington Training Complex, he was over the moon.
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Little did he know it was more than just a tour around the ground and that he would be surprised by none other than Garnacho himself. Signing his shirt and gifting him a ball, the Argentine winger called Anderson “a warrior” before presenting him win Manchester United’s Bravery Award for 2024.
Garnacho didn’t just come to meet the wide-eyed young fan, he also surprised him with a Bravery Award for beating cancer. (Credit: supplied)
And the heartwarming scenes didn’t stop there either, as even before his surprise visit to Carrington, Anderson and his family were gifted tickets to go and see the Reds in person.
It isn’t the first time we’ve seen Garnacho taking time out to meet superfans either, as he also surprised another youngster with a touching gesture after the Everton game last year.
The route for the 2027 Tour de France Femmes revealed ahead of Manchester debut
Danny Jones
The route for next year’s women’s historic Tour de France has been announced, with some of the best riders in the world set to pass through Greater Manchester and more.
Yet another big coup for the region and our sporting scene.
Speaking with the City Council, now that the full route has been revealed, our very own Dame Sarah Storey joined many in celebrating another huge moment for us; the female Tour de France is not just back up and running, but aiming to become bigger than ever.
🚴♀️ The world’s best cyclists are heading to Manchester! 🚴♀️
The routes for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2027 have now been revealed, with Manchester set to host the Stage One finish on Friday 30 July and the Stage Two start on Saturday 31 July. pic.twitter.com/OMMlhdorqP
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) April 21, 2026
The Stockport-born swimmer turned Team GB cyclist and multi-Olympic gold medallist knows all about what makes this particular sport special, having swapped a previous and highly successful career for an entirely different discipline.
As has now been fully confirmed, the 2027 Grand Départ will be getting underway with our friends in Leeds, before heading through Yorkshire and into Greater Manchester.
Upon entering our neck of the woods, the course will pass through the likes of Rochdale and Oldham into Manchester city centre, before heading into Stockport and neighbouring North West county, Derbyshire, and finally heading back through the Peaks.
Spread across two incredible days, the race itself will finish in Sheffield, with another UK first happening down in London, as the capital will also host the inaugural team time trial held in this country.
You can see the official event’s breakdown of what locations feature in which stages of ‘The Big Loop’ in more detail below.
Leader of Manchester City Council, Bev Craig, went on to add: “Being able to watch the world’s best cyclists in action and in such an iconic event, taking place right here on our doorstep in the heart of Manchester next summer, is going to be epic on so many levels.
“Championing women and girls to participate in and enjoy sports – including cycling – at all levels from entry through to elite, is really important to us and next year’s Tour de France Femmes is set to play a huge part in helping inspire the next generation of sporting talent from our city.
“With millions of spectators expected to line the routes, including here in the city centre, we’ll be going all out to help ensure the event’s success with what is set to be a ‘Tour takeover’ of the city to maximise opportunities for local people and businesses to get involved, to grow their own sporting skills, and to take part in the many community activities being planned.”
Having hosted everything from the BRITs and the MOBO Awards to another Super League Grand Finals in both netball and rugby, not to mention numerous other huge events over the past couple of years, it truly is a great time to be living in Greater Manchester.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Manchester City Council)
Sport
adidas and JD are giving away FREE Nell’s pizza with a Manchester Marathon medal
Daisy Jackson
Manchester Marathon finishers will be able to reward themselves with free Nell’s pizza this weekend, thanks to a collaboration with adidas and JD.
The sportswear giants will be teaming up with one of the city’s top pizza spots to hand out the ultimate post-race reward at Kampus this Sunday.
It’s all to celebrate the launch of the new adidas EVO SL ATRs, a shoe that’s built with running miles in mind.
And there’ll be a chance to grab an exclusive t-shirt too, and have your official marathon finish time branded on-site.
adidas and JD are giving away FREE Nell’s pizza with a Manchester Marathon medal / Credit: Supplied
As well as a free slice of Nell’s famous New York-style pizza and a drink, Manchester Marathon finishers will be able to enter into a range of giveaways, with prizes including the EVO SL ART, adidas merch, and range of other prizes.
And you’ll be recovering with a slice in hand and a live DJ keeping the post-race energy high
All you need to do is show your Manchester Marathon medal at Nell’s at Kampus, to grab your free slice, and check out adidas and JD’s latest drop.
Friends and family are encouraged to join too – after all, all runners know a marathon isn’t possible without that support crew.
There are also a bunch of giveaways and more to look forward to / Credit: Supplied
Pizza slices will be handed out on a first-come, first-serve basis, so make sure your sprint to Nell’s is your fastest yet.
Thankfully, the adidas EVO SL’s are built for speed…
adidas x JD x Nell’s – Manchester Marathon event
Taking place on Sunday 19 April, from 12pm to 8pm
Free pizza slice and a drink when you show your Manchester Marathon medal (while stocks last)
Exclusive merch and great prize giveaways from adidas and JD
Plus photo moments, live DJs, and more
Find it at The Bungalow, Kampus, M1 3GL (next to Nell’s)
Danny Jones -
1st February 2024 
