Sport

Hannibal Mejbri has left Man United for Burnley and the announcement video is great

Perfect timing.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 28th August 2024

Manchester United midfielder Hannibal Mejbri has officially joined Burnley FC and the reveal video following the signing is absolutely class.

Announcement videos have become part and parcel of the modern transfer window; you can either go bid dramatic, name in headlights with their reveals or the much preferred tongue-in-cheek comedic approach – but you have to nail it if you’re going for the latter.

With that in mind, the Lancashire side confirmed the promising central-mid on Wednesday morning, 28 August, with an absolute tap-in of a pop culture parody.

But we’ll warn you, if you thought this was going in the admittedly very obvious Silence of Lambs direction, you’re wrong…

Sometimes it’s just all about timing.

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Yes, with earth-shattering news of the Oasis reunion dropping just yesterday, the marketing and media team over at Burnley saw a golden opportunity to welcome the new boy from Manchester with one of the most iconic rock socks of all time.

‘Wonderwall’ might be so ubiquitous that it borders on being skippable whenever it comes on these days (think ‘Mr Brightside’) but, on this occasion, the 21-year-old’s name made for a perfect play on words that couldn’t be passed up.

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We still maintain wheeling him out in a straitjacket and wearing a metal mask would’ve been funnier, though, even if it is low-hanging fruit, but we’ll let them off.

This guy gets it:

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The French-born Tunisian international is the latest squad player to leave Man United this summer as part of a mass rebuild, joining the Clarets for an initial fee of £5.4 million though the deal could rise up to £9.4m with additional sell-on and buy-back clauses.

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Sharing a heartfelt goodbye post on social media, he wrote: “It’s been an honour to represent this incredible club for the past five years. I leave with so many special memories. Making my debut, scoring at Old Trafford and representing United in the Champions League.

“I’ll forever be grateful to the many staff and players who have helped me to develop and grow from a boy to the man that I am today.” Hannibal joined Old Trafford from Monaco as a youth player in 2019 and went on to make 13 appearances for the first team amidst two loan spells at Birmingham and Sevilla.

Meanwhile, as Hannibal departs and long-serving academy graduate turned first-team regular Scott McTominay is also expected to leave, United are also preparing to announce their latest arrival.

Manchester United finally agree deal to sign PSG midfielder Manuel Ugarte
It’s been a busy transfer window for the Reds so far.

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Featured Images — Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)/Burnley FC (via X)

Sport

The hearing over Manchester City’s 115 FFP charges will officially start next week

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester City hearing over 115 FFP charges start date next week

After more than a year of speculation as to when proceedings will finally start, it has been confirmed that the hearing regarding Manchester City and their 115 FFP charges is set to begin next week.

Man City were first slapped with the laundry list of alleged breaches of FFP (financial fair play) and failure to comply with Premier League rules on profit and sustainability (PSR) back in February 2023, but little movement on the case has been reported since then.

In that time, they also won the coveted Treble and their record-breaking fourth league title in a row; meanwhile, the club have continued to deny all claims of rule-breaking.

However, it has now been revealed that City‘s hearing will now kick off on Monday, 16 September.

As explained in various reports, given the extended nature of the claims made against the Manchester side, it is estimated that the case could run on for up to two months if not longer.

Furthermore, it is thought a decision isn’t expected to arrive until spring 2025 – again, this is simply due to the number of charges brought up over the best part of a decade.

In case you need a refresher, the allegations levelled at Man City date back to 2009 and concern a supposed nine years of financial irregularities, as well as subverting UEFA FFP rules.

Some of the accusations made against them also include failing to cooperate with the European football body and the Premier League, as well as offering ‘secret contracts’ so as to pay one particular manager a larger sum than what they recorded in their financial statements.

The final verdict, whenever it is reached, will be handed down by an independent commission and City will still be able to make an official appeal.

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The club itself launched unprecedented legal action against the English top-flight back in June but it doesn’t appear to have been enough to swat away those investigating the books.

It goes without saying that were they to be found guilty, it would be the biggest financial scandal in English football history and could be seismic for the future of money in the sport and regulations surrounding ownership, which have already grown tighter following the charges being issued.

And in case you needed a more detailed refresher on what exactly they are being tried for and what the possibilities are regarding punishment if found guilty, here’s a quick rundown:

What punishment could Manchester City face for FFP breaches?
The outcome and level of punishment following the Man City hearing could vary greatly in severity.

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Featured Images — Arne Müseler (via Wikimedia Commons)

Sport

Billy Harris’ sensational Davis Cup debut helps secure GB’s opening win in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Great Britain grabbed their first win in the opening game of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals group stage this week with a hard-fought day against Finland which featured a truly stunning debut from would-be dark horse Billy Harris.

‘The World Cup of Tennis’ returned to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday for the next stage of the tournament, with Britain getting their Finals group games underway this past Wednesday and starting as they mean to go on.

It may have been too early to throw in Jack Draper – who despite being one of their most promising squad members is still pretty raw from his draining semi-final defeat in the US Open last week – but, thankfully, experienced Dan Evans got the ball rolling and it became a case of building on the advantage.

That being said, you could tell from the early points of Evans’ opener against world no. 703 Eero Vasa that it was going to be a long day for the home team, as the sets felt drawn out right from the off.

Birmingham’s finest was taken to a tense tie-break in the first set of the day but, tough as always, he weathered the early test and emerged with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over the Finnish underdog who looked to be playing well above form.

Evans’ stamina and resilience were a big factor in their dominant display in the qualifiers last September too, but energy levels can only take you so far and after a tiring first match, Finland piled on the pressure in the doubles fixture where he and partner Neal Skupski just couldn’t quite survive two tie-break sets.

The 34-year-old duo were truly put to the test but, fortunately, the game was already a bit of a dead rubber, as the real star of the show came in the form of surprising debutant Billy Harris from Nottingham, who impressed everyone with his emphatic performance against in the other singles fixture beforehand.

Harris only earned his first ATP Tour win last year and is admittedly a bit of a latecomer to the party, but his journey is an inspiring one: working hard over the last 12 months and simply continuing to push so as to now earn his stripes with a Wimbledon debut earlier this year as well.

At 29, he’s at a crucial point in his prime years as an athlete, so it was important that he did his utmost to leave his mark on the GB squad at his first Davis Cup, and he tackled that objective head-on.

Notching a comprehensive 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against Otto Virtanen – who is no slouch in this particular tournament – team captain Leon Smith said of the showing: “I’m thrilled for Billy – I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good.”

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Even on an early afternoon mid-working week, the second day of this year’s Davis Cup managed to attract nearly 6,500 fans to the AO Arena (roughly 90% capacity), which just goes to show how much of an appetite there is for the sport here in Manchester.

The opening rounds of the competition’s return to the city after a whopping three decades late last year saw its biggest overall attendance ever in this country and it’s clear Great Britain look very at home playing here.

Our boys take on Argentina in the next round this Friday, 13 September, where hopefully the likes of Draper can come back into the fold and give the likes of Evan, who has struggled with fitness of late, a much-needed bit of rest where possible.

Even without the likes of the now-retired Andy Murray, an injured Cam Norrie and Stockport’s Liam Broady, GB still look to be one of the teams in with a really strong chance of going all the way. Is The World Cup of Tennis ‘coming home’ and just how big a maiden tournament is Billy Harris going to have?

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Billy Harris/ATP/Davis Cup (via Instagram)

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