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…
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.
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.
Featured Images — Ardfern (via Wikimedia Commons)/Burnley FC (via X)
Sport
Manchester set to host five UEFA EURO 2028 matches – including England’s opening game
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed to be the host of five matches at the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament in 2028.
This also, crucially, would include England‘s opening match, should they qualify directly.
The joint announcement by Manchester City and Manchester City Council today comes as UEFA has now released key details about the UK & Ireland 2028 competition – which, as it stands, is less than 1,000 days away.
It has been confirmed that the Etihad Stadium – which is known as The City of Manchester Stadium when not relating to Manchester City football club – will host four Group Stage matches across four different groups, offering both local and international football fans the chance to see a range of different national teams in action.
On top of this, Manchester will also be the host a Round of 16 knockout match as the tournament progresses.
UEFA EURO 2028 will kick off at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff on Friday 9 June 2028, culminating in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 9 July 2028.
Across the UK and Ireland, nine stadiums will host matches during the upcoming tournament – with other northern stadiums including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, and St James’ Park over in Newcastle.
More than three million tickets – as sold by UEFA – are set to be available for the tournament, and more information on this will be issued in due course.
Following an independent assessment, UEFA EURO 2028 is expected to generate up to £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland between 2028 and 2031, with benefits including job creation, regional growth, and direct spending from international visitors.
The countdown has started in Manchester for #EURO2028!
Five matches are scheduled to be played here – including England's opener if they qualify – and more than 300,000 fans will be welcomed to the city in June 2028.
“We’re a city where football runs deep in our DNA, and we’re counting down the days to UEFA Euro 2028.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Sport
Man City to open latest Greater Manchester club shop at Trafford Centre
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club are set to open another brand-new store at the Trafford Centre, and just in time for Christmas.
With the festive period approaching, plenty of people will be looking to buy the latest shirts and merch of their beloved team, and with the Blues now a bigger brand than ever, they’ve put plenty of time into levelling up the club shop experience.
Their third in Greater Manchester, all told, it’s also set to be one of their largest to date.
Credit: The Manc Group
Although confirmation of the plans came back in October, City have officially announced themselves in the Trafford Centre this month.
With the hoardings going up over on Peel Avenue – the section of the huge mall arguably most well-known for its multi-storey John Lewis department store – they’ll be opening their doors just next to the branch of Waterstones.
In fact, you definitely can’t miss it because not only is there a giant MCFC badge plastered over the windows, but it also happens to be right next to the big Christmas tree.
This comes after sports and streetwear franchises like Gymshark and Urban Outfitters joined the North West tourist attraction, not to mention the massive Zara and Bershka sites that opened recently, as well as other global names like Pop Mart.
An idea of what the new Man City store in the Trafford Centre could look like, based on the Arndale shop. (Credit: The Manc)
Put simply, there’s been plenty of new arrivals this year, and there are several others to come.
Although we’ve not got an exact opening date just yet, the posters displayed across the window simply read “Coming November”, so Cityzens won’t have to wait long.
Furthermore, job vacancies for retail roles working within the upcoming location are already listed on the official Trafford Centre careers page.
Last but not least, there are scheduled be a number of other new openings in the shopping arcade, leisure and entertainment destination, so keep your eyes peeled on socials for more info soon.
Danny Jones -
28th August 2024 
