Manchester United man Lisandro Martinez absolutely made the day, perhaps even the whole year, of two young fans after stopping to sign their shirt at the weekend.
Following his team’s 3-1 home win over Reading on Saturday, 28 January, fans gathered around the exits of Old Trafford as they often do to try and spot the players leaving.
However, two passionate young Reds stood waiting in the cold and damp Manchester weather to see one man, Lisandro Martínez, and thankfully their wish came true
As you can see in the video below posted by the kids’ dad, Paul Barratt, Lisandro a.ka. ‘Licha’ is driving out of the ground when he spots the pair of wide-eyed United fans holding out their shirt and, well, you can guess the rest.
This is why players should never forget who pays their wages and how much football means to the fans!!! #MUFCpic.twitter.com/mWi0g9olkZ
Martínez has been a fan favourite ever since he arrived at the club back in July 2022, showing just as much passion as he does quality in his performances, week in, week out (it’s no wonder he became a world champion with Argentina), and scenes like these will only make fans love him even more.
Writing on Twitter, chuffed dad paul thanked the 25-year-old for giving them a moment that will stay with them forever after the man himself responded to the now-viral video.
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Nothing but wholesomeness over here.
Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️ my children will remember that moment for the rest of their lives!!!! #mufc
Licha was rested as fellow South Americans, Casemiro and Fred, combined to put a trio of wonderful goals past the Berkshire side.
That is now 11 home wins in a row and just one loss and one draw in their last 13 games. Erik ten Hag‘s team currently sit fourth in the table, level on points with Newcastle and now into the fourth round of the FA Cup, as well as an EFL Cup final practically sealed.
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Things are looking up for the red half of Manchester.
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 -
30th January 2023 
