These Manchester United and City footballers could play together at Euro 2020
The Euro 2020 tournament finals are better late than never in 2021 and, from the 24 competing countries, 10 different nations are represented by footballers currently playing for either Manchester United or Manchester City.
The Euro 2020 tournament finals are better late than never in 2021 and, from the 24 competing countries, 10 different nations are represented by footballers currently playing for either Manchester United or Manchester City.
Premier League stars will have to put domestic club rivalry and local bragging rights to one side when they go on international duty. Fitness permitting, these Red Devils and Citizens players may well take to the field for their respective countries during Euro 2020 (UEFA has kept 2020 as the official name).
Spain
La Roja have won two of the last three editions of the Euros, but the current Spanish side has a very different look to it to the dominant force they were in world football between 2008 and 2013. United goalie David de Gea is obviously first-choice between the sticks.
He is joined regularly in Spain national squads these days by young City defender Eric Garcia, who has been of rumoured interest to Barcelona. Etihad holding midfielder Rodri and attacker Ferran Torres, signed from Valencia this past summer, should also see action at Euro 2020. Spain meet Poland, Slovakia and Sweden in one of the easier pools at the tournament.
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Portugal
Over the last 15 years, in particular, there has been a strong Portuguese presence in the Premier League. As the reigning and defending European champions, they too are a team in transition as veteran national coach Fernando Santos has brought fresher faces through from the Euro 2016 triumph. He needs to as Portugal play world champions France and Germany in their group this time.
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Star United midfielder Bruno Fernandes can look forward to playing alongside City’s Bernardo Silva in support of the great Cristiano Ronaldo. In defence, meanwhile, Ruben Dias has been a revelation since signing for Pep Guardiola from Benfica with full-back Joao Cancelo also a Portugal regular.
Netherlands
Qualifying for major international tournaments has been something the Dutch have failed to do in recent years, but they will be at Euro 2020. The spine of their side should contain two Manchester-based footballers in Donny van de Beek from United in the engine room and City defender Nathan Ake at the back.
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The Clockwork Orange have a seemingly easy Euros pool on paper which pits them against Austria, Ukraine and play-off winners North Macedonia. This is why they are odds-on favourites with online football betting sites to top Group C at Euro 2020, and 10/1 chances to win the tournament.
England
Belgium, France, Germany, Sweden, Scotland and Wales all have at least one footballer playing for either United or City that should be heading to the Euros, but the most obvious nation is England. Gareth Southgate has a wealth of homegrown talent and options across the two clubs, as he prepares for group games with Scotland, the Czech Republic and old rivals Croatia.
From Marcus Rashford and Raheem Sterling starting wide in attack to Harry Maguire and John Stones in defence, as many as eight players from United or City could pull on the Three Lions jersey for the tournament. Southgate also looks sure to include youngsters like Phil Foden, Mason Greenwood and Dean Henderson in his plans for the Euros.
Sport
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.
The Manc -
6th January 2021 
