Sport

Wayne Rooney revealed as latest addition to the Manchester United vs Celtic Legends game lineup

Wazza back in the building.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 21st August 2024

The lineup for the Manchester United vs Celtic Legends game has just seen another big name roped in, as none other than Wayne Rooney has now been confirmed as the latest player taking part.

A raft of familiar faces from teams gone by will be once again pulling on the iconic red shirt for a special one-off in aid of the Man United Foundation, which helps support communities all across the 10 boroughs, raising vital funds all year round through events like these.

With the likes of Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick and more already confirmed for the charitable exhibition match against a team of former Celtic pros, supporters were hardly turning their nose up at the lineup to begin with.

But now, with Wayne Rooney – not only the club’s all-time leading top scorer but an England legend too – added to the lineup, even more fans are bound to pile into Old Trafford for the game next month. They first teased the announcement on Tuesday night and immediately set fans heads on a swivel.

Confirming the news the following morning, the 38-year-old was unveiled as the latest United player set to be pulling on his boots and rolling back the years in front of thousands this September.

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Taking time out of his busy new role as manager of Championship side Plymouth Argyle, the now-retired goalscoring machine – who only called a day on his playing career back in 2021 after a short 30-game stint at Derby County – is sure to still prove more than handy on the pitch.

Sharing the news on social media, the club posted: “One of the greatest players in Manchester United history is joining the Legends squad. And he goes by the name of: Wayne Rooney.”

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That chant will no doubt be ringing around the grounds non-stop when he walks back out under the lights at the Theatre of Dreams.

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Other names now confirmed for Celtic’s team include Georgios Samaras, Emilio Izaguirre, Darren O’Dea and Simon Donnelly.

Set to take place on Saturday, 7 September, with a 2pm kick-off for families to make the most of a fun-filled day out, this will be the first Legends game since the Northern reunion against Liverpool back in 2022.

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Tickets are on sale now, with general admission for adults starting from £21 and under 16s prices set at just £11, and proceeds going towards the United Foundation’s crucial efforts across the Greater Manchester region.

You can see the full lineup for the Man United vs Celtic Legends game down below and secure your seat for the highly anticipated match HERE.

Who has been confirmed for the Manchester United vs Celtic Legends game?

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Featured Images — Zfscgx (via GoodFon)/United Foundation (supplied)/All-Pro Reels (via Flickr)

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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