Manchester United being sold by the Glazer family would be positive for the club, according to manager Erik ten Hag.
The Glazers, who have owned United since 2005, announced last month they were open to selling the club as they planned to "explore strategic alternatives".
There has been increasing pressure on the Glazers in recent years, with protests commonly seen from fans as frustration grew with the running of the club.
As United seek to compete with the financial might of Manchester City, as well as the new Saudi Arabian owners of Newcastle United, Ten Hag feels fresh investment at Old Trafford would be exciting news for the club.
"There will be more investment possible which is good," said Ten Hag.
"We [Ten Hag and CEO Richard Arnold] spoke about the culture we want, we spoke about objectives, goals and the culture and he confirmed it won't change.
"It will be even better because more money will become available for this project."
Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group confirmed they were looking for new investment in November, while Chelsea were taken over by American businessman Todd Boehly earlier this year.
Ten Hag believes increasing United's financial capabilities is necessary as they look to return to the top table of English football, having lifted just three major trophies since legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
"There's a change in circumstances when you compare [the Premier League] with five or 10 years ago," Ten Hag added.
"Newcastle are coming, even West Ham, maybe not now in the table but they have huge investment. Tottenham definitely and I don't need to talk about City and Liverpool or Chelsea.
"You can quickly count seven or eight clubs that can compete in this league.
"It's also about strategy, not just money. But it's clear that when you don't have the right players and quality players you will not be successful and achieve the targets you set."
After a difficult start to life as United manager since joining from Ajax, Ten Hag's men enjoyed an upturn in form as they went into the World Cup break in fifth place.
United resume their season against Burnley in the EFL Cup on December 21, before they return to Premier League action against Nottingham Forest the following week.
They will be without superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo, whose bombshell interview with Piers Morgan led to his contract with the club being mutually terminated in late November.
Courtois omitted from Belgium squad for Euro 2024 as Witsel returns
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been omitted from Belgium's 25-man squad for Euro 2024.
Courtois suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly before the start of the season in August, only returning to action against Cadiz earlier this month.
He is seen as the favourite to start between the sticks when Los Blancos face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final on Saturday, despite Andriy Lunin impressing as Carlo Ancelotti's side overcame Manchester City and Bayern Munch in the last two rounds.
Courtois became embroiled in a public spat with Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco last June, walking out on the squad when he was not named captain in the wake of Eden Hazard's retirement.
That incident meant he was always unlikely to feature at this year's tournament in Germany, and his absence has now been confirmed with Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski and Matz Sels the three shot-stoppers named in Tedesco's 25-man party.
There is, however, a recall for Axel Witsel, who announced his international retirement last May but has now reversed that decision.
Belgium begin their Group E campaign against Slovakia in Frankfurt on June 17, before taking on Romania five days later and Ukraine on June 26.
Full 25-man squad: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Arthur Theate (Stade Rennais), Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid), Yannick Carrasco (Al Shabab), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Amadou Onana (Everton), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Arthur Vermeeren (Atletico Madrid), Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg), Johan Bakayoko (PSV), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (Roma), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).
Euro 2024 absence caps cruel period for Netherlands midfielder De Roon
Netherlands will be without Marten de Roon at Euro 2024 after an injury blow capped a cruel period for the Atalanta midfielder.
De Roon suffered a muscle injury two weeks ago in Atalanta's 2-0 Coppa Italia final loss to Juventus, subsequently missing Gian Piero Gasperini's side lifting the Europa League with victory over Bayer Leverkusen.
The Netherlands international was in the stands in Dublin for the 3-0 win over Xabi Alonso's Bundesliga champions that secured Atalanta's first European trophy in history.
Having already been named in Ronald Koeman's 30-man provisional squad for the Euros in Germany, starting in June, De Roon suffered another gut-wrenching punch after his absence was confirmed.
"I can't imagine I've had a week in my career, or in my life, that has had so many ups and downs," the Atalanta man wrote on social media on Monday.
"Lost the Coppa Italia, couldn't play the final, win the Europa League.
"In that last euphoric state, I spent a lot of time with the medical staff: it turns out I can't play the Euros.
"I will get over it, I will watch the squad and my friends as a fan, but for now it's a very tough day."
De Roon has won 42 caps for his country and featured at the last European Championships and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
His absence means Koeman has to cut just six players down from his provisional squad for the final 23-man selection, which will be announced on Wednesday.
Netherlands open their Euro 2024 campaign against Poland on June 16 before facing France and Austria in the group stages.
Koeman's squad assembled on Monday for their pre-tournament training camp, ahead of warm-up matches with Canada and Iceland.
Bochum avoid Bundesliga relegation after play-off penalty drama downs Dusseldorf
Bochum will be playing in the Bundesliga once again next campaign after staving off relegation with a penalty shoot-out victory over Fortuna Dusseldorf in the play-offs.
Heiko Butscher's side finished 16th in the German top-flight table in the 2023-24 season, though got the better of their 2.Bundesliga opponents to secure another season in the competition.
Needing to overturn a three-goal deficit from the first-leg play-off defeat, Philipp Hofmann stole the show with a goal in either half before Kevin Stoger's 70th-minute penalty sent the tie to extra time.
The pair could not be separated across an additional 30 minutes at Dusseldorf Arena, ensuring spot-kicks were required to decide the fate of the two Bundesliga hopefuls.
Andre Hoffmann missed Dusseldorf's first but Erhan Masovic also faltered, leaving a winner-takes-all scenario in a sudden-death shoot-out with the score at 4-4.
Maximilian Wittek then converted before Takashi Uchino fired wide, sealing a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory for Bochum after a 3-0 win on Monday snatched a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Dusseldorf finished third in Germany's second division this season and will be forced for, at least, another campaign in 2. Bundesliga after this play-off heartbreak.
This was the first time a play-off has gone to penalties since the Bundesliga reintroduced the fixture, with Bochum ultimately prevailing to keep their top-flight status intact.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
