Cristiano Ronaldo denied on Tuesday that he has agreed to join Saudi club Al Nassr after Portugal's World Cup adventure.
The striker became a free agent after being released from his Manchester United contract last month and reports have claimed Ronaldo has agreed an extraordinarily lucrative deal to play in Saudi Arabia.
Suggestions of a bumper contract offer from the Saudi Pro League club emerged last week, with Ronaldo said to be in line to earn well over £100million a year.
However, the 37-year-old says the reports of him signing a deal with Al Nassr are wrong.
Speaking after coming off the bench in Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland at the World Cup, a rare substitute appearance for his country, Ronaldo was asked about the move.
"No, it's not true," he told reporters.
Ronaldo was allowed to leave United after a television interview with Piers Morgan saw him criticise the club's owners and signal his lack of respect for manager Erik ten Hag.
He said he felt "betrayed" by the club, alleging there were efforts being made to force him out, with his second stint at United ending in a messy break-up less than 18 months after his arrival from Juventus.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner may struggle to find a top-tier club in Europe, given his relative decline in form in recent times, compared to his peak years at Real Madrid, and the huge salary he is expected to be seeking.
The money may be no object in Saudi Arabia, but it remains unclear whether Ronaldo does not fancy that switch, or whether the deal is simply not over the line yet.
Ronaldo also sent his best wishes to Pele, who is being treated in a Sao Paulo hospital.
A report in Brazil at the weekend claimed the three-time World Cup winner had entered palliative care following a cancer battle. That has not been confirmed by the hospital, family, or Pele himself.
There have been a host of fond messages sent to the 82-year-old since concerns were raised about his health, and Ronaldo joined in. According to Record, Ronaldo said: "Get better, get better Pele. Our king has to get better. That's all we want."
Caolan Boyd-Munce agrees new one-year contract with St Mirren
Caolan Boyd-Munce has agreed a one-year contract extension with St Mirren, who have confirmed star striker Curtis Main, Charles Dunne, Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Tait will all move on.
The 23-year-old midfielder joined Saints in March on a deal until the end of the season and the club has taken up the option to extend that until the summer of 2024 with an appearance-based option for another year.
The Northern Irishman – who began his career at Glentoran and had spells at Birmingham and Middlesbrough – made three appearances for the Buddies last season with his first start coming in Saturday’s match against Rangers at The SMiSA Stadium.
Manager Stephen Robinson told stmirren.com: “Caolan was never going to come into the first team fold straight away because he hadn’t played for a long time.
“What we could see three months ago, he is now starting to achieve. Sometimes, that gamble is worthwhile.
“He’s different from what we have. He will find passes and put people through on goal as he gets fitter and stronger.
“We believe that come August/September, he has a real chance of starting games for us and pushing on. There’s so much more to come from him.”
“The option for a different type of midfielder who is similar to an Ethan Erhahon (who left for Lincoln in January) makes us stronger as a squad.”
Robinson, who has 20 players under contract for next season, did not expect 31-year-old striker Main, a key player since joining from Shrewsbury two years ago, to extend his time in Paisley.
The former Morecambe and Motherwell manager will also have to bolster his defence this summer.
Club captain, Shaughnessy, 30, joined the Buddies from Southend in 2020 and was out of the team earlier in the season.
Fellow centre-back Dunne, 30, arrived from Motherwell two years ago while full-back Tait, 33, also signed from the Steelmen in 2020.
In a general squad update, the Buddies website said: “Offers were made to Charles Dunne, Curtis Main and captain Joe Shaughnessy, but all three have decided that their futures lie elsewhere.
“With over 250 combined appearances between them, we thank them immensely for their respective contributions to St Mirren and wish them the very best in their new challenges.
“Richard Tait also departs after almost three years at the club where he made 87 appearances and scored three goals. We sincerely thank Richard for his contributions and wish him the very best in whatever comes next.
“Tony Watt and Thierry Small have returned to their parent clubs, Dundee United and Southampton, respectively. We thank them for their time at St Mirren and wish them all the best for their future.
“An offer to Youth Academy graduate Jay Henderson remains on the table.”
Diogo Dalot happy to continue ‘special journey’ after signing new Man Utd deal
Diogo Dalot says everyone at Manchester United feels like they are “at the start of a special journey” after signing a new deal until at least 2028.
The 24-year-old right-back joined from Porto in 2018 and has gone on to make 107 appearances in all competitions for the club.
Dalot, who spent the 2020-21 season on loan at AC Milan, has now signed new terms at Old Trafford for the next five years, with the option of a further season.
“Playing for Manchester United is one of the highest honours that you can have in football,” the 11-cap Portugal international said.
“We have shared some fantastic moments over the past five years and I’ve grown so much and my passion for this incredible club has only increased since the day that I joined.
“As a group of players, we all feel like we are at the start of a special journey right now.
“I can assure you that I will dedicate myself relentlessly to helping this group to achieve our aims and make the fans proud of this team.
“That drive continues this week with everyone intensely focused on preparations for the FA Cup final.”
Dalot began the season superbly under Erik ten Hag, but much-improved Aaron Wan-Bissaka may get the nod to start Saturday’s FA Cup final at right-back.
View this post on InstagramIrrespective of his role against Manchester City this weekend, United football director John Murtough is delighted by the strides the full-back has made.
“Diogo is an excellent defender, with a great combination of pace, strength and versatility,” he said. “He has consistently developed, improving year-on-year since joining the club in 2018.
“Diogo’s work ethic and professionalism is superb; the way in which he prepares himself every day in order to perform at his highest level is exactly what we all want from a Manchester United player.
“Diogo has a strong mentality, high standards and a great personality, and we are delighted that he will remain an important member of the squad for the coming years.”
Jack McMillan sets sights on Premiership return with Partick Thistle
Jack McMillan dropped down a division when he signed for Partick Thistle to get more game time and become a better player, but his goal was always to put that improvement to use back in Scotland’s top flight.
The 25-year-old has already achieved the first part of the plan he made when he left Livingston last summer, his performances in the cinch Premiership play-offs so far being evidence of that.
The right-back has scored three of Thistle’s 16 goals in their four matches to date, the latest a header against Ayr in his 50th appearance of the season.
This week he gets the chance to complete the other half of his target when Thistle take on Ross County for a place in the top division.
McMillan said: “I enjoyed my four years at Livingston, it was a great time, but my reason for leaving was to get more game time and play regularly.
“I have managed to do that this season – this will be my 51st start in a row.
“But I would like to get back up to the top division and continue to learn and improve.
“I feel I have improved massively. You can only improve from the games that you play and to play 50 this year is incredible. Touch wood, I have not had any niggles or injuries so far.
“I have hit numbers attacking-wise, I set targets and I have exceeded them.”
McMillan’s move was the second time he went one step back to go two steps forward, having left Motherwell in January 2018 after playing 16 games for the Lanarkshire club.
He was quickly back in the Premiership after helping Livi to play-off success which relegated Thistle in the process, and he sees major similarities in the situation he finds himself now.
“In my time at Livingston, the group were very, very tight,” he said. “You probably saw that on the park. It’s very similar traits to this dressing room as well.
“When we came up with Livingston, we would have beaten anybody. It was that kind of mood that we were in. We had a great season. We were tipped for relegation that season so to go up through the play-offs was massive.”
Thistle have lost just once in 17 matches since Kris Doolan took over as manager three months ago.
McMillan said: “The momentum has been there for a while, maybe since the new manager came in.
“He has tweaked a few things, especially formation, and that has helped the players, especially the two full-backs, myself and Holty (Kevin Holt). It has helped us go forward and play that free-flowing football that we have been doing.”
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