There is some deeply distressing news coming out of Brazil, where Reuters report that a fire at the training centre of Flamengo, in Rio, has killed 10 people and injured at least three. The Brazilian club’s training ground was redeveloped only two months ago.
O Globo_Rio
(@OGlobo_Rio)Incêndio deixa dez mortos no Ninho do Urubu, centro de treinamento do Flamengo https://t.co/xLMVY6ieIt pic.twitter.com/HKF5eFXGCk
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Liverpool aren’t just good at football you know, they’re also record-breakers at making a pre-tax profit:
Liverpool broke the world record for the biggest pre-tax profit made by a football club during the 2017-18 financial year, the club’s latest accounts have revealed. Champions League qualification, progress to the final in Kiev and the £142m sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona were instrumental in producing a pre-tax profit of £125m, eclipsing the £92.5m made by Leicester City in 2016-17.
You can read more on that story here:
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Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s transformative powers at Manchester United can, incredibly, lift the club back into the top four on Saturday. With Chelsea playing on Sunday, if United beat Fulham at Craven Cottage in Saturday’s early kick-off, they will move a point above Chelsea. Solskjær has been speaking this morning about his good work and the future of the club. A little nudge, perhaps, in Ed Woodward’s ribs to remind him that he would be prepared to stick around for a while longer:
Every day I feel that I do help the club and put my stamp on it. But decisions sometimes on the future of players are not down to me. It’s the players, do they want to stay or move on but we have a vision and picture of how we want to look in a few years. We have to think long term and also short term and I’ve got a picture of what this Manchester United team should look like in a couple of years. I put my views to Ed and the club. I’ve supported and followed United for many years and I did have a clear view on what I thought my opinion would be. You get a different view on players but we’re not too far away from when I came.
One player who has committed his future to the club is Phil Jones. The defender has signed a new deal until at least 2023. Jones has featured in every match since Solskjær’s arrival and the caretaker manager sees the defender as a key force within the group. Solskjær said:
Phil knows what it takes to be a Manchester United player, he has won the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League and is now one of the senior players within the team. He is coming up to his 27th birthday and entering into his prime years as a centre half. We are delighted Phil has committed his future to the club.
Last week Anthony Martial signed a new contract until at least 2024, while Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay all agreed new deals earlier this season.
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The Premier League title race has heated up in the past fortnight, with Liverpool’s 1-1 draws against Leicester and West Ham giving Manchester City the chance to knock them off top spot with their 2-0 midweek victory over Everton. But Jürgen Klopp’s side can leapfrog City again if they beat Bournemouth at home tomorrow, meaning Pep Guardiola’s side, who have played a game more than Liverpool, will have to beat Chelsea at the Etihad to snatch top spot away again on Sunday. It’s a huge game – let’s not forget that Chelsea were the first team to beat City in the league this season. Meanwhile, Spurs, who have slowly crept up to within five points of City, play Leicester at Wembley. The Foxes are a dangerous opponent for teams at the top, having beaten City at home and drawn with Liverpool away. They generally raise their game against the top six. For a full rundown of what to look out for in the Premier League this season, have a read of this:
Good morning
Welcome to the Friday football blog. First to the desperately sad news that Emiliano Sala’s body has been recovered from the plane that came down in the Channel on 21 January that was taking the player from Nantes to his new club Cardiff City.
“The body brought to Portland port has been formally identified by HM coroner for Dorset as that of professional footballer Emiliano Sala,” Dorset police said. “The families of Mr Sala and the pilot David Ibbotson have been updated with this news and will continue to be supported by specially trained family liaison officers.”
Around the world tributes have been paid to Sala and in France, where the striker made a name for himself with Nantes, all Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 games will be marked with a minute’s applause for the player. The Ligue de Football Professionnel said: “Emiliano Sala has left the memory of an endearing man and a hard-working forward in all the clubs where he has evolved.”
Cardiff City said: “We offer our most heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family of Emiliano. He and David will forever remain in our thoughts.”
Sergio Kun Aguero
(@aguerosergiokun)Enorme tristeza 😢 QEDP Emiliano. Mis condolencias a familiares y amigos #PrayForSala 🙏🏾//Terribly sad 😢 Rest in peace, Emiliano. My condolences to his friends and family #PrayForSala 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/n9aV5CGcI1
In Argentina, Sala’s home nation, president Mauricio Macri, who had joined calls for the search for the pair to be resumed after it was called off, sent his condolences to Sala’s family on Twitter, saying: “We are with you,” while Diego Maradona said: “I am very sorry about this sad news. Many of us kept a glimmer of hope for you, Emiliano.” Gabriel Batistuta tweeted: ““What sadness, this is the worst news. Rest in peace warrior.”
David Mearns, the shipwreck expert who led a private search for the plane, tweeted: “Rest in peace Emiliano. I was glad to provide some small comfort to … the whole Sala family during the past two weeks, but my heart goes out to the family and friends of David Ibbotson, whose loss is the same.”
Fifa said in a statement: “Fifa and the whole football community are deeply saddened about the death of Emiliano Sala. Fifa and its president Gianni Infantino would like to extend their sincerest condolences to his friends and family. Our thoughts are also with the family of pilot David Ibbotson.”
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