Weekly Football News Catch-Up: August 14th: Manchester United Pays Maguire To Leave; Ronaldo Wins Cup For Al-Nassr; Others

Manchester United To Pay Maguire To Leave The Club

According to the UK Sun, Manchester United will pay Harry Maguire about £6 million as he prepares to join West Ham this summer.

Both clubs have agreed on a fee of approximately £30 million for the 30-year-old.

The deal is anticipated to be completed in time for Maguire to make his debut for the Hammers against Bournemouth.

Maguire will have to accept a significant pay cut to complete the transfer, but Manchester United will provide a payment to help mitigate that.

The England centre-back’s two-year contract at Old Trafford is worth £190,000 per week.

Maguire, on the other hand, will now make £120,000 per week at West Ham. Maguire would be the Hammers’ third highest paid, behind Lucas Paqueta (£150k per week) and Danny Ings (£125,000 per week).

Real Madrid Keeper, Thibaut Courtois Suffers Major Injury

Real Madrid revealed on Thursday that goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, and will need surgery.

This comes ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga debut against Athletic Club on Saturday at San Mames.

“After the tests carried out on our player Thibaut Courtois, he’s been diagnosed with a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee,” Real Madrid’s statement read in part.

“The player will undergo surgery in the coming days.”

With this latest development, it appears that Real Madrid will be without their first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, for the Athletic Club match.

Last season, Courtois experienced back injuries and missed several weeks of action, with Andriy Lunin replacing in.

Cristiano Ronaldo Wins Arab Club Champions Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Al-Nassr, created history on Saturday by leading his team to victory in the Arab Club Champions Cup.

With his goal against Al-Hilal in the Arab Cup of Champions final, Ronaldo broke Gerd Muller’s record for the most documented headed goals in football history.

The former Manchester United forward scored twice as Al-Nassr defeated Al-Hilal 2-1.

Read Also: Manchester United Fans Plan Protest Against Greenwood’s Return

With a header, the Portugal captain scored his second goal of the game, which proved to be the game-winner.

Ronaldo now has 145 goals from headers, one more than Muller.

Al-Hilal seized the lead in the final through Michael in the 51st minute. However, Ronaldo equalized a few minutes later by finishing from close range after Sultan Al-Ghannam made a wonderful pass.

After 90 minutes, the score was 1-1 until Ronaldo scored a header in the 98th minute after Seko Fofana’s shot had rebounded against the woodwork.

PSG Brings Mbappe Back To First Team

According to Foot Mercato, Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is in contract negotiations with the club.

This follows the return of the 24-year-old to the first-team squad by the Ligue 1 winners.

Mbappe was demoted to the reserves after indicating his refusal to sign a contract extension with PSG.

Club president Nasser Al Khelaifi allegedly told the players in a meeting on Sunday that “Kylian is invested in the club” and is now at the disposal of manager Luis Enrique.

Mbappe is currently negotiating a contract extension.

However, it would only be a one-year contract extension, tying Mbappe to Les Parisiens until 2025.

Both parties may also negotiate an agreement on a departure provision in secret. The free-scoring forward would depart Paris next summer, presumably for Real Madrid, while paying a large transfer price to PSG.

Neymar Closing In On A Move To Saudi Arabia

Neymar is on the verge of leaving Paris Saint-Germain to join Al-Hilal this summer.

PSG and Al-Hilal have agreed in principle for Neymar to join the Saudi Pro League team.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Al Hilal has recently offered a ‘big bid’ proposition to Neymar.

Negotiations are continuing to establish a full deal, and Neymar is thought to be intrigued by the prospect, as work is already started for the Brazilian international to leave PSG shortly.

Official documentation have already been given to the player’s side for review, and Neymar and Al Hilal are also in advanced talks.

Neymar has subsequently indicated his wish to leave PSG this summer.

The former Barcelona player was left out of PSG’s 0-0 draw with Lorient in their French Ligue 1 opening on Saturday.