Paper Talk: Mourinho blocked €100m superstar raid; Emery target

Jose Mourinho’s reasons for not wanting Manchester United to re-sign a former star have been revealed, while Neymar would prefer moves to two other Premier League sides before the Red Devils, according to Sunday’s newspapers.

 

MOURINHO RULED AGAINST RONALDO RETURN

Jose Mourinho urged Manchester United chiefs not to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, according to reports on Sunday.

The Sunday Mirror claims United were offered the chance to re-sign the 33-year-old from Real Madrid this summer prior to his €100m move to Italy with Juventus.

It’s claimed executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward was keen to bring Ronaldo back to the club but listened to his manager, leaving Juve as the only club willing to meet the Ballon d’Or’s winners wage demands.

However, Mourinho told club bosses that spending £90m on someone of his age, and then handing him £500,000 a week in wages, made little sense to the club and that his top priority this summer was to sign world-class defensive reinforcements.

But ­Mourinho’s wish backfired when United chiefs then failed to deliver Toby ­Alderweireld, Harry Maguire or Diego Godin after a summer of transfer frustration for the club.

United have since made an inauspicious start to the new season and face a crucial match at Burnley on Sunday.

 

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AND THE REST

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, 26, would prefer a move to Arsenal or Chelsea if he ever moved to the Premier League as he “loves” London (Sunday Express)

Tottenham are taking a close look at highly rated Ajax and Netherlands Under-21 midfielder Frenkie de Jong (Sunday Express)

Manchester United’s board believe Jose Mourinho will improve results and he is not yet under threat of being sacked (Sunday Mirror)

Manchester United are still furious with Diego Godin for using their interest in him to secure a new Atletico Madrid deal (Sunday Mirror)

Unai Emery is ready to dump the ‘Arsene Wenger style’ in the dustbin of history and play long-ball football at Arsenal (Sunday Mirror)

Watford head coach Javi Gracia believes Nathaniel Chalobah can put his injury struggles behind him and force his way into the England squad (Sunday Mirror)

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has set head coach Unai Emery the target of winning the Champions League (Mail on Sunday)

Britain’s wealthiest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has hinted he is interested in taking over a football club but refused to comment specifically on Chelsea (Mail on Sunday)

Sheikh Mansour: The man with the money for Man City

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that owner Sheikh Mansour nearly bought a London club before he purchased the current Premier League champions (Mail on Sunday)

England manager Gareth Southgate has encouraged young players who are not playing at Premier League clubs to consider loan moves to the Championship (Mail on Sunday)

Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez says Steven Gerrard – who was his captain during their time together at Liverpool – has what it takes to be successful as Rangers boss (Mail on Sunday)

Gareth Southgate does not believe Jack Wilshere is at the required level to play for England (Sunday Telegraph)

England boss Gareth Southgate has ruled out a documentary being made about his team (Sunday Telegraph)

Jose Mourinho has admitted he does not think his players are good enough to play the ‘Manchester United way’ (Sunday Times)

In-form Eden Hazard has fired a warning to Chelsea’s rivals, saying that when he plays well, so does his team (The Observer)

Eric Dier has accused some big teams of using a lack of new signings as an excuse for failure (The Observer)

Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele could leave the club in January to join Chinese Super League side Beijing Sinobo Guoan on a three-year deal worth £192,000-a-week (The Sun on Sunday)

Colombia centre-back Yerry Mina picked Everton ahead of Manchester United because Toffees boss Marco Silva called him, and Red Devils counterpart Jose Mourinho did not (The Sun on Sunday)

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he is sure David De Gea will commit to the club, despite his failure to sign the new contract on offer at Old Trafford (The Sun on Sunday)

Kevin De Bruyne has been given the green light to step up his rehab from his knee injury, with the Manchester City midfielder being told he will not need surgery (The Sun on Sunday)

Chelsea turned down a loan offer from Red Bull Salzburg for young winger Callum Hudson-Odoi (The Sun on Sunday)

Marko Arnautovic says he fears West Ham United are in big trouble if their Premier League losing run continues much longer (The Sun on Sunday)

Sacked Premier League referee Bobby Madley has been turned down by MLS, where he was keen to relaunch his career (The Sun on Sunday)