Premier League
VIDEO: MANCHESTER CITY’S BERNARDO SILVA REFUSED TO CLAP FOR LIVERPOOL PLAYERS
Liverpool fans have taken aim at Bernardo Silva after the Manchester City star appeared to refuse to participate in a guard of honour for the Premier League champions at the Etihad Stadium, reports UK’s Daily Mail.
Pep Guardiola confirmed his men would honour Jurgen Klopp‘s side with a round of applause before their clash on Thursday night – which City went on to win 4-0 – after Liverpool were crowned Premier League champions for the first time last week.
And the deposed top-flight title-holders stuck to their word as all the City players waited for the new champions to emerge on to the pitch ahead of kick-off.
At first look it seemed as if every player was showing their respects to Liverpool, but a video on social media appears to spot Silva refusing to applaud like the rest of his team-mates.
Instead, the Portuguese playmaker can be seen sipping from his water bottle as the stars from the new champions made their way past him.
The 25-year-old then even appeared to leave the line sooner than his City team-mates and began making his way to the touchline before every single member of Liverpool’s starting line-up had made their way past him and their City counterparts.
And enraged Liverpool fans took to Twitter to voice their disapproval, with one tweeting: ‘Is this not unsporting behaviour?
‘Bernardo Silva was spotted in the guard of honour not clapping like the rest of his team mates, and even took a sip from his cup while the Liverpool players passed him I’ll wait!’
Another agreed, tweeting: ‘The guard of honour from City btw was shocking. Bernardo Silva in particular made himself look like a right t***.
‘He showed a lack of class but that’s no surprise.’
One other supporter also claimed the City man’s actions reflected the pain his team were feeling, writing: ‘All Bernardo Silva has shown is that giving us the guard of honour really hurt them.’
MailOnline have approached Manchester City for comment.
Silva began the game on the bench but came on as a second-half substitute as City inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Klopp’s side in the Reds’ first game back since being crowned champions.
Kevin De Bruyne put his side ahead when he converted from the penalty spot after Raheem Sterling had been fouled.
Sterling then turned scorer to double City’s advantage before Phil Foden scored a third just before half-time.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain then scored a second-half own goal to complete Liverpool’s miserable night.
Klopp confirmed before their 4-0 defeat at City that his side did not ‘need’ to be respected with a guard of honour.
‘I am not sure if I’ve ever got [a guard of honour] but it was long ago that I won something in Germany.
‘I think we had three more matchdays to go and it’s not really a Germany tradition but it is an English one and a Premier League one.
So we take it, it is a nice gesture, 100 per cent. I wouldn’t need it to be honest.’
Under Premier League rules, clubs do not have to give a guard of honour, but may choose to do so if the clubs reach an agreement.
Aston Villa, Brighton, Burnley, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle are also set to show their respect to the new champions in Liverpool’s remaining fixtures.
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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