Manchester United were totally mesmerized by Barcelona on the 28th of May 2011 at what we can relentlessly call their home ground-WEMBLEY STADIUM. It was a performance of almost impeccability by the Blaugrana buoyed by their blessed triumvirate, Lionel Messi, Andreas Iniesta, and the ever reliable Xavi Hernandes. The premier League Champions were practically torn apart by their Spanish counterparts.
This has made the evergreen manager of MAN UTD to think twice and strengthen his squad for the challenges of the coming season. Long term servants like Gary Neville and Paul 'the ginger maestro' Scholes have retired, while other long serving players like Brown and O'shea have jumped ship. Owen Hargreaves has been released because of his injury woes which has seen him play only twice in the last 2 years(both games lasted for 6 minutes combined). Hargy was a big contributor to the domestic-european double of 2008, but his fitness level and persistent knee problems have been a loss for man utd. 40 year old goal tender, Edwin Van Der Sar also called time on his playing career,citing his wife, Anne Marie's health as one of the major reasons behind his decision.
United's first capture this summer was highly rated teenager, Phil Jones (formally of Blackburn Rovers, then Ashley Young, who previously plied his trade at the midlands with Aston Villa followed suit. Athletico Madrid's David De Gea was brought in to try and replace the dutch veteran, Van Der Sar.
However, inspite of all these signings, one big question is still left unanswered- Who replaces the effulgent Scholes? Arsenal's Samir Nasri has been linked to the club all summer, but no deal has been agreed as at the time of filing this report. Luka Modric's preference of Chelsea has seen Man Utd pull out of the race for his signature. Udinese' s Alexis Sanchez (although not a central midfielder) prefers to join forces with Pep Guardiola and his troops.
One player still remains heavily linked to the club- Dutch midfield genius and Inter's golden jewel Wesley Sneijder - a champions league winner with the Beneamata in 2010, he also boasts of the bronze boot and the silver ball in the 2010 World Cup and has the experience of playing at the highest level of club football with the merengues (Real Madrid), as well as Ajax and his present club, Inter Milan.
Widespread founded and unfounded rumours have it that the English Club has agreed a deal with their Italian counterparts, but what is preventing it from being successful is the Dutchman's high wage demands. He, according to various sources- demands for 228,000 euros per week,as opposed to the 197 Manchester United are offering him.
The fans of the English super powers are however biting their nails and praying that the deal pulls through. There seems to be light at the end of the tunnel though as Man U's sponsors,Nike-who fortunately sponsor Sneijder, are willing to close the gap in salary, by paying the balance.
That's all for now.
