UNITED EAGER TO SIGN TEVEZ

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has held talks with Carlos Tevez in a bid to keep the striker at Old Trafford. Argentina international Tevez has found first-team opportunities hard to come by this season as the partnership between Rooney and Berbatov begins to flourish.

Tevez has yet to agree a permanent deal at Old Trafford, raising concerns he could be tempted elsewhere as Real Madrid are rumoured admirers. But Ferguson has revealed that he has met with the 24-year-old, who started against West Ham on Wednesday, to discuss his future.

Sir Alex has explained to Tevez that he remains a top player in the eyes of the manager, the players and supporters. Three players won't fit into two positions and it's the manager's job is to balance the team. Tevez has understood that when the season really hots up the team will need everyone.

MAN UTD 2 - WEST HAM 0

Cristiano Ronaldo offered an immediate reply to Sir Alex Ferguson's challenge to score 25 goals this season with a first-half double as West Ham were beaten 2-0 at Old Trafford. Both goals were scored in the first half.

Tevez was given a chance after sitting on the sidelines for virtually a month and Rooney was the man sacrificed. Ronaldo took his tally for the campaign to five, first profiting from Nani's precise cross before tapping home from two yards, an effort that owed everything to the genius of Dimitar Berbatov.

PAPADOPOULOS KEEN ON UNITED

Greek 16-year-old wonderkid, Kyriakos Papadopoulos admits he would be 'proud' to play for Manchester United, but is trying not to be distracted by transfer speculation.

Report says that United are planning a bid to sign the Greek starlet, who currently plays for Olympiakos, in the January transfer window. The highly-rated centre-half is unaware of any interest from United, but would be honoured to join the Premier League and European champions.

RONALDO IS FIFPRO WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Cristiano Ronaldo has been named FifPro World Footballer of the Year. It is the first in what is expected to be a host of individual honours for the 23-year-old, who scored 42 goals for Manchester United on their way to Champions League and Premier League title glory last term.

Ronaldo had suggested last week he could do no more than he did to be crowned the best player on the planet and peers from over 40 countries are in agreement. He also feels that being recognised by over 50,000 professional players worldwide is absolutely amazing.













FifPro team: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), John Terry (Chelsea), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Kaka (AC Milan), Xavi (Barcelona), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

EVERTON 1 - MAN UTD 1

Everton surprised Manchester United with an unexpected 1-1 draw thanks to a marvellous second-half fightback. The Red Devils dominated the first 45 minutes of the clash with a controlled and confident display, to the point that Everton were chasing shadows.

 

United held a deserved lead through Darren Fletcher at the break, but in the second period Everton stormed back with a physical performance, with Marouane Fellaini heading the equaliser. Everton had former United striker Louis Saha up front with Ayegbeni Yakubu, while Phil Neville returned from injury. And Tim Howard outstanding performances denied many goal attemps by his former club.

AC MILAN TO BID BECKHAM

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed the club hope to sign David Beckham on a short-term loan. The former England captain is determined to maintain fitness and keep his place in the national team, and a spell on loan in Europe during the Major League Soccer close season could be beneficial.

A number of clubs have been linked with the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, but Milan are leading the race for Beckham's signature. He is under contract with LA Galaxy but their regular season finishes on Sunday. However Beckham would not be available immediately because of his key role in Galaxy's promotional tour of Australia and New Zealand.

MANCHESTER UNITED 3 - CELTIC 0

Two goals from Dimitar Berbatov, taking his Champions League tally to four and a customary strike from Wayne Rooney gave Manchester United a 3-0 win over Celtic at Old Trafford. Rooney, who now has nine in seven games for club and country, paid scant justice to United's total dominance.

Celtic players were comprehensively outplayed and penned in their own half for long stretches, allowing Sir Alex Ferguson to gain personal satisfaction of avenging a defeat to the same team two years ago. Dimitar Berbatov was delighted with his double and was given standing ovation when he left and replaced by Carlos Tevez.

RONALDO & FABREGAS FOR BALLON d'OR

Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard are among 11 Premier League players shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or. The trio are the only England players nominated for the award alongside the likes of Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo, the clear favourite and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

The France Football magazine today revealed the condensed list of 30 contenders for their European golden ball award. Spain are represented by seven players after winning Euro 2008 in the summer - Torres and Fabregas being joined by Marcos Senna, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas, David Villa and Xavi.

Nominees
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Edwin van der Sar (all Manchester United), Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack (all Chelsea), Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres (both Liverpool), Cesc Fabregas, Emmanuel Adebayor (both Arsenal), Iker Casillas, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart, Sergio Ramos, Pepe (all Real Madrid), Lionel Messi, Xavi, Samuel Eto'o (all Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Valencia), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), Kaka (AC Milan), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Franck Ribery, Luca Toni (both Bayern Munich), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow). Karim Benzema (Lyon)

BECKHAM IS STILL IN DEMAND

David Beckham would be welcome to train with Serie A giants AC Milan over the winter. The club's vice-president Adriano Galliani confirmed the midfielder had been "close'' to joining the Rossoneri before moving to LA Galaxy from Real Madrid. "If Beckham wanted to train with Milan, then I would have to ask coach Carlo Ancelotti, but from the club's point of view, there would not be any problem", said Galliani.

 

Beckham is keen to keep up his match sharpness in order to remain part of the national squad but with the Major League Soccer season coming to a close he will need to find alternative arrangements. The former England captain is eager to stay in Fabio Capello's England plans as he bids to add to his 107-cap tally. With only another 2 caps, he will overtake Bobby Moore as the country's most capped outfield player.

 

Meanwhile, the current and former England internationals David Beckham and John Barnes have been appointed vice-presidents for England's 2018 World Cup bid. The pair will support the newly-formed executive board along with further vice-presidents soon to be announced and their appointments reflect an initial wave of ambassadorial roles as England 2018 Ltd continues to prepare its bid to stage the tournament in 10 years' time.

MAN UNITED 4 - WEST BROM 0

Wayne Rooney continued his remarkable goalscoring run as Manchester United kept the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool with a 4-0 victory over West Bromwich at Old Trafford on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov also found the net during a devastating 15-minute period for the Barclays Premier League champions, with Nani completing the scoring in the last minute.

 

Rooney, so impressive in England's World Cup victories over Kazakhstan and Belarus last week,  helped destroy West Brom at Old Trafford, then claimed he was in the best form of his career. The Red Devils' place in the top four was secure. The big four reunited again and ready for battle to commence.