Top stories and rumors from Friday’s newspapers…
FOOTBALL
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to continue his strike at Al Nasr and miss Friday’s game against Al Ittihad – Daily Mail
There are employees of Al-Nassr who allegedly have not received their salaries – That Ball
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Sky Sports Chief Correspondent Kaveh Solhekol provides the latest on Cristiano Ronaldo’s current situation at Al Nasr.
Sandro Tonali is growing increasingly frustrated at Newcastle and was heard expressing his frustration with the situation to a member of the club’s staff following the Carabao Cup defeat to Manchester City – The sun
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Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has said the club have “no intention” of selling Sandro Tonali despite deadline day reports suggesting he may have been the subject of Arsenal’s interest.
Michael Carrick has made a major change to Manchester United’s training schedule by allowing players to have a day off after matches, something previous bosses Eric ten Haag and Ruben Amorim rejected – The sun
Tottenham Hotspur is owned by the Lewis family, with no control over former chairman Daniel Levy selling his lucrative stake in the club’s majority shareholder Eniko to anyone he chooses – The Telegraph
Liverpool forced to pay Chelsea up to £6.8m in compensation for Rio Ngumoha – The Times
Liverpool fear Conor Bradley will be out for the rest of the calendar year despite recent speculation on social media that he could return in time for the start of the 2026/27 season. Daily Express
Former Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel hangs up his football boots aged just 33 – Daily Express
John Duran has ended his loan at Fenerbahce and plans to join Zenit St Petersburg at the end of the season – Daily Mail
Netball coach and Gary Neville’s sister Tracey has emerged as head of a new project from Stockport County for a women’s football team – The sun
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss out on Celtic’s Europa League squad if he joins the Glasgow giants after missing the deadline to submit a UEFA squad – Scottish Sun
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Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed he has spoken to former Arsenal and Liverpool player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is a free agent.
CRICKET
Ben Stokes suffered horrific facial injuries after being hit by a ball driven by an 18-year-old – The sun
RUGBY UNION
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has given England an injury scare ahead of their Six Nations opener against Wales after reporting a leg injury, with Tom Roebuck on standby – The Times
Off-field turmoil in Welsh rugby has taken an explosive turn after Swansea Council launched legal proceedings against the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and Ospreys owners, I11 Sport and Media – The Times
Scotland manager Gregor Townsend has played down reports he has agreed to take over Newcastle Red Bulls after the World Cup – BBC
WINTER OLYMPIAD
Matt Weston insists he is not concerned by the helmet row that has erupted ahead of his bid to win skeleton gold at the Winter Olympics – Daily Mail
Team GB chief of mission Eve Muirhead believes they can return from the Winter Olympics with eight medals – The Guardian