Any potential peace offering from new Old Trafford boss David Moyes will have to wait.
In the meantime, Real president Florentino Perez is determined to bring in Double-winning Chelsea boss Ancelotti – a big Rooney fan – to succeed Stamford Bridge-bound Jose Mourinho.
Ancelotti’s current employers, Paris Saint-German, are fighting to keep the Italian.
But Perez is determined to get his man – and start rebuilding at the Spanish giants, with a £25million move for Rooney on the cards.
Real do not want to lose United old boy Cristiano Ronaldo, so an exchange deal is not on the agenda.
Arsene Wenger is ready to use his summer war-chest to fund a move for long-term target Paul Pogba, writes the Sunday People.
The Arsenal boss has twice tried to sign the France midfielder in the past, and is ready to test the resolve of Italian champions Juventus with a serious bid.
Pogba left Manchester United on a free last summer after refusing a new deal at Old Trafford and has enjoyed a breakthrough season at club and international level.
But despite the 20-year-old’s fine form, the Gunners have been alerted to the fact that he is unsettled in Turin after being the subject of racial abuse in a derby match against Torino last month.
Pogba was also sent off for spitting at an opponent when Juve sealed the title against Palermo earlier this month.
Arsenal would now have to pay top dollar for the player as Juve are not keen to sell and are likely to demand at least £15million.
Wenger also tried to sign Pogba from Le Havre when he was just 16, but United beat him to the teenager.
The leggy midfielder has long been dubbed ‘the next Patrick Vieira’ – and Wenger does believe Pogba could develop into as dominant an enforcer as his legendary former captain.
With Jack Wilshere’s fitness fragile and Aaron Ramsey’s form patchy, Wenger has made signing a dynamic central midfielder one of his summer priorities.
Stoke’s Steven Nzonzi is another potential target.
The 24-year-old last week handed in a written transfer request, which was rejected by Potters chairman Peter Coates.
But the former France Under-21 international could be allowed to quit the Britannia for around £12m.
Carl Froch produced yet another night to remember as he served up a thrilling performance to defeat Mikkel Kessler in a 12-round war at The O2 Arena in London.
The Nottingham man unified Kessler’s WBA super-middleweight crowd with his own IBF title, taking the victory by unanimous decision, with the judges scoring the contest 116-112, 115-113 and 118-110.
Victory over Kessler exorcised the ghost of his epic 2010 defeat in the Dane’s homeland and enhanced Froch’s reputation as one of this country’s finest.
Froch is on an astonishing five-year run of elite level fights which began with him claiming the WBC title against Jean Pascal in 2008 and has seen him beat the likes of Jermain Taylor, Arthur Abraham and Lucian Bute.
However, Kessler is one of only two men to have scalped him as a professional, along with the pre-eminent American Andre Ward, and revenge against the Dane had been on his mind ever since they fought three years ago.
Froch came into the bout with a record of 30-2 with 22 early wins and weighed in over a pound heavier than Kessler (46-2, 35 KOs) this week.
The Briton won a tactical first round which ended with him enjoying success with his first sustained combination before Kessler answered back with a nice left hook before the bell.
More of the same in round two meant Froch was surely two rounds up and in the third both men threw big shots that missed.
The Briton landed an instinctive short right as Kessler advanced early in the fourth but Kessler caught him with an uppercut and two hard jabs in response. Froch landed with his first body shot of the fight but took a three-punch combination for his trouble seconds later as Kessler perhaps took the fourth.
Kessler began the fifth with a big left hook and followed it up with another soon after. A big right over the top was the Dane’s best punch but Froch retorted with a right of his own. A left from Kessler to Froch’s body was clearly low and earned him a warning before a big right and huge left rocked the Englishman’s head both ways. ‘The Cobra’ sucked it up and took another left before countering with one of his own.
Kessler was hurt by a right in the eighth and goaded Froch in an attempt to hide the hurt. A single right was brilliantly timed as the home fighter seized control again. Kessler smashed in a counter right but Froch was breaking his man down. Kessler kept firing back and both connected with big power shots at the same time to leave the crowd on their feet at the bell.
Kessler did well in the ninth, landing a stiff three-punch combination early on, and scored with an excellent left hook to the body in the 10th before following it up with the same shot to Froch’s head. The tough IBF champion barely blinked, instead firing back with wild but venomous right hands to take the round.
Kessler smashed Froch around late in the 11th, landing left hooks and massive rights in quick succession to dazzle his man and cut him over the left eye. Yet still Froch remained unbowed, firing back with rights of his own and bullying his man around the canvas as the bell rang.
The final round began to a standing ovation as both men touched gloves and went at it, going toe to toe for the full three minutes until the final bell brought them to a standstill. The two men embraced before the scores were read out, perhaps paving the way for a much-anticipated decider in the near future.
A professional footballer is to appear in court accused of making homophobic gestures during a Championship match.
Blackburn Rovers forward Colin Kazim-Richards, 26, was summonsed under the Public Order Act after Brighton and Hove Albion fans complained to police.
The Turkish-born player was accused of making gay gestures towards rival players and their supporters during the game in Brighton in February.
Police said Kazim-Richards would appear before Brighton magistrates in August to answer an accusation under Section Five of the Public Order Act.
Brighton and Hove Albion Supporters’ Club, along with the Gay Football Supporters’ Network, monitored homophobic abuse directed at the club during all their games in the past season.
It alleged 72 per cent of opposition fans were guilty of making gay taunts about the team or fans.
Recap the night’s big fight updates from Simon Head as IBF super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch took on WBA super-middleweight champ Mikkel Kessler
Follow live updates from MMA columnist Simon Head as UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez looks to defend his world title against the hulking Brazilian Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
With a fanbase of millions as a long-term star of ITV’s World of Sport in the 1960s and 1970s, McManus was a true star of the era.
Such was his popularity that he counted The Beatles, former Prime Minister Sir John Major and even the Duke of Edinburgh among his friends.
Along with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks, he was a household name when the sport had a regular 40-minute slot before the Saturday afternoon football results on ITV..
But what happened to the rest of the legends from the days when Saturdays meant watching fat men in leotards play-acting in the ring?
Unless they’re doing PR stunts to stave off having to flog another winners’ medal, it’s always worth listening to the Gods of ’66.
Put simply, they knew what it took to be the best in the world, and have thus earned the right to pass judgement on the state of our national game.
So when Gordon Banks points out that only four Premier League clubs have Englishmen as their first-choice goalkeepers, making him fear for the future, his concern should be noted.
I just wish Geoff Hurst, Roger Hunt or Jimmy Greaves would demand an answer from the men at the top of our game as to why they’re allowing the great English goalscorer to head for extinction.
On Tuesday, the FA announced that Andy Carroll had pulled out of the up-coming Brazil trip (which must have seen ticket sales plummet in Rio), adding “no replacement will be made at this time”. What they omitted to add was that there isn’t anybody of international standard worth drafting in.
Unless they want to give an end-of-career reward to Ricky Lambert (aged 31), Grant Holt (32), Bobby Zamora (32) or Peter Crouch (32). Or drag Connor Wickham (who can’t get a game at Sunderland) out of the under-21 squad.
Has there ever been a worse set of striking options open to an England manager? Every player who scored more than 15 Premier League goals last season was born outside the country: Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez, Gareth Bale, Christian Benteke, Michu and Romelu Lukaku.
Odd man out: Daniel Sturridge is the only English striker showing any kind of form this season
Of the top players available to Roy Hodgson, Carroll, Wayne Rooney and Darren Bent are being forced out of the door by their clubs (with hefty losses for two of them deemed acceptable), while Danny Welbeck scored only one Premier League goal last season and Jermaine Defoe only got one this year.
Indeed, the only in-form striker in his squad – as Theo Walcott has been named as a wide midfielder – is Daniel Sturridge.
He’s netted 11 times in 16 games since his January move to Liverpool, but how he was treated before that gives a clue as to why we have a striking crisis. Everyone who saw Sturridge as a teen knew he was a massive talent.
But first Manchester City, then Chelsea, failed to give him an extended run in the first-team to prove himself, putting it down to his “attitude problem”.
But the problem was more to do with the fact that they, like the other big clubs, are happier to spend tens of millions on big-name foreign frontmen than develop what they have.
To splurge their wealth on so-called “marquee signings” – rather than let their own kids make their mark.
Right now, our big guns are ready to break the bank to lure the goalscoring talents of Robert Lewandowski, Edinson Cavani, Radamel Falcao, Higuain, Stevan Jovetic and David Villa.
Could be ‘Andy: A lack of form and fitness have plagued Andy Carroll this season
Regardless of the fact that they may turn out to be another Andriy Shevchenko, Adrian Mutu or Robinho.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that the likes of Ian Wright and Robbie Fowler struggled to get a regular game for England because of the talents ahead of them.
And it leaves you feeling slightly embarrassed that the FA travels on its 150th anniversary to the world’s most beautiful football country to remind them that Englishmen invented putting round balls in the back of nets. We just forgot how to do it.
Still, at least we won’t have to worry too much about the lads’ off-pitch behaviour out there.
Because hardly any of them could score in a brothel.
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