Sir Alex Ferguson has never been one to stop short of speaking his mind, and in the aftermath of PSG’s Champions League triumph in Budapest, the most acomplished manager in British football history made his feelings perfectly clear. both in congratulating the victors and in delivering a pointed verdict on the team they beat.

PSG retained the Champions League title in dramatic fashion. Kai Havertz had given the Gunners an early lead, only for Ousmane Dembélé to draw the Ligue 1 champions level from the penalty spot.

The match was decided from the very same place.

Eberechi Eze and Gabriel both missed penalties after the 1-1 draw to hand PSG the trophy. It was the French capital’s second consecutive European crown, following their 5-0 dismantling of Inter Milan in Munich twelve months earlier.

The victory means PSG have now won as many Champions League titles as Ferguson himself did during his legendary tenure at Manchester United.

Alex Ferguson’s Personal Message to Nasser Al-Khelaifi

According to L’Equipe, Ferguson reached out directly to PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in the wake of the final, sending a personal message that was warm in its praise of the Parisian club but considerably less generous towards their opponents:

It’s vintage Ferguson. Even in a message of congratulation, the former United boss couldn’t resist a dig at the side standing in the way, and his characterisation of Arsenal as a “boring team that did nothing but defend” won’t have gone down well at the Emirates.

Arteta’s side had set up to frustrate and contain, as they usually do, and while that approach almost worked, Ferguson was in no mood to offer any credit for it.

Alex Ferguson’s View Shared By PSG’s Joao Neves

Ferguson is far from alone in his assessment. PSG midfielder Joao Neves, speaking in the immediate aftermath of the final, aimed a dig of his own at Arsenal, stating that PSG were the only team “willing to play.” With him still basking in the euphoria of victory, Neves felt the time was right to mention Arsenal’s approach to the match.

The debate around Arsenal’s approach and overall playstyle will rumble on, as it has done for the last few years. Arteta will no doubt feel that winning the Premier League, reaching a Champions League final and taking the tie to penalties is no small achievement, regardless of how they set up. But with Ferguson’s words, and PSG’s players piling in, the Gunners face a somewhat uncomfortable aftermath to what should have been a historic occasion.

The summer begins for PSG in the best possible mood. Back-to-back Champions League titles, a Ligue 1 crown, and the personal congratulations of the most decorated manager the game has ever seen. Al-Khelaifi and his players will indeed enjoy their holidays.

Manchester United will complete the signing of a world-class player they want this summer ‘unless something crazy happens’, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The season may have only ended one week ago, but Man United are already making moves in the transfer market ahead of the summer window officially opening on June 15.

The Red Devils face the extra hindrance of the 2026 World Cup in their bid to bring in new talent this summer, but it appears as though some of their priority targets are players not making the trip to North America in the next weeks.

One of the club’s primary focuses during the close season is to give new manager Michael Carrick a strong central midfield for their return to Champions League football next term.

With Casemiro’s exit already confirmed and Manuel Ugarte up for sale, Kobbie Mainoo could be left as the only senior, specialist option in the position come the start of next season.

As a result, United are said to be targeting up to three new players in the position should the Uruguayan go, with the club considering signing two more options alongside an elite replacement for Casemiro.

Romano: Man United Will Almost Definitely Sign Ederson

Romano reported on Thursday that Man United were ‘very close’ to an agreement to sign Atalanta midfielder Ederson, as the club look to begin their midfield rebuild.

The ‘world-class’ Brazilian has been heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent weeks, with the big positive about signing the 26-year-old the fact that he can link up with them at the start of pre-season after missing out on a spot in Carlo Ancelott’s World Cup squad.

Providing the latest on the move on Sunday afternoon, via his YouTube channel, Romano said:

“Ederson to Man United on player side is done, just waiting on these final touches between the two clubs. The sporting director, Cristiano Giuntoli, is obviously going to be very important in order to prepare this deal with Manchester United to close the numbers of this deal as well.

“It’s not going to be as was reported at the beginning, from Italy, [a fee of] more than €50m, it was never going to be the case. Man United hope to close this deal at around €40-45m. They are working again on these final touches, but I expect for sure Ederson to be a Man United player, unless something crazy happens.”

Which Other Midfielders are Man United Targeting?

Reports from Italy this month have suggested that Carrick also wants to bring in Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali as a potential Casemiro replacement, with one outlet suggesting that an agreement was close with the Magpies over a deal.

That remains to be seen given they reportedly value him at around the €100m mark, with the Red Devils surely wanting to negotiate a lower deal for the Italy international.

Romano has previously claimed that Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni is the club’s ‘dream’ Casemiro replacement, and he could be available for £70m if Los Blancos green-light an exit after their presidential process.

As well as Tonali and Tchouameni, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson is their top midfield target, but his price tag and preference to join Manchester City mean a transfer is unlikely, as things stand.

United are also interested in West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes, following the Irons’ relegation to the Championship, with the player keen to join and Bruno Fernandes a big fan of his 21-year-old Portuguese compatriot.”

The UFC is preparing for arguably the biggest card in their history next month, when the organisation takes over the White House to celebrate America’s birthday.

The USA will turn 250 years old this summer, and as a result, President Donald Trump is planning a major party across the country, with a number of events planned to align with the celebrations. One of those will be a huge eight-fight UFC card, headlined by Ilia Topuria defending his lightweight title against Justin Gaethje, while Alex Pereira will move up to heavyweight to compete with Ciryl Gane for the interim belt, and a chance to become a three-weight champion.

The event will take place on the 14th June, from the south lawn of the White House, and former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is anticipating some huge clashes. Speaking exclusively to GIVEMESPORT, via prediction market experts Casino.org, the Brit has now shared his thoughts on the landmark card.

Exclusive: Bisping Predicts Pereira vs Gane

The co-main event will see Pereira take on Gane for the interime heavyweight championship, with the winner expected to face off against current undisputed champion Tom Aspinall later this year.

Pereira has previously held undisputed gold at middleweight and light heavyweight, and he will be looking to become the first ever three-weight world champion in the organisation’s history. But Bisping has now revealed that after seeing sparring footage, he is leaning towards Gane being the victor.

“There’s been a lot of footage recently of Alex Pereira sparring heavyweights like Tallison Teixeira,” he said.

“You can’t read too much into sparring footage, but if you look at that, Teixeira was clipping him quite a lot. Granted, he is 6 ‘9, he is gigantic for the division, but Ciryl Gane is very light on his feet. He’s used to fighting at heavyweight. He’s used to moving and operating at weighing 260 pounds.

“I said I would never doubt him (Alex Pereira) again after what he did to Magomed Ankalaev, knocking him out in like 60 seconds or something, and now here I am potentially doubting him again because he’s put weight on. He was at 185, he fought at 205, now he’s going up to 265 lbs. Can he do it? Of course, he can.

“He has knockout power, but Ciryl Gane is used to taking shots off heavyweights. He’s very light on his feet. He’s very elusive. He’s very good at kickboxing. He’s used to taking heavyweight shots, and he’s used to knocking out heavyweights. So, I’m leaning towards Ciryl Gane.”

Exclusive: Bisping Predicts Topuria vs Gaethje

Following the conclusion of that bout, the lightweight championship will also be contested in the main event, when the undefeated Topuria defends his belt for the first time against American Gaethje.

The Spaniard comes into the fight as a heavy favourite, having knocked out Alexander Volkanovski, Max Holloway, and Charles Oliveira in his last three fights, and Bisping told GIVEMESPORT that he is on the same train, expecting Topuria to come out victorious once again.

“I don’t think I’m gonna surprise anyone by saying I think Ilia Topuria does this,” he said. “He’s surgical, he’s precise, he’s got absolutely insane power.

“Justin’s got power, he knocked out Dustin Poirier, but the difference is that we routinely see this from Ilia Topuria. He knocks people out back to back. Max Holloway, Volkanovski, Charles Oliveira. And before he beat Oliveira, Charles tried to take him down, and within seconds, Ilia had him in a crucifix. And then he gets back to his feet, and he knocks him out cold.

“Justin’s great, Justin’s awesome, we’re all fans of Justin, but Justin’s got a lot of miles on the clock. And Justin went toe-to-toe with Paddy for 5 rounds and took a lot of damage. Ilia’s talking [about] his one shot. I think he will land that one shot. I mean, he’s saying that he’s gonna break his jaw in the first 15 seconds. You never know, we might see that.

“Justin Gaethje is a tough guy, though. You never know, maybe we have an upset on our hands. That’s mixed martial arts, it happens all the time. But the smart money’s on Ilia Topuria.”