Sven eyes the pot of gold in the Portsmouth’s sheikh-up, as Real turn attention from Ronaldo to Ribery

Comment & analysis round-up

Quote of the day: “I don’t want to talk about clubs, I want to rest [and] to go on holidays because I’m very tired. I’ve played many games under a lot of pressure. The future… we’ll see.” - Cristiano Ronaldo.

Runner-up: “What we want to do is take this good club and continue to improve it; we’ll do what we need to do this summer to get this team into a place where we can try to finish in the top ten next year. I don’t ever want to go through a relegation battle again and I don’t want the fans to have to go through it, I don’t want Niall to have to go through it, so what we will genuinely be trying to do with the things that Niall does this summer is to be able to finish in the top ten.” - Ellis Short.

Today’s overview: There are two different approaches, an almost exclusive contrast between the broadsheets and the tabloids, as to the football news this Friday. The broadsheets, seemingly wishing to sweep Manchester United’s Champions League defeat under the carpet, try to promote of wave of alternative stories outside from Manchester. Alternatively, the red-tops get busy spreading a variety of controversial rumours concerning the English champions.

Is Portsmouth’s sheikh-up too good to be true?

One day after Pompey announced that the club has found a Middle Eastern sugar-daddy, and Jamie Jackson bring the party to an abrupt pause. “The Premier League is preparing to use Sulaiman Al-Fahim’s takeover of Portsmouth as a test case for its strengthened fit-and-proper-persons rule that is due for introduction next week… speculation in Dubai last night that [Thaksin] Shinawatra is among Al-Fahim’s backers. Al-Fahim was not available for comment last night.” But Jamie Jackson is not only the bearer of bad news, as he also encourages Pompey fans that “if he begins to walk the same talk he offered at the time of the City deal, Portsmouth and their fans could be about to witness a small revolution.”

Keeping with the south-coasters, Nick Szczepanik repeats the water-cooler talk that “Sven-Goran Eriksson is the favourite to become the new manager of Portsmouth” while also making public suggestions that the Swede could have up to £50 million to spend this summer.

Over in The Times it is a bumper day for transfer gossip, as the summer of rumours and lies begins to pick up speed.

The headline article from Matt Dickinson is that “Chelsea fear that they have missed out on Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice transfer target this summer, with Franck Ribery set to join Real Madrid for more than £40 million… [But there is a crucial caveat, being that] Real’s eagerness to sign Ribery should put an end to their pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo for another season as they are not in a position to spend the best part of £100 million on two wide players, particularly while Arjen Robben remains at the club.” Quickly following behind is James Ducker, who acts as the mouthpiece of Kia Joorabchian by announcing “Manchester City and Liverpool are among five leading clubs who have agreed to pay the £25 million needed to sign Carlos Tevez.”

The Telegraph announce that Liverpool may be gazumped by Arsenal in the battle for Gareth Barry, with the whispers suggesting that “Barry is holding out for a summer move to the Emirates as he seeks regular Champions League football.” Staying with the Gunners, the Mirror print that “Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh last night claimed Arsenal have made an enquiry about him.” While in the other pieces of gossip doing the rounds, the Daily Mail claim that “Bolton are lining up a fresh £6million bid for Sporting Lisbon midfielder Miguel Veloso.”

The momentum is building towards Steve Bruce’s appointment as the new manager at the Stadium of Light, Louise Taylor claiming that “Bruce is expected to be installed as Sunderland’s new manager in the next 48 hours.”

With the FA Cup final just a day away, Andy Hunter catches up with Everton’s Aussie midfielder Tim Cahill. Elsewhere, Oliver Kay spouts “rumours persist that Everton will be the next leading club to be sold and that two potential buyers, one from the Middle East and one from the United States, are showing genuine and serious interest.”

We end today with the stories doing the rounds concerning Manchester United.

When the Guardian eventually turn to the subject of Manchester United’s defeat in Rome, it is for Kevin McCarra to swing a comforting arm around the Red Devil’s faithful. “There is no purge to be planned. United have had a splendid season by the ­standards of anyone other than irresistible Barcelona. Several members of the ­line-up were groggy in Rome, but this is a club with a habit of emerging from its own confusion just in time to snatch a trophy.”

A more sombre Oliver Kay fears that Sir Alex’s next generation may not be up to the task. “Anderson was ostensibly signed to replace Scholes, but, while the former England player has not aged gracefully, his heir apparent has much growing-up to do. More alarming is the way that Nani, who was signed to replace Giggs, has regressed. A successor for Edwin van der Sar is another requirement, no matter what records the goalkeeper may have set earlier in the season, but neither Tomasz Kuszczak nor Ben Foster has yet staked a strong claim.” Alan Hansen continues the finger-pointing, accusing Nemanja Vidic of “struggling ever since Fernando Torres got at him during Liverpool’s 4-1 victory at Old Trafford in March… The United defender has had a bad six weeks and he has looked half the player we know he is, but I don’t doubt that he will come back. He just hasn’t been the same since that Liverpool game, though.” James Lawton gangs up on the Welsh Wizard, barfing “this surely was [Ryan Giggs'] last hurrah in a game of such magnitude.”

While some have pointed to Darren Fletcher’s absence as a reason for United’s defeat in Rome, Sam Wallace attempts to debunk that theory once-and-for-all. “The notion that Wednesday’s result would have been radically different with Darren Fletcher in the United side is hopelessly optimistic at best. With Hargreaves rather than Anderson you could see a case for United having more energy in central midfield. Hargreaves has been brilliant in patches for United but at £17m he owes Ferguson a big season in 2009-2010.”

Reaching for the panic-button, Patrick Barclay argues that United’s loss should alert Fergie that he cannot delay over his successor at Old Trafford. “The sooner he starts grooming his successor, the better. Then Ferguson can stay for many years as director of football. It is United’s best chance of keeping in touch with (a) their traditions and (b) the likes of Barcelona.” But no hack is as hysterical as The Sun’s Steven Howard, who almost ridiculously spouts that “United haven’t got a leader… no Keane, Gerrard or Lamps… And where is the orthodox striker United need so badly?”

From left-field, the Daily Mail’s John Edwards completely changes the debate by splashing with news that “Stoke City target Manchester United legend Paul Scholes in new player-coach role.” With the Old Trafford doors still spinning, the Mirror’s David McDonnell claims it as gospel that “Fergie has decided he will not take up the option to buy Carlos Tevez,  while Nani and Ji-Sung Park could also be high-profile victims of the Rome drubbing.”

Henry Winter makes the case for United to sign Karim Benzema. “Rooney could prosper off Benzema. The French international would certainly give United a sharper spearhead.” While, heading to imagination-land with the Mail’s Matt Lawton, the hack invents the story without a hint of supporting evidence that “Fergie plots revolution - and Berbatov is being set up as Manchester United’s fall-guy.”

But the bulk of today’s stories on Manchester United revolves around the nauseating return of the Cristiano Ronaldo-Real Madrid tug-of-war.

Mark Ogden kicks off the speculation in the Telegraph farting “the imminent election of Florentino Perez as Real’s new president is unlikely to boost Ronaldo’s ambitions of moving to the Spanish club. Perez has identified Kaka and Franck Ribery as his key targets and successful moves for those world-class players would all but close the door on Ronaldo.” Singing from a similar hymn-sheet, the Express’ Richard Tanner confidently penned “Cristiano Ronaldo is officially off Real Madrid’s radar as ­Manchester ­United received a ­welcome lift after their Champions League final defeat.”

Typically, The Sun’s tag-team of Neil Custis and Ian McGarry refused to play nice, insisting CR7 is off. “SunSport understands Ronaldo has become increasingly unhappy at United this season. Sources close to him insist he feels that he has achieved everything he can with the Red Devils and feels now is the time to move on.” Looking to back up the lead story by heaping even more unsibstantianated half-truthes onto the public, Ian McGarry continues to fart cliches including “[Ronaldo is] unhappy, discontented and increasingly disillusioned with his career… He has spent the majority of his adult life in Manchester and is getting bored of the same places and claustrophobic atmosphere for the city’s footballers. Ronaldo also feels he is unfairly singled out when things go wrong for United… Ronaldo is fed up with accusations of diving and sick of being kicked by players who can’t stop him any other way.”