Author: INDEPENDENT

Rio Ferdinand video called Leny Yoro to welcome him to Manchester United following his £50m signing.The club made the 18-year-old the second most expensive defender in their history after signing the French teenager on Thursday (18 July) for a fee that could rise to £58.9m.Former United defender Ferdinand offered some words of wisdom to Yero in a video call, filmed by the club.Ferdinand tells him: “I wish you all the best. I know you’re going to work hard and that’s the secret, man. Work hard on all parts of your game. You’ve got all of the potential, you’ve got all…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailThank you very much. Thank you very, very much. And thank you, Dana. Thank you, Kid Rock, sometimes referred to as “Bob.” And thank you, Lee, right from the beginning, thank you very much. What a talent. What a beautiful, beautiful song. Thank you.Friends, delegates and fellow citizens. I stand before you this evening with a message of confidence, strength and hope. Four months from now, we will have an incredible victory, and we will begin the four…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter The search is on for a new England manager who can match or surpass the “extraordinary” achievements of Gareth Southgate.The Football Association says it is open to the possibility of appointing a foreign coach – and that’s exactly the approach Independent readers are hoping it takes.On Tuesday morning, Southgate announced the end of his nearly eight-year tenure, stating that it had been “the honour of his life” to both play for and manage England. He expressed that…

Ukraine getting ‘closer and closer’ to becoming Nato member, says secretary generalFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsVolodymyr Zelensky has said working with Donald Trump will be hard if the former US President is re-elected, “but we are hard workers”.The Ukrainian president was asked about Mr Trump’s pick for vice president JD Vance, who has previously said he “does not care” what happens in the conflict “one way or the other”.“Maybe he really doesn’t understand what goes on in Ukraine, so…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Fifa is investigating a video circulating on social media that shows members of the Argentina national team singing about France’s players in a way that the French Football Federation (FFF) said was “racist and discriminatory”.The FFF said on Monday it would file a complaint to the global soccer governing body over the video, in which Argentina players sing about France striker Kylian Mbappe’s African descent.The video was posted by Argentina forward Enzo Fernandez on Instagram amid the…

Trump formally accepts Republican presidential nomination at RNCSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailDonald Trump gave a nearly two-hour speech to conclude the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday.Trump concluded his speech — the longest in RNC history — as balloons fell from the Fiserv Forum ceiling and Melania Trump joined him on stage, giving him a brief kiss. The former president’s wife made a surprise appearance at the convention hours earlier, sitting with vice presidential candidate JD Vance for the keynote…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Former England striker Andy Cole says he fears for the next England manager and believes that some of the criticism of Gareth Southgate during Euro 2024 was unfair.Southgate ended his eight-year tenure as England boss on Tuesday, two days after his side had lost 2-1 to Spain in the final in Berlin.The 53-year-old came in for heavy criticism from England fans and pundits following a series of disappointing displays, but Cole has defended Southgate’s record as head…

Trump takes RNC floor to ‘Back in Black’ still sporting ear bandageSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailMelania Trump made a surprise entrance at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday night ahead of her husband’s keynote speech.Donald Trump is set to deliver the keynote speech this evening, following major speakers Tucker Carlson, Eric Trump and Hulk Hogan. The former president promised his remarks will be more moderate in tone after he called for cooler rhetoric after he survived an assassination attempt on…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Mason Greenwood’s Manchester United career has ended after Marseille signed the forward for a fee rising to £26.6m.The England international, who has not played for United since being arrested in January 2022, has signed a five-year deal with the French club.United, who had planned to sell Greenwood this summer to raise funds for their rebuilding, also have a sizeable sell-on clause should the 22-year-old leave Marseille.Greenwood spent last season on loan at Getafe, scoring nine goals, and…

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inboxGet our free Inside Washington emailHouse Speaker Mike Johnson has rejected the notion that the Republican platform on abortion means that the party is happy for Democratic states to give wide access to abortion. “I don’t think that’s what it means at all,” he said, when accessed about abortion access in blue states by Politico on Thursday. “I think it’s a recognition of the reality of the politics of the country.”Johnson continued: “No one who believes in the sanctity of life or calls…