LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim defended his decision to again omit forward Marcus Rashford from his squad for Sunday's 1-0 win over Fulham, insisting he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.

Rashford has not featured for United since mid-December, after he admitted that he was ready for a new challenge in his career, with the England international not in the team's travelling party for Sunday's narrow Premier League victory.

Lionel Messi made waves in the U.S. political sphere in the past week after he was surprisingly named as one of 19 people set to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He then made more headlines when he was the only person of the 19 recipients not to show up.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta brought out an ancient excuse that we haven’t heard in 15 years for why his players couldn’t hit the target in their 2-0 loss to Newcastle on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup.

Arteta said the game balls were different.

The last time someone tried to blame the ball for their team’s failures was the 2010 World Cup with the infamous Jabulani ball. Arsenal’s boss now claims there are key differences between the Carabao Cup balls and Premier League balls.

Mikel Arteta Carabao Cup ball complaint

Liverpool ace Mohamed Salah said in an interview on Friday that he’s playing in his final year at Anfield. The 32-year-old’s contract with the club ends at the end of the 2024-25 season and talks over a new contract have stalled in the past half year.

During an interview with Sky Sports, he doubled-down on the idea that this will be his final year with the club and that his goal is to win the Premier League in his last season.

The 2024 Ballon d’Or was awarded to Rodri in October and is still being hotly discussed months later. The star Manchester City and Spain defender recently responded to Cristiano Ronaldo who argued that Vinícius Jr. deserved to win the award.

On Dec. 27 Ronaldo spoke during the Globe Soccer Awards and claimed the 2024 Ballon d’Or was unfair.

A Cristiano Ronaldo Ligue 1 comment is making the rounds on social media after the Al Nassr star forward said the Saudi Pro League is superior to France’s top flight. He then doubled down and said that Ligue 1 only has PSG, and the rest of the league is “finished.”

The comments were made during the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, UAE, on Friday. Ronaldo, who was named Best Middle East Player 2024 at the award show, was asked about where the Saudi League ranks compared to a league like France’s Ligue 1.

CR7 didn’t hold back.

Donovan is quite the counter-jinx to getting American players back into their best form.

U.S. men’s national team legend, Landon Donovan, made headlines in the last week after making bold comments on what he thinks Giovanni Reyna’s future move should be, suggesting the 22-year-old look for a transfer to MLS amidst continuous injuries and lack of playing time for Borussia Dortmund.

MANCHESTER — Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola blames the congested fixture schedule for the injuries that have ravaged his struggling team this season, saying he needs a squad of 45 or 50 players to weather the storm.

Saying City are in survival mode, Guardiola added he could have just three defenders available when they host Manchester United in Sunday's derby at Etihad Stadium, another blow to their dwindling hopes of retaining their Premier League title.

They are fourth in the table and have just one victory to show for their last 10 games across all competitions.

Weston McKennie is on Cloud 9 after scoring a fabulous scissor kick goal against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. His biggest haters, Leeds United fans, appear to be in shambles on social media.

After Wednesday's game McKennie did an interview with CBS and was asked by Micah Richards about his loan spell with Leeds United.

Saudi Arabia will host the men's soccer World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries, world soccer's governing body FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.

The decision was announced by FIFA President Gianni Infantino following a virtual extraordinary Congress. The 2030 and 2034 World Cups each had only a single bid and both were confirmed by acclamation.