Fernandes shows why Ratcliffe loves him; Henderson, Rashford in England squad; Messi delight in Jamaica

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Hello! Manchester Uniteds squad is primed for a firesale, but one player is off limits.

And no wonder.

On the way: Why Ratcliffe loves Fernandes Chelseas 40m Quenda deal Mourinhos elevator feud Pandemic shutdown, 5 years on Last-chance saloon: Drinker No 1: Man Utd (treble on the rocks for Fernandes) If time and money were no object, Sir Jim Ratcliffe would pull Manchester Uniteds squad to pieces.

Not good enough was his verdict this week .

Overpaid in some quarters, too.

Far from speaking generally, he actually named names.

Only one player got a generous pat on the head.

The captain is a fabulous footballer, Ratcliffe said in a BBC interview.

We definitely need Bruno (Fernandes).

The vote of confidence neatly preceded Fernandes hat-trick in the Europa League last night , the midfielders broad shoulders utilised again.

Advertisement Fernandes has a talent for carrying United God knows, somebody has to and in retaining the faith of the clubs hierarchy, hes an isolated example, an exception to the rule.

On Mondays edition of The Athletic FC podcast , I asked our United expert, Laurie Whitwell, if there were any red lines at Old Trafford, because frankly it sounds as if everybody (and everything) is up for sale.

Bruno, because hes so integral, Laurie said.

But youre right, with near enough most players in the squad, weve either heard about clubs being interested or United being open to offers.

Fernandes three goals against Real Sociedad yesterday, turning a 1-1 first-leg scoreline into a no-messing 5-2 aggregate win, nudged United into the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Two of his finishes were penalties and when the time comes to step up, the crowd looks to one man and one man alone.

Hes a perfect captain, Ruben Amorim said.

The Europa League matters intensely to United.

Its their final hope of Champions League qualification.

Financially, the club cant do without that.

Competitively, they cant do without Fernandes.

In a phase when Ratcliffe would hawk the shirts off his players backs, something priceless does exist.

Whether Tottenham Hotspur win this tournament or not, its no less vital for them to keep their season alive.

The last thing Ange Postecoglou wants is a couple of lame months that cast him as a lame duck.

So job done in that respect after his team held their nerve against AZ .

We got a little glimpse of what Spurs might get from talented 20-year-old Wilson Odobert in the future, too .

Like United, Tottenham have a chance of going all the way, which would brighten the skies around them.

Weve got two drinkers in the last-chance saloon.

Advertisement Fenerbahce, on the other hand, wont be going all the way.

They were eliminated in Glasgow by Rangers on penalties, with Jose Mourinho up to his old tricks .

Believe it or not, hes fallen out with one of his star names, Allan Saint-Maximin.

In other news, its Friday.

The two of them have been exchanging philosophical barbs after Mourinho criticised the wingers fitness and bombed him out of yesterdays squad.

Saint-Maximin kicked things off with this post on Instagram: When a lie takes the elevator, the truth takes the stairs.

It takes longer but it always arrives in the end.

Mourinho responded as only he would, saying: I didnt know Saint-Maximin was talented in poetry.

When a football player works well, works hard, trains every day, he is fit and can climb the stairs.

He doesnt need an elevator.

If a player doesnt train well, arrives late, is overweight, is not ready to play, he needs an elevator.

Because he gets tired quickly on the stairs.

Never dull.

In the Conference League, Chelsea are into the last eight.

They made slightly hard work of Copenhagen, but not as hard work as Rapid Vienna made of this double chance against Bosnia and Herzegovinas Borac Banja Luka.

One of those where it was harder to miss.

News round-up Penalty Poll: Was it right to rule out Alvarezs strike? Id love to know where you all stand on Julian Alvarezs disallowed penalty for Atletico Madrid .

Its the sort of incident that fires up the airwaves and it consumed yesterdays podcast .

Heres my view: if football wasnt a paranoid mess (and lets not forget how much referees are under fire in Spain, by Real Madrid no less ), the officials could have let it go.

But my instant reaction when Alvarez scored was, ironically, lucky boy because his slip was very close to sending the penalty over the crossbar.

Advertisement And isnt that the point? While he was deliberately going high with his effort, he wasnt going that high, and what transpired was the perfect, unsaveable strike.

With regret, and if were accepting Alvarez illegally touched the ball twice, ruling it out was the right call.

Greg OKeeffe is on the other side of the fence.

He reckons the law is an ass and I do think a retake would be fairer than an automatic red cross in instances when any infringement is accidental.

Europes governing body, UEFA, says it will ask for the rule to be re-examined .

Hit us with your take at [email protected] ideally, only once.

Around TAFC Quiz question As an ode to David Moyes, can you order all the clubs he has managed (NB: two spells at Everton and West Ham United) by win percentage, from worst to best? Those clubs are: Preston North End (1998 to 2002), Everton (2002 to 2013), Manchester United (2013 to 2014), Real Sociedad (2014 to 2015), Sunderland (2016 to 2017), West Ham (2017 to 2018), West Ham (2019 to 2024), Everton (2025-).

Answers here later today and in Mondays TAFC.

Catch a match (Selected games, times ET/UK) Saturday: Premier League: Manchester City vs Brighton, 11am/3pm Peacock Premium (U.S.

only); Womens League Cup final: Chelsea vs Manchester City, 8.15am/12.15pm BBC One (UK only).

La Liga: Villarreal vs Real Madrid, 1.30pm/5.30pm ESPN+, Fubo/Premier Sports.

Serie A: Milan vs Como, 1pm/5pm Paramount+, Fubo/OneFootball.

MLS: Charlotte vs Cincinnati, 7.30pm/11.30pm MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.

Sunday: Carabao Cup final: Liverpool vs Newcastle United, 12.30pm/4.30pm Paramount+/ITV, Sky Sports.

Premier League: Arsenal vs Chelsea, 9.30am/1.30pm Peacock Premium/Sky Sports; Leicester City vs Manchester United, 3pm/7pm USA Network, Fubo/Sky Sports.

Scottish Premiership: Celtic vs Rangers, 8.30am/12.30pm CBS, Fubo/Sky Sports.

La Liga: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona, 4pm/8pm ESPN+, Fubo/ITV, Premier Sports.

Serie A: Atalanta vs Inter, 3.45pm/7.45pm CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime/TNT Sports, OneFootball.

MLS: Atalanta United vs Inter Miami, 7pm/11pm MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.

And finally...

On Wednesday, Zach Harper went back in time for The Bounce newsletter by writing about the Covid-19 virus shutting down the NBA.

The tension and confusion of the night when basketball hit the point of no return oozed from his copy.

In England, football ground to a halt in similar fashion.

A positive test for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made the game face facts and sent the dominos tumbling.

Five years ago, this was the first weekend with an entirely blank English calendar.

As clear as the memories are, youll always wonder if any of it was real.

Advertisement The thing I prefer to cling to, and my abiding memory of that time, is the final game I covered before the UKs first lockdown, a Championship West Yorkshire derby between Leeds United and Huddersfield Town at Elland Road.

Luke Ayling stole the show with a volley for the ages (above).

Its been immortalised in a mural a mile from the stadium the last time for a long time that the city felt alive.

(Top photo: Visionhaus/Getty Images).

This article has been shared from the original article on theathleticuk, here is the link to the original article:

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6203062/2025/03/14/henderson-rashford-in-england-squad-messi-delight-in-jamaica/