Sports
To keep up with their Premier League rivals, Man United must master the art of offloading players
Daniel James has a unique claim to fame in the recent history of Manchester United. He is the only player who has joined the club since Sir Alex Ferguson retired as manager in 2013 and left for a higher transfer fee than it cost to sign him in the first place.
James, signed from Swansea for £15 million in 2019, was moved on to Leeds for £25 million two years later. For United, there is also the jarring reality that the £25.7 million received from Napoli for the transfer of Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay 12 months ago is the biggest fee banked by the club — aside from the loss-making exits of big signings Angel Di Maria and Romelu Lukaku — for over a decade. Di Maria left for Paris Saint-Germain for £44.3 million in 2015, a year after arriving from Real Madrid for £59.7 million. Lukaku, meanwhile, moved to Inter Milan in 2019 for £68 million, having cost United £75 million to bring in from Everton two years earlier.
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With the 2025 summer transfer window now into its final two weeks before the Sept. 1 deadline, United’s repeated shortcomings when it comes to offloading players are once again threatening their ability to reshape their squad. United have consistently stated that players must leave this summer for the club to balance the books and avoid the risk of breaching the Premier League‘s profit and sustainability rules (PSR). But despite spending almost £200 million to being in four new signings Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Diego León, they have raised precisely nothing from outgoings.
Marcus Rashford‘s season-long loan move to Barcelona has taken the forward’s £325,000-a-week salary off the United wage bill, and the club have also received a nominal percentage of moves by some of their former players Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest to Newcastle) and Álvaro Carreras (Benfica to Real Madrid), but no player has yet left Old Trafford for a fee this summer. Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia have been available for months, while United are now also prepared to offload Rasmus Højlund.
In an ideal world, United would hope to raise around £120 million from their departures, but the clock is ticking to the deadline, and clubs who have an interest in those players know United are negotiating from a position of weakness. That £120 million could very quickly become £60 million and once again highlight United as the Premier League’s worst performers when it comes to moving players on. United have suffered for paying high wages to unsuccessful players in the past, with many proving too expensive for new clubs to take on, but it has been a combination of undervaluing homegrown players and losing money on mediocre mid-range signings that has truly defined their transfer outgoings.
The James deal is an embarrassing statistic for a club of United’s stature, but their consistent failure to cash in on unwanted players is perhaps more damning, especially when measured against their rivals. This summer alone, Liverpool have offloaded Luis Díaz to Bayern Munich for a £10 million profit on his £50 million transfer fee when signing from Porto in January 2022, while the Premier League champions have also raised £70 million from the departures of homegrown players Jarell Quansah, Ben Doak, Caoimhín Kelleher and Tyler Morton.
The £10 million received from Real Madrid to enable Trent Alexander-Arnold to make his move to the Bernabeu a month before the end of his Anfield contract was another example of smart financial management by Liverpool. Twelve months earlier, Liverpool raised £40 million by offloading Fábio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg to Brentford — two players who had barely played for Liverpool but were still able to command significant fees.
Manchester City have also left United in their wake in terms of capitalizing on the value of their homegrown players. City have raised £60 million this summer by offloading James McAtee, Yan Couto and Máximo Perrone alone, but Pep Guardiola’s team have consistently been able to make healthy sums in the transfer market. Julián Álvarez‘s transfer cost £14 million from River Plate in 2022 and he joined Atletico Madrid for £65 million in 2024. During the same summer window, City banked £20 million from Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ move to Southampton.
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But there are no comparable deals in United’s recent history to suggest that they know how to raise crucial funds from player exits. McTominay was a sensation for Napoli last season, earning a Ballon d’Or nomination after helping the club win the Serie A title, but he was allowed to leave United for only around £25 million, while Liverpool youngster Doak’s move has cost Bournemouth an initial £20 million plus £5 million in add-ons. Elanga left Old Trafford for Forest in 2023 for £20 million, yet this summer he has moved to Newcastle for £55 million. Dean Henderson left United at the same time as Elanga, joining Crystal Palace for an initial £15 million, and the England goalkeeper has since helped the Eagles to FA Cup success while United continue to search for a consistent No. 1.
One source told ESPN that United’s transfer dealings prior to the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS group in 2024 were heavily overseen by the Glazer family, the club’s minority owners, and that many outgoings were left to the end of the window when valuations had dropped due to rival clubs being away of United’s need for cash.
“The Glazers kept players too long, extending their contracts because it was cheaper to do that than sign a new player,” the source said. “But when it came to getting rid of them, often with a year left on their contracts, their value had plummeted and the club sometimes couldn’t give players away.
“It was often a case of getting unwanted players out in the final few days of the window, just to get some money in after a spending spree, but they hardly ever got decent value for players on the way out.”
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United’s struggle to raise significant funds for outgoing players is also perhaps a pointer to why the team has failed to compete for the biggest honors since Ferguson stepped down. David de Gea took a year to find a new club after being released by United in 2023, Anthony Martial found no takers in Europe’s major leagues and ended up in Greek football with AEK Athens 12 months ago, while neither Victor Lindelöf or Christian Eriksen have found a new team since becoming free agents at the end of last season. If clubs looking for new players are choosing to avoid those whom United deem to be surplus to requirements, it paints a bleak picture of the standard of the squad that has been assembled over recent years at Old Trafford.
But with director of football Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell now firmly established in their roles at United following the turbulent overhaul of staff at all levels of the club over the past 18 months, the challenge facing the two men is clear. They must make United players appealing to rival clubs once again and, at the same time, learn how to cash in as successfully as Liverpool, City and many other Premier League teams.
What happens to Sancho, Garnacho, Malacia, Antony and Højlund between now and Sept. 1 will tell us whether United have cracked the code or continue to trail in their rivals’ wake.
Sports
Drake Maye voices support for Patriots coach Mike Vrabel as off-field controversy continues to swirl
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Mike Vrabel has the full support of his young star quarterback.
The New England Patriots head coach and Drake Maye, in just his second NFL season, won the AFC and brought the Pats back to familiar territory: the Super Bowl.
The big game itself did not go how they had liked, but at the very least, it showed that Patriots fans likely have their coach-quarterback tandem for years to come.
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New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel talks to quarterback Drake Maye during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 19, 2025. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
But the team has hit quite the detour amid Vrabel’s controversy with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini, which led to Vrabel having “difficult conversations with people that I care about” and even seeking counseling.
Last week, the Patriots said in a statement that they “fully support” their head coach, and Maye echoed similar sentiments.
“We’re here for coach, we love coach and what he does for us, and has done for us this past year. You can’t speak it into words, and thankfully, he’s our head coach,” Maye told WHDH-TV in Boston.
“We know he’s dealing with some stuff off the field and out of the coaching world, but we’re here for him and I know he’s gonna come back.”
Head coach Mike Vrabel of the New England Patriots speaks with quarterback Drake Maye during the game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., on Sept. 7, 2025. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
The scandal began early this month when he and Russini were photographed together at a Sedona, Arizona, private resort holding hands and lying beside each other at a pool.
Since then, photos have surfaced from 2020 showing Vrabel and Russini kissing at a bar in New York City. The pictures exclusively obtained by the New York Post were taken in the early hours of March 11, 2020.
Russini reportedly married Kevin Goldschmidt, her husband and a Shake Shack executive, six months after the photos were snapped. Goldschmidt and Russini also share two children.
Vrabel has been married to his wife, Jen, since 1999, and they share two sons together. In the pictures, Vrabel’s wedding band is visible on his left hand while conversing with Russini. At the time, Russini was with ESPN, while Vrabel was coaching the Tennessee Titans.
Dianna Russini, left, and Mike Vrabel, right, are shown in a split composite image featuring Russini with an ESPN microphone and Vrabel on the Titans sideline wearing a headset. (Imagn Images)
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Both initially denied any wrongdoing, but Russini has since resigned and is the subject of an investigation by her former employer.
Fox News’ Scott Thompson and OutKick’s Armando Salguero contributed to this report.
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Sri Lanka’s government took control of the island’s cricket board on Wednesday and appointed a nine-member interim administration to carry out “structural reforms”.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is the country’s wealthiest sporting body, but it has been plagued by allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
World governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), suspended Sri Lanka for two months in 2023-2024, citing political interference in the running of the national board.
“All administrative functions of Sri Lanka Cricket will be temporarily brought under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, effective today,” the ministry said.
Shortly afterwards, the ministry appointed former investment banker and opposition politician Eran Wickramaratne to lead the board.
Among the other members appointed by the government are former skipper Kumar Sangakkara and former Test players Sidath Wettimuny and Roshan Mahanama.
The ministry said the interim committee will “address the current issues in cricket and implement structural reforms”.
Four-time SLC president Shammi Silva resigned on Tuesday, along with his entire committee, after the government intervened.
AFP has contacted the ICC for comment.
Sri Lanka made an early exit from the T20 World Cup, which it co-hosted with India in February-March.
Half-centuries from Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat, combined with disciplined bowling, powered Hyderabad Kingsmen to an eight-wicket victory over Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11’s Eliminator 1 on Wednesday.
Kingsmen’s victory in the high-stakes fixture drew curtains on Sultans’ campaign and meant that the new entrants will go on and face three-time champions Islamabad United in the Eliminator 2 at the same venue on Friday in a bid to qualify for the eight-team tournament’s final.
Set to chase a 160-run target, the Kingsmen comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of just two wickets and 28 balls to spare, courtesy of the second-wicket partnership between Usman and Sadaqat.
The Kingsmen, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost their captain, Marnus Labuschagne (11), in the second over with 18 runs on the board.
Following the early setback, in-form wicketkeeper batter Usman joined Sadaqat in the middle, and the duo batted dominantly to put together 92 runs for the second wicket.
Usman, who was the core aggressor of the vital stand, was eventually removed by Steve Smith in the 11th over. He walked back after top-scoring for the Kingsmen with a swashbuckling 64 off 35 deliveries, studded with eight fours and three sixes.
Sadaqat was then joined by Saim Ayub in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to steer the Kingsmen over the line in the 16th over.
The left-handed opener remained the joint top-scorer for the Kingsmen with an unbeaten 64 off 35 deliveries, comprising eight fours and three sixes, while Saim chipped in with a run-a-ball 15 not out.
For Sultans, Ismail and Smith could pick up a wicket apiece.
Put into bat first in the high-stakes fixture, the Sultans finished at 159/9 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Masood.
The Sultans got off to a shaky start to their innings as Mohammad Ali dismissed their experienced opener Steve Smith (13) in the third over with just 28 runs on the board.
Kingsmen then lost two more wickets in successive overs as Akif Javed got in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan (15) caught at cover point, while Hunain Shah trapped Josh Philippe (six) lbw, and consequently slipped to 36/3 inside the batting powerplay.
Following the early stutter, captain Ashton Turner (nine) and his deputy Shan Masood attempted to force a recovery by batting cautiously but could add 15 runs for the fourth wicket as the former was sent back by Saim Ayub in the seventh over.
Glenn Maxwell inflicted another blow to the Sultans’ batting expedition as he got rid of their young all-rounder Arafat Minhas on the first delivery of the eighth over and brought the total further down to 52/5.
Meanwhile, Masood, who stood his ground firmly during the collapse, then shared a crucial 33-run partnership for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who contributed with an 18-ball 19 before falling victim to Javed in the 12th over.
Sultans endured another setback an over later as Ali cleaned up Mohammad Imran Randhawa (two) to expose their batting tail.
Hunain ensured retaining the momentum in Kingsmen’s favour as he bowled Peter Siddle in the 16th over.
Masood, however, kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly and eventually brought his 10th PSL half-century in the 18th over.
The left-handed batter batted until the end and top-scored with an unbeaten 69 off 46 deliveries, studded with four sixes and as many fours.
For Kingsmen, the pace trio of Hunain, Ali and Javed bagged two wickets each, while spinners Maxwell and Saim chipped in with one scalp apiece.
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