Rio Ferdinand on how Man City stand to gain from new Champions League format

straight to your inbox England and Manchester City captain Steph Houghton has joined fellow Lionesses Anita Asante and Danielle Carter to call on players to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement when the Women’s Super League season kicks off next weekend. Houghton revealed that teams have been taking a knee in their pre-season friendlies, and added that she expected it to continue in Saturday’s Women’s Community Shield match against Chelsea at Wembley.

straight to your inboxFormer Juve man Maresca appointed EDS head coachEnzo Maresca is the new head coach of Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad. The move is part of an ongoing reshuffle at Academy level , with Maresca taking the role having most recently been assistant manager to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham United.

straight to your inbox The initial shock of Lionel Messi ’s transfer request has subsided, and now for the grind. Manchester City were the first club on everyone’s lips the moment it became clear that the Barcelona star was not bluffing – as he has in the past – and really seems to have reached the end of his tether with the stagnation at the Nou Camp.

Pregnant Kate Ferdinand and her husband Rio have reportedly spent £40,000 on protection dogs after a number of footballers have been burgled. Rio, 41, and 29 year old Kate are expecting their first child together later this year and have forked out on the new pets to ensure the former The Only Way Is Essex star has as smooth a pregnancy as possible.

United defender Ferdinand believes that is good news for Greenwood. The 18-year-old enjoyed a breakthrough campaign under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's guidance at Old Trafford, netting 17 senior goals and establishing himself as a first team regular.

Crawley Magistrates’ Court this morning.It's the second driving ban the father-of-three has been handed.Back in 2012, the 41-year-old was caught speeding in his luxury Jaguar on the same Manchester road three times in five weeks.He was fined and handed a six-month ban on that occasion, despite his lawyer, Nick 'Mr Loophole' Freeman, arguing he should get a shorter discretionary suspension.Ferdinand and his wife TV star Kate Wright were the focus of a BBC documentary, Rio And Kate: Becoming A

straight to your inbox Rio Ferdinand and Joe Hart both agreed that Moussa Dembele's first goal against Manchester City should have been ruled out by VAR for a foul on Aymeric Laporte. Pep Guardiola's side crashed out of the Champions League in dramatic fashion on Saturday night after a 3-1 reverse in the quarter-final.

straight to your inbox Rio Ferdinand has blamed Eric Garcia and Ayermic Laporte for the first-half goal that put Lyon ahead against Manchester City in their Champions League quarter-final tie. Pep Guardiola's side went in at the break 1-0 down thanks to Maxwell Cornet's goal, his fourth in three games against City.

straight to your inbox Rio Ferdinand has heaped praise on Kyle Walker for his performance against Real Madrid by shackling Eden Hazard and has challenged him to do the same against Lyon. The Manchester City right-back kept Real Madrid's number seven very quiet during their 2-1 Champions League last-16 tie last week.

straight to your inbox Vincent Kompany told Manchester City players to go and win the Champions League for him, just before he left the club last summer. Kompany departed City after leading them to a domestic treble in 2018/19, ending a trophy-laden decade at the club which saw him captain the Blues through the most successful period in their history.

straight to your inboxLyon striker Karl Toko Ekambi feels that Manchester City might overlook them in Saturday night’s Champions League quarter-final clash.With a huge clash with Barcelona or Bayern Munich awaiting the victors, the Blues’ meeting with the French side is not the most eagerly-awaited of the ties in the last-eight tournament being staged in Lisbon.And Cameroon international Ekambi thinks that City might just neglect to pay attention to the “Tom Thumb” side who finished seventh in

straight to your inboxGabriel Jesus says Manchester City have learned how to suffer – and that has him dreaming of lifting the European Cup.The Blues striker put the pain on Real Madrid by robbing Raphael Varane to tee up Raheem Sterling for the first goal and then superbly tucking away the second in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Friday night.But the 23-year-old Brazil international believes that City have taken the lessons from previous Champions League flops, and can now cope with the moments in

straight to your inboxReal Madrid's Militao confident ahead of City clashReal Madrid defender Eder Militao has made some bullish comments ahead of their trip to Manchester for Friday night’s Champions League meeting.Pep Guardiola’s men boast a 2-1 advantage from the Bernabeu, and the La Liga champions will be without club captain Sergio Ramos after his sending off in the first leg.Militao is set to feature in Ramos’ place and is confident of Los Blancos’ chances of turning the tie around.