Amorim backs Utd capt. Fernandes amid Keane jibe BY Rob Dawson Fri Feb 28 2025 15:11:18 Ruben Amorim has hit back at Roy Keane's criticism of Bruno Fernandes by telling the former Manchester United midfielder that it's the opinion of the head coach which matters most. Speaking on the Overlap podcast, Keane said that "Bruno's a talented player, but talent isn't enough" and "Bruno is not a fighter." During a heated debate with former Arsenal striker Ian Wright, Keane also labelled the entire United team as "imposters." When asked at a news conference on Friday about Keane's criticism of his captain, Amorim said: "I heard about that. I have a different opinion. Bruno is really important for us in the club, especially for me. He's playing well in a difficult context. He always wants the responsibility. "I know sometimes he does things as a captain with his arms and criticising the teammates. Most of all it's a lot of frustration for this year, the last year and the others. He wants to win and sometimes it's really hard to deal with that frustration. "Everybody has an opinion. Roy Keane has big standards from him in his time, it is normal to have an opinion. I have an opposite opinion. "I think my opinion is more important than Roy Keane's because I am the coach and I think he [Fernandes] is doing things quite well." As well as Fernandes, goalkeeper André Onana has come in for criticism after a number of recent mistakes. He has struggled in games against Everton and Ipswich Town, but with No. 2 Altay Bayindir injured, the Cameroon international is set to keep his place against Fulham on Sunday. "I think he passed in the last year, for sure, some difficult moments but this season he made some great saves that saved our team," Amorim said. "Sometimes [he] has some problems but that is normal. "If you look at our team you can find a lot of players with that issue. Sometimes some players have problems. People talk a lot about the second goal of Ipswich. He is waiting for the touch of [Liam] Delap and then the ball continues to the goal. That can happen." Link to the original article Vitor Roque joins Palmeiras from Barcelona BY Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens Fri Feb 28 2025 22:33:00 Palmeiras have finally completed the signing of Barcelona striker Vitor Roque for an initial €25 million ($26m) after FIFA gave the green light for the transfer to take place. The deal looked off earlier this week due to Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) regulations which prevented Roque from returning to Barça, a requisite for him then being transferred on, from his loan at Real Betis. However, world football's governing body FIFA ruled the signing could proceed and it has been finalised ahead of the transfer window closing in Brazil on Friday. Barça could also pocket an additional €5m in add-ons as part of the deal which sees Roque return to Brazil just over a year after leaving for Europe. They will also be due 20% of any future transfer. Meanwhile, in exchange for agreeing to end Roque's loan early, Betis have received an additional 30% of winger Abde Ezzalzouli's economic rights. Abde joined Betis from Barça for an initial €7.5m in 2023, with the Catalan side maintaining 50% of any future transfer. That percentage has now been cut to 20%. Roque, who celebrated turning 20 on Friday, only joined Barça last January in a deal worth an initial €30m from Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense. He made 16 appearances for the club last season, scoring twice, before moving to Betis on a season-long loan last August. During his time in Seville, he scored seven times in 33 games. Palmeiras had pledged to sign Roque in the summer if a deal could not be completed this month, but always preferred to bring him in now to give him time to settle ahead of the Club World Cup, which starts in June. The Brazilian side are in Group A with Al Ahly, Inter Miami and Porto, with the chance to play in the competition a big lure for Roque. Link to the original article Mourinho sues Galatasaray for racism accusation BY Associated Pres