Welcome to your Thursday morning briefing. Let us ensure you’re up to speed on what’s happening and are prepared for the day ahead.

Manchester United owner Malcolm Glazer has died, his NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced last night.

Alex Ferguson wanted Carlo Ancelotti to succeed him as Manchester United manager last summer, according to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.

Newly-appointed head coach Mauricio Pochettino has promised to bring attacking football to Tottenham after agreeing a five-year deal that leaves Southampton needing a new manager.

There will an Irish influence, after all, at the World Cup with 10-year-old wonderkid Ciarán Duffy the centrepiece of the official McDonald’s television commercial for the tournament.

Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino is set to be named Tottenham manager over the next 36 hours.

For a guy whose skills you can only admire, doesn’t Cristiano Ronaldo make himself so hard to like?

Roy Keane has put the boot into England’s World Cup hopes, insisting the players are "in for a massive shock" and won’t be able to handle the conditions in Brazil.

Arsenal’s depth of creative midfielders could see the Premier League club pass up on their buy-back option for former captain Cesc Fabregas.

Eamon Dunphy has called on Roy Keane to "quash" speculation about his future and commit fully to his role as Martin O’Neill’s number two.

Netherlands boss Louis van Gaal expects Robin van Persie to hit peak fitness for the start of the World Cup.

Eden Hazard has dropped a big hint that he will be remaining at Chelsea next season, announcing he will wear the number 10 shirt at Stamford Bridge.

Brian O’Driscoll last night described his "relief" at avoiding serious injury in his last game as a professional rugby as he began life after retirement with his first stint on air as part of Newstalk’s ‘Off the Ball’ team.

Wayne Rooney insists he does not care what his critics think and is focused only on helping England do well at the World Cup. The Manchester United striker has come in for criticism of late, with some believing he does not warrant a starting place in Roy Hodgson’s side.

Martin O’Neill insisted yesterday he would not feel left down if Roy Keane were to return to club football.

Former Manchester United stalwart Nicky Butt claims the failure of the club’s seasoned professionals to embrace change contributed to the downfall of manager David Moyes.

England’s football chiefs rounded on FIFA president Sepp Blatter yesterday telling him he must stand down next year and that his claim racism was behind World Cup corruption allegations was "offensive and totally unacceptable".

Mexico will face Louis van Gaal’s impressive Dutch side in the World Cup knockout stages after seeing off Croatia last night.

Marouane Fellaini, £24m, Everton

It was a decade ago, in April, that Florentino Perez claimed Real Madrid would “never, never, never” sign David Beckham.