Cristiano Ronaldo is on his way back to Manchester United – thanks to a helping hand from Alex Ferguson.

Manchester United players past and present hailed the return of Cristiano Ronaldo to the club as the Portuguese star agreed a deal to go back to Old Trafford.

Crazy as it sounds, given the transfer fee for an outfield player who will have turned 38 by the time his two-year contract ends, this was not a financial risk

Cristiano Ronaldo scored 118 goals for Manchester United during six seasons at Old Trafford between 2003 and 2009. The Portuguese joined United from Sporting in 2003 as an 18-year-old and left plenty of great memories before heading for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo has agreed a sensational €25m deal to return to Manchester United 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid

City, who missed out on signing Harry Kane from Tottenham, were offered Ronaldo after it became clear he wanted to leave Juventus

The Premier League champions are being heavily linked with the five-time world player of the year after missing out on England captain Harry Kane

Group A is by some distance the toughest, featuring the defeated finalist of the past two seasons, plus RB Leipzig, who reached the semi-final two seasons ago

Six-time winners Liverpool will return to the scene of their 2019 triumph in the competition, the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, after being paired with Atletico Madrid

—  tribute to Séamus Heaney this evening

Plus fantasy adventure with Venom; and Steve Martin teams up with Selina Gomez and Martin Short to solve a murder

— and the long fight for justice for the family of a murderered teen in Stephen 

Plus: Watch Two Weeks Notice if you can cope with the grammar 'crime'

Richard Arnold Bermann shines a powerful light into the dark recesses of Irish life of this period

Portugal coach Fernando Santos has included eight English Premier League players in his 25-man squad for next Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland.

Something has to give when talismanic defender Virgil Van Dijk takes on prolific striker Romelu Lukaku in a genuine heavyweight clash as Liverpool host Chelsea in Saturday evening’s Premier League encounter.

The Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association says that in these fantasy leagues, there is a market of more than $7bn (€5.95bn).

Frustration for all at MolineuxBefore Sunday’s game Wolves had had more shots on goal than anyone except Liverpool — 42 — but hadn’t scored. They still haven’t.

When you hear a commentator or a pundit say something like describing players as ‘tine ar chraiceann acu’ it just comes across as better

The '90s started off on a feverish high for Ireland with the World Cup in Italy but the decade ended in misery when the real IRA killed 30 people in Omagh, Co Tyrone