Each week, sports reporter Mina Rzouki answers a selection of readers' questions submitted via social media. If you have a question for Mina, you can ask her on either X or Instagram – both @MinaRzouki
Q: Do you think Manchester United win the league before moving to a new stadium?
@Tameshanpillay via Instagram
Hmm, that gives them five years. I’d like to say 'yes' but I’m not confident it’s going to happen. I think the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe brought with it huge expectation, a serious businessman with grand plans to revitalise one of the biggest English clubs.
It’s safe to say we’ve been left somewhat disappointed with some of the decision making. The loss to Newcastle last weekend has damned United to finish with their lowest points total of the Premier League era. Grave errors were made and I’m not sure how much time is required to rid the club of the rot.
Honestly, I feel like money can be a little bit of a curse in football. I know that Ineos are behaving like they are on the breadline and the current stadium is falling apart, but this is a club that has spent over a billion pounds on players and on hiring the likes of sporting director Dan Ashworth only to swiftly change their minds. Maybe they should stop targeting the so-called ‘best’ and work on creating a team both on the pitch and in the boardroom.
Simplicity is key in this business, and no one has demonstrated that as well as Real Madrid. One astute president in Florentino Perez, one brilliant CEO in Jose Angel Sanchez and one excellent head scout in Juni Calafat. Yes, there are others but everyone in the club knows who the key men are at Madrid and they all respect their limits and understand the bigger picture, working together to achieve results.
The problem at United is that they don’t know who should call the shots. Years of mismanagement has taken its toll on the club, and I’m amazed at some of the names they have brought in. Talent is not enough. The jersey is a hard one to wear and comes with a lot of pressure. Seeing how mentally defeated the players often look is telling of how poor recruitment has been on and off the pitch.
Q: Which has been the surprise team of this season for you?
@Raycheng01 via Instagram
A: There have been so many teams that have proved magnificent this season, but surely Nottingham Forest have to be the team that has surprised me the most.
I’m a huge admirer of coach Nuno Espírito Santo. When I mentioned that I thought he was special during the 2014/15 season when he was managing Valencia, I was laughed out of the room. Valencia were struggling with all sorts of problems at boardroom level and the fans were outspoken in their criticism of the ownership.
However, if we focus just on the football, Nuno managed a lot of good things at the club and won La Liga manager of the month three times during the campaign.
I remember once discussing his brilliance with Fabio Paratici, the former Tottenham and Juventus sporting director. Paratici even signed him as Spurs manager, although that ended in a bit of a disaster.
But, Nuno has finally found his place at Forest and the team have been nothing short of wonderful to watch this season, exceeding expectations even if they’ve suffered a bit of a wobble recently. Lest we forget, he took over the side when they were in 17th place in the Premier League. They are now in the top four and on course to play in the Uefa Champions League next season, and they still have an FA cup semi-final to contest. Who would have ever imagined such a turnaround?
Q: How has Galeno been getting along in the SPL?
@Lukey via X
One of the main reasons I enjoyed watching Porto play was because of Galeno. So unpredictable and effective going forward, he could always be depended upon in the big moments. Anyone remember that 94th minute winner against Arsenal in the Uefa Champions League last season?
It was current Saudi Pro League leaders Al Ittihad that showed initial interest in bringing the Brazilian winger to the kingdom but the deal fell through, and the club opted for Steven Bergwijn instead.
Despite being heavily followed by Serie A sides Napoli and Juventus, Galeno finally arrived in Saudi Arabia in January, signing for Al Ahli. He is a special player, but it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride since he’s arrived.
In mid-February, his team faced Al Nassr and Galeno really struggled. The fans made it clear they were expecting a different type of performance from their high-profile arrival. Don’t forget, Roberto Firmino was dropped from the squad list for the league to permit Galeno to be registered. Saudi clubs are only allowed to have a maximum of 10 foreign players in their Pro League squad.
Football fans are never patient and frustratingly for Galeno, the other new big-money arrival, Jhon Duran, scored a brace for Al Nassr in that game.
However, the Brazilian has since settled in, improving with each game. He scored an important equaliser in the final minute against Al Khaleej and was superb in the AFC Champions League Elite last 16 against Qatar's Al Rayyan, working in tandem with Firmino to secure a 5-1 aggregate win.
Q: Is it time for Cristiano Ronaldo to retire? I love him but western pundits seem to think it’s time to call it a day.
@Reithnatasha via Instagram
Should he retire? No. Of course we can’t escape our age, but I find it remarkable that anyone can ever criticise a player who continues to normalise the extraordinary. Ronaldo's goal against Al Riyadh last weekend was arguably the best of his 23 league goals this season. An extraordinary and thunderous right footed volley, Ronaldo knows how to produce magic exactly when the team needs their clutch player.
Al Nassr are third in the Saudi Pro League table, eight points behind leaders Al Ittihad, meaning most likely another season without a domestic silverware for Ronaldo, although Nassr are still in the quarter-finals of the AFC Champions League Elite.
I don’t think we’ll ever be ready to say goodbye to player like him and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo turned 40 in February but shows no signs of slowing down. The Portuguese superstar leads the SPL scoring charts by three goals ahead of Abderrazak Hamdallah, and six ahead of Karim Benzema and Ivan Toney.
In my opinion, he is still the best player in the league and the most dependable, producing some of his best football since the most recent international break. He’s just 67 goals from scoring his 1,000th career goal. My guess is we won’t have to wait long.
