With Riejanne Markus second and Ally Wollaston third, Mara Roldan triumphs for the first time on the World Tour in stage two of the Women’s Tour of Britain, finishing in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
WATCH MORE: Stage One Sprint for the Women’s Tour of Britain
With Riejanne Markus second and Ally Wollaston third, Mara Roldan triumphs for the first time on the World Tour in stage two of the Women’s Tour of Britain, finishing in Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
WATCH MORE: Stage One Sprint for the Women’s Tour of Britain
In his first interview since joining Manchester City in 2021, Jack Grealish remarked, “It’s a dream come true to be a part of this club.”
It’s fair to say that City’s dreams had come true since City paid a record fee of £100 million to bring in England’s midfielder from Aston Villa.
Grealish has won three Premier League titles since then, and he was instrumental in City’s Treble victory in his second season there.
However, his experience in Manchester has become more of a nightmare over the past two years.
Grealish has only made 17 Premier League starts in two seasons, with a lack of minutes cost him a spot in England’s Euro 2024 squad, a combination of injuries and subpar performances.
Grealish was a unused substitute on ten occasions during the second half of the campaign as the dethroned champions City endured their worst season under Pep Guardiola, which saw them struggle to earn a Champions League spot.
Since having a mixed debut season in sky blue, Grealish’s future at City has never really been resolved.
In his third season, he appeared a shadow of himself, despite the critics’ disapproval.
After missing out on City’s matchday squad for their final, must-win Premier League game, Grealish’s fourth campaign came to an end.
Grealish’s time is running out, given City’s interest in playmaker Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders’ signing.
Both parties have acknowledged that it is time to step down, and the England international is likely to be left out of City’s squad for the Fifa Club World Cup in the United States later this month.
Both Grealish and the City board still respect him for his approach and popularity within the squad as well as his playmaking ability.
However, there is now consensus that this is the right time to move forward, especially given Guardiola’s declaration that he wants a smaller squad for the following term.
Grealish and Grealish are in agreement. He thinks it would be best for him to concentrate on his future and sign with a new club after a difficult season both indoors and away.
Where might Grealish go next with two more years on his contract, that raises a possibility.
The player has a choice, but he also has preferences.
Grealish prefers a permanent new home and a break from the past, as Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford did last season.
City would approve a loan, but they’d rather sell to avoid paying Grealish’s wages and recover a portion of the $100m investment. They accept that their payment for him will not be as good as it was.
Given that former clubs Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle, Everton, and former club Villa have all been linked with him, Grealish would of course be willing to stay in the Premier League.
He wants to continue playing at the highest level that Newcastle and Spurs can offer next season, ideally in the Champions League.
Grealish also said moving to the continent is possible, noting that Napoli, Barcelona, AC Milan, and AC Milan are all mentioned, though the former’s initial interest has since waned. Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund both appear to be viable options.
Finances remain the main challenge, with City and Grealish on the same page regarding a departure. Compromission will be necessary.
Few clubs in the world of football would be able to match the £300,000 earned by Grealish per week at City.
The two Premier League clubs that could potentially sign the 29-year-old are undoubtedly Manchester United and Liverpool, but neither one of them are interested in him.
Could there be a financial agreement between Manchester City and Grealish to make way for an exit if the pair choose to stay together until 2027?
A permanent stay at the boyhood club Villa is unlikely, even if Grealish received a significant pay cut.
Since missing out on Champions League football, Villa are focused on lowering their wage bill over the summer rather than increasing it, with their wage ratio of 91% in 2024.
Despite being a former Villa fan favorite, it is still unclear whether or not he is the type of player that Unai Emery wants him to be.
Newcastle would likely be the best option in terms of wage capacity, even though they don’t have a lot of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) headroom to play with when paying a transfer fee. However, a cut would still be necessary.
Spurs have long been linked with Grealish, but the over £330 million in unpaid transfer fees that are due this summer could stymie their summer investment.
Everton would have to pay Grealish’s current wage, once more.
It would be difficult for AC Milan and Napoli to sign Grealish’s former City team-mate Kevin de Bruyne on a free transfer in order to meet his wage demands while Barcelona’s interest has waned because of their financial problems and focus on other recruitment issues.
This brings us to the loan scenario, which is probably the most likely choice for either party. This would likely result in City paying a sizable portion of his wages or paying a sizable loan amount, giving those mentioned above the opportunity to strike a deal off the rails.
Perhaps a suitor could afford to pay him a sizable sign-on fee in exchange for a drop in his wages if City decided to take a significant hit on the £100m they paid for Grealish four years ago.
Saudi Arabia may be the only option if Grealish wants to keep or even raise his current salary.
Geva Mentor, the legendary English netball player who announced her retirement, described her as “happy and content” with her newfound success.
The 40-year-old Leeds Rhinos defender will play in the final two games of the current Super League season before deciding to end her playing career.
The time is right for me to retire, Mentor said to BBC South Today, “I’m very happy and content with my decision.”
“Last year I wasn’t sure if I was ready, but after a few games this year, I knew it was time to play.”
I was able to compete this year and play it, but I’m ready for the upcoming chapter, which will allow me to spend more time at home and travel less.
Since moving to the Rhinos in 2024, Mentor, who is originally from Bournemouth, has had to travel frequently between her house and the club.
She appeared in more than 310 club games over the course of 16 seasons playing in New Zealand and Australia.
In his 24-year career, Mentor was twice chosen as the “World’s Best Netballer.”
She continued, “This year, I took a step back from the leadership positions and enjoy my netball.”
When I leave the sport, I can say yes to more things that are exciting for me when I’m not on the court.
I’m working hard in France, and I might also continue to do that. I want to help advance our sport because I’m a strong proponent of it.
“I’m very grateful for everything that the sport has given me, and I want others to have experiences like that.”
Leeds Rhinos face Cardiff Dragons in Sheffield on Sunday in their final Super League game before Nottingham Forest’s clash on 15 June.
Mentor’s team has struggled in the league this season, winning just two games to finish third in the standings.
There are still two games left, according to Mentor, who is excited about them.
I just want to take to the court, play, and give it my all in those crucial games, and win.
It’s been crazy to think where I’ve come from and the journey that has followed, to say the least.
St Helens vs. Wigan Warriors in the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup final
The Women’s Challenge Cup final earlier this year attracted a lot of attention from Wigan Warriors.
It would be an understatement to say that Leeds Rhinos were thrashed.
The two-time winners were destroyed by Denis Betts’ side 44-14, and Wigan never looked particularly vulnerable in the 80 minutes, despite a late Leeds rally.
With St Helens and York dominating the last few years along with Leeds, it signaled the rise of a new side to the top of the women’s game in England.
What is the cause of Wigan’s recent rise, though? And where did Leeds play in that game?
Leeds had already defeated Wigan in the semi-final in May.
However, Warriors held on to lead the Super League standings with three victories from three, and finished in the tie.
The key to forging their own path as opposed to imitating their quadruple-winning men’s team is unknown, according to Wigan legend Betts, who claims there is no secret why his side have stooped their way to 2025.
Former Wigan and Great Britain second row Betts, 55, told BBC Sport, “We’ve tried to do as a team that we’re not trying to look like a men’s team.”
We’re just trying to be who we are as a group of young, inspiring women who want to play rugby, pass the ball, and have fun while doing it.
In his nine years with the club, from 1986 to 1995, Betts won seven men’s Challenge Cups out of a slew of titles, including seven championship titles with an all-capiting Wigan side.
He quickly rebuilt Wigan as the women’s head coach in 2024 after serving as a coach for a number of clubs, including Widnes, and quickly began to transform their fortunes.
After losing to eventual champions Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup last year, Betts has seen the progression of his team.
He believes that the team’s current state was a result of their experiences in 2024, despite the outcome, and that their performance was influenced by that loss.
It took a few games and months for things to get going, Betts added, but we did witness a small amount of it in the semi-final [in 2024] when Leeds defeated us at St Helens.
We saw glimpses of it, and over the course of the season, we’ve improved, culminating in a fantastic win over York [Leeds] in the semi-final of 2025.
“We’ve given ourselves a chance in the top four, but we’ve never really taken that chance and put on a performance that, in theory, would give us a real foothold in that elite group.”
Betts knows that Wembley is an accomplishment in itself, so despite their recent advancement, he is not putting pressure on himself to win.
Wigan has never reached the Women’s Challenge Cup final since it was founded in 2012, but they know they must work hard if they want to defeat Saints, who have won the competition for the past four years.
Wembley is a fantastic occasion, but it’s not the end all, “Betts continued.”
This group is improving, and this is just the start, not the end. Nothing is the end, just the beginning.
The Glazer family purchased Manchester United Football Club on June 28, 2005, and it was complete.
It loaded the club with debt, and over the next 20 years, BBC Verifyhas found about £1.2bn has been spent on debt interest, debt repayments, dividends and fees to the family.
The Glazers left the club with £604 million in debt as a result of the deal, which they financed by borrowing millions of dollars from hedge funds.
Due to United’s financial repercussions, it was a very content takeover from the beginning.
The Glazer family paid $ 790 million on June 22 to remove the club from the London stock market and to buy out its exiting shareholders.
However, the club, which had previously had only £50m in borrowings, was primarily funded by borrowings and subsequently incurred £604m in debt.
The club’s board had issued a warning in April 2005 about the dangers of this much debt because it “didn’t have any prudent judgment” and “could lead to a downward spiral in both team and financial performance.”
Fans’ protests following the takeover continue to this day.
Calculations by BBC Verify- based on an analysis of the club’s published accounts and stock market announcements – show that since the Glazer family’s acquisition of the club in June 2005 it has paid out:
This implies that between 2005 and 2024, the club lost an estimated £1.187 billion in cash, which is reasonable to say would not have happened without the Glazer takeover.
Because it does not include various fees to banks, financial advisors, or other financing costs, such as currency hedging, it is also a conservative estimate.
Additionally, it does not include the directors’ fees that have been paid by the club.
The Glazers’ directors have also received £125 million in compensation since the club’s directors re-listed a portion of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
It’s likely that about £63 million of this sum, which included the directors, went to them.
The Glazer family can sincerely acknowledge that over the past 20 years, the club’s value has increased significantly.
The club’s implied market value reflects this.
United was purchased by The Glazers for £790 million. In May 2025, the club’s stock market implied value exceeded £3. 2 billion.
And the club’s financial terms, which Sir Jim Ratcliffe sold to him in 2024, suggest a total sale worth of £4.3 billion.
Under the Glazers, United have won 15 major league titles, but just five of them have come since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013.
The Premier League finished 15th last season, which is the lowest place they have ever placed in a campaign since 1974-75 when they were in the second tier.
The club’s quarterly accounts, which were released on Friday, acknowledged this.
In 2005, the Glazers primarily used borrowed funds to purchase the club, but their accounts reveal they also invested £273 million in own funds.
They haven’t, however, since made any initial investments.
The squad’s investments came from the club’s own internal cash resources, as well as from debt secured by the club directly and through the club’s ownership shares.
The investment also added a lot of value to the family.
The Glazer family sold £555 million worth of club shares between 2012 and 2022, including the proceeds from a £150 million listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.
Manchester United PLC’s total gross debt was only £50 million in 2005.
The Glazers’ leveraged buyout increased the gross debt in 2006 to £604 million, which was partially secured by the club’s assets and partially by the ownership shares of the Glazer family.
However, the club’s gross debt was still £547 million in 2024. This figure is almost £1 billion, according to other debt-related measures that take the cost of transfers into account.
Ratcliffe now has about a 30% ownership stake and control over the football operations after the Glazer family sold £732 million in shares to him in 2024.
Ratcliffe also contributed a further £236 million of his own money to the club as part of the agreement to help pay for the club’s Old Trafford stadium’s infrastructure.
This additional investment was not financed by additional debt.