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Richard Martin

Northern Football Writer

📝 Bio: I'm a football writer covering Manchester United and Manchester City. I am a regular at Old Trafford and The Etihad Stadium and am often found at the City Football Academy or United's Carrington Training Ground for press conferences. I covered Spanish football for 10 years at the height of the Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi era, witnessing Real Madrid win three consecutive Champions Leagues while Barca scooped multiple La Liga crowns. I moved back to my former home of Manchester in 2023, in time to cover City swooping to the treble and a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League crown, plus the never-ending melodrama unfolding at United. Highlights while working for GOAL include interviewing Julian Alvarez, Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot.

⚽ My Football Story: My first game was seeing Manchester United getting destroyed 4-1 by Tottenham in 1996, aged eight. It did not put me off and I have since been to over 700 matches across 16 countries and three continents, from standing on the terraces at River Plate and Napoli to filing match reports from the World Cup final in Moscow or the Europa League final in Bilbao. I live and breathe terrace culture but I equally enjoy analysing the game's top players and coaches.

🎯 Areas of Expertise:

  • Manchester United & Manchester City
  • La Liga
  • Fan culture

🌟 Favourite Footballing Memory:

Reporting from the Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors in Madrid, a once-in-a-lifetime event and a privilege to experience live.

 

 

 

Articles by Richard Martin
  1. Cherki told he can reach KDB numbers - if he fixes biggest 'weakness'

    Rayan Cherki has been tipped to be as successful at Manchester City as Kevin De Bruyne by Gael Clichy. The former City left-back used to coach the maverick attacking midfielder when he played for France's under-21 side and gave special insight into what he can offer Pep Guardiola's side. And he outlined the one aspect of his game that he needs to improve upon in order to truly shine at the Etihad Stadium.

  2. RANKED: Haaland, Salah and the best PL strikers ever

    Erling Haaland was back to his very best as the striker led Manchester City to a thumping derby win over Manchester United on Sunday. The Norwegian made yet more history, becoming the joint-top scorer in the fixture as well as the fastest player to reach 90 Premier League goals. And a beaming Pep Guardiola declared that Haaland was in the best form of his career.

  1. 'I slept like a baby!' - Pep praises all-time great Walker

    Pep Guardiola hailed Kyle Walker as one of the greatest right-backs ever and is certain that he will get a big reception from Manchester City fans when he returns to the Etihad Stadium with Burnley on Saturday. Walker helped City win six Premier League titles and the Champions League in a seven-and-a-half-year spell with the club, although he had a sour end to his time there.

  2. Amorim: Let's win for Amad after father's death

    Ruben Amorim has revealed that Amad Diallo has been given permission to miss Manchester United's trip to Brentford after the death of his father. Amad will remain in Manchester rather than return to his home in the Ivory Coast. The coach hopes his team can pay tribute to Amad by securing a second consecutive Premier League win for the first time since he took charge.

  3. Sunderland are showing Man Utd how a football club should be run

    Welcome to Wrexham showed the pain and glory of British lower league football to the world but it would never have existed without Sunderland Till I Die. Rob McElhenney watched the documentary on the recommendation of his actor friend Humphrey Ker and was immediately hooked. After finishing the series he instantly decided he wanted to invest in a lower league club and soon his ambitious project with Ryan Reynolds was born.

  4. Rooney makes surprising revelation about Ronaldo wink

    Wayne Rooney has finally revealed how he really felt towards Cristiano Ronaldo after he was sent off during England's World Cup quarter-final tie with Portugal in 2006. Ronaldo and Rooney were Manchester United team-mates at the time but their relationship looked to be threatened after Ronaldo played a role in Rooney getting a red card and then winked towards the Portugal bench.

  5. Amorim confident Man Utd players 'don't want to change coach'

    Ruben Amorim said he could feel that his Manchester United players do not want him to get sacked after they beat Sunderland 2-0 to ease the pressure on the coach. Goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko gave United a third win of the season and soothed the pain of last week's defeat at Brentford, which led to high profile figures such as Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney fiercely criticising Amorim.

  6. History-maker Haaland eyeing 'biggest party ever' with Norway

    Winning trophies and top-scoring awards might be routine to Erling Haaland but this week the striker stands on the brink of what could be a once-in-lifetime opportunity: to qualify for the World Cup with Norway. Since Haaland was born in 2000, Norway have never competed on the world's biggest stage. Their six attempts fell flat, only reaching the play-offs on one occasion.

  7. How Man Utd ensure Anfield win isn't another false dawn

    Now that the dust has settled on Manchester United's first victory at Anfield in almost a decade, attention turns to what the Red Devils have found the hardest thing to do in the last two years: build some momentum. As satisfying as Sunday's 2-1 win on Merseyside was, it was far from the only time United have overcome low expectations and pulled off a big result against a top team in recent times.