Raphael Varane cannot be held solely responsible for his struggles since joining Manchester United last year, says former Red Devils defender Rio Ferdinand.

According to Ferdinand, United's "zero functionality" organisation under managers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick was a crucial factor behind the 2018 World Cup winner's poor first season in England.

Now the United backline could be set for an important overhaul under new boss Erik ten Hag, Ferdinand believes.

Four-time Champions League winner Varane played 29 times in his debut season with United after arriving from Real Madrid, contributing to just six clean sheets as the Red Devils posted their worst Premier League points tally (58), finishing sixth.

Only four teams – relegated duo Norwich City (six) and Watford (four) as well as Leeds United (five) and Leicester City (seven) – kept fewer than the eight Premier League clean sheets managed by United last term.

While Ferdinand noted Varane has not performed to an elite level at Old Trafford, he hit out at United's lack of structure last season, comparing it to that of a youth team.

"I think he went from one team [Madrid], [where] the honours tell you it was a functioning team, functioning at the top level, with all the players playing to the maximum consistently," Ferdinand told his YouTube channel FIVE.

"He's then gone to an absolute reverse situation where the team has zero functionality, no confidence, no guidance and no structure. Going in there, he's probably going, 'I have not seen this since youth football'.

"To go from that world-class culture to what he's in with United is a huge shift, and he's like a rabbit in the headlights.

"He hasn't been the player we expected him to be when he came here, he would tell you that, and he'll be saying, 'I've got to up my level next year, I need help, I need my team-mates'.

"You need team-mates to be the best; [whether you are, Lionel] Messi, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Zinedine] Zidane, Ronaldinho, these players do not do what they do without their team-mates."

The appointment of former Ajax boss Ten Hag has raised hopes of an improved campaign next time around, with United expected to make significant efforts to bolster their squad in the transfer window.

Ajax defender Jurrien Timber is one player to have been heavily linked with United in recent weeks, and Ferdinand believes the club's new boss will want to make changes to the Red Devils' leaky backline.

"I'm interested to see what Ten Hag does in that area," he added. "They're talking about the young lad at Ajax, Timber, who's a centre-half, a small centre-half.

"I'll be interested to see what happens with Varane, [Victor] Lindelof, [Harry] Maguire, and Eric Bailly as well. I think one or two of them are going to go."

United's tally of 57 Premier League goals conceded last season was their worst on record in the competition, while they also failed to record a positive goal difference for the first time since the 1989-90 season.

Mohamed Salah has achieved "nothing" with Egypt and the Liverpool star must raise his level when featuring for the national team, according to former Pharaohs coach Hassan Shehata.

In response, Egypt's former sports and youth minister Khaled Abdel Aziz defended the forward, calling him a wonderful ambassador and unifying figure for the country.

Salah scored 31 goals and provided 15 assists across all competitions for Liverpool as they won the EFL and FA Cups last season, also finishing as runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.

But the forward experienced a more frustrating campaign on the international front, as Egypt lost the Africa Cup of Nations final on penalties to Senegal in February and suffered the same fate in March's crucial World Cup qualification play-off – with Salah missing from the spot in the latter contest.

Those disappointing results have led Shehata, who coached Egypt from 2004 to 2011 and won consecutive Africa Cup of Nations titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010, to call for improvements from Salah.

"We all know that Salah is one of the stars of the world and not just one of the stars of Egypt," he told Sada al-Balad. "The awards he took and the goals he scored give him the right to be the top star.

"But technically, and I'm sorry to say this, Salah has done nothing with the national team. He should have done much better than he has. He must provide more when he plays for his country."

However, Shehata did admit Salah was playing with inferior players when joining up with the national team, and said it was up to coaches to get the best from the 30-year-old after Egypt put in a series of dull displays at this year's Cup of Nations.

"It's true [that there is a difference in quality compared to Liverpool]," Shehata said. "He should have said this to the officials here - although he is not the one who chooses the players - but he should've said that the players here are not like the players in England."

Shehata's criticisms have not gone unnoticed in Egypt, with the country's former sports minister Aziz defending Salah's role on and off the pitch.

"Mohamed Salah was one of the most important soft forces that returned life in Egypt to normal after the [2013] June 30 revolution," he wrote on Twitter, alongside an image of himself with the Liverpool star.

"He was a wonderful global ambassador for his country in a difficult political period and led the national team to the World Cup after 28 years [in 2018].

"And despite the suspension of the league [after deaths occurred amid stadium violence in 2015] and then the league of the two groups, he led the team to the final of Africa [Cup of Nations] 2017 after three consecutive times we did not qualify at all."

Egypt are seeking their third head coach of the calendar year after sacking Ehab Galal after only three games at the helm last week, just two months on from Carlos Queiroz quitting the role.

Ryan Giggs has resigned as manager of the Wales national team.

Giggs stepped back from his role as Wales boss, which he assumed in 2018, in November 2020 after being arrested of suspicion of assault. He was charged with assaulting two women by Greater Manchester Police in April 2021.

The former Manchester United winger was replaced by Robert Page for Wales' campaign at the delayed Euro 2020 tournament, with the caretaker boss since leading the team to qualification for the World Cup later this year.

Giggs was originally due to face trial on January 24 this year after being charged with causing actual bodily harm to a woman in her 30s and common assault of a woman in her 20s, but his case was adjourned until August 8 due to a lack of court space.

The 48-year-old has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to the charges, as well as to one count of controlling and coercive behaviour.

He announced on Monday he was stepping down to allow the team to prepare for the World Cup without any distractions.

"After much consideration, I am standing down from my position as manager of the Wales men's national team with immediate effect," read a statement issued by Giggs.

"It has been an honour and a privilege to manage my country, but it is only right that the FAW, the coaching staff and the players prepare for the tournament with certainty, clarification and without speculation around the position of their head coach."

In the statement, widely reported by UK media, Giggs said: "I do not want the country's preparations for the World Cup to be affected, destabilised or jeopardised in any way by the continued interest around this case. I have been fortunate enough to have enjoyed some unforgettable moments during my three years in charge of the national team.

"I am sad that we cannot continue this journey together because I believe that this extraordinary group will make the country proud at our first World Cup since 1958.

"It is my intention to resume my managerial career at a later date and I look forward to watching our national team alongside you in the stands."

In a separate statement, the Football Association of Wales said: "The FAW places on record its gratitude to Ryan Giggs for his tenure as manager of the Cymru men's national team and appreciates the decision he has taken, which is in the best interests of Welsh football.

"The full focus of the FAW and the Cymru men's national team is on the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this year."

Sadio Mane's imminent move to Bayern Munich will represent a boost not only for the German champions but the Bundesliga as a whole, according to the forward's former Liverpool team-mate Loris Karius.

Mane is set to join Bayern after Julian Nagelsmann's club agreed a €41million (£35.2million) deal to sign the dynamic attacker last week.

The Senegal international, who has helped his country to the Africa Cup of Nations title and World Cup qualification as well as winning two domestic cups with Liverpool in 2022, had just one year remaining on his contract at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp will offload Mane, who scored 23 goals in all competitions in the 2021-22 season, after signing Benfica forward Darwin Nunez last week.

Karius, who joined Liverpool in the same 2016 transfer window as Mane, believes the 30-year-old will have no issues settling in at the Allianz Arena.

"It would be a crazy transfer for Bayern, because he's one of the top players at Liverpool," the goalkeeper told Sky Sports in Germany.

"If Bayern Munich manages to sign someone like him, then you can only congratulate them and the Bundesliga too. It would be another star in the league, so I would be very happy for the Bundesliga.

"Sadio Mane is very reserved, very down to earth. He also speaks a bit of German from his time in [RB] Salzburg. I've always got along very well with him, actually everyone. Should he come to Germany, he won't have any problems adapting."

Karius' own permanent Liverpool departure was only announced earlier this month, with the German having featured 49 times for the Reds after joining from Mainz.

Now aged 28 and having made his most recent competitive appearance during a loan spell at Union Berlin in February 2021, Karius is looking forward to finding a new home, but remains grateful for his time at Liverpool.

"There were ups and downs. It's part of the game, that's football, but I've developed as a person," he said.

Karius added: "I'll take my determination with me to my next job.

"It's about having a good feeling. The club can be in Germany, but also abroad. I just have to feel that the chemistry with those responsible is right, that they have a good feeling about me, and I have a good feeling with them."

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