The Offside Daily: Fergie time could save Manchester United boss as Platini says FIFA ban was ‘rigged’

Only the news you need – bringing you five mainstream and five off-the-wall news stories each day!

1. Manchester United are believed to have called in Sir Alex Ferguson for advice, as the pressure on current manager Louis van Gaal continues to build up.

2. Furthermore, in what are being labelled as crisis talks between the club and van Gaal, Wayne Rooney is believed to have asked the Dutchman to change his methods in order to rebuild the side’s confidence.

3. After confirming that he is to appeal his eight-year ban from football, Michel Platini has labelled the ban a ‘pure masquerade’, adding that the process was ‘rigged’ in order to tarnish the Frenchman’s reputation.

4. Edgar Davids is backing Barcelona forward Lionel Messi to win the 2015 Ballon d’Or, as he labelled the Argentinian an anomaly, adding that ‘the rest’ will have to wait until Messi’s level ‘falls off a little bit’.

5. Newcastle’s Steve McClaren has insisted he will not give up on the club’s summer signing, Florian Thauvin, after admitting he has seen signs that the French youngster is adapting to the physicality of the Premier League.

6. Mesut Ozil has revealed the reason behind his drastic upturn in form for Arsenal (The Guardian).

7. Bayern Munich’s Philipp Lahm has trolled Bastian Schweinsteiger, as he enjoys his winter break while the Manchester United midfielder has to endure a gruelling festive calendar (The Metro)

8. We’ve all been given an early Christmas present from Cristiano Ronaldo (The Daily Mail).

9. Given all the classic Christmas tracks that are playing at the moment, have you ever wondered what a rock band made up of Arsenal players might sound like? No!? Well you’re about to find out anyway (The Independent).

10. Finally, since 2015 is coming to an end soon, here is Eurosport’s emoji recap of the year so far (Eurosport).

That’s it for The Offside Daily now until the 28th! It has been fantastic to produce content for you lovely people all year, thank you so much for all of the support! Have a very good Christmas, and we’ll see each other again before the New Year.