Coach Santos said after the Morocco loss that he does not regret leaving Ronaldo on the bench and repeatedly explained that his decisions were tactical, raising questions about whether Ronaldo's brilliant career is nearing a bitter end.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
Unlike some young football players of his generation, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is a complete family man.
Not content with setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of the Champions League last season, Cristiano Ronaldo is already well on the way towards breaking Lionel Messi's La Liga best haul of 50 goals in one campaign.
Modric beats Djokovic to win Balkan athlete of year
Cristiano Ronaldo backed himself to win the 2008 Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards after inspiring Manchester United double.
"It is a story that I wanted to tell in my own words, about what happened. I feel it is the biggest story of my career and I thought that I held it for too long by myself and that I needed to share it with other people. The moment was now and (being in) Madrid, on the eve of El Clasico on Sunday, was the perfect occasion to make it happen," the former striker said.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia played at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
Air travel by the top 20 footballers nominated for the 2019 Ballon d'Or was responsible for producing 505 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions this year alone, according to a climate change researcher.
In other matches, super-sub Messi helped Barca romp past Atletico
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo opened a museum in his honour in his birthplace on Sunday, which he said had extra room for the Ballon d'Or and many other trophies to come.
Fernando Torres stole the show with a dramatic double as Atletico Madrid secured a battling 2-2 draw at Real Madrid on Thursday that dumped the holders out of the King's Cup 4-2 on aggregate.
Cristiano Ronaldo has patched up his rift with Sepp Blatter following the FIFA president's hairdresser jibe and apparent imitation of the Portuguese international.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were being touted as the best strike force in soccer history a month ago as they spearheaded Barcelona's record unbeaten run but the tiring trio are now taking the blame as the club's season unravels.
Real Madrid closed to within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the halfway stage of the season when a Pepe header secured a laboured 1-0 win at mid-table Espanyol on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid maintained a two-point lead in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at Las Palmas and Barcelona and Real Madrid stayed hard on their heels with thumping wins over Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
The BCCI has retired the No 10 jersey in Tendulkar's honour. But in football, number 10 signifies the legend. After Pele and Diego Maradona, the two great strikers of the ball, Lionel Messi has made the number priceless, notes Veer Arjun Singh.
Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world despite never winning a major international trophy for Argentina, former Barcelona team mate and Brazil great Ronaldinho said on Sunday. The 29-year-old Messi, who retired from internationals last month after Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa America final, is his country's top scorer with 55 goals. The five times World Player of the Year has played in three Copa America finals and the 2014 World Cup final, but lost them all.
On Saturday evening, Lionel Messi finally got what had eluded arguably the finest footballer of his generation throughout his glorious career -- a trophy playing for his country.
Barca overcome solid Bilbao challenge to scrape through 1-0.
Lionel Messi won the inaugural UEFA Best Player in Europe award on Thursday, finishing ahead of Barcelona teammate Xavi and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo has suggested Real Madrid should offer him a 10-year contract to ensure he sees out his career at the Spanish club. "If I were the president of Real Madrid, I would give myself a 10-year contract," Real's all time top scorer, now 31, told reporters after scoring on his return from injury in a 5-2 La Liga win over promoted Osasuna. Ronaldo's current contract runs out in 2018.
Zinedine Zidane has been reappointed as Real Madrid coach nine months after resigning, replacing Argentine Santiago Solari.
Real Madrid ensured top spot in La Liga at the midway point of the season when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win at Getafe on Sunday before Lionel Messi's hat-trick helped Barcelona to a 4-0 victory at Deportivo La Coruna.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real will play Japanese champions Kashima Antlers in Sunday's final in Yokohama, looking to become world champions for the second time in three years and earn a record 21st international title.
Some key facts about Zinedine Zidane, who stepped down as Real Madrid coach after leading the Spanish club to a third successive Champions League title.
AC Milan will find it hard to hold on to Kaka after Manchester City reportedly offered more than 100 million euros ($133 million) for the Brazil playmaker, the Italian club's owner Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday.
Yeo Moriba laughed as she recalled her showdown with the fearsome Alex Ferguson, one of many confrontations with football authority over the future of her son Paul Pogba. Ferguson was notorious for his 'hairdryer' blasts at players in the Manchester United dressing room and the proud mother told AFP how the tough Scots manager had once left her son in tears in his office. And that may be why Pogba escaped the clutches of the Red Devils to join Juventus. The 23-year-old French midfielder will be one of the most watched players at the European Championship finals. After three years struggling for a first team place, Pogba refused to sign a new contract in 2012. Ferguson took matters into his own hands and decided to confront Moriba, who acts as her son's agent, manager and advisor as well as her two other twin sons Guinea internationals Florentin and Mathias. "I said: 'What? Ferguson coming to my house! He came alone'," said the mother, laughing heartily again. Ferguson left alone disappointed. "We had got together with his brothers and we decided: he won't re-sign," added Moriba.
Real Madrid paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo in a statement on their website on Tuesday after the Portuguese forward joined Juventus to end his nine-year stay with the Spanish giants.
Portugal football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his hometown Funchal in Madeira on Sunday in order to attend the unveiling of a statue that has been sculpted in his honour.
The brain may be sharp as ever, but the legs seem heavier, the pace worryingly slower. He's still only 32, but the strain of a decade-and-a-half of paranormal activity on the pitch may just be piling up.
'In my opinion he has taken on more challenges and succeeded at all of them. He's the most complete player I have seen and his work ethic, as I mentioned, is unmatched.'
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Ronaldinho, who had a disappointing Club World Cup this month, has been elected South American footballer of the year in the annual poll conducted by the Uruguayan daily El Pais.
He is certainly not the first to say this but World Cup and Ballon d'Or winner Rivaldo too feels India should follow the 'Japan model' in order to improve the standard of football in the country.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ronaldinho has not played a competitive match since 2015 but had avoided calling a definitive halt to his career until now.
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