As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
They say never go back, but United fans had been longing for Ronaldo to rejoin their side for many years, more in forlorn hope than anything else.
West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo heaped praise on India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kolhi and equated him with legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Griezmann, third in the 2016 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, had been heavily linked to Europa League winners Manchester United in recent weeks.
Madrid hailed as 'Masters of the Universe' after crushing Juve
Hazard, who will face his former manager when Chelsea host United in the league next Saturday, admitted he made a complacent start to that campaign.
Dutch soccer great Johan Cruyff says he is "2-0 up in the first half" of his fight against lung cancer and confident of winning the battle. A former smoker who had heart surgery in 1991, the 68-year-old former Barcelona coach was diagnosed with cancer in October. "After several medical treatments I can say the results have been very positive, thanks to the excellent work of the doctors, the affection of the people and my positive mentality," triple Ballon d'Or winner Cruyff said in a statement. "Right now I have the feeling I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure I will end up winning." Considered one of football's all-time greats, Cruyff helped Ajax Amsterdam win three European Cups from 1971-73 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1971, 1973 and 1974. He joined Barcelona for a then-world record transfer fee of $2 million and it was the Catalan club that defined his coaching career as he helped them win their first La Liga title in 15 years in 1974.
Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo is comfortably the most influential soccer player online in China.
After seeing Cristiano Ronaldo pick up a fifth Ballon d'Or on Thursday, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane described the Portuguese forward as the greatest player ever.
Riyad Mahrez, who inspired Leicester City to an extraordinary Premier League title triumph last season, was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
Portugal star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's presence makes the team a potential target for terror attacks during Euro 2016, said coach Fernando Santos.
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.
Mohamed Salah heads to the World Cup with the reputation of being one of the most lethal finishers in the game, and his country's hopes of making it to the knockout stages rest overwhelmingly on his shoulders.
Failing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo is outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's biggest transfer regret
The most impressive players at the FIFA World Cup 2022 after Round One.
India's One-day International cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid athletes in the world.
Ukraine was ordered to play a game behind closed doors as part of a UEFA punishment for racist behavior at last month's European Championship qualifier against Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo's museum on Madeira has upsized to a larger home in anticipation of the Real Madrid star winning "future trophies", his cousin told AFP on Monday. The Portugal striker's self-financed shrine now occupies a prime seafront position in Funchal, the island's capital where "CR7" was born in 1985. The museum's new two-storey site "will be able to welcome Ronaldo's future trophies," his cousin and museum director Nuno Viveiros said. The treasure trove charting the success of Madeira's most famous son draws in 200,000 visitors a year. It boasts two waxworks of the former Manchester United forward whilst a 3.4-metre-high (11 feet) bronze statue he unveiled of himself in December 2014 has been moved to greet visitors at the entrance. In January the statue was the target of graffiti when it was tagged with the name and shirt number of arch-rival Lionel Messi, hours after the Barcelona superstar saw off Ronaldo to claim a fifth world player of the year award. Among the 160 trophies on display are Ronaldo's three Ballons d'Or.
Barcelona's star striker Lionel Messi has backed Atletico Madrid to seal this year's Champions League title, saying his team don't want to see Real Madrid claim the trophy.
The Portugal forward will miss Real's league games against Villarreal, Getafe and Elche but will be available for the King's Cup semi-final, first leg at home to holders Atletico Madrid later on Wednesday and the return game next week.
Five-times world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Juventus from Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo signed off his stellar 2016 in style on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick to lift Real Madrid to Club World Cup glory and underline his status as the world's best player.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
Images from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Former Portugal star Luis Figo has announced his intentions to challenge Sepp Blatter in the FIFA presidential elections.
An Argentine football club has recreated the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of its gymnasium, with Diego Maradona as God, Lionel Messi as Adam and a host of angels that include Mario Kempes, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Batistuta.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
Portugal football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo might have some competition in the run for the Ballon d'Or award this year but the forward has no competition when it comes to having the best hair in the game as he won the Salon d'Or for the best hair in the game.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo ended his early-season drought in emphatic style when he hit five goals in a 6-0 romp at Espanyol on Saturday to become the club's record scorer in La Liga.
Finances aside, though, there is an even bigger question mark hanging over Lionel Messi. Is he a fading force?
Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered from a muscle strain and is ready to return to action, the Real Madrid and Portugal forward said on Monday.
The Champions League is part of Real Madrid's folklore and it is the nature of the Spanish side to always set their sights on Europe's most prestigious club tournament, having won it more times than any other team, winger Gareth Bale has said.
Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has defended the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner after he was criticised for throwing a lavish 30th birthday party on Saturday hours after Real Madrid's 4-0 La Liga drubbing at Atletico.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England's north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford to buy him. "He already knows there's no beach!," Aguero, who has scored 120 goals in 185 appearances during his four-and-a-half years at the Etihad, told Sky Sports. "We play every three days so we just eat, rest between games -- so the weather is not really that important.
The reigning Ballon d'or winner gave a perfect start to his side's new campaign by scoring twice in Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Cypriot visitors APOEL in the opening match.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he is "still handsome" after his face was left covered in blood from being kicked in the face against Deportivo La Coruna last week and declared he wants to remain at Real Madrid despite reports that he is unhappy in Spain.
After scoring one of the goals of the tournament and upstaging Lionel Messi by leading his team to the top of their group, Croatia captain Luka Modric hopes to fulfil a dream that began when he watched his nation record a best ever World Cup showing.
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