Zidane plays down Ronaldo injury; Liverpool's Gomez sidelined after surgey
Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted that he needs to rest more and that sitting out the odd game is in the interests of him and Real Madrid, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday. Real's all-time top scorer has missed four of his team's 15 league games this season, two more than in the whole of the last campaign, and he was a surprise omission from the squad for Wednesday's King's Cup game against Sevilla. Zidane remarked last year that he would prefer Ronaldo to rest more after injuries forced him to miss vital games at the end of the season, although the Frenchman appears to have reached agreement with his talisman this campaign.
'I speak with Cristiano all the time and I know him very well. He knows that until now he played 60-70 games a season and the accumulation of all those years meant he needs to rest a little'
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.
Former Portugal star Luis Figo has announced his intentions to challenge Sepp Blatter in the FIFA presidential elections.
Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan was named European Footballer of the Year on Monday.
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.
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Media attention has focused on whether their most prized asset Neymar will eventually make a sensational move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
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.
Indian football was a picture of good health with a 10-man under-20 outfit's triumph over Argentina
Hegerberg hat-trick fires Lyon to fourth straight Champions League
Here, Reuters Sport highlights five reasons why last season's double winners have collapsed.
With 11 million likes, Beyonce's maternity shoot pic tops the list of most-liked pics of 2017.
The Belgian forward came off the bench to make his Real debut in Saturday's 3-2 win over Levante, having had his start to life at the club hit by a thigh injury the day before the La Liga season began.
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates have issued a strong defence of his value to Real Madrid as the Portuguese striker grapples with a barren streak that has sparked a debate about his place in the team.
Liverpool's Senegalese striker spat towards a section of supporters as he tried to retrieve the ball.
Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered from a muscle strain and is ready to return to action, the Real Madrid and Portugal forward said on Monday.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo collected a record fourth Golden Shoe award as Europe's top scorer on Tuesday for his 48-goal haul in La Liga last season.
Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski scored the winner to secure Poland a place at Euro 2016 with a 2-1 victory in Warsaw on Sunday.
From soccer genius Lionel Messi to sprint king Usain Bolt, a shimmering array of the world's greatest sports stars are in the race for top honours at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards -- also called the 'Oscars of Sport' -- to be presented.
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
The Real Madrid forward apologises after Real Madrid dumped out of King's Cup by Atletico Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has a full squad available, including forward Karim Benzema, for Saturday's La Liga Clasico at home to Barcelona.
Yet for all of his 451 goals in all competitions and the silverware he helped amass, Ronaldo's time at the Bernabeu was fraught with moments of high tension leading to Tuesday's announcement that he was joining the Italian champions.
A brief history of previous World Cup semi-final appearances by England and Croatia, ahead of their last four match at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos performed another rescue act to wreck Napoli's brave comeback attempt and take the Champions League title-holders into the quarter-finals.
Players at this year's women's World Cup, trying to settle a lawsuit against FIFA, will play on artificial turf as long as the final matches are on natural grass, their lawyer said.
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced he will invest over USD 40 million in hotels bearing his CR7 moniker in his native Portugal, Madrid and New York.
Barcelona forward Neymar finds himself at the centre of unwanted media attention in Spain as his struggling team's promising season threatens to unravel after a run of defeats. The Brazilian has not scored in his last five games and is being portrayed as one of the reasons for Barca's woes after three straight La Liga losses has seen them caught by Atletico Madrid, who have also knocked them out of the Champions League. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia this week focused on the 24-year-old's conduct off the pitch, particularly his "trips away, parties at unadvisable times and commercial commitments". He visited Brazil in March for his sister's birthday party. TV programme 'El Dia Despues (The Day After) on Tuesday showed Neymar arguing with Jordi Ala during Sunday's home defeat by Valencia after the defender chose not to pass to him. Camera footage showed Neymar appearing to swear at his team mate. Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday looking to get their title bid back on track with the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo focusing on Neymar, pictured between Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, below the headline 'This cannot go on'.
Argentina's Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, English third tier player David Hall and U.S. women's international Carli Lloyd were among players included on the shortlist for FIFA's goal of the year award on Friday.
'What he has done in half as many matches as Raul is incredible'
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 22nd La Liga goal of the season to set Real Madrid on their way to a laboured 2-0 win at home to Granada on Saturday that lifted them above Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the top of the standings.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games.'
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