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Scottish Sun
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
‘We're not friends, obviously' – Lionel Messi gives rare glimpse into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo
Pair have previously had their say about each other LION KINGS 'We're not friends, obviously' – Lionel Messi gives rare glimpse into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LIONEL MESSI declared 'we're not friends, obviously' as he gave a rare glimpse into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. The veteran rivals are regarded as arguably the two best players to ever grace the beautiful game. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 6 Lionel Messi admits he and Cristiano Ronaldo 'are not friends' Credit: AP 6 Messi is still going strong at the age of 37 with Inter Miami Credit: Getty 6 Ronaldo, 40, has been banging in the goals for Al-Nassr Credit: AFP 6 The pair have won numerous trophies and awards between them Credit: Getty And their battle for legendary status has now been ongoing for over 20 years. Messi, 37, currently stars for MLS side Inter Miami after a dazzling career for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina. Ronaldo, 40, continues to tear things up for Saudi outfit Al-Nassr following glory at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. And the pair boast 19 league titles between them, as well as nine Champions Leagues and seven international trophies. As far as Ballon d'Ors go, Messi leads Ronaldo by eight of the individual honours to five. But despite their rivalry on the pitch, the pair have sought to play down reports of a grudge off it too. Ronaldo previously declared he 'admired' Messi's career while admitting son Cristiano Jr adored the Argentine's skills. Meanwhile, Messi believes they have enjoyed a 'great battle' and 'deserve credit' for leading the 'golden era' of football. BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Now, the World Cup winner has given a deeper glimpse into his relationship with his Euro-clinching counterpart. Admitting he's 'not friends' with Ronaldo, Messi told DSports: 'I have a lot of respect and admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo and for the career he's had and continues to have, because he's still competing at the highest level. Watch Messi score stunning free-kick as Inter Miami stun Porto 2-1m 6 Ronaldo's partner is Spanish businesswoman Georgia Rodriguez Credit: Instagram @georginagio 6 Messi is married to childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo Credit: Getty 'The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. 'Off the pitch, we are two normal people. We're not friends obviously because we don't spend time together, but we've always treated each other with a lot of respect.' Ronaldo also had his say on Messi earlier this year. He declared: 'I have a good relationship with Messi. It was a healthy rivalry, we got along.'
The Irish Sun
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘We're not friends, obviously' – Lionel Messi gives rare glimpse into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo
LIONEL MESSI declared 'we're not friends, obviously' as he gave a rare glimpse into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo. The veteran rivals are regarded as arguably the two best players to ever grace the beautiful game. Advertisement 6 Lionel Messi admits he and Cristiano Ronaldo 'are not friends' Credit: AP 6 Messi is still going strong at the age of 37 with Inter Miami Credit: Getty 6 Ronaldo, 40, has been banging in the goals for Al-Nassr Credit: AFP 6 The pair have won numerous trophies and awards between them Credit: Getty And their Messi, 37, currently stars for MLS side Inter Miami after a dazzling career for Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina. Ronaldo, 40, continues to tear things up for Saudi outfit Al-Nassr following glory at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. And the pair boast 19 league titles between them, as well as nine Champions Leagues and seven international trophies. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL As far as Ballon d'Ors go, Messi leads Ronaldo by eight of the individual honours to five. Ronaldo previously Meanwhile, Messi believes Advertisement Most read in Football Breaking BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS Now, the World Cup winner has given a deeper glimpse into his relationship with his Euro-clinching counterpart. Admitting he's 'not friends' with Ronaldo, Messi told Watch Messi score stunning free-kick as Inter Miami stun Porto 2-1m 6 Ronaldo's partner is Spanish businesswoman Georgia Rodriguez Credit: Instagram @georginagio Advertisement 6 Messi is married to childhood sweetheart Antonela Roccuzzo Credit: Getty 'The competition with him was on the pitch. Each of us wanted to do the best for our team. Obviously, as always, everything stayed on the field. 'Off the pitch, we are two normal people. We're not friends obviously because we don't spend time together, but we've always treated each other with a lot of respect.' Ronaldo also had his say on Messi earlier this year. Advertisement He declared: 'I have a good relationship with Messi. It was a healthy rivalry, we got along.'
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Kylian Mbappe discharged from hospital. No timeframe on when Real Madrid star will play at Club World Cup.
'Mbappe will continue with specific medical treatment and will gradually return to the team's activity,' Madrid said in a statement. Advertisement Gastroenteritis is also known as stomach flu and symptoms can include vomiting and diarrhea. Mbappe's absence is a blow to the Club World Cup, which FIFA president Gianni Infantino hopes will be one of the elite events in soccer and rival competitions like the Champions League and Premier League in popularity and value. After Lionel Messi, Mbappe is arguably the biggest star in the show, with Madrid one of the favorites to lift the trophy in the inaugural edition of the tournament. But a crowd of more than 62,000 at Hard Rock Stadium missed out on a rare chance to see him in person in the U.S. when he was unavailable for Madrid's first game at the home of the NFL's Miami Dolphins on Wednesday. Advertisement Alonso missed him, too, in what has been a difficult start to the tournament for the team's new coach. Madrid was underwhelming against Al Hilal — Saudi Arabia's most successful team — and missed a 92nd-minute penalty to win the match. Related : It was Alonso's first game in charge of the 15-time European champion, which is famously demanding of its coaches. Last month he replaced Carlo Ancelotti, who left to join the Brazil national team after winning three Champions Leagues and two Spanish titles in two stints at the club. Despite being the overwhelming favorite against Al Hilal, Madrid had to settle for a draw after surviving a number of scares in the first half — leaving Alonso to call for patience. 'We know this is going to take time,' he said. The 26-year-old Mbappe was Madrid's top scorer last season, with 43 goals in 56 appearances in his first year since joining from Paris Saint-Germain. His hospitalization came almost exactly one year after he sustained a broken nose at the European Championship and had to wear a face mask to continue playing in the tournament.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Auf wiedersehen, Thomas Müller, Germany's dream maker who found goals in space
It's 17 years since Thomas Müller made his debut for Bayern. Since then he has played 751 games for the club, scoring 248 goals, while also scoring 45 goals in 131 games for Germany. He has won 13 Bundesliga titles, two Champions Leagues and a World Cup. He will retire at the end of the Club World Cup after a career played entirely at the highest level and yet still nobody has been able to quite work out what he is. Is he a centre-forward? Is he a false 9? Is he a wide forward, a second striker, an attacking midfielder? Is he all of those things, none of those things or some of those things some of the time? Louis van Gaal loved him; Pep Guardiola never seemed quite so sure. Müller is not especially quick, not especially dominant in the air and does not beat players with close technical skill, but he is obviously a player of the highest level. Then there's his puzzling goals record: how did a player who averaged roughly a goal every three games managed not only to win the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup but also the Silver Boot at the following tournament? (Even odder is that the five goals he scored in South Africa were his only international goals that year.) The best explanation of Müller perhaps came from his own mouth. 'I am a Raumdeuter,' he said in 2011 – an interpreter of space. He has that capacity a great goalscorer, a Gerd Müller or a Gary Lineker, has to anticipate where the ball will drop, but he is not a poacher. He has the ability of a Luka Modric or a Xavi to find space in a hectic midfield, but he is not a playmaker. Raumdeuter has become such an accepted phrase that it is a role that can be assigned to forwards on the video game Football Manager. It is not entirely clear whether Müller was making a joke when he said it. Müller's football may be hard to identify, but it is nothing to his sense of humour. When he claimed that Robert Lewandowski's nickname was 'Robert Lewangoalski', before pausing, nodding and opening his eyes wider as though imploring people to laugh, it initially seemed he was making an inexplicably bad joke. Then the thought occurred that he perhaps knew that and the joke was actually how inane is a lot of football's banter culture. Thomas Muller (C) of the FC Bayern celebrates with teammates during the official championships celebration. Pic:At that moment, the entire notion of the press conference seemed in danger of imploding under the weight of its own futility. This was Eric Morecambe, it was Larry David, it was Stewart Lee, a ludic recklessness with form that not only managed to be funny by not being funny, but interrogated the entire notion of funny. It is the same with his coinage of Raumdeuter, which is itself a pun, albeit a rather better one that Goalandowski. Traumdeuter is German for an interpreter of dreams, a term popularised by Sigmund Freud. Traum is derived from the Old Icelandic draumr via the Middle High German troum and initially meant phantom or illusion. The English 'dream', which emerged in the 12th century, shares the same root. Deuter comes originally from proto-Indo-European tē̌u-, which meant something like 'swell'; it's also the root of words such as thumb, thigh and thousand. More appositely, it is the origin of þeuðō, an early Germanic term meaning a lot of people, that came to be used to mean tribe. A couple of thousand years ago, if you spoke the demotic language as opposed to Latin, you were in effect said to be speaking þiudiskaz – that is, þeuðō-ish – which over time evolved to become Deutsch. Deuten became a verb meaning to make clear for the mass of the people. That sense remains in deutlich – clearly, significantly – or eindeutig – clearly, obviously; and, to a lesser extent in bedeuten – to mean. Deuten itself is slightly more sophisticated than ziegen – to show – but not as scientific as interpretieren or analysieren: to interpret, not in the sense of translating, but of explaining. With that context, Müller's apparently unremarkable statement that he is a Raumdeuter can be seen not only as a description of what he is, but of what he is not. He is not a player who deals in phantoms, illusions and dreams; he is a pragmatist. He sees space – better than almost anybody else of his generation – and through his movement, his assists and his goals he explains it to the mass of the people: those watching it in the stands or on television who do not have his extraordinary grasp of the shape and dynamics of the game. Perhaps there is even a sense in that second syllable that the role of the Raumdeuter is characteristically German, that it stems from the peculiarly German way of seeing the game that meant that between 1970 and 2000, there was an acceptance that football was about the inter-movement of players, unencumbered by the impetus to press that dominated in the rest of northern Europe. It is probably no coincidence that the modern notion of the libero was created by Franz Beckenbauer, whose game, no less than Müller's, relied on the interpretation of space, just at the other end of the field. Müller, in his own way, was just as central to Germany's fourth World Cup success as Beckenbauer was to its second. In those Jogi Löw sides of 2010 and 2014, he was the attacking brain of the side, the player who ensured the counterattacks were devastating. After finding space in a crowd box to head the first goal in the semi-final in 2014, it was Müller, revelling in the chaos of the Brazilian meltdown, who orchestrated the 7-1. Müller retires as the joint-most successful German player in terms of trophies won, although he would edge ahead of Toni Kroos were Bayern to lift the Club World Cup. But more than that, Müller defined not only a position but an entire, and idiosyncratically German, way of thinking about the game. He is the embodiment of the process that brought the World Cup. Guardian
Qatar Tribune
6 days ago
- Sport
- Qatar Tribune
Gattuso likely to become Italy coach
dpa Rome Former World Cup winner Gennaro Gattuso is reportedly close to becoming Italy national team coach in succession of Luciano Spalletti. Sky Italia reported that a meeting between Gattuso and Italian Football Federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina went well, and that the deal could be finalised next week. The report said that Gattuso would receive a one-year contract in his first engagement as a national team coach. He will be tasked to lead the Azzurri to next year's World Cup, after the team failed to qualify for the last two editions in 2018 and 2022. Spalletti had to go after last week's 3-0 defeat against Norway in their first qualifier. He oversaw a 2-0 win over Moldova on Monday in his final match. Italy are nine points behind leaders Norway but have played two games less. Only the group winner qualifies directly. Former midfielder Gattuso, 47, won the 2006 World Cup with Italy as a player, and many more titles during his 13 years at AC Milan 1999-2012, including two Champions Leagues and two Serie A titles. As a coach, he has been in charge of clubs including Milan, Napoli, Olympique Marseille and last Hajduk Split, winning the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2020. The FIGC had originally aimed to sign veteran Claudio Ranieri but he turned the offer down. Another contender, former Milan coach Stefano Pioli, is close to signing at Fiorentina. Fabio Cannavaro and Daniele de Rossi were reportedly other candidates while other prominent Italian coaches such as Carlo Ancelotti (Brazil, Antonio Conte (Napoli) and Massimiliano Allegri (Milan) were not available.
