Golden knight

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are great but – in some respects – Alfrédo Di Stéfano, Bafétimbi Gomis and Gerd Müller are greater.   Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's ongoing battle to be the top goalscorer in European football remains perhaps the sport's greatest drama of our age, but both still need to raise their game considerably if they are to scoop certain European Champion Clubs' Cup and UEFA Champions League records . Most goals in European Cup finals:  7 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás (both Real Madrid) Goals in most European Cup finals:  5 – Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid, 1956, 1957, 1958. 1959, 1960) Most goals in a single European Cup final:  4 – Ferenc Puskás (Real Madrid, 1960) Messi has scored only two final goals (in 2009 and 2011) while Ronaldo has four (one apiece in 2008 and 2014, and two in 2017) but is still three shy of the record shared by two Real Madrid predecessors. The Portuguese have ...

 Kane is 1.88m tall – Messi stands just 1.70m – and the England striker has youth on his side too; he will be 25 years and 67 days old on the day of Spurs' Wembley meeting with Barcelona, while Messi will be 31 years and 101 days old. • Having scored at least once in six of his 11 games in Europe's top club competition, Kane needs one more UEFA Champions League goal to get into double figures; it took Messi 23 games to achieve that target (though he now has a record 63 in the group stage). • Kane was a relatively experienced player (with four loan spells under his belt) by the time he made his competition debut, aged 23 years and 48 days, in a 2-1 home loss to Monaco on 14 September 2016. Messi made his #UCL debut at Shakhtar Donetsk on 7 December 2004 aged 17 years and 166 days old. Messi has never faced Spurs before, but  has fared well enough against English defences ; 20 goals in 28 UEFA games spread across 2,334 minutes of football – an average of a goal every 116 ...

Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has dismissed as “fake news” allegations from a US woman that he raped her in a Las Vegas hotel room in 2009. “What they said today? Fake, fake news,” the Portuguese player said in an Instagram video. “They want to promote [themselves by using] my name. It’s normal. They want to be famous to say my name, but it is part of the job. I am a happy man and all good.” His comments come after German magazine  Der Spiegel  published an interview with Kathryn Mayorga in which she publicly identified herself as the woman making the allegation. The same magazine last year published a  report  stating Ronaldo had reached a $375,000 settlement with an unnamed woman in 2010. Her lawyer told Der Spiegel they are now seeking to nullify that agreement. “I’ve had like these serious breakdowns,” Mayorga told Der Spiegel. “And again, blaming of the rape. And I blame him, and I blame myself for signing that thing.” In a statement provided to BuzzFee...

B arcelona star  Lionel Messi  went through another game on Saturday against  Athletic  at the  Camp Nou  in which he was frustrated and denied by the woodwork. Incredibly, it is the seventh time this season that is has happened to him. Between seven L aLiga Santander  games, the  Supercopa de Espana  and a  Champions League  game, he has struck the post or crossbar no fewer than seven times. The post is becoming the greatest ally of goalkeepers who are charged with keeping out the  Blaugrana No. 10 . It started in the first game of the season in the  Supercopa against Sevilla , which Barcelona   won 2-1. That day, the Argentine crashed a strike against the post, although Gerard Pique took advantage of the rebound to score. In addition, he was also denied by the frame of the goal twice against  Alaves , once against  Huesca , once in the draw against  Girona  and once in the lo...

T hough both Real Madrid and Atletico really went for the win in the Madrid derby, goals were the only thing that was missing in a pulsating clash. Real came out of the blocks like a team possessed, and it was nearly a minute and a half into the game before an Atletico player touched the ball, keeper Jan Oblak. A super passage of play from the visitors saw the first shot on goal inside three minutes as Saul stung the fingers of Thibaut Courtois. Antoine Griezmann then tried his luck with an ambitious overhead kick as Real found it hard to contain Atleti's slick passing game. The action was end to end and spaces appeared as early as the seventh minute for either side to exploit. Gareth Bale began to have an influence on proceedings but was forced wide by Diego Godin as he looked to give Real an early advantage. The Welshman switched wings with Marco Asensio three times in the first 10 minutes, Julen Lopetegui doing his level best to out-fox opposite number Diego...

T he spokesman of the  Barcelona Board, Josep Vives , announced the agreements taken at the  meeting of the Board  held on Thursday. He highlighted an  income forecast of 960 million euros , the highest in the history of the club. Expenses are expected to amount to 929m , for which the  after-tax benefits would be 11m . The two  items must be approved at the shareholders meeting  to be held on October 20. By the same token,  a proposal of changes of statutes will also be put to vote . One of the most important points is the  elimination of the 10 per cent cap on the income  so the club can ask for a loan. If approved,  the club may request a credit for the amount it deems appropriate . Regarding  Wednesday's defeat at the Estadio Butarque , the spokesman did not want to talk about it. "It's a disappointment," he said. "Winning or losing is part of our activity, we regret the result and the image that the team...

How will Madrid recover from their loss to Sevilla? Julen Lopetegui  had a clear message at the pre-match press conference and it was one about motivation. After their unexpected defeat at the  Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan , the  Los Blancos ' coach demanded motivation by his team for the  Madrid derby  as well as in the league generally. "Apart from playing, we will have to compete," the coach said. Lopetegui  is well aware that  Diego Simeone  has taken good note of Madrid's recent loss and knows that if there is a match in which the lack of attitude can be decisive, it is the derby. Will Simeone want to dominate at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu? The Argentine coach is  tempted to follow Pablo Machin's approach  and tactics, which was the use of high pressure, frustrating  Luka Modric  and  Toni Kroos ' ability to dictate possession. However, it seems like  Simeone  has another style he firmly b...

However, the playmaker has decided to retire his famous celebration, explaining that the constant impact on his knees is having a negative effect. "I need to stop this," he told  Chelsea 's own media channels in an interview. "My knees are on fire. "No more of this celebration." .

,  Current United boss Jose Mourinho stripped Pogba, 25, of the vice-captaincy Pogba publicly criticised United’s tactics in their 1-1 home draw with Wolves     If Mourinho tells him that he’s upsetting the dressing room and still not playing at the level he should be, then he (Woodward) needs to back the manager and let him go. Pogba has caused far more trouble than he has good since returning to Man United.

  Jose Mourinho and Paul Pogba  continue to make headlines, the  Manchester United  coach has warned that no player will win in a battle with the club. In midweek, the midfielder was left out of the squad as the  Red Devils  were beaten on penalties at  Old Trafford  by  Derby County in the League Cup . Pogba  will be back in the side for  United's trip to West Ham  though, with  Mourinho  claiming he is happy with his work on the training ground. "He's a player like the others but no player is bigger than the club and if I'm happy with the work he plays," said the  United  boss. "If I'm not happy he doesn't play. I'm happy with his work this week, really happy, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, especially because today, wasn't as important but he trained really well. "The team needs good players, players with personality. He has that and he will play on Saturday. " Manchester United  ...

UEFA's decision not to hand down a more excessive punishment clearing him to face former club Manchester United. UEFA decided he must serve only one match.

During his career, Collins was better known as Barbwire, a nickname that Stores’ fans gave him because he was attackers ‘nightmare. “Collins slumped and died around 5.30am on Wednesday. He had slept out but was coming home to pick up his hospital card because he had an appointment with his doctor when he slumped a few metres to his house,” a close family friend of the deceased said. Late Collins had been ill for a while but was recuperating before his demise. He was a member of the defunct Stationary Stores team including ex-Super Eagles goaltender                       and coach, Ike Shorunmu, and former international, Ajibade Babalade.

                     Nigeria who has made histories in this tournament will on Friday meet the USA on Friday 28rh September in the ongoing FIBA women basketball world cup to battle for a semi-final ticket. Team USA who is a very strong contender in this tournament. Has won all their matches with an excellent performance right from the beginning, the question there is can Nigeria defeat the USA team?

Sevilla yesterday defeated Madrid 3-0 to end real Madrid unbeaten record since the beginning of 2018/2019 Season. Real Madrid admitted how Sevilla was a better side for yesterday game and allowed them to dominate the first half.   Lopetegui  spoke to the press following the clash at the Sánchez-Pizjuán: “Our problem was that Sevilla was clearly better than us, particularly in the opening stages. They netted twice and were very clinical early on. We were second best in the first half and in the second we were more evenly matched but we missed a couple of big chances that killed any hopes we had. It was a poor performance on our part and Sevilla is deserved winners”.

. The main problem for  Pogba  is the huge 114 million euros transfer fee United  paid for him in the summer of 2017 and, even more so his 24 million euros salary. The 25-year-old earns 12 million euros net a year and very few teams could afford such wages. Raiola  has tried to convince  Barcelona  to sign the player, but the  Blaugrana  have other economical battles to worry about and would not be willing to part ways with such a significant outlay.An impossible relationship to maintain but with a 114 million transfer fee and a 24 million in wages, a solution will not be easy to find.

TENERIFE (FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018) - After an exciting day of Quarter Final Qualifications action, the lineup for the Last Eight of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 has been confirmed. The last four tickets for Friday's Quarter-Finals were snapped up by China, Nigeria, France and Spain.TENERIFE (FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018) - After an exciting day of Quarter Final Qualifications action, the lineup for the Last Eight of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 has been confirmed. The last four tickets for Friday's Quarter-Finals were snapped up by China, Nigeria, France and Spain. A resurgent China relied on an array of headline performances to end a seven-year wait to beat Japan.  The  87-81  victory was founded on a strong effort from  team captain Ting Shao . Nigeria continued their historic run in the competition with a nail-biting  57-56  success against Greece to make the Quarter-Finals for the first time ...

TENERIFE (FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018) - It will be another proud moment and a major slice of history for Adaora Elonu and  Nigeria  when they step out for Friday's Quarter-Final clash with reigning champions and red-hot favourites the USA. When the plane wheels touched down in Tenerife last week, there was a modest sense of expectation that, as the reigning Women's AfroBasket champions, the Nigerians could do something positive. At the very least, collect their first-ever win at a FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup. Even taking into account that play-caller Otis Hughley Jnr was parachuted into the coaching hot-seat only weeks before the tournament tipped off. What has subsequently unfolded in the biggest of Spain's Canary Islands to date, has been beyond their wildest dreams. Having  beaten European powerhouse Turkey to get their first win , they not only followed it up with a  success against Argentina , but they also made in a Euro-Double by pipp...

I t appears to have been a long time coming as James Rodriguez  finally departed Real Madrid  in order to join Bayern Munich on a two-year loan deal on Tuesday afternoon. He leaves plenty of memories behind. Ever since an exciting first season at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, he has endured two disappointing years which have been well below the level he showed in 2014/15 after an exceptional World Cup. In Bavaria, he will be hoping to recover his smile and spark under a coach with whom he shone in the past, Carlo Ancelotti. The decline of the Colombian began with the departure of the Italian from the Bernabeu, with the coach's soft hand bringing the best out of players such as Rodriguez, who didn't react too well under a strict disciplinarian in Rafa Benitez. The first cracks appeared when the former Napoli boss asked Rodriguez to join up with the squad before the Copa America and the No. 10 refused. In the first LaLiga game of the season against Sporting, he was a...

B undesliga champions,  Bayern Munich  are set to exercise  James Rodriguez 's purchase option before the end of the calendar year. The player's agent,  Jorge Mendes , will travel to  Germany  and meet the club's board to seal the Colombian's transfer from  Real Madrid . Although  Bayern will pay 42 million euros , according to  Sports Bild , the possibility of the club trying to resell the player shouldn't be ruled out. This season, the Colombian international has featured in five games for  Niko Kovac 's team, starting in two of them and scoring a couple of goals.