Europe

Cristiano Ronaldo created a firestorm on social media earlier in the week as he scored his 900th career goal, a milestone no player in history has reached before.

When being asked about the new landmark, Ronaldo spoke about the idea of playing in the 2026 World Cup and if he's motivated to play in one last World Cup.

"Portugal winning Euros is equivalent to winning a World Cup," Ronaldo said. "I've already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. I'm not motivated by that. I'm motivated by enjoying football and the records come naturally."

Manchester City midfielder and Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne said money talks louder to FIFA and UEFA as he raised concerns over the impact of a crammed calendar on players' health and performance.

All three European club competitions have been expanded to 36 teams this season and FIFPRO's European member unions have started legal action against FIFA over the expanded men's 32-team Club World Cup, starting next June in the United States.

San Marino won their first ever competitive match by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the Nations League on Thursday, 20 years since their only other victory, also against Liechtenstein.

The Nations League D game was hardly a clash of the titans, with San Marino bottom of FIFA's rankings at 210th and Liechtenstein 199th, but Nicko Sensoli's goal in the 53rd minute will make him a national hero.

San Marino's only other success came in their 69th game, a 1-0 win over Liechtenstein in a 2004 friendly.

For the first time since 2003 neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Lionel Messi have been included in the nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or award, which were announced on Wednesday, with England's Jude Bellingham among the 30 players named.

Portugal's Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, also failed to receive a nomination last year, while Messi, who won for a record eighth time in 2023 and has been nominated 16 times, misses out despite Argentina's Copa America win this year.

Messi and Ronaldo not nominated for Ballon d'Or

Manchester United have added on to their negative head-to-head record against Liverpool this decade. This time, Casemiro is getting the blame.

The most anticipated match in the Premier League’s third match day of the season ended in yet another blowout win for Liverpool over Manchester United, with Arne Slot getting the upper hand over Ten Hag in their first matchup with a 3-0 win at their rivals home pitch.

LONDON — Erling Haaland's second successive hat-trick propelled Manchester City to a 3-1 win at West Ham United on Saturday, maintaining the champions' perfect start to the Premier League season.

The Norwegian striker missed an early chance but made no mistake with the second, calmly slotting past Alphonse Areola to put City ahead in the 10th minute after Bernardo Silva dispossessed Lucas Paqueta in midfield.

The Declan Rice red card from Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday was one of the more bizarre moments you’ll see in a Premier League game.

Rice received his first yellow card in the 42nd minute for a tough challenge on Joël Veltman. Nothing crazy there.

It was the 25-year-old’s second yellow card that baffled fans everywhere.

In the 49th minute Rice fouled Veltman again deep in Brighton’s territory. The Arsenal man lingered around a little too long and when Veltman tried to take the free kick quickly he ended up cleaning out Rice.

The UEFA Champions League has confirmed the fixtures for the new "league phase" format for the 2024/25 season. The draw marks a significant change from the traditional group stage format, with a shift towards a league phase that includes 36 teams, an increase from the previous 32.

Spoiler: Paris Saint-Germain are not liking the new format.

Confirmed: New UEFA Champions League "league phase" draw fixtures

Pot 1 fixtures: