When Barcelona hosted Real Madrid on November 29, 2009, the final Clasico of the first decade of the 21st century, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had won just a single Ballon d Or between them.
The following month saw Messi land his first, yet even when considering the standards both were setting even then, few would have predicted the remarkable nature of their dominance over the following decade.
Ten years on, only one person – Luka Modric – has been able to interrupt their duopoly of the coveted individual award, with Messi edging out Virgil van Dijk earlier this month to win it for a record sixth time.
Ahead of the final Clasico of this decade on Wednesday, Barcelona s Messi is now the undisputed king of the fixture, with no one else s status even rem…
Real Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Saturday as Karim Benzema s two penalties extended their lead at the top of LaLiga to 12 points.
The victory owed immense credit to the fact Madrid were awarded three spot-kicks at Estadio de Balaidos, with Benzema missing once but making sure with his other two attempts.
Nolito had equalised Benzema s first penalty early in the second half and the hosts pushed to win the game themselves, only to be undone at the other end.
Celta Vigo were furious with the referee, particularly for the third spot-kick given just minutes after France international Benzema had seen one saved by Matias Dituro, but Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will not mind as he saw his team return to winning ways in the league following t…
Jorge Jesus has been appointed head coach of Benfica for a second time after leaving Brazilian and South American champions Flamengo.
Benfica have turned to veteran Portuguese boss Jesus after they were dethroned by bitter rivals Porto in Primeira Liga this season, it was announced on Friday.
Flamengo had been hopeful of keeping Jesus, who led the club to Campeonato Brasileiro, Copa Libertadores and Recopa Sudamericana glory following his arrival last year.
However, Jesus has re-joined Benfica, where he previously spent six years and won three league trophies among other honours in Lisbon.
Bem-vindo, JJ!
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica)
Despite regretting the loss of their victorious coach, Flamengo respects this personal decision, Flamengo …
It remains business as usual for Harry Kane despite reports Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy held a meeting with Bayern Munich officials on Monday.
Bayern remain intent on prising Kane away from Spurs and are expected to imminently lodge a new bid for the 30-year-old England captain, who is now into the final 12 months of his contract with the Premier League club.
Levy is reported to have met with Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen and technical director Marco Neppe in London, while Kane trained with the rest of the Spurs squad to continue preparations ahead of Sunday’s pre-season friendly at home to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The scrutiny surrounding Kane’s future does not show any signs of going away, with the German club public about their interest all summ…
Erik ten Hag acknowledged that indisciplined Manchester United never recovered from a very bad start during their defeat by Tottenham.
The Red Devils suffered their third Premier League loss of the season, as Spurs ran out commanding 3-0 winners at Old Trafford.
United fell behind after just three minutes when Micky van de Ven ran almost the length of the field before crossing for Brennan Johnson to tap home, while Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke sealed Tottenham s victory in the second half.
And Ten Hag believes his players were deeply impacted by their early setback.
A very bad start from us. To concede a goal after two or three minutes like that, did something to our belief, he told BBC Match of the Day.
It was totally unnecessary to c…
Real Madrid could make a move to re-sign Raphael Varane from Manchester United in January, according to , in the light of serious knee injuries keeping Eder Militao and David Alaba out of action at the moment.
Both Militao and Alaba are currently recovering from ACL tears, and they re not expected back in contention for Carlo Ancelotti s team any time soon. Speaking on the subject recently, Ancelotti said the club wouldn t rush a decision regarding a new signing to strengthen their depleted centre-back department.
Varane left Real to join United in a €40 million deal in 2021, but this season he has only recorded five starts in the Premier League, with Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire the preferred duo under Erik ten Hag. The situation has led to speculation about the…
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was described as Barcelona s life insurance as the German goalkeeper came to the rescue against Getafe.
Pedri s goal in the 35th minute was enough for Barcelona as they ground out a 1-0 victory at Camp Nou, preserving their three-point cushion over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga.
Ter Stegen, a sturdy presence throughout, saved brilliantly from Borja Mayoral six minutes after the goal, standing up to the Getafe man and making himself big after Pedri almost undid his earlier good work with a dreadful backpass.
Grateful defender Eric Garcia said: Marc is life insurance with us. Everything he brings us with his footwork and then his saves, he has shown it again. He is very important for us.
Germany international Ter Stegen said the po…
For fans across the globe it may seem quite peculiar to see Sergio Ramos in new colours for the 2020-21 season.
After announcing the end of a hugely successful 16-year association with Real Madrid, the Blancos legend has a new home at Paris Saint-Germain.
The 35-year-old has penned a two-year deal at the Parc des Princes – having been unsuccessful at getting the same length of contract at Madrid – and brings with him a history of success.
Stats Perform has looked at some of the impressive statistics during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
LONGEVITY THE KEY
It is not just the quality Ramos brought to Madrid s backline but the sheer longevity he has been at the top of his game.
Over 16 trophy-laden seasons, Ramos has played in 469 LaLi…
Manchester City s academy players will get the chance to shine when the holders face Wycombe Wanderers in the EFL Cup.
The Premier League champions host third-tier Wycombe in the third round on Tuesday.
City head into the tie on the back of a frustrating goalless draw with Southampton, albeit they were fortunate to come away from that match with a point after a contentious VAR decision to overturn a Saints penalty.
Aymeric Laport, John Stones, Rodri and Oleksandr Zinchenko all missed the Southampton draw, and Guardiola suggested Ilkay Gundogan is also likely to sit out the tie against the Chairboys.
Guardiola has often used the early rounds of the competition to blood younger players, with the likes of Liam Delap, Tommy Doyle and Taylor Harwood-Bellis …
Roberto Martinez will expect a vast improvement from his Belgium side when they go in search of a record-breaking World Cup win over Morocco on Sunday.
The Red Devils were fortunate to beat Canada 1-0 in their first match of the tournament on Wednesday courtesy of a clinical finish from Michy Batshuayi.
Canada were the better side and Alphonso Davies had a penalty saved by Thibaut Courtois before Batshuayi secured all three points.
Belgium looked shaky at the back and got away with a lacklustre performance, Canada failing to find the back of the net with 22 attempts in the opening match of only their second World Cup.
But if Belgium beat Morocco, they will become the first team in World Cup history to win nine consecutive group games.
Morocco held…