When Real Madrid brushed Liverpool aside in the Champions League final, Cristiano Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen as Gareth Bale led the charge – little did the world know that this was a sign of things to come.

That 3-1 win brought an incredible era to an end at Los Blancos, as Zinedine Zidane stepped down as coach less than a week after guiding the club to a third successive Champions League title.

It proved to be Ronaldo s final match in a Madrid shirt as well, with the Ballon d Or holder securing a shock €112million move to Juventus last month, bringing a nine-year association with the club to an end.

Ronaldo s presence had been vital in Madrid s previous two Champions League successes, he scored the winning penalty in the 2015-16 shootout and netted tw…

Germany made it two wins from two in World Cup qualifying as Serge Gnabry s first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win over Romania on Sunday. 

Joachim Low s side opened their Group J campaign with a 3-0 win at home to Iceland on Thursday and they put in another dominant, if wasteful, display at the National Arena to edge past Mirel Radoi s men.  

Die Mannschaft had 18 shots to the hosts nine, but they were limited to just a solitary goal, the impressive Gnabry securing maximum points with a close-range finish after 16 minutes. 

The result means Germany are top of Group J on six points, ahead of Armenia on goal difference, and three points clear of Romania and North Macedonia.

6 points from 6 

— Germany (@DFB_Team_EN)

Kai Havertz and Vale…

Santi Cazorla has agreed to join Al Sadd following the expiration of his Villarreal contract.

The 35-year-old midfielder will soon head to Doha and complete the formalities of the deal before joining the team coached by former Spain team-mate Xavi, alongside whom he won two European Championships.

Cazorla spent close to two years on the sidelines from October 2016, during which he feared he would have to have his foot amputated due to an infection following ankle surgery.

However, he returned to Villarreal from Arsenal and made 86 appearances over the past two seasons, earning a recall to the Spain squad in June 2019, and will continue his career in Qatar.

We have reached an agreement with Santi Cazorla, a tweet posted by Al Sadd read.

He will r…

Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United in the summer transfer window, according to . The former Real Madrid star returned to United in the summer of 2021, but things are not going do well at the moment, and French giants PSG are keen on taking advantage of this situation.

PSG have already made an enquiry with Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes. Kylian Mbappe is out of contract at the French giants at the end of the season and could move to Real Madrid on a free transfer. PSG’s plan is for Ronaldo to link up with Neymar and Lionel Messi and form a star-studded front-three.

Mauricio Pochettino is in charge of PSG at the moment, but the former Tottenham Hotspur head coach could be sacked and Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane c…

Tottenham have been linked with a host of big names as their search for a new head coach continues, but could they be set to turn to a familiar face?

Spurs dismissed Jose Mourinho last month amid an underwhelming campaign where they fell off the top-four pace in the Premier League, as well as crashing out of Europe to Dinamo Zagreb despite having led 2-0 from the first leg.

With speculation mounting around superstar forward Harry Kane s desire to leave, Spurs are getting busy.

TOP STORY SPURS PLOT POCHETTINO RETURN

The Sun reports that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will consider if he can convince former boss Mauricio Pochettino to complete an astonishing return to the club.

Pochettino, who took Spurs to the 2019 Champions Leagu…

Jurgen Klopp has suggested he will not consider selecting Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool s return to action against Manchester City next week.

Van Dijk returned to training with Liverpool in Dubai this week on the back of the Netherlands elimination from the World Cup against Argentina last Friday.

The 31-year-old played a full part in all five of his country s matches in Qatar – including extra time in the quarter-final loss to Argentina – totalling 480 minutes of action.

However, while Klopp does not want to rush Van Dijk s comeback, he has yet to make a call on England duo Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Henderson did not finish any of the three England matches he started, while Alexander-Arnold managed just 33 minutes on the field acro…

Nuno Espirito Santo will bring an end to his four-year spell in charge of Wolves following Sunday s final Premier League game of the season against Manchester United.

The Portuguese earned promotion to the Premier League in his first season in charge and followed that up with successive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight.

He also guided the midlands side to the quarter-finals of the Europa League last season – their best European run in nearly 50 years – when they were beaten by eventual winners Sevilla.

Amid links with a number of other clubs, Nuno put pen to paper on a new contract last September that still has another two years to run.

However, following an underwhelming 2020-21 campaign – not helped by a long-term injury sustained by …

Wayne Rooney believes he is already capable of managing a top club in the Premier League after his experiences at Derby County.

Rooney has been Derby boss since 2020 in a tumultuous period for the Championship club, who face financial difficulties that have put their future at risk.

In testing circumstances, former Manchester United and England captain Rooney has excelled.

Despite starting the 2021-22 season with a limited squad and then suffering a 21-point deduction, Derby retain survival hopes, now within seven points of safety.

Rooney was linked to the Everton job before Frank Lampard was appointed, but the former Goodison Park favourite rejected an approach to stay at Derby.

Even so, the 36-year-old foresees a big future for himself as a top-…

Eight-time Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt still harbours a dream of one day playing for Manchester United.

Bolt participated in his first training session with Central Coast Mariners on his 32nd birthday on Tuesday, having joined the A-League club for an indefinite training period.

The fastest man ever over 100 and 200 metres retired from athletics in 2017 and, having spent time with Borussia Dortmund, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stromsgodset, Bolt has set his sights on becoming a professional footballer.

A contract with the Mariners may emerge if he impresses in training, yet Bolt s biggest aspiration is to turn out for his beloved United.

Speaking to reporters after his first training session in Australia, Bolt said: I daydream all the time about just bi…

Cardiff City goalkeeper David Marshall has committed his future to the club by signing a new deal until 2018.

The 28-year-old moved to the Welsh capital from Norwich City in 2009 and helped the club clinch promotion to the Premier League by winning the Championship title last season.

I m delighted to have committed my future to Cardiff City, said the Scotland international.

I ve had a fantastic four and half years here already.

It s a privilege to be part of what we re trying to achieve and the fans have been brilliant to me from day one.

We ve a lot of hard work left to do this season, but we re a confident group and have plenty of ability and belief.

…