Sports

Pele has congratulated fellow Brazilians Vinicius Junior and Marcelo for their contributions to Real Madrid s triumphant Champions League campaign, which he hailed as a beautiful adventure . 

Vinicius converted Federico Valverde s cross in the 59th minute to fire Madrid to a 1-0 final win over Liverpool at the Stade de France, as Los Blancos were crowned European champions for a 14th time seven more occasions than any other team.

With his decisive strike, Vinicius became the first Brazilian player to score the winning goal in a Champions League final since Juliano Belletti did so for Barcelona against Arsenal in 2006, also in Paris.

The winger s sixth goal in the Champions League this season, combined with his previous four assists, made him the first South A…

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has outlined an aim to win the Champions League and Premier League ahead of his side s Premier League opener against Southampton this weekend.

Spurs finished last season strongly to pip rivals Arsenal to fourth place and Champions League qualification.

They have since been very active in the transfer window in order to beef up their squad as they look for silverware this upcoming campaign, having not lifted a trophy since 2008.

Richarlison, Everton s top goalscorer last season, arrived in a £60million deal, while Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet, on loan, have all also been signed.

This business has raised expectations at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but that is no issue for Conte, who …

An outstanding 2017 resulted in Kane finishing 10th in the Ballon d’Or list but Spurs have endured a difficult few seasons since they made the Champions League final in 2019.

With Kane aware his chances of winning silverware were reducing at Tottenham, the forward made the decision to leave the north London club after a 19-year association.

He hinted part of the decision to leave Spurs was to play in the Champions League and have no regrets at the end of his career.

Kane added: “If you’re winning your league, winning the Champions League and we obviously have the European Championship next summer as well, I think as we’ve seen with the Ballon d’Or, you have to be winning team trophies to achieve that.

“Yeah, if I am scoring goals and we’re w…

Juventus have confirmed their withdrawal from the European Super League project and requested to rejoin the European Club Association (ECA).

Juve were one of 12 European clubs that signed up to form a breakaway Super League in April 2021, a plan that sparked widespread protests from fans.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Milan and Inter were also part of the original breakaway group.

As a result of the announcement, those teams were also excluded from the ECA.

However, following the backlash from supporters and threats of sanctions by UEFA, nine of the clubs backed out swiftly, with the project collapsing within 72 hours.

They were then readmitted to the ECA, and …

Northern Ireland resume their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Friday night when they face Denmark in Copenhagen.

Here the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the Group H fixture.

The hardest task?

On paper, Friday’s match is the toughest on Northern Ireland’s fixture list, away to the top seed in the group. Denmark’s squad boasts elite-level talent and rich experience in every department. The likes of Christian Eriksen, Simon Kjaer, and Andreas Christensen have been operating at the top level for years, while in 20-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund they have one of the hottest properties in European football. But Denmark are coming off a shock defeat away to Kazakhstan in March, showing they are far from infallible.

Bouncebackabil…

Republic of Ireland defender Marc Wilson has been ruled out of Euro 2016 having suffered a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury.

The 28-year-old has not played for club side Stoke City since January having damaged knee ligaments, but was hoping to make the tournament in France and had been named in manager Martin O Neill s 35-man provisional squad.

However, O Neill revealed that Wilson has had an additional problem and subsequently will not be fit in time to play at the Euros.

Marc Wilson has had a setback, he said. The best thing for him is to take four of five weeks off. He will be out.

Ireland goalkeeper and club team-mate Shay Given added: I have worked with Marc Wilson in the gym this season. 

It s a big shame for him. The s…

Ten-man Juventus twice came from behind to stun RB Leipzig 3-2 on Wednesday as Francisco Conceicao s 82nd-minute strike continued the Serie A giants winning start to their Champions League campaign.

Juve were reduced to 10 just before the hour mark when goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio was sent off for a handball outside the box, having already lost captain Bremer and Nicolas Gonzalez to injury.

Benjamin Sesko, whose opener was cancelled out by Dusan Vlahovic prior to the red card, quickly restored Leipzig s lead from the penalty spot with his third European goal of the season.

But Vlahovic came to Juve s rescue again three minutes later, curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to level the game at 2-2.

And the unlikely turnaround was complete as C…

Lionel Scaloni hopes Angel Di Maria can retire from international duty in the best possible way , but did not reveal whether he will start Argentina s Copa America final showdown with Colombia.

The veteran winger and winner of 144 caps is set to call time on his illustrious career with La Albiceleste at the conclusion of this tournament, where they are looking to successfully defend their crown.

Di Maria has played a crucial role in Argentina s success in recent years, scoring the winner against Brazil in the 2021 Copa America final, while netting in the following year s Finalissima victory over Italy and World Cup final success against France.

The 36-year-old has continued to demonstrate his importance for Scaloni s side in the United States, playing in four of …

Arsenal will host Liverpool in a blockbuster third-round FA Cup tie next month.

The Premier League giants are meeting for the first time in the competition since Arsenal won a fifth-round tie 2-1 in 2014.

The Gunners have come out on top in their last three FA Cup clashes, with Liverpool’s last victory back in the final of 2001.

We will travel to face Arsenal in the third round of the

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

The other standout tie of the draw saw Championship side Sunderland paired with neighbours Newcastle, who will travel to the Stadium of Light over the weekend of January 6 and 7.

It will be a first meeting between the North East giants since they were both in the Premier League in 2015/16, while they have not played each other in …

Several star players will be available as free agents ahead of the 2020-21 season. Even though there’s no certainty on when the leagues will resume around the world, we do know one thing. These five players listed below will be available for free when the upcoming transfer market opens in the next few months.

Mario Götze – Dortmund

Götze will always be remembered as the player who scored the winning goal during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, the Germany international and current Borussia Dortmund star is far more than that. A gifted playmaker capable of playing all over the attacking third, he seems set to leave Dortmund for the second time in his career. Could a reunion with Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool be on the cards? That shouldn’t be ruled out, as Liverpool do not…