APRNEWS - New boys, Thibaut Courtois and Vinicius Jr. are in Real Madrid’s squad for tomorrow’s UEFA Super Cup match against neighbours, Atletico Madrid at the Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia. It is Real Madrid’s first competitive game since former talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo left for Juventus.

APRNEWS - hahahaSorrySpain's taxman wants Bayern Munich's Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez to pay 11.65 million euros ($13.64m) for evading taxes when he played at Real Madrid, the El Mundo daily reported Thursday.

APRNEWS - World Cup finalists, Kylian Mbappe and Luka Modric have been nominated to challenge Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s stranglehold on the World Footballer of the Year title as announced by FIFA yesterday. They are among 10 candidates shortlisted for the title currently held by Ronaldo.

APRNEWS - Brazilian superstar Neymar on Thursday sought to quash speculation about his future, insisting he planned to remain with French giants Paris Saint-Germain.

“I’m staying, I’m staying in Paris, I have a contract,” Neymar told reporters at an auction to raise money for his charitable foundation in Sao Paulo.

APRNEWS - Manchester United’s World Cup winner, Paul Pogba, can be “above the stars” and on a level with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, says former Old Trafford team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Ibrahimovic, 36, joined LA Galaxy in March 2018 after 20 months at United.

APRNEWS - Real Madrid on Tuesday announced the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo to Italy’s Juventus, with the Portuguese superstar saying the time had come “for a new stage” in his life.

APRNEWS - Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi take centre stage as the World Cup shifts into high gear at the weekend with the start of the knockout matches in the loaded top half of the draw.

Football heavyweights France, Argentina, Portugal and Brazil are all clustered in one section of the competition, with only Spain among recent winners in the other half.

APRNEWS - Always cleanly shaven, it was surprising when pictures of Cristiano Ronaldo with a beard filtered around the internet before Portugal’s game against Morocco. Prior to his grooming surprise, the Portugal captain had celebrated his second goal in the game against Spain with noticeable chin strokes that many interpreted to be a sly dig at Lionel Messi. Both footballers are considered rivals by many fans who pitch their tent with either of the pair.

THEGUARDIAN - In an age when individual awards are given ever greater importance, Saturday’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool — and Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah — could determine the winner of the next Ballon d’Or.

GUARDIAN - Zinedine Zidane has told Liverpool his Real Madrid team are hungrier than ever to win the Champions League, despite clinching the title in three of the last four years.

Real are gunning for an unprecedented third consecutive success in the competition on Saturday while Liverpool have reached the final for the first time since 2007.