La Liga
JOSE MOURINHO JOINS THE MESSI VS. RONALDO DEBATE
Former Manchester United and Real Madrid manager, Jose Mourinho has attempted to settle the debate that has been centred around Barcelona ace, Lionel Messi and Juventus star, Cristiano Ronaldo for over a decade: who is greater?
With Messi and Ronaldo in the
forefront in an era of individual greats in the game, the debate has always
been: who is the best footballer of the era?
According to information culled from sportskeeda.com, the duo not only tops the goal-scoring charts, but also boasts of a record number of individual awards such as the Ballon d’Or, having won the coveted prize five times each.
While Ronaldo has moved to Serie A giants Juventus for a new challenge, Messi remained at Barcelona, helping the club climb up to the top of the table in LaLiga.
Now, Mourinho steps in to give an expert advice. He has managed Ronaldo at Real Madrid, has now weighed in on the eternal debate, stating that it is unfair to both the players to say one is better than the other.
According to sportskeeda.com, speaking to beIN SPORTS, the Portuguese manager said, “I think it is unfair to both of them when someone says one is better than the other one. I think they are just different.”
The 55-year-old recalled that he was incredibly happy to have had Ronaldo on his team, adding that games against Messi were always a challenge.
Mourinho further said that the one thing he admires in the two is the longevity with which they pursue their ambitions.
“The thing to admire is the number of years that they have stayed at the top. To win once, it can happen. To win and win and win and win and win is much more difficult.”
“As a player you can appear like a hurricane and then disappear. These two guys have been there for ten years and everything is about them until the moment they decide enough is enough and other people can raise the bar.” added the former Chelsea manager.
Echoing Mourinho’s sentiments, it is incredible how the two players have stayed at the top of their game for over a decade and continue to do so in their 30s.
While Messi’s Barcelona is set to face Leganes in LaLiga on Monday, Ronaldo’s Juventus will lock horns with Chievo in the Serie A on Tuesday.
It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.
Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.
The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.
Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.
Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.
They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.
A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.
Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.
He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.
The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.
Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.
-AFP
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Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-
-Reuters
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