Real Madrid attacker Cristiano Ronaldo says he has not been pain-free for quite some time as the knee injury that troubled him toward the end of the 2013-14 campaign continues to cause problems.
The 30-year-old has not missed a single minute of action so far this campaign for Madrid, while he hardly missed a game in 2014-15 as well.
However, that does not mean the knee problems that nearly kept him out of the 2013-14 Champions League final and away from the World Cup no longer cause him issues.
There is not a single day without pain. Every player will say the same. It s part of the job and you have to deal with it, the Madrid star told Kicker.
I now realise things [what] I didn t realise when I was younger. I have always tried to improve and you gain mo…
Ben Chilwell believes the competition between himself and Luke Shaw to be England s first choice on the left-hand side of defence can only benefit Gareth Southgate s team.
Southgate named right-back Kieran Tripper at left wing-back earlier this season as Chilwell worked his way back to form following a foot injury.
If that suggested a dearth of options, the pieces now appear to be falling into place ahead of the rescheduled Euro 2020 for the Three Lions.
Chilwell has settled into life at Chelsea and is thriving under Thomas Tuchel, while Shaw has arguably been Manchester United s most consistent performer this term, putting years of injury torment behind him.
At Chelsea you ve got two or three good players in each position and at England you should expe…
Stefan Kiessling insists he is not bothered by being left out of the Germany squad, and he will not be retiring from international duty.
The Bayer Leverkusen forward has been regularly overlooked by national coach Joachim Low, last appearing for his country in the third-place play-off at the FIFA World Cup 2010.
That despite him racking up 50 Bundesliga goals in the three seasons since including two from his first three appearances of the current campaign.
An article in German newspaper Bild claimed that the former Nuremburg striker would refuse to be called up by Low in the future, but he has moved to deny those reports.
I would like to use this post to explain the article which will come up in Bild tomorrow, he wrote on his official Facebook page.
It is n…
Gary Neville acknowledges Arsene Wenger is on shaky ground but the former Manchester United captain would love to see Arsenal stand by their under-fire manager.
Dark clouds have descended on Wenger and the Emirates Stadium after Arsenal s humiliating Champions League last-16 exit was sealed by another 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
It was an identical scoreline from the opening leg in Munich as a sorry curtain was brought down on another disappointing European campaign in north London, while only intensifying the scrutiny on long-serving boss Wenger, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
It was 2004 when the Gunners won the third and most recent Premier League trophy of Wenger s tenure and, with that drought looking set to continue this season…
Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has spoken of his admiration for Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone ahead of their maiden meeting as coaches.
The duo shared a dressing room at Lazio and helped the Rome club win Serie A in 2000 during a trophy-laden era under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Tuesday will see the pair do battle in the dugout as Inter host Atletico in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie at the San Siro.
Diego Simeone returns to Inter and the San Siro
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague)
“It will be a pleasure to see him again,” Inzaghi told a press conference.
“He was a great team-mate. Then he went back to Spain, but we always kept in touch.
“I’ve always known he would become a great coach. He…
Gianluigi Buffon believes Juventus fixture with Napoli has reclaimed its place as a prestigious event in the Serie A calendar.
The goalkeeper who will appear 18 years after making his league debut for former club Parma in 1995 admits the fixture had lost prominence until the two teams were competing for the Serie B title six years ago.
Juventus ultimately won that battle, returning to the top flight as champions, while Napoli claimed runner-up spot in the 2006-07 campaign.
Since then Juve have claimed back-to-back titles and Napoli came third in the 2010-11 season, with Buffon praising the way both clubs have bounced back from adversity.
The prestige of the tie was lost a bit after the years of Michel Platini and Diego Maradona, he told Corriere dello Sport.
…
Raphael Guerreiro scored a dramatic late winner as Borussia Dortmund won 3-2 at Borussia Monchengladbach in a thrilling Bundesliga encounter to move into the third and final automatic Champions League qualification place.
Dortmund, knocked out of the Champions League by Monaco in midweek, left the league s top scorer Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang on the bench for Saturday s contest.
And it looked as if his services might not be needed when Marco Reus converted a 10th-minute penalty, awarded despite the foul from Mahmoud Dahoud set to join Dortmund at the end of the season on Christian Pulisic seeming to take place outside of the area.
But goals either side of half-time for Gladbach turned the game on its head, Lars Stindl s emphatic finish levelling matters bef…
Leonardo Bonucci hopes to hear the Juventus fans sing his name once more after stating he has a place that I can call home again .
The Italy centre-back controversially swapped the Serie A champions for AC Milan ahead of the 2017-18 season, but returned to Turin after a disappointing campaign at San Siro.
Upon his return, Bonucci was jeered by sections of the club s fanbase and was even asked by one fan: when will you apologise for your betrayal? .
But Juve have been impressive so far this campaign, setting the pace in the title race with Bonucci once again at the heart of their defence. He also played a wonderful assist for Paulo Dybala’s opener in Tuesday s 3-0 Champions League win over Young Boys, helping the club make it two wins from two in Europe.
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Real Madrid are interested in signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to . Karim Benzema is leaving Madrid this summer, and the La Liga giants have identified Tottenham and England international striker Kane as the player to replace him.
However, Madrid are not the only club who are keen on securing the services of Kane in the summer of 2023. The Times have claimed that Manchester United, who will play in the UEFA Champions League next season after finishing in the Premier League top four this campaign, want to bring the 29-year-old to Old Trafford as well.
Kane is one of the best strikers in the world and is under contract at Tottenham until the end of next season. It will be interesting to see what the England international d…
Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is poised to return to action in September after undergoing surgery on back injury.
Gundogan, who joined Dortmund from Nuremberg in 2011, was limited to just three appearances last season because of the problem that forced the Germany international to miss the FIFA World Cup.
Dortmund have now revealed that Gundogan underwent a minimally invasive surgical procedure and expect him to be on the sidelines for another three months.
A statement on the Dortmund official website read: The doctors believe that rehabilitation will take three months to complete.
There should be nothing to prevent Gundogan from returning to action.
Gundogan has enjoyed great success during his time at Signal Iduna Park and was par…