It's good to be Cristiano Ronaldo's friend these days.
Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo's agent, found that out when Ronaldo acted as best man in Mendes's wedding. Ronaldo's gift for the couple: a Greek island.
Despite Greece's recent financial troubles, islands are still pretty pricey, with the cheapest of 12 listed islands for sale in Greece at 3 million Euros.
When I imagine what it must be like to play with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar, images of sandy beaches and brightly colored drinks with their very own umbrellas float into my head, but, you know, in a footballing sense.
I think that their talents would make my job infinitely easier, allowing me to merely spray passes forward, because they are more likely than not to land at the feet of a world-class player, and have success. And, looking at Ivan Rakitic play, it is tempting to believe that this is the case.
We'll give Cristiano Ronaldo this: he's very opinionated about not being opinionated.
In a recent interview, Ronaldo was asked what he thought about the whole FIFA business.
"I don't care about FIFA, Qatar, I don't give a f***," Ronaldo said before getting up and walking out of the interview. It is here that we're contractually obligated to use the word "petulant" in regards to Cristiano.
He's not required to care about any of the FIFA business, but come on, man.
We've had a few Messi-free weeks since the end of the Copa America, and it's been awful. He and his Brazilian wing-counterpart Neymar skipped Barcelona's USA tour because of the Copa, so we haven't seen the Argentine wonder in action in more than a month.
Luckily, that's coming to an end. Messi and Neymar, as well as countrymen Javier Mascherano (Argentina) and Dani Alves (Brazil) have come back to Barcelona training, serving as a welcome reminder that the new season is almost upon us.
This lady really likes Pedro.
Don't get us wrong, we're sure he's a nice guy and all, but this lady waited outside Barcelona's training facility for Pedro to come out, held a sign for him, had him sign it, and posed for a picture with him.
And did we mention that in the middle of all that she asked him if he was going to transfer somewhere, he said he didn't know and then she started cryting? Not, like, sniffling either. Weeping. Sobbing. Boo-hooing, if you will. We hope Pedro doesn't actually leave, for this lady's sake. She might never recover.
The temptation to believe that Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid is at an all time high. As the team continues its preseason exhibition tour in China, the French international has posted a photo to Instagram of himself in a plane separate from the rest of the team, with the caption “let’s leave the past in the past.”
Luis Suarez knows where his bread is buttered.
He was signing autographs when a young boy came up and said he was the best. Suarez, fully aware that the player who is actually the best wasn't traveling with Barcelona for that particular trip, felt the need to correct the lad.
Suarez is good, for sure, but Messi is the best.
Gabon's political opposition, in an effort to get some attention, has denounced the best footballer in the world.
Real Madrid is stuck in a sticky spot after they let longtime goalkeeper Iker Casillas go on to Porto after 25 years with the club. To replace him Real Madrid is looking to make a deal for Manchester United keeper David De Gea, but it looks like the Red Devils won’t be willing to let him go without Sergio Ramos in exchange.
A solemn farewell to Casillas leaves backup keeper Jesus Navas, who is also Costa Rica’s first choice keeper. He had a great World Cup, but had a dismal first season for Real Madrid.
The transfer of Iker Casillas from Real Madrid to Porto, from a sporting point of view, looks positive for all involved in the transaction.
However, it would not be surprising if the signing of the Spanish goalkeeper, despite his advanced age, ended up including him in a long list of players who have been bought at low prices and then sold at high ones by the Portuguese team.