Cristiano Ronaldo

Weston McKennie, the 22-year-old Texan, has a lot of egos to deal with while on loan at Juventus. Cristiano Ronaldo obviously looms large in any locker room, but you know folks like Álvaro Morata, Paulo Dybala, Adrien Rabiot, Aaron Ramsey and Juan Cuadrado want to see their share of the ball. Remarkably, McKennie aided two of the largest personalities on the squad without even touching the ball. And yes, we’re calling it a Weston McKennie assist, because America god damnit.

Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo scored three minutes into his return following a COVID-19 infection and then added a penalty to help the Serie A champions to get a 4-1 win at Spezia on Sunday.

The 35-year-old, out of action for nearly three weeks after testing positive for the virus, came on in the 56th minute and almost immediately put Juventus 2-1 ahead. Adrien Rabiot added a third before Ronaldo scored with a Panenka-style penalty in the 76th minute to complete their win.

"SIIIIIIIUUUU"

Juventus and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo has recovered from a COVID-19 infection, the Serie A club said on Friday.

. @Cristiano recovers from Covid-19https://t.co/4etecyAw0O pic.twitter.com/YPZSm0My8A

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 30, 2020

Lionel Messi has yet to score from open play this season, his only three goals coming from the penalty spot. At times his finishing makes it appear as though he could care less about scoring for the club that strong-armed him into staying in Barcelona colors this year.

But the Argentine can still strike the ball like few who have ever played the game. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of the Juventus squad for the Champions League match at home to Barcelona later on Wednesday, two weeks after first testing positive for COVID-19.

The Portuguese had been hoping to return in time for Wednesday's match and, although there was no official comment on his condition, he was not included in the squad announced by Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo. Reports on Tuesday suggested Ronaldo tested positive for Covid again this week.

MILAN — Cristiano Ronaldo became involved in a public row with Italy's sports minister on Friday as the pair indirectly accused each other of lying over whether the Portugal international had broken health rules after testing positive for COVID-19.

Vincenzo Spadafora said on Thursday the Juventus forward might have infringed the rules by flying back to Italy from national team duty in Portugal after he tested positive for the virus earlier this week.

But in a social media post on Friday, Ronaldo hit back and said he had done everything by the book.

Kylian Mbappé appears to have all the talent to become the next Cristiano Ronaldo. I know, I know — “next Cristiano Ronaldo” is thrown out far too often, but this young man has already won a World Cup and reached the Champions League final all before his 22nd birthday and has repeatedly said he idolizes the Portuguese legend. 

With Mbappé likely to be Ronaldo’s true successor at Real Madrid next summer, it’s a great narrative to say he’ll be replacing his idol, especially when you think about those now-iconic photos of a young Mbappé in his room surrounded by Ronaldo posters.

LISBON — Football fans in Lisbon were unsurprised after Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive COVID-19, saying it simply showed everyone was at risk of getting infected — and famous athletes were no exception.

Portugal's Football Federation said in a statement on Tuesday the 35-year-old Juventus forward was asymptomatic and would miss Wednesday's UEFA Nations League game against Sweden as he self-isolates.

In Portugal's capital Lisbon, not too far from the football facility where Ronaldo is, fans were not shocked by the news.