Lionel Messi Is World’s ‘Best’ Player, Beating Ronaldo And Van Dijk For 2019 FIFA FIFPro Men’s Award

The 2019 FIFA FIFPro Men’s and Women’s Players of the Year were announced at a gala celebration held at the Teatro all Scala in Milan on Monday evening.

Lionel Messi beat off competition from Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk to take the Men’s award. The FIFA Awards became a stand-alone event in 2016 and Cristiano Ronaldo took home the first two trophies. Last year the winner was Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric.

Messi won the World’s Player of the Year award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015 when it was presented jointly as the FIFA/Ballon d’Or.

A separate award again, the Ballon d’Or winner will be announced in Paris on December 2 and it looks like a battle between Messi and UEFA Player of the Year, Virgil van Dijk.

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Man Utd sack Jose Mourinho: Red Devils part way with manager

Manchester United have sacked Jose Mourinho as manager after two and a half years in charge. The Portuguese, 55, won the League Cup and the Europa League at Old Trafford.

But United are sixth in the Premier League, 19 points behind leaders Liverpool, who beat them 3-1 on Sunday.

"A caretaker-manager will be appointed until the end of the season while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager," United said in a statement.

"The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future."

United's haul of 26 points after their first 17 Premier League games, is their worst tally in the top flight at this stage since 1990-91.

They are 11 points off the top four and closer to the relegation zone than the top of the table.

Mourinho's sacking comes after a fall-out with £89m record signing Paul Pogba, who was an unused substitute for the defeat at Anfield on Sunday.

And it continues his run of never completing four consecutive seasons in charge of a club.

Only once has he made it into a fourth campaign, but he left Chelsea on 17 December 2015 during his second spell at Stamford Bridge.

More to follow...

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Higuain not bitter despite Juventus trading up with Ronaldo

AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain said on Thursday he was not bitter despite being “kicked out” by Juventus after superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival last summer.

Juventus signed Higuain from Napoli for 90 million euros ($103 million) in 2016, but after the surprise arrival of Ronaldo from Real Madrid for 100 million euros ($115m) this summer, the Italian giants could not afford to keep the Argentine.

Higuain — loaned to AC Milan with a 36-million-euro option to buy — said he knew something was afoot when he was left on the bench for the Italian Cup final against AC Milan in May.

“That day, I had the feeling inside me that maybe something had broken down. And then they signed Ronaldo,” Higuain said in an interview with Gazzetto dello Sport.

“The decision to leave was not mine. I gave everything for Juventus, I won several titles, after which Cristiano arrived.

“The club wanted to make a leap in quality and they told me that I could not stay and that they were trying to find a solution. The best solution was Milan.”

But Higuain said that he felt no thoughts of revenge against his old club where he won two Serie A and Italian Cup trophies.

“No, not at all. I only feel affection because they treated me very well,” said the 30-year-old.

“My teammates and the fans treated me really well, but I never asked to leave. Basically, as everyone says, they kicked me out.

“I immediately felt great love from Milan and they convinced me.”

Higuain — who will take part in his first derby against city rivals Inter Milan on Sunday — has scored four goals for Milan to bring his tally to 115 since his arrival in Serie A in 2013 from Real Madrid.

“Milan have given me something more after a World Cup which wasn’t great,” he said.

“I’ve found what I was looking for.”

Higuain joined Napoli in 2013 after six years with Real Madrid where he won three La Liga titles.

But he blamed Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis for leaving the club on bad terms.

“(Ezequiel) Lavezzi left on bad terms, (Edinson) Cavani the same. With (coach Maurizio) Sarri on the bench he was already contacting another coach.

“Everyone has had problems with him and people insult others. I have nothing negative to say about the Napoli fans, those were three beautiful years.

“They loved me and now they hate me. One day I’ll say what I think, but right now I can’t.”

- AFP

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Serena Williams shows off her new wedding ring in sweet snap of daughter Alexis

Serena Williams showed off her enormous new wedding ring in a sweet snap of daughter Alexis on Wednesday.

'Daddy knows how much I love leopard print,' the tennis ace caption the snap of the adorable up-side-down tot, rocking a tiny leopard-print dress.

Lying on her mom's lap, she even boasted a cosy-looking leopard-print blanket to boot. The 26-year-old shared the image to her little girl's own Instagram account.

While the two-month-old sweetheart was the obvious main attraction of the snap, it was hard to miss the hunk of precious metal adorning the GOAT's hand, which had a safe grip on the little one's ankles.

The 39 Grand Slam winner married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in New Orleans on November 16 in a Beauty and the Beast-themed wedding attended by A-list stars including Beyonce and Kim Kardashian.

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New Zealand coach quits after missing World Cup spot

New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson announced his resignation Thursday in the wake of the All Whites’ failure to reach next year’s World Cup.

“The effort they have put in for this team over the years has been first class,” he said.

“I am proud of how far the team have come in the past three years and I hope that my time here has built the foundation for future success.”

Hudson, who previously coached Bahrain and Tottenham Hotspur reserves, said he was still finalising his next move.

Media reports have linked him with the Colorado Rapids in the US Major Soccer League.

Hudson successfully revamped the dour defensive style that New Zealand employed under previous coach Ricki Herbert.

But a lack of genuinely competitive matches in the weak Oceania confederation proved telling when New Zealand encountered quality opposition such as Peru.

Hudson’s men fell at the last qualification hurdle when Peru beat them 2-0 in Lima last week to seal victory in a two-legged intercontinental play-off for a spot at next year’s tournament in Russia.

Hudson said in a statement released by New Zealand Football that he had decided not to continue with the national team after three years at the helm.

The 36-year-old Englishman said he was sad the All Whites did not qualify but praised his players’ efforts against Peru, a team ranked 112 places above them.

The All Whites never lost to Oceania opposition under Hudson but could muster only one win in 16 attempts against non-Oceania teams.

New Zealand Football chief executive Andy Martin praised Hudson’s achievements and said the search for a replacement would begin immediately.

“We are disappointed to lose a top coach like Anthony, but we understand his decision and we wish him all the very best in his future endeavours,” Martin said.

“Anthony has been one of the finest coaches New Zealand Football has ever had.”

AFP

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