Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, considered two of the greatest footballers in history, both failed to win the 2026 World Cup in what will almost certainly be their final major tournament on the international stage.

Ronaldo was hoping to become a world champion for the first time this summer. However, his Portugal side were knocked out by eventual winners in the last 16 of the competition.

Messi and Argentina fared much better as they put up a spirited title defence. After cruising through the group stage, they beat Cape Verde, Egypt, Switzerland and England to reach the final.

They were unable to retain their trophy, though, as Spain beat them 1-0 after extra-time in the final at New York New Jersey Stadium.

Messi Has Already Returned to Inter Miami

REUTERS/Sebastian Castaneda

Messi, now 39 years old, played a starring role for Argentina yet again this summer. He featured in all eight of their matches, scoring eight goals and recording four assists.

He played the full match in all but two of those games. He played half-an-hour against Jordan, while he was substituted off with 10 minutes to play against Algeria.

Despite playing so much in such a short space of time, Messi has already returned to Inter Miami. The Argentine was pictured in training alongside his teammates just 10 days after the World Cup final.

Messi hasn’t been given much of a break at all following the World Cup due to the resumption of Inter Miami’s season. The 2026 MLS season was put on hold when the World Cup started but resumed immediately after the tournament ended.

Inter Miami have been without their star man for each of their last two games. They won both of those matches, beating Chicago Fire 3-2 and CF Montreal 1-0.

Messi will now hope to return to action when Inter Miami face Colombus on Saturday evening. He could line up alongside Casemiro, who was full of praise for the Argentine after arriving at the club.

He said, per ESPN: “I am coming only to play with the best player of all time. I want to enjoy, I want to help him to keep winning because he is a winner. Another player is joining who wants to win, who wants to compete.

He added: “The amount of problems Messi gave me, of course I dreamed of playing with him. I always wanted to play with the best. I could never stop him, I always needed help from my teammates. I am very happy that I am now with him, and I want to keep winning with him.”

Why Cristiano Ronaldo Hasn’t Returned to Al-Nassr Yet

Reuters/Troy Taormina

Ronaldo and Portugal were knocked out of the World Cup on July 6 as they were beaten 2-1 by Spain. He has been given a much longer break than his great rival, though, and is still enjoying his holidays.

Al-Nassr have begun their preparations for the 2026/27 season. They have played two pre-season friendlies thus far, losing 2-1 to Benfica B and then beating AD Merida 2-0. Their star man has been absent from those games.

Ronaldo, as well as compatriot Joao Felix, Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Saudi Arabia’s Abdulelah Al-Amri, have not yet returned to Al-Nassr’s camp, per Goal.

Ange Postecoglou, who replaced Jorge Jesus this summer, is behind the decision, per Saudi reports. With Al-Nassr’s season kicking off against Al Fateh on August 15, he has given his World Cup stars an extended break.

Postecoglou is said to be staying in constant contact with the group, asking them to undergo physical tests and measurements, follow a tailored programme of moderate effort, and report the results to him daily.

It is reported that the quartet will link up with the side in the coming days as Al-Nassr look to defend their Saudi League title and become AFC Champions League winners for the first time.

Carlos Alcaraz has faced scrutiny from tennis fans, after his new Instagram post debuted a peculiar new haircut for the two-time Wimbledon champion.

The Spaniard has been out of action since sustaining a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open back in April, which has caused the world number three to miss out on some of tennis’ most prestigious tournaments, such as Wimbledon, which was won by Jannik Sinner, and the French Open, with that being taken home by German Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz has still been busy even with the injury, as his most recent Instagram dump showed him hanging out with Spanish World Cup hero Ferran Torres, after the former Manchester City’s winger’s 106th-minute strike confirmed the Spaniards’ second World Cup and the current US Open champion was there to watch it unfold.

Photos also showed the seven-time major champion rehabbing, as he is expected to return to the court at the Cincinnati Masters 100 before defending his US Open title in New York later this month, with tough competition expected from Sinner and Zverev.

But it looks like Alcaraz will be bringing something new to the tournament, and it involves a haircut, as the Spaniard has picked an interesting style, to say the least, going into his defence.

Carlos Alcaraz’s New Look

The Spanish tennis star usually opts for simple haircuts, with the furthest he has gone in recent times being a buzz cut which he bleached on his way to victory at the Japan Open.

But this time round, Alcaraz will opt for Cornrows going into August, as the youngest Grand Slam winner of all time showed off his look to his adoring fans, who looked on in shock as to see the 23-year-old with this new choice of style.

Many fans were quick to comment on this ambitious look, with multiple fans taking to X to voice their opinion on the topic.

One fan wrote, “GRIM. Sorry that he can’t play tennis. But this hairstyle is detracting from it,” another wrote, “Wait, is that actually Carlos?! Completely unrecognisable! Didn’t see this arc coming at all.”

Another fan looked to have switched sides by announcing that they had “Just joined team Sinner!”, while another fan was looking to convince Alcaraz to go back to the hairstyle he had during the Japan Open: “Carlitos, baby nooo. Just buzz cut platinum blonde again.”

The Spaniard will be hoping this new hair do will help him, as he looks to win his third US Open in the space of five years. One fan even thought it could, with them joking on X: “I like it! Hope it helps him aerodynamically, LOL!”

Fans of Ilia Topuria have been left in shock after seeing the recovery of his face several weeks after his first professional loss to Justin Gaethje.

The Georgian fighter was defeated by The Highlight after he was stopped in his corner just after round four with his face looking worse for wear in the main event of UFC Freedom 250, held at the White House, which saw United States President Donald Trump sit cageside to watch all the action.

On the night, Ciryl Gane defeated Alex Pereira in the co-main event, Sean O’Malley knocked out Aiemann Zahabi, and Josh Hokit beat Derrick Lewis by TKO.

It was understood that Topuria had suffered multiple facial injuries during the fight, with doctors revealing that he had fractured two orbital bones and broke his nose after his brutal match-up with the former BMF winner, who demolished El Matador’s face on his way to championship glory.

Ilia Topuria’s Face Seven Weeks After UFC Freedom 250

Credit: Zuffa LLC

Now, it looks as if Topuria has made a swift recovery, with the former featherweight champion not looking back as he has reportedly been vacationing in Alicante and Ibiza, as photos from the trip have been released.

In the photo, Topuria can be seen smiling with his barber Luis Bless, who shared the photo on his Instagram page, with many fans left impressed with the healing process that the 17-1 fighter has been through.

Fans were quick to take to social media to praise Topuria for this quick recovery, with El Matador’s fans excited to see him in the Octagon once again.

One user on X wrote, “Oh yeah HE LOOKS GREAT! When we getting a comeback match bruh?” while another wrote, “The rematch with Justin Gaethje will be legendary,” as fans look forward to a potential second clash between the two UFC lightweight giants.

Another fan compared El Matador to a famous Marvel superhero by jokingly stating, “Damn, Ilia got those Captain America healing powers, looking good champ!”

Many fans, however, expected Topuria to have made such a recovery in time, with one fan on X commenting, “It’s been over a month since he last fought. I’d hope he’d be healed up by now,” while another commented, “Why is everyone obsessing with his eyes? Yeah, he got beat up. He’s also 29 years old. He will heal quickly. He didn’t tear an ACL or Achilles.”

One thing is for sure that Topuria is vying to get back into the Octagon, with the lightweight division stacked with talent, including champion Gaethje, Arman Tsarukyan, Paddy Pimblett, Charles Oliveira, and Max Holloway.