Former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is often viewed as one of the greatest — if not the greatest — footballers of all time. The Portuguese attacker has remained at the pinnacle of the sport for over 20 years, and his extraordinary list of achievements speaks volumes.
With five Champions League trophies, three Premier League titles, five Ballon d’Or awards, and countless other personal and team honours, the legendary CR7 has accomplished almost everything in his remarkable career, cementing his place in the debate over the finest player ever to play the beautiful game.
The former Juventus star overlooked all of his old teammates — and even long-time rival Lionel Messi — and instead chose a World Cup-winning legend whose place among football’s all-time greats is seldom questioned.
The Brazilian great rose from humble beginnings to become one of football’s earliest global superstars and guided Selecao to World Cup glory in 1958 when he was only 17 years old.
He became the youngest player ever to score in a World Cup final, finding the net twice against Sweden, and that extraordinary feat still has not been equalled.
He spent the majority of his club career at Brazilian giants Santos, where he played for close to two decades and scored a phenomenal 643 goals.
Following his retirement from professional football in 1977, he became an international ambassador for the game and worked with a range of organisations to help promote football around the world.
Pele died at the age of 82 in December 2022 at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo after battling cancer.
Enzo Fernandez opens up on Lionel Messi, Argentina’s World Cup triumph, and the pressure of defending the trophy on the biggest stage.
In this exclusive interview with Ben Jacobs, Enzo Fernandez reflects on winning the World Cup with Messi, his emotional first goal for Argentina, Dibu Martinez’s iconic final save, and what it means to represent Argentina heading into another massive tournament. Enzo also discusses his evolution as a player, growing into a leadership role, and his dream of one day captaining the national team.
From Messi’s influence to Argentina’s winning mentality, this is Enzo Fernandez on the moments that shaped his career — and what comes next.
According to reports, FIFA have managed to ban fans from one nation from bringing their own flags to World Cup games this summer. The ruling was upheld after a last-minute hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
The team in question are Iran. Their supporters will no longer be able to wave pre-revolutionary flags at their matches in the United States this summer. They have games to come against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, which all take place in the US.
There is a current conflict between the two nations, and it was unclear if Iran would be able to compete at the tournament. They were supposed to have their training camp in Tucson, Arizona, but that was moved to Tijuana, Mexico. There have also been claims that they will only be allowed into the US to play their matches, before then immediately flying out of the country.
The flag is similar to the country’s official flag but features a lion and sun motif in the standard’s centre.
It was the subject of a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on Thursday by the Institute for Voice of Liberty and Sam Kermanian, an Iran fan intending to go to the game. Just hours before their match against the All Whites, it was ruled that the ban should be allowed to stand.
Judge Curtis A. Kin said:
“Free speech is incredibly important, it is sacred, a bedrock of our society, but it is not without limitation, such as private actor, on private property, and as shown by previous cases, regulating in reasonable way. I deny the application.”
The flag in question is historically associated with the country’s previous Shah-led regime, which was deposed in 1979. Judge Kin explained his reasoning, adding: “There may be harm to some 2,500 staff members who have to deal with safety protocols.
“It is a tremendous burden to change a long-standing stadium protocol for a massive event in a period of hours. It is hard to see how FIFA could make a change at one stadium and not the rest.” He argued a stadium, where a ticket for entry is required, is not pubic like a park or a street.
FIFA Deem Pre-Revolutionary Iran Flags As ‘Political’ in Nature
Lawyer Shahrokh Mokhtarzadeh, representing Iran fan Kermanian, argued that the World Cup is a joint venture between FIFA and governments and therefore the stadium is taking on a public forum. Speaking on behalf of 5,000 members of the Institute for Voice of Liberty:
“They are ticket holders, with a right to attend game with their own flag. This is being violated. It may be trivial to many, to them it is critical. There is a huge Iranian community in California, many are not going to want to walk in with Islamic Republic flag. They are being denied their exercise of free speech. This is not someone yelling fire in a theatre.”
Judge Kin responded: “So you could walk in with a Nazi flag or Confederate flag or Soviet flag or that of the KKK?” To which Mokhtarzadeh claimed that those people should also be protected by the right to free speech. He added: “Denial will cause more problems than are lost. (Allowing the lion and sun flag) is a way of preventing problems in the stadium. Right to free speech far outweighs any concern FIFA may have.”
FIFA appear to have taken issue with the pre-revolutionary flag, as it has been deemed “political” in nature. A source inside FIFA with direct knowledge of its position told The Athletic that this is the case.
On that, a past statement explained what ‘materials’ would not be allowed in World Cup stadiums: “Any materials, including but not limited to banners, flags, fliers, apparel and other paraphernalia, that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature, containing wording, symbols or any other attributes aimed at discrimination of any kind against a country, private person or group on account of race, skin colour, ethnicity, national or social origin, gender identity and expression, disability, language, religion, political opinion or any other opinion, birth, wealth or any other status, sexual orientation or on any other grounds.”
As a footballer, Rafael van der Vaart was capable of spectacular moments. As a pundit, however, he seems interested only in making headlines with eye-catching statements.
The Netherlands kicked off their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 2-2 draw with Japan. Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring before Keito Nakamura levelled things up. Crysencio Summerville then gave the Dutch a 2-1 lead before Daichi Kamada hit an 89th-minute equaliser.
After the match, Van der Vaart accused captain and goalscorer Van Dijk of turning ‘like a Boeing 747.’ Criticism like that is one thing, but his following comments about the Japanese players crossed the line, and the former Tottenham and Real Madrid man is now facing a huge backlash online.
Rafael van der Vaart Makes Offensive Claim About Japan Stars
“He completely lost sight of him. You can see him running around. If you’re man-marking, you’re responsible for your man. It’s very difficult to pass it on to someone else… You see, he’s completely free. Van de Ven has disappeared. He can head the ball without any opposition.”
“A perfect corner is very difficult to defend,” he added. “This one had the right speed, just over the five-yard line. With a bit of luck, it would have gone in, but the corner was brilliant.”
Van der Vaart then made reference to a racist stereotype as he concluded his analysis, by suggesting that Van de Ven was confused by his opposition players:
“They [Japan players] look alike, of course. Maybe he [Van de Ven] thought that…I hardly dare say anything.”
Their supporters will NOT be able to bring their flags into the stadiums.
When the comments appeared online, fans were quick to call them out as racist. One fan said:
“Yeah, discrimination against Asians just won’t go away, huh.”
Another added: “Oh man. It was such a good match, but now it leaves a really bad aftertaste all at once. Of course, I know that most Dutch people aren’t like this racist, but it’s just too disappointing.”
A third word: “I’ve always thought this guy’s got a rotten personality deep down so it’s no surprise that’s all…” Another said: “Van der Vaart’s totally messed up.” While someone else said: “Yea, that’s messed up”
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One more summed up the feelings of many, writing:
“Should be taken off air and shouldn’t work again, plain and simple.”
A final fan concluded: “Oh he’s definitely going to lose his job.”
