Cristiano Ronaldo’s claim that Portugal’s Euro 2016 success carries the same weight as lifting the World Cup has reignited one of football’s longest-running debates.

Fresh from confirming that the 2026 tournament will be his last World Cup, the Portugal captain insisted that his country’s historic European Championship triumph means just as much to him as the sport’s biggest prize, arguing that ending Portugal’s long wait for major silverware was every bit as significant.

After his nation’s 1-0 defeat to Spain, Ronaldo spoke to the media to emphasize just how much the Euro 2016 trophy meant to him, saying: “I gave my all. I won three titles with Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal had never won a big trophy.”

For many supporters, however, the comparison feels like a stretch. The FIFA World Cup has long been viewed as football’s ultimate achievement, bringing together the best nations from every continent in a tournament watched by billions. The European Championship may boast an exceptional standard, but can a competition limited to UEFA’s members really rival the prestige of a truly global event?

World Cup vs European Championship At a Glance

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Anne-Marie Sorvin

With the inaugural tournament in 1930, the first-ever World Cup saw 13 teams from across the globe travel to Uruguay to participate in what would become football’s greatest accolade. After a varying number of participants for the initial tournaments, from 1954 until 1978, the format was standardized, with four groups of four teams, leading to a total of 16 contributing nations.

For the 1982 tournament, 24 teams made it to the tournament, before the format was expanded to allow an extra eight teams to compete, before the structure was altered again in 1998, taking the total number of teams to 32.

The most recent complete competition, the 2026 World Cup in Qatar, featured 48 teams and saw Spain defeat Argentina to lift their second world title.

The European Championship, on the other hand, has always been contested by a smaller number of nations. The first campaign in 1960 saw just four teams compete in the finals, out of the 17 that entered the competition. Whilst the number of entrants increased over the years, the final’s tournament still only featured four nations until 1980, when the competition was expanded to eight.

1996 saw the number of participants double to 16, before Euro 2016 saw it double again to 24. The most recent tournament saw Lamine Yamal get his first taste of international success after his Spain side beat England 2-1 in the final of the 2024 tournament.

World Cup vs Euros TV Viewership

Worldwide figures for the 2026 World Cup have not yet been released, but the tournament is expected to smash viewership records.

According to FIFA’s website, 2.87 billion viewers watched at least one minute of the 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage on linear TV, with a total media engagement of 5 billion, with significant numbers drawn through digital/streaming and social media. The 2022 final, contested between France and eventual winners Argentina, became the most-watched in World Cup history, with a total of 1.5bn viewers.

Contrasted with the 2024 European Championships, UEFA’s competition drew a similar-sized crowd, with a global cumulative audience of over 5 billion viewers. And whilst no official global viewership numbers have been published, according to the BBC, a peak audience of 24.2 million viewers watched the 2024 final across the BBC and ITV, compared to just 20 million Britons who followed the 2022 World Cup final, according to The Guardian.

World Cup vs Euros Prize Money and Prestige

It’s no surprise that, for winning the biggest tournament in football, the victorious team is awarded an eye-watering sum. After beating France on penalties in the final, the Argentinian national team were awarded $42 million, from a staggering total prize pool of $440 million. Even those who got knocked out in the group stage still received $9 million for their efforts. That figure increased for the 2026 tournament, with the winners receiving $50 million.

And whilst the winners of the Euros may not get as much of a payday, their compensation is still far from pocket change, with Spain banking €28.25 million ($32.26 million) from their success in the 2024 tournament. Teams are, however, guaranteed a greater sum for qualifying for the tournament, compared to at the World Cup, receiving €9.25m ($10.5m), according to UEFA’s website. In total, the 2024 European Championship boasted a €331m ($378m) prize pool.

Is the European Championship as Tough as the World Cup?

Well, it depends on how you define ‘tough’, because, if you’re talking about the concentration of high-quality teams, Ronaldo could have a valid point.

Since its inception in 1930, 13 of the 23 World Cup tournaments have been won by a European side, with the other 10 winning sides all hailing from South America. Therefore, it could be argued that, on a match-by-match basis, the Euros are a harder competition, given that the average quality of any given team is higher than that of the World Cup.

But, ultimately, given that Brazil and Argentina have won eight world titles between them, it would be difficult to claim that winning a competition in which they are not included is an equal sporting achievement to, or carries as much prestige, as being crowned champions of the world.

Many UFC fans on the internet were left stunned when they discovered a new social media post by a former world champion looking unrecognisable compared to her usual fighting self in the Octagon.

Former strawweight champion Zhang Weili uploaded a video on her official social media pages of her being given a complete makeover and displaying a more glamorous side to herself than UFC viewers are accustomed to.

The Instagram video, which shows Weili in full make-up and in a dressing room having her hair sorted by someone, captioned the post: “There was a professional make-up artist who taught me to apply make-up.”

The video, which has received nearly 35,000 likes and 1,500 comments on Instagram since being uploaded on Tuesday, immediately went viral in the MMA community as fans could not believe the transformation in the look of the UFC fighter.

UFC Fans Stunned By Zhang Weili’s Transformation

Mark J. Rebilas via Imagn Images

This post was such a shock that some people even questioned if that was really Weili, with one Instagram user commenting: “No, I can’t accept that,” and another writing: “No f****** way.”

Others even suggested the video was AI-generated, while some were complimentary of the strawweight competitor’s major transformation and showing admiration for the new look.

Zhang Weili’s Fighting Career

The Chinese fighter was last seen in the Octagon last November at UFC 322, where she failed in her jump up to flyweight, losing in a fight against Valentina Shevchenko by unanimous decision for the world title at 125-pounds.

This came after she vacated her strawweight title, which was captured by Makenzie Dern at UFC 321 last October after she defeated Virna Jandiroba by unanimous decision.

Weili, who is hoping to return to action later this year and return to winning ways, was recently called out by strawweight fighter Fatime Kline for a potential showdown in the Octagon. The American took care of business this past weekend in Oklahoma when she defeated Tabatha Ricci on points.

As of today, Weili has a professional fighting record of 26 wins and just four defeats.

Every year, the release of EA Sports FC marks the unofficial start of a new football season for millions of gamers around the world. Whether you’re planning to build your first Ultimate Team, jump into Career Mode or simply want the latest squads and gameplay improvements, EA FC 27 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated sports games of the year.

With a confirmed cover star, pre-orders soon going live and fresh details emerging about release dates, early access and new features, excitement is beginning to build ahead of its launch.

In this guide, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know about EA FC 27, including its release date, where to get it from, how much it costs, and the biggest changes expected in this year’s installment.

EA Sports FC 27 Release Date

EA Sports

While the official release date for EA FC 27 is yet to be confirmed, the most likely release period will be at the end of September. Given that last year’s game was released on Friday 26th September, we can expect that the game’s developers, EA, will stick to their usual habit of releasing their latest installment on the last Friday of September. This means that fans of the franchise will likely have to wait until Friday 25th September to get their hands on it.

Early Access is usually granted to those who pre-order the game and this allows gamers to play the game seven days earlier than the worldwide release date.

Previous EA Sports FC Title Release Dates

EA Sports FC 27 Cover Star

One of the most talked about features of the game ahead if its release is which football superstar will claim their spot as the face of the new game, with the likes of Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo featuring on the cover of previous editions.

A post on EA Sports FC’s official X page on July 21, 2026 revealed which player would have the honour of heading up this year’s installment. This year, Real Madrid and French national team forward, Kylian Mbappé, will return as the poster boy of the franchise, with the former PSG man having previously featuring on the cover of the final three games included in EA’s agreement with FIFA, helping to boost the sales of FIFA 21, FIFA 22 and FIFA 23.

Mbappe will be the star of the game’s Ultimate Edition Cover.

EA Sports FC 27 Trailer

The launch trailer for EA Sports FC 27 is scheduled to be released at 4:57pm BST (11:57am ET) July 23, 2026. You can watch it above when it drops or on the official EA Sports YouTube channel.

EA Sports FC 27 Career Mode

EA Sports

For those who enjoy the experience of rising through the ranks at their childhood club, this year’s player career mode is rumored to include some aspects of FIFA 17’s popular ‘The Journey’ campaign, with a greater blend of on-pitch gameplay with off-field decisions, media interaction and storytelling.

The manager career mode is also expected to undergo extensive remodeling, starting with the introduction of dynamic potential. Previously, AI club players would regularly reach their potential ceiling, a feature that would become one of the most complained-about in the community. Instead, dynamic potential is tasked with more closely linking a player’s on-field performance to the maximum rating they can achieve.

Similarly, the transfer market will receive an overhaul, with buy-back clauses and more flexible negotiating allowing for a more realistic playing experience. AI for opposing clubs is also expected to receive an overhaul, providing more logical and intelligent squad building, and preventing previous puzzling in-game transfers that saw the likes of Neymar move to Hudderfield Town for £120m.

EA Sports FC 27 Ratings

EA Sports

One of the most speculated areas ahead of any EA FC release is about which players will be the highest-rated, and therefore most sought-after, cards in the game. Typically, EA announce the new player ratings a couple of weeks before the game launches, so the first or second week of September looks like the most likely announcement period.

Whilst it is expected that last year’s joint-highest rated player, Mohamed Salah, will lose his spot at the top, cover star Kylian Mbappé will likely retain his 91-rated card. The likes of Erling Haaland, Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé are touted to also be in with a chance of getting a top rating, whilst Harry Kane’s stellar showing for Bayern Munich this season will likely bump up his rating, as will Rodri’s inspirational display for Spain at the World Cup.

Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí have consistently been given the highest-rated female cards after their first introduction with EA FC 24. The former Barcelona teammates will likely remain as two of the best female cards, whilst Arsenal’s Alessia Russo and Manchester City’s Khadija Shaw are also expected to challenge for the title as the highest-rated player.

Where to Buy EA Sports FC 27

Fans are expected to be able to pre-order the game from July 23, following the game-launch trailer reveal.

The easiest place to purchase the game will be through platform-specific game stores, including the PlayStation Store, the Xbox Store and Steam, whilst also being available on the EA store. Physical copies and redeemable code are likely to be on sale in most major retailers, like Asda, Sainburys and Tesco.

The standard edition is expected to be priced around £60, whilst the ultimate edition, which provides additional perks such as early access, in-game currency and exclusive players, is expected to launch closer to £90-£100. There is also rumored to be an even more premium version, which could include multiple season passes and additional FC points, which would likely cost around £120