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Cristiano Ronaldo Ready for Asian Champions League Action Before a Milestone Birthday 

Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Fateh - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 26, 2025 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Fateh - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 26, 2025 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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Cristiano Ronaldo Ready for Asian Champions League Action Before a Milestone Birthday 

Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Fateh - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 26, 2025 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Saudi Pro League - Al-Nassr v Al-Fateh - Al-Awwal Park, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - January 26, 2025 Al-Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

Cristiano Ronaldo turns 40 on Wednesday but is showing few signs of slowing down as he prepares to lead Saudi club Al-Nassr against Al-Wasl in the Asian Football Confederation’s Champions League Elite.

The Portuguese star, who signed for the Riyadh club in Dec. 2022, leads the Saudi Pro League scoring charts with 15 goals in 17 games.

If Ronaldo can reproduce that form in the continental tournament -- there are two games remaining in the group stage, from which his team has already qualified -- then Al-Nassr has a chance to become Asian champion for the first time.

“The best birthday gift for Ronaldo is to achieve victory against Al-Wasl,” Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli said ahead of the Monday meeting. “It is an important match for us and we want the three points.”

After winning the UEFA Champions League five times with Manchester United and Real Madrid, Ronaldo’s chances of winning a first Asian title have been bolstered with Al-Nassr's signing of Jhon Duran from English Premier League club Aston Villa last week.

According to reports in Saudi Arabia, Duran has already been registered in time to play against Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates.

“Duran is in good shape,” Pioli said. “We will decide how best to use him.”

The team will certainly be without former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte, who is absent for personal reasons. There are also injury issues for another defender, Ali Lajami, as well as Portuguese midfielder Otavio.

Al-Nassr is in third place in the 12-team group, behind Saudi rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli, both unbeaten after six games.

Al-Hilal has won four continental titles, more than any other Asian club. The Blues have lost Neymar ahead of their match against Persepolis of Iran. Brazil’s record scorer returned to South America last week after an injury-hit spell of just seven appearances in 18 months for Al-Hilal.

“We are looking forward to the game,” coach Jorge Jesus said. “Our ambitions are always to win at home and in Asia.”

Al-Ahli, with former English Premier League stars such as Riyad Mahrez and Ivan Toney, has the offensive strength to win the Champions League for the first time. The Jeddah club, currently second, heads to Qatar to take on Al-Sadd.

All 12 teams in the western zone — the tournament is split into two geographic halves until the quarterfinals — are in with a chance of finishing in the top eight and progressing to the knockout stage.

The eastern zone resumes next week.

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Sports

Man City's Rodri Keeps Door Open to Real Madrid Move

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Exeter City - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 10, 2026 Manchester City's Rodri celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Peter Powell/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Exeter City - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 10, 2026 Manchester City's Rodri celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Peter Powell/File Photo
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Man City's Rodri Keeps Door Open to Real Madrid Move

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Exeter City - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 10, 2026 Manchester City's Rodri celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Peter Powell/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FA Cup - Third Round - Manchester City v Exeter City - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - January 10, 2026 Manchester City's Rodri celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Peter Powell/File Photo

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has kept the door open to a possible move to Real Madrid as he enters the final year of his contract with the Premier League club, saying he cannot turn down the world's top teams and that a return to LaLiga would appeal to him.

The 29-year-old Madrid native began his senior career at Villarreal before signing for Atletico Madrid in 2018. He moved to City a year later ⁠and has since ⁠enjoyed a highly successful spell in England, winning the Champions League once and four Premier League titles among a host of major honors.

"Would I like to play in Spain again, in LaLiga, in Madrid? I'd like to return, yes, obviously," Rodri told Onda Cero's Radioestadio Noche program ahead of ⁠Spain's friendly against Serbia on Friday.

"I have a year left on my contract; there will come a point when we'll have to sit down and talk."

Rodri, who is working his way back to top form after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in 2024, said having played for Atletico would not prevent him from making a move to their city rivals.

Former Atletico players to have made that switch include goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and forward Alvaro Morata.

"There are other players who have gone ⁠down that ⁠path - not straight away, but in time. You can't turn down the best clubs in the world," Rodri added, according to Reuters.

Rodri also played down any suggestion of rivalry with Vinicius Jr after Real boycotted the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony, when the City midfielder won the award ahead of the Brazilian winger.

"I think they wanted to pit Vinicius and me against each other, but not at all," Rodri said. "I have great respect for him and for everything he did that year too. In the end, it's other people - third parties - who decide who wins the Ballon d'Or."

Sports

PSG's Ligue 1 Visit to Lens Postponed to Aid Champions League Preparations

FILED - 26 November 2024, Bavaria, Munich: Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi in action during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between PSG and Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
FILED - 26 November 2024, Bavaria, Munich: Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi in action during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between PSG and Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
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PSG's Ligue 1 Visit to Lens Postponed to Aid Champions League Preparations

FILED - 26 November 2024, Bavaria, Munich: Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi in action during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between PSG and Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa
FILED - 26 November 2024, Bavaria, Munich: Paris Saint-Germain's Achraf Hakimi in action during the UEFA Champions League soccer match between PSG and Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena. Photo: Tom Weller/dpa

Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain's visit to second-placed Lens, set for April 11, has been postponed to May 13 to allow them more time to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool, the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) said on Thursday.

Strasbourg's visit to Brest, scheduled for April 12, has also been moved to May 13 to help them prepare for ⁠their Europa Conference League ⁠last-eight clashes with Mainz, Reuters quoted the LFP as saying in a statement.

"These decisions are in line with the board of directors’ clear strategic aim of enabling France to retain its fifth place in ⁠the UEFA coefficient rankings, which secures four places in the UEFA Champions League," the LFP said.

PSG, the reigning European champions, host Liverpool three days before the Lens fixture and travel to Anfield for the second leg on April 14.

PSG and Lens are separated by one point in Ligue 1, with ⁠PSG ⁠having a game in hand. Lens had earlier pushed back against PSG's request.

"It seems to us, in fact, that a worrying sentiment is taking hold: that of a French league gradually being relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of certain parties' European imperatives," Lens said in a statement on Monday.

Sports

Asian Cup Draw Postponed

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
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Asian Cup Draw Postponed

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals, which was due to be held in Riyadh on April 11, has been postponed, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Thursday.

Officials have rescheduled the event to a later date "to ensure the undisrupted attendance of all stakeholders at the final draw ceremony," the governing ⁠body said in ⁠a statement.

"The AFC expressed its appreciation to the Local Organizing Committee for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ for their full readiness to host the draw as planned, and it appreciates the understanding and continued cooperation of its Participating Member Associations, fans and stakeholders," the statement added.

Saudi Arabia is due to host the 24-team quadrennial continental championship for the first time with the last remaining round of qualifiers taking place on Tuesday.

Qatar are the defending champions and have already secured their ⁠berth ⁠at the finals alongside four-times winners Japan, plus fellow World Cup qualifiers South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Australia and Uzbekistan.

The AFC announced on Tuesday that the latter stages of the Asian Champions League Elite would go ahead as planned in Jeddah, with matches running from April 13 to 26.