Liverpool in 'Good Place' for Years to Come, Says Slot

Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 31, 2026. Liverpool won the game 4-1. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 31, 2026. Liverpool won the game 4-1. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
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Liverpool in 'Good Place' for Years to Come, Says Slot

Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 31, 2026. Liverpool won the game 4-1. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on January 31, 2026. Liverpool won the game 4-1. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)

Liverpool's recruitment of rising stars will put the club on a sure footing for years to come, according to manager Arne Slot despite a difficult season for the Premier League champions.

The Reds sit sixth in the Premier League after a difficult start to life at Anfield for a number of new recruits in a near £450 million ($616 million) spending spree in the summer transfer market, said AFP.

Highly-rated French defender Jeremy Jacquet will also join for the start of next season after Liverpool agreed a deal with Rennes worth up to £60 million for the 20-year-old.

"Such a big talent and another example of the model we're using at this club," Slot said on Thursday.

"Young, very talented players, sometimes at the start of their careers or sometimes already a little bit a few years into their career, but always players that are young and can improve us in the short term but also definitely in the long term.

"We've signed a lot of them recently and the mid-long term future of this club, and even the short term, is in a very good place."

Hugo Ekitike and Florian Wirtz are two of the club's big money signings that are beginning to deliver returns on the near £200 million invested in signing them from the Bundesliga.

Ekitike scored twice in a 4-1 win over Newcastle last weekend to take his tally for the season to 15, while Wirtz has netted six times in 10 matches since ending a 22-game wait for his first Liverpool goal.

"As a manager, even if he is struggling a little bit at the start, you have to keep playing him because that is the only way he can improve," said Slot on Wirtz finding his feet in the Premier League.

"He didn't improve that much on the ball because from the start he was special. Maybe now he has a better connection with his teammates because they've played more and more together.

"Off the ball is where I see the biggest improvement with him, and some others, and that combination makes you ready for the Premier League."

Liverpool host Manchester City on Sunday in a match with huge ramifications for the title race and the battle to qualify for next season's Champions League.

City trail leaders Arsenal by six points and could find themselves nine adrift by the time they kick off with the Gunners hosting Sunderland on Saturday.

Liverpool could also be four points outside the top five, which should secure a place in the Champions League, should Manchester United and Chelsea win on Saturday.

Slot is keen to make amends for his side's 3-0 defeat to City in November.

"They were the better team and I think we want to show a different side of us this time."



Portugal Changes How No. 7 Is Written to Honor Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)
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Portugal Changes How No. 7 Is Written to Honor Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring the 1-2 goal during the FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Hungary, in Budapest, Hungary, 09 September 2025. (EPA)

The Portugal football team is making a change to how the No. 7 is written to honor the recently-retired Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo, who wore the number and went on to make it his own as “CR7,” retired from international soccer last week, ending a remarkable career that spanned six World Cups, a European title, and the men’s all-time international scoring record.

“Time to debut a new 7. Because there’s one that will be eternal,” the Portuguese national team wrote on social media on Saturday. The post included a goat emoji to signify “Greatest Of All Time.”

It also included a video that showed a horizontal crossed line through the No. 7 as it’s commonly written in Europe, suggesting that Ronaldo’s successors will all have that cross to bear when they wear the number.

Portugal, already assured of reaching the quarterfinals, was hosting Denmark in the Nations League later Saturday.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo quit on Nov. 5 after falling out with coach Jorge Jesus. His last appearance with Portugal was Sept. 24 in a 1-0 home win over Wales in the Nations League.

Jesus kept him on the bench for the following match and said he didn’t plan to start him in the next one, so the superstar forward decided to leave the team’s training camp.

Jesus later said Ronaldo would be welcome back and the decision to return was up to him.


Ronaldinho Poised for Ravenna Start and, Perhaps, One Last Goal

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Ronaldinho Poised for Ravenna Start and, Perhaps, One Last Goal

Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian football legend Ronaldinho waves during Ravenna FC’s team presentation for the 2026-27 season in Marina di Ravenna, Italy, Aug. 20, 2026. (AFP)

Ronaldinho will roll back the years this weekend when the 46-year-old Brazilian starts his first competitive match in over a decade, and in the unlikely setting of an Italian third-tier derby the World Cup winner may realize his dream of scoring one last time.

The Brazil great and Ballon d'Or winner signed for Ravenna in June, also taking a stake in the club, but because he had not played since his final appearance for Fluminense in 2015, doubts remained over whether fans would ever see him in action.

Ravenna revealed ‌three weeks ago ‌that the former Barcelona and AC Milan player ‌would ⁠make his return ⁠in Sunday's home clash with local rivals Forli, and on Friday, manager Andrea Mandorlini told reporters that Ronaldinho would start the match.

"He will play from the start, there's no doubt," Mandorlini said.

"Then together we will decide how long he plays. He is one of the greatest players of the modern era. And we have to get a ⁠result. We always play with three forwards. He will ‌be one of the three."

Ronaldinho was ‌welcomed by the Ravenna fans in August, without committing to a return ‌to the pitch. He returned to Italy on Friday afternoon and ‌will have just one training session with his teammates on Saturday before making his club debut.

A temporary stand has been erected at the Stadio Bruno Benelli to cater for the crowd, and if this does turn out ‌to be one last hurrah for Ronaldinho, he may well get the chance to score his 300th ⁠professional goal.

"I ⁠scored my first Italian goal in the derby," Ronaldinho told Corriere della Sera, referring to his first official goal for AC Milan, which came against Inter Milan.

"It was a special evening that will remain in the memory of all AC Milan fans. It was September 28, 2008. I scored with a header, which is not my specialty. Who knows if I'll be able to repeat that feat tomorrow."

"... Returning to the pitch at 46 is the best move of my career."

Simone Rabbi will play alongside the Brazilian up front for Ravenna, and in Friday's press conference he said that if his side are awarded a penalty on Sunday, Ronaldinho will take the spot kick.


Andreeva Says She Is Learning to Move on Faster from Defeats After WTA Finals Sweep

Mirra Andreeva plays Diana Shnaider during day six of the FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on November 13, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Mirra Andreeva plays Diana Shnaider during day six of the FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on November 13, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Andreeva Says She Is Learning to Move on Faster from Defeats After WTA Finals Sweep

Mirra Andreeva plays Diana Shnaider during day six of the FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on November 13, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)
Mirra Andreeva plays Diana Shnaider during day six of the FAGE WTA Finals at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on November 13, 2026 in Indian Wells, California. (Getty Images/AFP)

Mirra Andreeva said she has learned to recover more quickly from setbacks after the Russian teenager completed an unbeaten run through the WTA Finals round-robin stage on Friday.

Andreeva won her third group-stage match in straight sets after a late opponent change, having already secured a semi-final berth. The 19-year-old said the match against tournament alternate Diana Shnaider presented a new mental challenge because her progression was guaranteed, but she still wanted to preserve her momentum.

"Before the tournament started I was afraid ‌that I ‌wouldn't win a match in the group," ‌Andreeva ⁠told reporters. "Now you ⁠see how it turned out."

The victory set up a first career meeting with American Jessica Pegula on Saturday. Andreeva described Pegula as one of the calmest players on tour and said coach Conchita Martinez would help prepare a detailed tactical plan.

Andreeva's poise in the desert marked a contrast with her emotional ⁠exit from Indian Wells in March, when ‌she lost her title defense ‌to Katerina Siniakova. Frustrated by the defeat, Andreeva launched into a profanity-laced ‌tirade toward spectators and was booed as she left ‌the court.

The French Open champion said her response to losses has changed significantly over the course of the season.

"Before it was super bad. I was very dramatic," Andreeva said. "It would take me a ‌good two, three days. I wouldn't talk to anybody. I would just sit in the ⁠room locked ⁠up, not wanting to practice."

Now, she said, disappointment generally lasts a day at most before the demands of the tour force her attention back to training or the next match.

Andreeva said the Indian Wells setback came while she was trying to incorporate changes made in practice into her match play, which produced inconsistency and frustration. She said continued work on court, along with sessions with psychologists, helped her make progress.

The results have followed. Andreeva won her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros this year and arrived at the WTA Finals for her singles debut after a 50-win season.