Barcelona attacker Neymar believes Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is sitting in pole position to win the FIFA Ballon d Or following his successful 2016.

Ronaldo guided Madrid to Champions League glory at the expense of Atletico Madrid in 2015-16, before winning Euro 2016 with Portugal following a 1-0 win after extra time against hosts France.

He had to settle for second place in the race for the Ballon d Or behind Lionel Messi last year, but Neymar believes the 31-year-old is favourite to lift the prestigious individual trophy this time around.

Winning titles plays a big role in the race for the Ballon d Or, Neymar told Lance!.

Ronaldo won the Champions League and now Euro 2016 as well. So I reckon he is in a good position.

Plus Ronaldo is …

New Liverpool head coach Arne Slot insisted he is still seeking improvements from his players despite winning all of their pre-season fixtures in the United States.

Slot has led Liverpool to three wins Stateside, the latest of which came on Saturday against Manchester United, beating their Premier League rivals 3-0 in South Carolina.

The Reds also emerged victorious in encounters against Real Betis and Arsenal, overcoming their behind-closed doors defeat to Preston North End last month.

Liverpool s win over United was a comfortable one, despite registering nine shots, five of which were on target, compared to their opponents 18 and eight.

Slot s side also missed four big chances at the Williams Brice Stadium, underperforming their expected goals (xG) b…

Thomas Tuchel has not decided his Paris Saint-Germain team to face Liverpool in the Champions League, with one place still up for grabs.

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe sat out PSG s 4-0 defeat of Saint-Etienne on Friday as Tuchel s men moved six points clear at Ligue 1 s summit on Friday.

Tuchel s six straight competitive wins since taking charge broke Carlo Ancelotti s club record from 2011, with Julian Draxler taking his chance to impress in the absence of rested Neymar and suspended Mbappe.

Edinson Cavani, Angel Di Maria and teenage substitute Moussa Diaby were also on target in a comfortable victory for the champions.

PSG were able to ease to victory in the second half, retaining energy for Tuesday s trip to Anfield in their Group C opener against last seas…

Thiago Alcantara insists he has no qualms over his decision to leave Barcelona, while he is tiring of the Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi debate.

The midfielder enjoyed three years within Barca s fabled La Masia youth system before making his debut as an 18-year-old in 2009.

Four years and several major trophies later, Thiago opted for a move away from Camp Nou to Bayern Munich in search of regular first-team action, linking up with Pep Guardiola, who had handed him his Barca bow.

Three straight Bundesliga crowns have vindicated that decision, and Thiago believes it was the right one to make.

I do not regret having gone from FC Barcelona. Football is global, it does not end at Barca, Thiago told Mundo Deportivo, while his feelings on representing Spain ov…

Ousmane Dembele s struggles for fitness and form at Barcelona are deservedly coming right at the perfect time, according to team-mate Clement Lenglet.

Barca looked set to be held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Real Valladolid on Monday before Dembele volleyed a 90th-minute winner – victory closing Ronald Koeman s side to within a point of leaders Atletico Madrid with nine games of the LaLiga season remaining.

Since moving to Camp Nou from Borussia Dortmund for an initial €105million in 2017, the 23-year-old France winger has been beset by injury problems.

But Dembele has become an increasingly integral member of Koeman s team since the turn of the year, forming a fruitful attacking alliance with Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.

Griezmann was …

Millions of fantasy football managers are tinkering with their teams ahead of next weekend’s opening round of Premier League fixtures.

Launched back in 2002-03, Fantasy Premier League (FPL) continues to grow in popularity, with the number of managers increasing from fewer than 100,000 in its first year to 11.4 million at the end of last season.

Here, the PA news agency provides some tips for effective squad selection, using data from the game’s official website.

Follow the fixtures

FPL managers study players’ form and fixtures when choosing a squad, but – with only pre-season friendlies to go on – the latter takes precedence at the start of a new campaign.

Thanks to a metric that powers the website’s Fixture Difficulty Ratings, it is possible…

Olivier Giroud scored twice as magnificent Milan ended an 11-year wait to win the Serie A title with a 3-0 defeat of Sassuolo.

Milan only needed a point at the Mapei Stadium on the final day of the season to dethrone city rivals Inter and they made it mission accomplished in style.

There were no sign of nerves from the rampant Rossoneri as the outstanding Rafael Leao set Giroud up for a double and also laid on the third goal for Franck Kessie in a totally one-sided first half.

Stefano Piolo s side eased to victory in a party atmosphere in Reggio Emilia on Sunday, finishing two points clear of Inter to finally claim the Scudetto once again.

Dreamland. 0-3

— AC Milan (@acmilan)

Milan swarmed all over Sassuolo from the start, Giroud forcin…

Flamengo boss Jorge Jesus is confident the Copa Libertadores will not become the latest chapter in his history of heartbreak following the semi-final hammering of Gremio.

Gabriel Barbosa s brace helped deliver a stunning 5-0 second-leg win at the Maracana, sealing a comprehensive 6-1 aggregate victory.

The Brazilian side are now through to face defending champions River Plate in their first Libertadores final since 1981.

For head coach Jesus, it is a chance to gain a degree of compensation for the successive Europa League final defeats he suffered while in charge of Benfica. 

Reaching the final is important, but most important is winning the final, said Jesus, who took over at Flamengo in June.

It s my third continental final. I ve unfortunat…

Lionel Messi moving to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami would serve as a reference point for football in the U.S. as David Beckham s franchise look to make high-profile signings.

That is the message from Miami s chief business officer Xavier Asensi, who hinted to Mundo Deportivo that his side will look to make a move for Messi.

Gareth Bale and Giorgio Chiellini made their MLS debuts on Sunday for Los Angeles FC in a 2-1 win over Nashville SC.

Five-time Champions League winner Bale and Chiellini, who won Euro 2020 with Italy last year, joined Wayne Rooney, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Beckham as some of the biggest names to play in MLS.

With Messi s Paris Saint-Germain contract set to expire at the end of the upcoming season, Asensi suggested Miami will att…

Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in signing Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that German champions Bayern want as much as €100 million as transfer fee for the 24-year-old winger.

Bayern want Coman to stay at the club and are in talks with the winger over extending his deal. However, that is proving to be difficult, and Premier League duo United and Chelsea want to take advantage of the situation.

Coman joined Bayern on a permanent contract in 2017 after spending the previous two seasons on loan at the German club from Juventus. The France international is a very decorated player and is a serial winner. The 24-year-old winger won the Ligue 1 title twice with Paris Saint-Germain, the Serie A…