A "happy" Cristiano Ronaldo posted a photo of himself next to a Saudi Arabian flag ahead of Al-Nassr's clash with Damac.

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Ronaldo posts "happy days" photoPortuguese at ease in Saudi ArabiaGearing up for Al-Nassr against DamacWHAT HAPPENED?

The 39-year-old is clearly very settled in Saudi Arabia following his move to the Gulf state last year. Ahead of his side's Saudi Pro League clash on Friday night, the Portuguese international took to Instagram, showcasing his contentedness at present.

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In the Instagram post, the former Manchester United star can be seen smiling while using his phone, with a big Saudi Arabian flag in shot.

He captioned it: "Happy days," with a green love heart.

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Despite the fact he will turn 40 next year, the ex-Real Madrid and Juventus ace is showing there is plenty of life left in the veteran. He has scored a whopping 42 goals in 41 games for Al-Nassr this season and the forward is still firing in the goals for his country, too.

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WHAT NEXT?

After Ronaldo's Al-Nassr side, who sit second in the Saudi Pro League, take on mid-table Damac, before a heavyweight clash with Al-Hilal – who are runaway leaders in the league – in the semi-finals of the Saudi Super Cup on Monday night.

Casemiro has revealed how Carlo Ancelotti's emotional response to the news that he was joining Manchester United almost made him back out of the move.

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• Casemiro completed United move in 2022
• Ancelotti's reaction created some doubts
• Initially made big impact but form has dropped off

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Casemiro moved to United in summer 2022 and instantly bolstered Ten Hag's midfield, but he recently revealed that there was a moment where he doubted his decision to switch allegiances. Speaking to Spanish TV show El Chiringuito de Jugones, Casemiro has opened up about how Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti's emotional reaction to his departure had a big impact.

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• WHAT CASEMIRO SAID

  "I only doubted my move to Manchester once," Casemiro said. "I went to speak with Ancelotti. I went into his office and he already knew. I opened the door and when I turned [towards him], Ancelotti was crying. I told him: 'You can't be crying. Anyone but you.' He told me: 'Case, I don't know why I'm crying, but I'm very fond of you and I don't want you to leave.' That was the moment [I doubted]… I realised how many people loved me there. But I had already given my word, and my word is more important than anything else."

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  Casemiro bossed Madrid's midfield for almost a decade, so it's no surprise that moving away was such a big deal. So far, his time in Manchester has been mixed; he played a pivotal role in securing Champions League qualification and a League Cup win in 2022/23, but his form during the 2023/24 campaign has been poor and there has been speculation about a potential move to Saudi Arabia.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CASEMIRO?

  Last weekend, Casemiro attracted plenty of criticism for his performance in United's 2-2 draw at Bournemouth, with former Red Devils goalkeeper Ben Foster calling his display a "disgrace". It's the latest in a long line of disappointing showings that have led many people to think that United should cut their losses on the Brazilian this summer.

UAE’s players criticised inadequate ground facilities at the Southend Stadium in Karachi, after a brief spell of rain wiped out their chances of a semi-final spot

Umar Farooq10-Dec-2018UAE’s players, participating in the Emerging Teams Cup, have criticised ground facilities in Karachi, after a rain-enforced exit wiped out their hopes of a semi-final spot. The players took to Twitter to express their frustration after the abandoned match against Hong Kong on Sunday, but the tweets were later deleted and the team management refused to comment.UAE had restricted Hong Kong to 87 for 4 in 31 overs at the Southend Stadium in Karachi, before a spell of rain that lasted for about half an hour interrupted play. However, the venue had inadequate tarpaulin covers to protect the pitch, and water leaked on to the square. Despite several hours of using sponges, the groundstaff failed to dry the pitch. As a result, the match was abandoned, with both teams sharing a point. Officials of the Pakistan Cricket Board, in charge of international and domestic operations, were also present at the ground. The Southend Stadium in Karachi has hosted one Test, in 1993, but doesn’t currently hold first-class status and is largely used for recreational cricket, warm-up matches or women’s games.A win would have boosted UAE’s chances of a semi-final spot. As it turned out, however, Bangladesh beat Pakistan to leapfrog UAE and qualified for the semi-finals, along with the hosts. UAE had beaten Bangladesh by 97 runs before losing to Pakistan by nine wickets, in their earlier league matches.UAE captain Rohan Mustafa was direct in his criticism, tweeting “Might the organiser don’t know the pain of when you get out of the tournament like that .. i am really sorry to say but we are out because of poor facility at the ground”Left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza, who had bowled seven economical overs before play was called off wrote: “We @EmiratesCricket sat in the Sun for more than 4 hours waiting for the pitch to get dry because of the club level covers at the so called “Test” venue @therealPCB. 20 mins of rain ruined our chances of going through to the semi final #unfair #noreserveday #poorfacility”UAE middle-order batsman, Rameez Shahzad, who was born in Lahore, also wrote on Twitter: “Never mind the security but there are more reasons to why international cricket has overlooked this part of the world when it comes to international cricket .. @ICC @icc_assoicates such a shame honestly #embarassing the way @therealPCB have dealt with it.”UAE coach Dougie Brown described the day was frustrating.”It is incredibly frustrating and we are all pretty flat at the moment,” Brown told . “It was a flat wicket and we had bowled magnificently. We were in a fantastic position, then it rained heavily for half an hour. When they took the covers off, the water had leaked all over the square. It was incredibly disappointing.”To know the whole outcome of this, having played really good cricket to beat Bangladesh convincingly a few days ago, beating them by [nearly] 100 runs, and had chances against Pakistan, is frustrating. The most annoying thing is we spent the whole day watching the pitch drying in magnificent sunshine.”Pakistan hosted all Group B matches of the Emerging Players Cup, which featured the home side, Bangladesh, UAE and Hong Kong. The Group A matches – featuring India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Oman – are being played in Colombo, which will also host the semi-finals on December 13 and the final on December 15.

Mossadek Hossain and Abu Jayed have been dropped form the Bangladesh squad, while Sabbir Rahman is still serving a suspension

Mohammad Isam14-Dec-2018Bangladesh have included Mohammad Mithun and Mohammad Saifuddin to their T20I squad for the three-match T20I series against West Indies starting in Sylhet on December 17. Both Mithun and Saifuddin have been part of the ODI squad against Zimbabwe and West Indies.The home side have dropped Mosaddek Hossain and Abu Jayed from their last T20I squad, which was also against West Indies in August this year. Sabbir Rahman was also in Bangladesh’s squad for that series, but now is currently serving a six-month ban for disciplinary issues.Mosaddek has shown some form for Bangladesh Under-23s in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup after an ordinary first-class season. Pace bowler Jayed played the first Test against Zimbabwe in Sylhet, but has been out of favour thereafter.The first T20I will take place in Sylhet, the same venue that the third ODI is being played in, on December 17 before the teams go back to Dhaka for the second and third matches, on December 20 and 22.IN: Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad SaifuddinOUT: Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Abu JayedSquad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nazmul Islam, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammad Saifuddin, Abu Hider, Ariful Haque

He included his own dismissal among the avoidable ones that he felt had cost Pakistan the chance of getting close to South Africa’s first-innings total

Danyal Rasool at the Wanderers12-Jan-2019

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed cut a strikingly upbeat figure at his post-match press conference despite acknowledging the challenge his team faced to avoid their second successive whitewash in South Africa. It was a day of relative personal success for a man who has been under severe pressure for much of the tour, with Sarfraz stroking a classy half-century and breaking the record for most dismissals by a Pakistan wicketkeeper against South Africa in a Test match. However, Sarfraz also pointed towards several missed opportunities for Pakistan to come away from day two in a better position.”I think if you talk about our day, we had a chance to get to 262 runs but we didn’t get it,” Sarfraz said. “When me and Babar were batting, we were thinking we should play positive cricket. Unfortunately, I couldn’t score more than 50. If I’d scored 50-70 more runs, the position we’d be in would be much better.”He bemoaned a few “bad shots” towards the end of the Pakistan innings, paving the way for the collapse that allowed South Africa to move into a commanding position. Sarfraz and Babar Azam had launched a brilliant counterattack after Pakistan were in dire straits at 91 for 5. The pair added 78 runs in only 10.1 overs, and suddenly Pakistan looked like they had South Africa’s first-innings score in their sights.But from the moment Sarfraz poked at one slightly wide of off stump to the slips, Pakistan slumped once more. Babar Azam lofted one straight into fine leg’s lap four balls later, and before you knew it, the visitors had been bowled out for 185, allowing South Africa a hefty 77-run lead. Sarfraz acknowledged his own responsibility in the collapse, admitting he had played a poor stroke.”I think we played a couple of bad shots. I think my shot was also a bad shot, and Babar’s too. If you see the last five wickets, there were three bad shots. Mine, Babar’s and Faheem [Ashraf’s]. If we hadn’t played those shots, maybe we’d be in a much better position.”The problem of losing too many wickets quickly is one we’ve been facing for the past 10-12 innings. We had the same problem in the first Test match, where Shan [Masood] and Imam [ul-Haq] batted well, and once they got out we lost too many wickets. It was the same in Cape Town, and now the same here. It’s a problem we’re facing and we have to work on this.”Faheem Ashraf celebrates a wicket•AFP

Even so, Pakistan’s bowlers helped them storm back into the game in a disciplined hour of bowling with the new ball. Dean Elgar was undone by a beauty from Mohammad Amir that cut him in half and took the edge, before Mohammad Abbas’s discipline and subtle movement saw him draw Aiden Markram’s edge. In the 15th over, Faheem removed Theunis de Bruyn and Zubayr Hamza within three balls to leave South Africa tottering at 45 for 4. That they ended the day having added 90 more runs for the loss of just one more wicket disappointed Sarfraz, who believed the bowlers had taken their foot off the pedal towards the close.”I think our bowling, especially the last 45 minutes, we weren’t up to the mark,” he said. “We bowled really well overall but the last one hour we didn’t bowl well. At the moment, if you talk about our bowling attack, we are only bowling well in patches. If we bowl well consistently throughout an innings, I don’t think South Africa will score as many runs against us.”For a man carrying the weight of a nation’s expectations, there wasn’t much time to enjoy any personal triumphs, but he did say he had made a slight technical adjustment since the Centurion Test match, where he scored a pair.”If you see my first two innings, my feet weren’t moving very much at all. My batting style hasn’t changed. So I worked on my feet movement, so thankfully I’m playing well at the moment. If you want to score here you have to play positive cricket. Because the good ball is never far away. If you see Markram or Hashim [Amla], whenever they see the bad ball they put it away. If you don’t play positive cricket, you will get out at any time.”With South Africa 212 runs ahead with five wickets still in hand, Sarfraz will be hoping for one final burst of positivity from both bowlers and batsmen. While the series may be lost, if Pakistan can pull off the unlikeliest of results here, it would go a massive way to assuaging the negativity pervading the Pakistan camp throughout this tour.

NBA legend Dirk Nowitzki has weighed in on the GOAT debate & sided with the more "low key" Lionel Messi instead of the "look at me" Cristiano Ronaldo.

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NBA legend weighs in on football GOAT debateMessi versus Ronaldo discourse rages onNowitzki favours 'low key' Messi over 'look at me' RonaldoWHAT HAPPENED?

The former Dallas Mavericks star was asked by CBS Sports presenter Kate Abdo if he favoured Inter Miami's Messi or Al-Nassr's Ronaldo in an episode of Kickin' It on Paramount Plus. The 7ft power forward admitted he was on team Messi, as he prefers his demeanour to the way Ronaldo carries himself.

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He told CBS Sports Golazo: "I know that's a heated one for everyone… I'm a Messi guy. How he carries himself, how he plays, super quick and fast. Ronaldo, to me, with the shirt off, 'Hey, look at me', it's just not my style. Messi, to me, is way more low key and I can identify more with that but I don't want to take anything away from Ronaldo; this is just a personal opinion."

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The GOAT (greatest of all time) debate in football has gone on for the best part of 15 years after Messi and Ronaldo carved out sparkling careers for themselves. This discussion may be better suited for when both players finally hang up their boots but this dispute is likely to go on in perpetuity. Perhaps it is more important to enjoy both players while they are in the twilight stages of their career and be grateful to have witnessed them at all.

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Messi will be back in action for Miami on Wednesday night when they take on Monterrey in the second leg of their quarter-final CONCACAF Champions Cup tie, whereas Ronaldo may miss Al-Nassr's next couple of games after being sent off against Al-Hilal last time out.

Having totaled 17 runs in three games until Sunday, Grant Thomson left behind his mark in the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League with a courageous 71 not out to keep Paarl Rocks alive in the competition, after a tight chase against Jozi Stars at the New Wanderers Stadium. Barring a reprieve owing to a missed stumping on the ball before he hit the winning runs – which arrived via a crunching extra cover drive – Thomson played a mature, and largely composed innings, giving the Rocks, facing a must-win, victory with three balls to spare.Contributing in equal measure to the win was Faf du Plessis, who continued to dominate bowling attacks with his third half-century in four matches. While Thomson crucially stayed until the end, it was du Plessis who provided Rocks with the impetus to their chase, launching a barrage of boundaries in a domineering display that gave them the security against a brief death-overs stutter and come out unscathed.As if the pressure of a must-win and a chase of 171 wasn’t enough, Rocks had lost two wickets halfway through the third over when the two joined hands. Duanne Olivier hit Rocks with wickets off successive deliveries in his first over, first getting Cameron Delport to top-edge a pull by generating extra bounce, and then harrying Aiden Markram with pace to draw an inside edge onto the stumps.Kagiso Rabada was even quicker in the next over, hitting upwards of 145-kmph consistently and beating the bat outside off. The downside of that sort of pace, however, is the ball flying off the bat even if the timing and connection are a little off, and once Thomson punched Rabada for a four through extra cover off the last ball of that over, Rocks quickly moved into the ascendancy.Olivier undid his good work in his previous over by losing his lengths against du Plessis, who cracked him for a brace of fours. Thomson and du Plessis then closed out the Powerplay by pillaging 19 runs off Dan Christian.Du Plessis was the aggressor through most of this passage. Pulling, driving and punching pristinely, he collected his first 20 runs at a strike rate of nearly 300. It meant Thomson could settle into neatly nudging the ball around into the gaps and turn the strike over, forming the ideal complement in such a situation.Thomson shifted gears in the second half of the chase, starting with a six over deep midwicket off Pongolo that took him into the 40s. Du Plessis survived a close lbw call that same over, and then again in the first ball of the next over, when Rabada believed he had found his outside edge, as Stars were left frustrated.With Thomson unfurling his own range of strokes, he eventually beat du Plessis to the fifty, getting there off 38 balls. The 100 of the stand came up off 64 balls in the next over, and in the over after that, du Plessis had his fifty, with a booming extra cover drive, as Rocks progressed clinically.It was only when du Plessis fell to Christian in the 16th over, attempting a paddle to a ball that wasn’t full enough and arrowed in straight to ping him in front of leg stump, that Stars found a way back in.Dwayne Bravo came out swinging big from ball one but wasn’t necessarily rewarded for it, as Stars tightened the screws, conceding just 12 runs between overs 16 and 18. The only blemish on Stars during that passage was Dane Vilas spilling a tough chance off Bravo’s outside edge in the 17th over. Bravo took toll of the reprieve, swinging Dwayne Pretorious for a pair of sixes in a 17-run 19th over to take out the last semblance of parity from the contest.Rocks also hit the right notes after electing to field, taking out the Stars openers inside the first four overs, Hendricks chopping one onto the stumps and Gayle falling to a blinder out of thin air from David Wiese at cover.That left Rassie van der Dussen to do the rebuilding, and he did a fine job of it, starting with a 73-run stand with Dane Vilas. Van der Dussen crawled to 4 off 13 balls before breaking the shackles by thumping Mungroo over mid-off for four.Van der Dussen manipulated the bowler’s lines and lengths by using his crease well, and by the end of the seventh over, the recovery was fully on, with 41 runs having come in four overs. Van der Dussen’s sequence of six, four and four off Bravo in the 11th over put Stars in sight of a big total. But unlike in the chase, he had no substantial support at the other end – barring a 17-ball 28 from Pretorius at No. 7 – and the difference was telling.

Jurrien Timber is closing in on a return to fitness at Arsenal, but the defender still has “a few steps to make” before gracing a competitive fixture.

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Full-back signed from Ajax in 2023Injured on opening weekend of seasonHoping to figure again in title raceGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The Gunners splashed out £34 million ($42m) when luring the highly-rated Netherlands international away from Ajax in the summer of 2023. The 22-year-old was expected to nail down a regular role for the Premier League giants, but suffered an unfortunate ACL injury on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season.

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Timber has taken in a long road to recovery since then, with Mikel Arteta saying when asked to deliver an update on the buccaneering full-back and when he may be seen again: “Still he’s got a few steps to make. He needs to play at least a game with the 23s. We’re going to have an in house game too. He’s done everything in training now it’s about getting him match fit.”

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Arsenal will be back in action on Sunday when playing host to Aston Villa. There are suggestions that Gabriel Magalhaes is nursing a knock ahead of that game, with Arteta saying when asked about the Brazilian’s absence from training: “We've got one more day to prepare the match and we'll see if everyone is available.”

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WHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arsenal head into a meeting with top-four hopefuls Villa sat top of the Premier League table, but with only goal difference keeping them above Liverpool – while defending champions Manchester City are just one point off the pace with seven games left to take in.

Siddarth Kaul has been added to the T20I squad for the three matches in New Zealand next month

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Jan-2019India have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah for the forthcoming ODI series in Australia and the New Zealand tour that comprises five ODIs and three T20Is in January-February. Mohammed Siraj has been named Bumrah’s replacement for those series while Siddarth Kaul has been added to the squad for the T20I series in New Zealand next month.Bumrah was rested “keeping in mind the work load of the bowler”, according to a BCCI release, to give him adequate rest before the home ODIs and T20Is against Australia in February-March. Bumrah bowled more overs (157.1) than any other fast bowler in the four-Test series in Australia, only behind Nathan Lyon’s 242.1 overs as the two finished as the joint-highest wicket-takers in the series. The list for most overs bowled across the three formats in international cricket in 2018 was also led by Lyon (636.3) and Bumrah (511.3), but the India fast bowler led the wicket charts for the year with a tally of 78.ALSO READ: MS Dhoni returns to India’s T20I squad for New Zealand tourSiraj, who is yet to make his ODI debut, last played a T20I in the Nidahas Trophy in Sri Lanka in March 2018. But he has been in stellar form with the red ball while representing India A since July. He has taken three five-wicket hauls in the period in eight matches to collect 47 wickets at an average of 18.04. In July, he took figures of 8 for 132 against West Indies A in Taunton and 7 for 134 against England Lions a few days later in Worcester. In Bengaluru in August, he collected 14 wickets against South Africa A in two matches before taking 11 for 136 in one match against Australia A in September.More recently, he toured New Zealand as part of the India A squad for three first-class matches in which he took seven wickets in three innings. In his last first-class match he finished with impressive figures of 3 for 74 and 4 for 71 for Hyderabad against Punjab in the Ranji Trophy.Kaul has played three ODIs and two T20Is, with his last international match during the Asia Cup in September in the UAE, where he played only one match, against Afghanistan. Kaul also toured New Zealand as part of the India A squad, but for 50-over matches in which he finished as the highest wicket-taker with seven scalps from three games, with an economy rate of 5.88. In the ongoing Ranji Trophy, Kaul has been the second-highest wicket-taker for Punjab with 22 wickets from five matches at an average of 22.77 so far.India will play three ODIs in Australia starting January 12 in Sydney, before the ODI series begins in New Zealand on January 23. They will then play three T20Is in New Zealand in February.ODI squad for Australia and New Zealand: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed ShamiT20I squad for New Zealand: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Khaleel Ahmed, Siddarth Kaul

Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati has blasted Chelsea for "playing dirty" during the Blues' 1-0 win in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

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• Barcelona stunned by Emma Hayes' side
• Chelsea take lead back to London
• Bonmati furious with how they played

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Chelsea pulled off a sensational result in Spain as an Erin Cuthbert goal gave them a 1-0 win over reigning Champions League holders Barcelona away from home. Prior to Saturday, no team had beaten Barcelona away for five years.

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  In the second half, Barcelona were awarded a penalty for an apparent handball from Kadeisha Buchanan; Barca were preparing to take the kick, but the decision was overturned by VAR after a lengthy delay. Bonmati was left confused by the fact the penalty was not given, and also claimed that Emma Hayes' side employed "dirty" tactics.

• WHAT BONMATI SAID

  Per Mundo Deportivo, Bonmati said: "I have not understood why a penalty was called and why Mariona was preparing and then they began to review it. In the end this has to be done the other way around. It is clear that there was a prior offside by Salma, I have not seen the play and I can't say anything. If the VAR has marked this, we can't do anything.

  "I am not in favor of playing with these interruptions, but we knew it. We had talked about Chelsea playing like this, which for me is playing dirty. We have warned the referee, but it is not up to us if they allow it. We have to know how to play with it."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Chelsea and Barcelona will renew hostilities next weekend in the second leg. It remains to be seen if the Blues can hold their nerve and pull off an astonishing upset.