Former Real player and coach Jorge Valdano commented on the question of whether 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo should end his career. He advised all footballers to enjoy the game until the very last minute.
Former Real player and coach Jorge Valdano commented on the question of whether 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo should end his career. He advised all footballers to enjoy the game until the very last minute.
Valdano believes that the opinion that 'history judges a footballer who left at the wrong time' is mistaken. He cited examples of great players who ended their careers at different clubs: Johan Cruyff played for Levante late in his career, Pelé moved to Cosmos, and Diego Maradona played only one match for Newell's Old Boys.
Nevertheless, Valdano emphasized that regardless of the circumstances, Cruyff remains Cruyff, Pelé remains Pelé, and Maradona remains Maradona. He recalled that at the 2026 World Cup, which has already concluded, Cristiano Ronaldo set one of the anti-records of his career. Meanwhile, the Portuguese national team was eliminated from the tournament in the round of 16 after losing to Spain 0-1.
Real Madrid's head coach José Mourinho assessed the friendly match against Fiorentina, which ended 2-2. He noted that during the game he saw three different versions of the team: an energetic, a tired, and a very tired version.
In the initial period, the team demonstrated high-quality football, which allowed them to win the first half 2-1. Mourinho emphasized that the quality of play was so high that they could have confidently led 3-0 or 4-0.
However, the game became more difficult afterward. The opponent increased the pressure, and the team showed its second image. Young players such as Juan Martinez and Mario Rivas played in defense and performed excellently, but they are not yet fully ready for confrontation with a strong forward like Moisés Keane in terms of physical fitness.
Despite severe fatigue, the team maintained its cohesion and regained control of the game. Mourinho specifically noted that Denzel Dumfries and Endrick Atigi played for over 70 minutes, despite only training for three days, which he considers extremely important. The coach expressed gratitude to the players for their dedication. Overall, Mourinho stated that he liked everything he saw in the match.
In England, penalties for offensive behavior towards footballers, coaches, and other match participants are being significantly tightened starting from the new season. This was reported by the BBC.
According to the information, the Football Association (FA) is updating its disciplinary rules before the start of the new season. Now, insulting or degrading actions related to ethnic origin, skin color, race, nationality, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, or disability are classified as an 'aggravated offense.'
The FA statement established that in such cases, the standard punishment will be a disqualification of at least ten games. However, the disciplinary committee has the right to impose a longer ban if it deems that aggravating circumstances were present in the violation.
Furthermore, if there are mitigating factors, the disqualification period may be reduced, but it cannot be less than six games. Individuals who commit repeated rule violations will face even harsher sanctions.
