FOOTBALL TODAY

Cristiano Ronaldo WINS Ballon d'Or: Real Madrid star targets FIFTH triumph in 2017

CRISTIANO RONALDO has won the Ballon d'Or for a fourth time - beating Lionel Messi to the crown of football's player of the year.

Cristiano Ronaldo wins Ballon d'Or

Cristiano Ronaldo was nominated alongside Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann for the prestigious award. The Real Madrid forward helped his side win the Champions League this year, while he was the star man in Portugal's run to Euro 2016 glory. 
Ronaldo was expected to win the award after his victory was supposedly leaked this morning.

I never thought in my mind to win four times the Golden Ball, so I am so pleased and so happy," Ronaldo said.
"I have the opportunity to thank all of my team-mates, the national team, Real Madrid, all of the people and players who helped me to win this individual award.
"As you can imagine I feel so proud and happy to receive this amazing and beautiful ball, I am so happy."

Riyad Mahrez wins BBC African Footballer of the Year 2016 award

Riyad Mahrez has been crowned the BBC African Footballer of the Year 2016.

Fans from across the world voted for the Algeria and Leicester midfielder ahead of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Andre Ayew, Sadio Mane and Yaya Toure.

Winger Mahrez, 25, told BBC Sport: "It means a lot, it's something big for African players so I am very happy, I am very proud.

"It's always good to receive awards and for African players it's a huge honour. To all the fans, thank you very much."

He added: "Also I want to thank the Algeria fans and dedicate this to them as well and for my family.

"I just have to carry on and keep going with my football and see what I can do."

2016/2017 Champions League Round of 16 draw

The UEFA Champions League draw took place in Nyon at 11:00 GMT and the eight group winners were drawn against the eight runners-up.

Holders Real Madrid will face Napoli in this year’s UEFA Champions League last 16, with Bayern Munich and Arsenal set to meet in the competition for the fourth time in five seasons following today’s draw in Nyon.

Bayern and Arsenal have played each other ten times, all since 2000/01. The German club have won five of those games and the English team three, with Bayern beating Arsenal in the round of 16 in 2004/05, 2012/13 and 2013/14.

Debutants Leicester City will look to continue their fairytale against Sevilla, while Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will face each other in the competition for the seventh and eighth time in four years. Barcelona beat Paris in the 2012/13 and 2014/15 quarter-finals, although the French team came out on top when the clubs met in the last eight in 1994/95. Barcelona won the 1997 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup final against Paris in Rotterdam, and each team won their home game when their paths crossed again in the 2014/15 group stage – 3-2 in France, 3-1 in Spain.

There’s also a repeat of a 2015 last 16 clash, with Bayer Leverkusen hoping to avenge their penalty shootout defeat to Atletico Madrid. Atlético and Leverkusen have faced off four times in recent years, sharing two 1-1 draws in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage and a 1-0 home win each in the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League round of 16 – Atlético won the tie on penalties.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City will meet Monaco for the first time in one of only two ties in the draw – including Leicester against Sevilla – never to have been played before in European competition.

Borussia Dortmund will meet Benfica in CL Round of 16. Dortmund’s only previous encounter with Benfica came in the last 16 of the 1963/64 European Cup. The Portuguese outfit won the first leg 2-1, but BVB turned the tie around in front of their own fans, romping to a 5-0 victory to complete a 6-2 aggregate win.

Juventus drew FC Porto for its Round of 16 opponent, with Porto hosting the first leg in February. Juventus beat Porto 2-1 in the 1984 European Cup Winners’ Cup final in Basel, and recorded a win (3-1) and a draw (0-0) when the sides met in the 2001/02 UEFA Champions League first group stage.

Reigning champions Los Blancos have only just touched down in Japan for this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, the fruit of their victory against city rivals Atletico in May’s finale, but they will already have one eye on the defence of their crown – and a potential participation at UAE 2017 – following their draw against the Serie A side. Real Madrid beat Napoli in the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs’ Cup first round, winning 2-0 at home before a 1-1 draw in Italy.

The first legs will be played on February 14, 15 and 21, 22, with the second legs on March 7, 8 and 14 and 15.

UEFA Europa League round of 32 draw

Manchester United will play Saint-Etienne in the round of 32 of the Europa League in a pairing of Pogba brothers.

France international Paul Pogba leads Man United’s midfield and older brother Florentin, a Guinea international, is a Saint-Etienne defender.

Also in Monday’s draw, Turkish club Besiktas, whose stadium in Istanbul was targeted by a deadly bombing on Saturday, will first play in Israel at Hapoel Beer-Sheva.

Italian clubs got tough draws: Roma will first play at Villarreal and Fiorentina will travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Among Champions League clubs now switching to the Europa League, Tottenham is at Gent and Legia Warsaw hosts Ajax.

Also, it was: Athletic Bilbao vs. APOEL; Anderlecht vs. Zenit St. Petersburg; Astra Giurgiu vs. Genk; Ludogorets Razgrad vs. FC Copenhagen; Celta Vigo vs. Shakhtar Donetsk; Olympiakos vs. Osmanlispor; Rostov vs. Sparta Prague; Krasnodar vs. Fenerbahce; AZ Alkmaar vs. Lyon; and PAOK Thessaloniki vs. Schalke.

The first legs will be played on Feb. 16, with return matches on Feb. 23.

The final will be played in Stockholm, Sweden, on May 24. The winner gains entry to next season’s Champions League.

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FOOTBALL TODAY

Ronaldinho could play for Chapecoense after tragic crash

Brazilian legend Ronaldinho could offer to play for Chapecoense to help the club after a plane crash killed the majority of their squad.

Chapecoense players and officials were among the 71 people to lose their lives when a plane carrying the Brazilian team to Colombia for their Copa Sudamericana final first leg with Atletico Nacional crashed over Cerro Gordo, La Union.

The Brazilian Football federation has requested that Chapecoense fulfil their fixtures in the Campeonato Brasileiro "to have a big party that you deserve, that Chapeco deserves".

Club president Ivan Tozzo has raised concerns about fielding a team, although other Brazilian clubs have reportedly offered to loan players to Chapecoense for their last game of the season, against Atletico Mineiro.

Two-time World Player of the Year Ronaldinho is determined to help in any way, even if it is returning to the Brasileiro for the first time since leaving Fluminense last year. "Everyone is still affected by the accident," his brother and agent Roberto Assis is quoted as saying.

"I can only say that we are here and we want to help. I think that remembering the name of Ronaldinho, he is someone that everyone likes and he is without a club."

Arsenal's Santi Cazorla out for three more months due to ankle surgery

Arsenal midfielder Santi Cazorla will undergo foot surgery that will rule him out for three more months, dealing a major blow to the Gunners' title hopes.

Arsenal announced on Thursday that Cazorla, 31, will travel to Sweden next week for the operation after struggling to recover from an inflamed Achilles.

The Spain international has been sidelined since the Gunners' 6-0 Champions League victory over Ludogorets Razgrad on Oct. 19, and manager Arsene Wenger said on Wednesday that he was still hopeful his player would recover within a couple of weeks.

"He's important to our technical stability in the team, to the quality of our decision-making and to our build-up from deep midfield to the high midfield," Wenger said ahead of last Sunday's 3-1 win against Bournemouth.

Carrick: It would be tough to leave Man Utd

Michael Carrick admits he would find it difficult to play for a club other than Manchester United as his contract nears its end.

Carrick has played just three times in the Premier League for the Red Devils this season, but the lack of playing time and clarity over his role at Old Trafford is not weighing heavily on his mind.


"[Leaving Man Utd] is not something I am looking to do at the minute - it would be very difficult to play somewhere else," he said.

"I have said all along, I am relaxed about [my United future]. It depends if I am playing and if I am playing well enough, if I feel I can contribute, if the manager feels I can contribute.

"There are a lot of things to be decided. I am quite relaxed."

The England international is aware of the difficulties of continuing to play at a high level at his age but feels he has adapted his game around those challenges.

"You just have to understand what you can and what you can't do really," he added.

"At any stage of your career, people have their strengths and what they can't do so well. You just have to put yourself in a position where you can play to your strengths more often than not. You learn that from experience.

"As long as I am enjoying it, can feel I can contribute and the manager does then great."

Elia warned Memphis Depay against Man Utd move

Memphis Depay was warned against a move to Manchester United, where 'the pressure is so high, by Netherlands international colleague Eljero Elia.

The 22-year-old completed a switch to Old Trafford in 2015, with a high-profile transfer made on the back of a productive campaign with PSV Eindhoven that saw him finish as the Eredivisie's top scorer.

Elia said: "I thought Memphis first had to make a stop, first choose a club like Tottenham Hotspur. United are so big, the pressure is so high. Memphis accepted my opinion, but said, ‘I’ll try to give my all and I’m confident that I can succeed there.'"

Gareth Southgate named England Manager

Gareth Southgate has been appointed as England manager permanently by the Football Association on a four-year contract until the end of Euro 2020.

The former England Under-21 boss was promoted to the top job at the end of September after predecessor Sam Allardyce was removed from the position after being caught up in a newspaper sting relating to alleged corruption in football.

"I am extremely proud to be appointed England manager. However, I’m also conscious that getting the job is one thing, now I want to do the job successfully," he said in a statement on the FA's website.

"I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the players over these past four games and I think there’s huge potential. I’m determined to give everything I have to give the country a team that they’re proud of and one that they’re going to enjoy watching play and develop.

"For me, the hard work starts now."

FA chief executive Martin Glenn expressed his faith that Southgate is the right man for the task, stating: "We are delighted to confirm Gareth as England manager.

"He performed extremely well during the four games he was in temporary charge and he impressed us during a tough interview process. 

"Gareth is a great ambassador for what the FA stands for, he’s a very good football tactician and a leader but beneath that he’s a winner and that’s an important part of the job."

Southgate’s first match as permanent manager will come in March 2017 against Germany in a friendly, before they take on Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier. 

Joe Hart expects Manchester City exit when Torino loan move ends next year

Joe Hart admits he is expecting to be made available for transfer again by Manchester City when his loan spell at Torino finishes.

The England goalkeeper is on a season-long loan with the Italian outfit after slipping down the pecking order at City following Pep Guardiola’s appointment as manager.

In an interview, the 29-year-old said about next summer: "I don’t think City are going to be standing in the way – if somebody really wants me, then I’m probably going to be made available. So it will be about talking and working out what is next and what the best move is for whichever club that might be and for myself."

Regarding Guardiola, Hart added: “I came in after the other players because of the Euros, and when we first had a conversation he said he had his reservations about me. I shook his hand, I said it was professionally honest, but not what I wanted to hear. I said I wanted to work for him and see what happens but I got the impression that it wasn’t really going anywhere. I got the feeling I wasn’t going to play.

“I spoke to the chief executive (Ferran Soriano) and said: ‘You want me to go don’t you?’ He didn’t stop me with what I was saying. I’m up for a fight but you’ve got to be clever and pick your battle. It was the opinion of a guy who has got a lot of power at the club and I wasn’t on the right side of it. The goalkeeper he signed (Claudio Bravo) was a good goalkeeper. He liked Willy (Cabellero) as well, he liked Angus (Gunn) and I wouldn’t say there was an awful lot coming in my direction so I thought I needed to go elsewhere and I’m really grateful to Torino for giving me the opportunity.

“I would have backed myself but I prefer thinking about how I can help Torino now rather than ‘what if’ or ‘I could have done that’.”

Theo Walcott breaks world record once held by Messi

Arsenal's Theo Walcott has set a world record for controlling a ball dropped from a high altitude. 

The England international took part in a challenge during training, competing against team-mates Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin and Nacho Monreal. The quartet were challenged to stop a ball being dropped from a crane, with Walcott showing his skills by controlling it superbly after it was dropped from 34 metres.

Walcott takes the record from English football freestyler who John Farnworth set the record at 32 metres, after Lionel Messi had initially recorded a height of 18 metres in a promotion for a Japanese television show.

However, Farnworth can take solace in the fact that his name is still in the record books, having completed 83 around the world keepie-uppies in a minute.

FIFA FIFPro World 11 2016 Nominees

These are the nominees for the FIFA FIFPro World 11 2016:

Barça- J Alba, J Mascherano, G Piqué, S Busquets, A Iniesta, I Rakitic, L Messi, Neymar, L Suárez.

Madrid- K Navas, D Carvajal, Marcelo, Pepe, S Ramos, R Varane, Kroos, L Modric, G Bale, K Benzema, C Ronaldo.

Atletico- D Godín, A Griezmann.  

Chelsea- Hazard, N’Golo Kanté.

United- de Gea, P Pogba, Z Ibrahimovic.

Arsenal- H Bellerín, Özil, A Sánchez.

City- C Bravo, de Bruyne, D Silva, Agüero.

Juventus- Buffon, Bonucci, Chiellini, D Alves, P Dybala, G Higuaín.

Bayern Munich- M Neuer, D Alaba, J Boateng, M Hummels, P Lahm, X Alonso, A Vidal, R Lewandowski, T Müller.

PSG- S Aurier, D Luiz, T Silva, M Verratti.

West Ham- D Payet.

Leicester City- J Vardy.

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