Cristiano Ronaldo becomes football’s first billionaire, says Bloomberg
RIYADH: Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo has become football’s first billionaire player, according to figures released Wednesday in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Soccer Sport News
Motor racing-FIA list raises prospect of Ben Sulayem being re-elected unopposed
LONDON: FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the head of Formula One’s governing body, could be re-elected unopposed in December after a list published on Wednesday left rivals seemingly unable to secure the necessary support to stand. The International Automobile Federation named 29 people who are eligible for its World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), from which list each presidential candidate must draw a team of seven potential vice presidents for sport in order to progress to a vote. Two must come from Europe and one each from South America, North America, Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East/North Africa. South America has only one person on the list, however: Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone, who is a current vice president for sport representing the continent and one of the most senior women at the FIA as well as being the wife of former F1 supremo Bernie. The FIA said the absence of any other candidate from South America on the list could be due to no other member club putting anybody forward or to someone failing to secure the approval of the FIA nominations committee. The deadline for putting forward candidates for the WMSC list was September 29.
Tension lingers as India and Pakistan skip handshake in women’s World Cup
COLOMBO: India captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Pakistan counterpart Fatima Sana skipped the customary handshake before a women’s cricket World Cup match on Sunday amid ongoing tensions between the rivals that plagued the men’s Asia Cup last month. India-Pakistan relations have significantly deteriorated following military conflicts in May that nearly escalated into a full-fledged war between the nuclear-armed neighbors. India beat Pakistan three times in the men’s Asia Cup, including in the September 28 final in Dubai, but refused to shake hands with their counterparts before or after the matches. They also declined to receive the winners’ trophy from Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president Mohsin Naqvi, who is Pakistan’s interior minister. The frosty relations were evident in Colombo too where Kaur and Sana did not shake hands at the toss, nearly ignoring each other’s presence. Sana won the toss and elected to field against India, who have never lost to Pakistan in a women’s one day international. “We’re going to bowl first, looks like there could be some moisture on the wicket,” Sana said. “On this wicket, anything under 250 would be a good total to defend and hopefully we can restrict them.” India won a tri-series in Sri Lanka, also involving South Africa, in May and captain Kaur said that experience would stand them in good stead. “It was a good series for us,” Kaur said. “We played a lot of cricket here and, yeah, we have experience.
Lionel Messi helps Inter Miami get back in win column vs. Revolution
MIAMI: Jordi Alba and Tadeo Allende each had two goals to lead host Inter Miami to a 4-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida The victory snapped a two-match winless streak for Inter Miami (17-7-8, 59 points), which moved into third place in the Eastern Conference standings. With two matches to play, Miami trails FC Cincinnati by three points for second place.
Vinicius double helps Real Madrid beat Villarreal
MADRID: Vinicius Junior fired Real Madrid to the top of La Liga with a brace in a 3-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday, while Kylian Mbappe was also on target. Los Blancos moved two points clear of champions Barcelona, who visit Sevilla on Sunday, as they bounced back from last week’s derby drubbing. Having returned from their long midweek trip to Kazakhstan, where they beat Kairat in the Champions League, Madrid turned their focus back to domestic matters. Thrashed 5-2 by city rivals Atletico Madrid last weekend, Xabi Alonso’s side had plenty to prove against a strong Villarreal team, who are third. “I played very well and I want to continue like this, keeping this confidence and doing even more,” Vinicius told Real Madrid TV. “We have good feelings...
Liverpool suffer third successive loss as Estevao strikes late for Chelsea
LONDON: Liverpool crashed to a third successive defeat as Estevao Willian’s last-gasp strike condemned the spluttering Premier League champions to a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea on Saturday.
Anisimova thrashes Gauff to reach China Open final
BEIJING: US Open runner-up Amanda Anisimova crushed defending champion Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-2 in 58 minutes on Saturday to reach the China Open final and will face Linda Noskova.
Arsenal go top of Premier League as Man Utd ease pressure on Amorim
LONDON: Declan Rice came back to haunt former club West Ham as Arsenal moved top of the Premier League, while Manchester United handed Ruben Amorim some relief with a 2-0 win over Sunderland on Saturday.