Sports

Hazard wants to be a ‘Galactico’ at Real

Published

7 years ago

June 15, 2019

Eric

Eden Hazard said on Thursday he wants to become a ‘Galactico’ at Real Madrid and believes he is joining the club at the perfect moment in his career.

Hazard was unveiled in front of around 50,000 fans at the Santiagio Bernabeu after the Belgian’s long-awaited move from Chelsea was confirmed last week.

“I’m not a galactico, not yet, but I hope I will be one day,” Hazard said in a press conference afterwards.

“Despite everything I’ve done in the past, it will be like starting again from zero. I’m not a galactico, I’m Eden Hazard, just a very good player.” Madrid will pay Chelsea an initial 100 million euros for Hazard, with another 45 million due in potential add-ons for the 28-year-old, who has signed a five-year contract with his new club.

Hazard admitted Madrid made a move for him after the World Cup last year but insisted this was the right time to leave Chelsea.

“I don’t think it is too late, I am 28 years old, the best moment for a player,” Hazard said.

“I have had various phases of my career, at Lille and Chelsea, and now I felt the time was right to join the best club in the world.” Madrid struggled without Cristiano Ronaldo last season and Hazard will be tasked with helping to fill the void.

Despite the arrivals of Eder Militao, Luka Jovic and Ferland Mendy this summer, he is the first statement signing since Zinedine Zidane was reappointed in March.

“When you play for a team like Real Madrid there is not one single star, the team is the star,” Hazard said.

“I have been at Chelsea for seven years, but now I am the new guy in the team and I will try to contribute as much as possible.”

Asked if he wanted to become the best player in the world at Real Madrid, Hazard said: “I will try but first I will try to be in the best team in the world.

“It is a different level. I had a lot of success with Chelsea and I want to win a lot with Madrid as well.”

Hazard admitted Zidane was also a key factor in his decision.

“Everyone knows Zidane was my idol growing up,” he said. “That he is the coach has been an important factor but not the only one. I already wanted to play here.

“I was a kid playing football in the garden with my brothers when I began to be a Real Madrid fan.

“Then I went to France, then to England, but being a Real Madrid player, wearing this shirt, it is an honour. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

The shirt Hazard wore in front of the fans came without a number and he admitted he had told Mateo Kovacic at Chelsea to ask his fellow Croatian, Luka Modric, about the number 10.

“I have been able to talk to Modric through Kovacic and I was joking when I asked him to lend me the number 10,” Hazard said.

“He said no, so I’ll have to find another number.”

Sports

Luka Modric’s World Cup Story Ends, Cristiano Ronaldo Gets Lifeline

Published

1 day ago

July 3, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

It was an emotional encounter as two of world’s best footballers; Luca Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo squared against each other in a bid to lay their hands on the coveted World Cup trophy when Portugal met Croatia in the round of 32. But after about 97minutes of play time, the World Cup story of Modric came to am abrupt end while Ronaldo gets a lifeline, proceeding to the Round of 16.

Both Ronaldo and Modric are not likely to feature in another World Cup tournament.

Portugal battled into the last 16 of the World Cup with a drama-filled 2-1 victory over Croatia on Thursday to set up a titanic showdown with European champions Spain.

In another nerve-shredding World Cup classic, Goncalo Ramos headed Portugal into the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time before Croatia saw a last-gasp equaliser agonisingly ruled out for offside in Toronto.

Portugal’s 41-year-old superstar captain Cristiano Ronaldo had helped haul his team back into the contest, burying a 68th-minute penalty to cancel out Croatia’s 53rd-minute opener from Ivan Perisic.

Ronaldo later joined frenzied celebrations after Ramos glanced home a sensational header deep into injury time to give Portugal the lead.

But Ronaldo and his Portugal team-mates were left stunned when Josko Gvardiol prodded home an apparent equaliser in stoppage time.

Yet there was one final twist when the goal was chalked off for offside after a lengthy VAR review to the disbelief of Croatia’s players and their large contingent of fans at Toronto’s BMO Field.

After the final whistle, an emotional Ronaldo held up and pulled on a Portugal shirt bearing the number 21, a tribute to late team-mate Diogo Jota, the Liverpool star who tragically died in a car crash almost a year to the day from Thursday’s win, on July 3 last year.

“We knew it before the game. It was a so special moment. We speak today, our group, about that, the coincidence of life, it’s unbelievable,” Ronaldo said afterwards of the tribute to Jota.

“I was amazed because the situation of today. It means a lot to us, not only because we won the game, but the also the way we won the game. It was a difficult game, we knew it.”

The result ensures that Ronaldo’s incredible World Cup career will be extended for at least one more match when the Portuguese face Iberian rivals Spain in the last 16 in Dallas on Monday.

Ronaldo’s second-half penalty made him the oldest man to score in a World Cup knockout match.

Spain romp past Austria

Spain had advanced to that meeting with a scintillating 3-0 win over Austria in Los Angeles earlier Friday that confirmed their status as one of the favourites for the title.

Two goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and a Pedro Porro header sealed victory for the Spaniards, who produced their most complete performance of the tournament to advance to the next round.

Spain opened their World Cup campaign with a faltering 0-0 draw against Cape Verde, but have subsequently built momentum with each match.

AFP

Sports

Ronaldo Celebrates Saudi Pro League Win with Al-Nassr

Published

1 month ago

May 22, 2026

Eric

Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.

They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.

The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.

Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.

Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

3 months ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP