Sports
Perez ruffles feathers with explosive Madrid rant, omits liability
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez delivered a fiery and deeply divisive defense of his leadership on Tuesday, refusing to resign after one of the club’s most turbulent seasons in recent memory while lashing out at critics, journalists, referees and rivals during an extraordinary press conference that lasted more than an hour.
The 79-year-old president, who has overseen one of the most successful eras in the history of Real Madrid, called an emergency media appearance at the club’s Valdebebas training complex amid growing unrest following a trophyless campaign that exposed fractures across the squad, coaching staff and boardroom.
Instead of offering a detailed roadmap for rebuilding the side after a disastrous 2025-26 season, Perez used much of the session to defend his legacy, attack the media and reject mounting speculation that his time at the helm could be nearing an end.
“I am not going to resign,” Perez declared at the outset, dismissing rumors of his departure before announcing snap presidential elections years ahead of schedule.
The move came just days after arch-rivals Barcelona sealed the La Liga title with a 2-0 Clasico victory over Madrid, a result that symbolized a painful campaign in which the Spanish giants fell far below expectations domestically and in Europe.
Madrid finished second in La Liga and exited the Champions League after a quarterfinal defeat to FC Bayern Munich.
Their struggles were compounded by dressing-room tensions, managerial upheaval and public frustration from supporters who watched a star-studded squad unravel.
Perez, however, showed little appetite for discussing footballing failures in depth.
“I’m not here to talk about sporting matters,” he repeatedly told reporters when questioned about coaches, transfers or internal conflicts.
The president instead launched into lengthy attacks on journalists and media outlets he accused of orchestrating campaigns against him and the club.
He singled out several reporters by name, accused sections of the press of spreading “fake news,” and portrayed himself as the target of coordinated hostility from figures linked to rival clubs and institutions.
He also revived longstanding grievances against referees, La Liga and the ongoing Negreira scandal involving alleged payments made by Barcelona to a former refereeing official.
Perez described the case as “the biggest corruption scandal in football history” and claimed Madrid had been denied titles and points over the years.
At one point, Perez insisted his administration should have won “14 league titles” rather than seven since his return to power in 2009, suggesting refereeing decisions had repeatedly cost Madrid success.
The combative tone of the appearance stunned many observers, particularly as the president largely sidestepped criticism of decisions made under his own leadership.
Much of Madrid’s instability this season stemmed from issues tied directly to Perez’s sporting project.
The club’s heavy reliance on superstar recruitment, highlighted by the arrival of Kylian Mbappe, reportedly increased player influence inside the dressing room and contributed to tensions with coaching staff.
Former coach Xabi Alonso lasted only months before leaving amid reports of disagreements with senior players and the board, while interim boss Álvaro Arbeloa struggled to steady the team.
Rumors linking Jose Mourinho with a dramatic return intensified before the press conference, although Perez refused to engage with speculation.
“We are not at that stage,” he said when asked about Mourinho.
Off the field, Madrid’s season spiraled further with reports of dressing-room altercations and player unrest.
Midfielder Federico Valverde was reportedly hospitalized following an altercation involving teammate Aurelien Tchouameni, while other incidents involving senior players fueled concerns over discipline and squad harmony.
Supporters also turned on several stars during the campaign. Both Vinicius Junior and Mbappe were booed at the Santiago Bernabeu as frustration mounted over poor performances and a perceived lack of cohesion.
Yet Perez framed the criticism directed at him as unfair given his record at the club.
Under his leadership, Madrid have won 37 football titles and seven Champions League crowns across two presidential spells, transforming the club into a commercial powerhouse while modernizing the Bernabeu and expanding global revenues.
“Why do they want to get rid of me?” Perez asked during the press conference. “Let them stand for election.”
Backlash
The defiant appearance triggered immediate backlash across Spain.
Former Madrid president Ramon Calderon reportedly described Perez’s behavior as “grotesque” and “dictatorial,” while critics accused the veteran president of refusing to accept responsibility for the club’s decline this season.
Analysts and supporters were equally baffled by the lack of concrete solutions regarding the team’s future, especially with Madrid facing a crucial summer that could define the next phase of the club’s modern era.
Questions remain over the managerial position, squad balance and whether Perez’s model of assembling superstar talent can still guarantee stability and sustained success in an increasingly demanding football landscape.
Portuguese football icon Cristiano Ronaldo and his longtime partner Georgina Rodriguez tied the knot Tuesday, marking a new chapter in their relationship, his representatives confirmed.
Ronaldo, 41, shared a photo of the couple’s hands with their wedding bands and the caption: “C (heart) G” on his Instagram account.
The ceremony took place in the Portuguese coastal resort of Cascais, near Lisbon, the Brunswick Group managing the player’s public relations told AFP.
Their five children attended the “private and intimate” ceremony, the agency added.
The couple tied the knot exactly one year after Rodriguez, a 32-year-old influencer, announced their engagement on Instagram.
Ronaldo, who played for Portugal at the World Cup this summer, currently plays for Saudi club Al-Nassr.
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward won the Ballon d’Or for the world’s best player five times.
Panathinaikos Basketball Club owner Dimitrios Giannakopoulos wants to bring three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic to Athens, with the Denver Nuggets superstar potentially joining the Greek club for the 2027-28 season.
Giannakopoulos, whose net worth has been estimated at between $500 million and $1.9 billion, said on the “Euro Insiders” podcast, published Tuesday, that he approached the Nuggets about buying out Jokic’s contract and bringing the Serbian star to Greece.
“People are going to say, ‘OK, now he’s joking,’” Giannakopoulos said. “I did make a very serious proposal this year, both to his team and to him. I got a rejection. I know that he has one more year (on his) contract.”
Technically, Jokic has two years remaining on his contract. According to Spotrac, he is due to be paid $59,033,114 this season and $62,841,702 next season, while the 2027-28 season is a player option.
“When I asked, he had a certain contract running,” Giannakopoulos said. “This was his last year. I tried to buy out his last year. They didn’t even, I mean, it took a few seconds to say, ‘Who? Greece? Where? What? Bye,’ from his team. But … let’s wait until next year.”
Jokic, 31, has spent all 11 of his NBA seasons with the Nuggets and has averaged 22.2 points, 11.1 rebounds and 7.5 assists while leading the franchise to its only NBA championship in 2022-23.
Jokic has averaged a triple-double in each of the past two seasons. Oscar Robertson, who did so in 1961-62, and Russell Westbrook, who accomplished the feat four times, are the only other players to average a triple-double for a full season.
Last season in the EuroLeague, Panathinaikos went 22-16 to finish seventh among 20 teams before losing to Valencia Basket in the first round of the playoffs.
Former NBA players including Jerian Grant, Juancho Hernangomez, Kendrick Nunn and Guerschon Yabusele are listed on Panathinaikos’ preseason roster.
South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL has postponed two continental club matches in Colombia following a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed at least 164 people and caused widespread destruction across the country.
Deportes Tolima’s Copa Libertadores round of 16 first-leg match against Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle, scheduled for Tuesday in Ibague, and Wednesday’s Copa Sudamericana clash between Independiente Santa Fe and Argentina’s River Plate in Bogota have both been suspended.
CONMEBOL said new dates and venues for the matches would be announced later.
The decision came as Colombia continued to deal with the aftermath of Monday’s earthquake, which struck western Colombia and caused severe damage in several parts of the country.
The disaster prompted a major rescue and relief operation as authorities assessed collapsed buildings and other damaged infrastructure.
“In these difficult times, CONMEBOL extends its affection and support to all of Colombia and, especially, to the great Colombian football family,” the governing body said in a statement.
“In light of this exceptional situation, and to ensure everyone’s safety and respect for the victims, the matches are temporarily suspended.”
The postponements affect two of Colombia’s biggest clubs on the South American stage.
Tolima were due to host Independiente del Valle at the Estadio Manuel Murillo Toro in Ibague in the first leg of their Libertadores knockout tie. Santa Fe were scheduled to welcome River Plate to Bogotá’s Estadio Nemesio Camacho, commonly known as El Campin, for the opening leg of their Sudamericana round of 16 series.
With the earthquake disrupting normal activity across western and central Colombia, CONMEBOL opted against proceeding with the fixtures while rescue and recovery efforts remained underway.
The Colombian Football Major Division, known as DIMAYOR, also suspended all domestic matches scheduled for the week.
The move brought Colombia’s professional football calendar to a standstill as authorities and communities focused on the emergency. DIMAYOR expressed its solidarity with those affected and said the decision was taken in response to the exceptional circumstances facing the country.
The earthquake struck Monday morning in the Choco region of western Colombia. Its effects were felt across a wide area, including major cities such as Cali, Pereira and Bogotá.
The quake caused extensive structural damage, with buildings collapsing in some areas and emergency services working to reach people trapped under rubble. Airports and other infrastructure were also affected, complicating efforts to assess the full scale of the disaster.
The death toll rose throughout the day as rescuers reached areas that had initially been difficult to access.
The earthquake was among the strongest to strike Colombia in recent history and triggered a national emergency response. Authorities warned of further seismic activity as rescue crews continued searching damaged areas.
For Colombian football, the immediate priority shifted away from competition and toward safety and solidarity.
The postponements mean Tolima, Santa Fe and their opponents will have to wait for confirmation of when and where their continental fixtures will be played. CONMEBOL said those details would be announced in due course.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that replacing embattled FIFA President Gianni Infantino would be “a terrible mistake,” throwing his support behind the football chief as he faces mounting criticism from several of the sport’s leading confederations.
Infantino came under renewed pressure after UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC signed an open letter accusing the FIFA president of breaking trust “through deception.” The three confederations represent football in Europe, North and Central America, and Asia, respectively.
Despite the backlash, Trump defended Infantino, who presented the U.S. president with a “FIFA Peace Prize” during last year’s World Cup draw ceremony.
Infantino has also faced scrutiny over his unsuccessful efforts to sell a stake in the World Cup to private investors, adding to the growing controversy surrounding his leadership of world football.
“FIFA would be making a terrible mistake if, for any reason, they even considered replacing President Gianni Infantino,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Trump called Infantino “fantastic” and said he “presided over the most successful World Cup, by four times, ever presented.”
“If he is gone, it will never be as successful or profitable again!” added Trump, who attended the World Cup final with Infantino last month.
Trump’s backing of Infantino is at odds with U.S. football, which joined the voices lining up against the FIFA president.
Infantino launched, then withdrew in the face of scathing criticism, a plan to bring private investment into FIFA competitions, including the World Cup.
FIFA hit back Saturday at efforts “to undermine” football’s governing body and Infantino.
However, Monday’s joint letter from UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC retorted: “Leadership in football is not a possession. It is not about holding — or demanding — power to be held.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned.”
UEFA boycott threat
CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani is viewed as a potential challenger to Infantino, who will be up for reelection to a fourth and final term at the FIFA Congress in March 2027. Candidates have to be declared by Nov. 18.
Infantino had looked certain to be unopposed for a fourth term after overseeing a successful World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada until his plans were revealed.
The 56-year-old Swiss, who has been in office for 10 years, has received the backing of the Confederation of African Football, or CAF, while South American governing body CONMEBOL is largely supportive.
Individual member associations, not confederations, vote in the FIFA election.
Infantino has received support from CONCACAF’s Mexico and two AFC members, Kuwait and 2022 World Cup host Qatar, where he has a house.
‘Shabby, backroom deal’
UEFA’s threat to boycott World Cups if the private investment plan went ahead proved pivotal in Infantino withdrawing his sell-off plan.
UEFA had called it “a shabby, opaque, backroom deal” and lashed out at Infantino again Monday over a “failure of judgment.”
After the furor, Infantino received the “full support” of senior FIFA directors at an emergency meeting in Morocco last week, but the three confederations said that was meaningless.
The recent meeting, at which “a select number of members of the FIFA Management Committee” were present, they said, “represents a continuation of the very pattern of conduct that brought us to this moment.”
“It is not the conduct of a custodian of the game, but of one who believes the game is answerable to him.”
Infantino had been basking in the afterglow of the largest-ever World Cup involving 48 teams until his plans divided the sport.
“The growth over the past decade has been real. But that progress was never the work of one individual,” the letter declared.
“It was the product of FIFA, the Confederations, the Member Associations, and the thousands of people who dedicate their lives to the game.
“The expanded tournaments … were shared achievements, agreed together, delivered together.”
Under Infantino’s leadership, “there is silence where there should be accountability, distance where there should be openness,” they said.
“That is why we have taken this stance: not lightly and not alone, but together, and out of duty to the game we serve.
“Football’s strength has always been its unity.”
Palestinian football is set to resume in September after nearly three years of suspended activity amid Israel’s war on Gaza, the Palestinian Football Association announced Monday.
“We announce the resumption of sports activities and the football association’s league beginning September 4,” association president Jibril Rajoub said at a Ramallah press conference on Monday.
Palestinian sports leagues, including professional football, came to a halt with Israel’s genocidal war.
The association has named the first tournament back the “Thousand Martyrs’ Cup”, to honour the 1,014 Palestinian athletes killed by Israel during the war, according to the association’s data.
More than 200 clubs will compete in the tournament, including 146 from the Israeli-occupied West Bank, 44 from Gaza, and 36 from Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.
The tournament will kick off simultaneously in the three locations.
Rajoub said the war “created difficult conditions for all Palestinians that led to the suspension of our competitions and activities.”
“But we have not lost our Palestinian national will, nor have we lost our belief that sport will remain a symbol of hope and life.”
Rajoub said the association and Palestinian clubs faced tough financial circumstances.
During the press conference, he called on FIFA and other federations to stand by Palestinian sports and to protect the rights of players, clubs and children to enjoy sports in “freedom and dignity.”
The association previously issued a statement regarding FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s now-withdrawn plan to open tournaments to private investors, saying “many today are questioning FIFA’s commercial direction”.
“But for Palestine, the issue is more fundamental… Our question is whether FIFA still has the courage to apply its regulations to everyone equally… without succumbing to political pressures.”
The association has called on FIFA to impose sanctions on Israeli clubs that operate in West Bank settlements and to suspend Israel’s FIFA membership over the country’s conduct in Gaza.
Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal under international law.
“We are not asking for privileges; we are demanding legitimate rights guaranteed by international sporting laws and charters,” Rajoub said.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Jessica Pegula suffered surprise fourth-round defeats Saturday at the Toronto Masters, sending two of the tournament’s top seeds out in the same round.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka suffered a blow to her preparations for a tilt at a third consecutive US Open title, beaten 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 6-4 by Russian 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“I wasn’t trying to think about the score or anything like beating number one,” said Alexandrova after ousting the Belarusian in 2 hours 29 minutes.
“I was just trying to do my best. I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one because with her, you don’t get a lot of chances during the match,” Alexandrova said.
“I had a lot today, but I couldn’t realize some of them. I’m super happy that I could win because after the second set, I thought (winning) was already past me,” she added.
Alexandrova moves on to a quarterfinal against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, who dispatched American Amanda Anisimova 6-2, 6-4 in 78 minutes.
Russian 15th seed Shnaider upset another top seed, Pegula, 6-3, 6-3 to book a last-eight date with Poland’s Iga Swiatek.
The 22-year-old left-hander took only 73 minutes to defeat Pegula.
“This week I’ve been very comfortable on both defending and just firing some winners,” Shnaider said.
“It was working well. I was choosing a bigger target today but sometimes ripping the ball,” she added.
Sabalenka dropped the first set on a tiebreak as her Russian opponent won five of the last six points.
“I was trying to play super aggressive, the way I didn’t play for a long time. It worked,” said Alexandrova.
“I had the feeling I have some kind of power and I can create something and it helped me mentally.”
Sabalenka leveled the match but in the decider faced match points on her serve in the 10th game.
She saved the first on a service winner and the second with an ace.
But, after sending a backhand beyond the baseline, the Belarusian made her sixth and final double fault to lose the match.
“I didn’t have any expectations before the match,” Alexandrova said. “I knew it was going to be super difficult when I walked on the court.”
“I was trying to risk as much as possible because it felt like it was the only way to create some chances. It caused many more mistakes, but at the same time I created many more opportunities,” she said.
Former world No. 1 Swiatek, the seventh seed, rallied to defeat Ukraine’s 10th-seeded Marta Kostyuk 3-6, 6-1, 6-2.
Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion, saved nine break points in the last two sets without dropping serve.
“In the second I came out… playing a bit faster and more heavy and pushing Marta a little bit more,” Swiatek said.
“Game by game I felt like it was a good plan and a good choice and I went for it.”
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