Ronaldo and Messi ambition to succeed still amazes Luis Enrique

  


Spain head coach Luis Enrique continues to be amazed by the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as he prepares his side to face the Portugal star.

La Roja travel to Lisbon this week to face Portugal on Wednesday in the first meeting between the sides since the 2018 World Cup group stages.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, which included a stunning late free-kick, on that occasion to earn a 3-3 draw with Spain in Sochi.

Former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique has previously sided with Messi in the debate over who is the greatest modern player, describing the Blaugrana number 10 as the best in the world "in every position" and "the best in the history of football".

However, he has huge admiration for the way Juventus forward Ronaldo continues to strive for success at the age of 35 and after spending 18 years in senior football.

"Our goal doesn't change aside from the fact confronting a player of his profile can be motivational," he told reporters on Tuesday as he looked ahead to the friendly at Estadio Jose Alvalade.

"As a team, we will try to do things better than Portugal and try to cause them problems – that's the goal. Whether Ronaldo plays or not, the situation, the general approach to the game doesn't change.

"With regards to your other question, if you check through your newspaper archives, you already knew what my opinion is and I don't think it will be ideal for me again to comment on who is the best player in the world for me.

"What is worthy of praise is the fact that players like Cristiano and Leo Messi keep getting older but maintaining such a high level thanks to their professionalism, their ambition and their capacity to be motivated and keep achieving goals. Both Cristiano and Messi are examples of that."

Ronaldo has scored three goals and set up another in his first two Serie A appearances of 2020-21, with Juve beating Sampdoria 3-0 and then drawing 2-2 with Roma.

Messi has one goal in three LaLiga matches, with Barca beating Villarreal 4-0, Celta Vigo 3-0 and drawing 1-1 with Sevilla in Ronald Koeman's first three league games in charge.

Gotze joins PSV in coup for Dutch giants

Mario Gotze has joined Dutch giants PSV following his release by Borussia Dortmund.

The former Bayern Munich player, capped 63 times by Germany, has signed a two-year contract with the Eindhoven club.

Gotze, who was Germany's 2014 World Cup final match-winner, is now 28 and has struggled for consistent form and fitness in recent years.

That has been partly due to a debilitating metabolic condition; however, Gotze made 21 appearances for Dortmund in the 2019-20 season and said he had "a lot of offers" before agreeing to move to the Netherlands.

Attacking midfielder Gotze said of his switch: "I kept on training and got myself fit for the new adventure. I am looking forward to joining my new team-mates for full training and preparing myself for the upcoming fixtures."

PSV are confident they have signed a player capable of making a big contribution.

PSV director of football John de Jong described his arrival as a "godsend", adding on the club's official website: "We are delighted he has signed a contract with PSV. We are very proud."

 Porto sign Felipe Anderson and Grujic on loan deals

Porto have signed Felipe Anderson from West Ham on loan for the rest of the season.

The Brazil international became the Hammers' record signing in 2018 when he joined from Lazio for a reported £36million fee.

However, the 27-year-old has played only one minute of their Premier League campaign in 2020-21.

Porto, who earlier signed Chelsea's Malang Sarr for the rest of the season, have also secured a loan deal for Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic.

The 24-year-old midfielder has spent the past two years on loan at Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin.

Hughton replaces Lamouchi after Nottingham Forest endure 11-game winless run
Nottingham Forest have named Chris Hughton as their new manager after sacking Sabri Lamouchi.

Forest have lost all five of their competitive matches across all competitions in the 2020-21 season as part of an 11-game winless run stretching back to July.

The two-time European Cup winners had looked set to achieve a place in the Championship play-offs last term until a shock 4-1 home defeat to Stoke City on the final day of the regular season saw them miss out on goal difference.

Lamouchi's exit was announced on Tuesday via an 18-word website statement from the club, who then confirmed the appointment of former Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion boss Hughton.

The 61-year-old took each of those clubs to promotion to the Premier League and previously led Norwich City to an 11th-place finish in England's top flight.