Submit your Article

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo set aside one of soccer's great rivalries on Wednesday to pay tribute to Lionel Messi after the Argentine said he already missed representing ​his country following his emotional international retirement, Reuters reported. 

Messi, 39, delivered one final masterclass in ‌Argentina's blue and white on Tuesday, scoring once and setting up two goals in a 3-0 friendly win over Benin before more than 85,000 fans at Buenos Aires' Monumental Stadium, where his farewell ​became a celebration of an extraordinary 21-year international career.

Carlos Alcaraz made another slow start before cruising past unseeded Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-6(4) 6-4 in the Japan Open final on Oct 6 to retain his title and continue his resurgence after a lengthy wrist injury layoff, Reuters reported. 

The ATP 500 tournament victory is Alcaraz’s third of 2026 after the Australian Open and Qatar Open, before the 23-year-old was sidelined for nearly five months and returned at the US Open in late August.

“I’m really happy to be able to lift a trophy again,” Alcaraz said, according to Reuters. 

Novak Djokovic capped a remarkable week with his first title for nearly a year at the China Open in Beijing, The Independent reported. 

The 39-year-old profited from the retirement of final opponent Alex De Minaur after only one game of the second set to win a seventh title in the Chinese capital and maintain his record of never having lost at the tournament.

The 7-6 (3) 0-1 victory means Djokovic has won at least one title in each of the last 21 years, while he now has 102 tour level trophies overall.

Both men reached the final without having to complete their matches on Monday – Djokovic thanks to the much-publicised disqualification of Daniil Medvedev, while De Minaur’s opponent Hubert Hurkaczpulled the plug because of injury, according to The Independent. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has accused the Portugal head coach, Jorge Jesus, of twice breaking his word, saying a failed agreement to publicly explain ⁠his omission against Norway drove him out of the camp but insisting he remained available after any punishment, The Guardian reported. 

In a lengthy statement, the 41-year-old gave his ⁠account of the dispute ⁠that prompted his ​departure from Copenhagen before Portugal’s Nations League match against Denmark last week.