17102019 - FG cuts travels, estacodes for ministers, other officials

Ronaldo better
than Pele – Mendes
Cristiano Ronaldo is the
'greatest player of all
time' and is 'better than
Pele', according to his agent
Jorge Mendes.
Ronaldo scored the 700th
goal of his career in Portugal's
2-1 defeat
against Ukraine
on Monday - to
become the
sixth player in
history to
reach that
landmark.
The 34-
year-old - now playing his club football
in Serie A with Juventus - still
has some way to go to beat the alltime
record of 800 goals set by former
Czech Republic forward Josef Bican,
but Mendes insists Ronaldo is not
done with breaking records just yet.
Speaking to Italian outlet
Tuttosport, Mendes said: 'The numbers
do not lie. The overwhelming
way in which Cristiano Ronaldo
shatters records elevates him to the
category of the best player in the history
of football and with a big difference
compared to the second.
'For all that he has achieved in
the services of the different clubs
which he has represented, either in
England or in Spain or now in Italy,
but also with the Portuguese national
team.
'The fact is that with Cristiano
Ronaldo, Portugal has already
played three finals, winning two,'
Real Madrid preparing
2021 bid for Mbappe
Real Madrid will play the long
game with Kylian Mbappe and
move to sign the Frenchman from
Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
The youngster, who moved to
the Parc des Princes in 2017 for
£167m, has been linked with a
move away from the French capital.
It is claimed that Mbappe will
push for a move to the Bernabeu
next summer should PSG once
again fail to go far in the Champions
League.
According to Marca, Real are
prepared to play the long game
with Mbappe, whose current deal
expires in 2022, and will allow his
contract to run down before making
a bid.
Real president Florentino
Perez, who is 'obsessed' with
Mbappe, hopes that the
same tactic which led to
Thibaut
•Mourinho
•Pele and Ronaldo
Mendes explains in reference to Portugal
winning Euro 2016 and this
year's inaugural UEFA Nations
League, as well as being runnersup
at Euro 2004.
Mendes also described the moment
he first spotted Ronaldo as a
16-year-old, seeing straight away
his scary talent alongside his determination.
Ronaldo's great rival Lionel
Messi currently trails the Portuguese
superstar in the all-time scoring
tally on 672, though the Argentine
is two years Ronaldo's junior.
Internationally, Ronaldo will now
set his sights on the all-time international
goalscoring record, held by
Ali Daei.
The former Iran forward scored
109 times in 149 games for his country,
while 34-year-old Ronaldo is
currently on 95 from 162 caps.
Courtois and Eden Hazard
moving to Spain will
also work when it
comes to the
striker.
Other reports
in Spain state
that PSG, now
resigned to
l o s i n g
Neymar,
w e r e
willing
t o
m a k e
Mbappe
the world's
best-paid
player should
he sign a new
contract with the
club.
Anderlecht fined for hiring
diploma-less Kompany
Belgian giants Anderlecht
were fined the maximum
•5,000 ($5,516.00) on Tuesday
for allowing Vincent
Kompany to coach their team
without the required diploma,
the Belgian football
association said.
"The club violated the regulations
for a long time and despite
that it being against the
rules did not hesitate to publicly
unveil a coach without a diploma," the association's
licensing committee said in a statement.
Belgium requires the head coach at all its topflight
clubs to hold a UEFA Pro licence, which
Kompany does not have.
He was appointed player-coach in May in a bid
to revive the ailing fortunes of the country's most
successful team.
Anderlecht argued that Simon Davies, the
former Manchester City academy chief who followed
Kompany to Brussels, was actually the head
coach but the commission used the club's own media
statements and video clips of the unveiling of
Kompany to refute this.
Anderlecht were also given a strong reprimand
for "insufficient respect for compliance with the
regulations."
Anderlecht have won only two of 10 league
games under Kompany, who has also played but
was then injured. They are in 13th place in the 16-
team league.
La Liga ask Real Madrid,
Barcelona to MOVE October
26 Clasico to Bernabeu
Tottenham step up
Mourinho's pursuit
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly made contact with Jose
Mourinho amid uncertainty surrounding Mauricio Pochettino's
future.
The incumbent Spurs boss finds himself under serious
pressure following a miserable run of results this season,
including a 7-2 defeat to Bayern Munich
and a loss on penalties against Colchester
United in the EFL Cup.
Mourinho, meanwhile, has been out of a
job since being sacked by Manchester United
in December 2018.
According to Soccerlink, Spurs have
reached out to the Mourinho camp as the
North London club plans for life after Pochettino.
It is claimed that Mourinho rejected the offer to become
Lyon manager because he wants to take the Spurs job once it
becomes available.
Pochettino, who became Spurs boss in 2014, has been heavily
linked with taking the Manchester United job even before
Mourinho was sacked by the Old Trafford hierarchy.
Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 — 55
Liverpool's Alexander-Arnold
enters Guinness World Records
LIVERPOOL FULL-BACK Trent
Alexander-Arnold has officially
entered the
Guinness World
Record book for
his haul of 12 assists
in the Premier
League last
season.
The 21-yearold
became an
undisputed
starter at rightback
in the 2018-
19 campaign,
featuring 29
times as the Reds
narrowly missed
out on the Premier
League title
to Manchester
City.
Alexander-
Arnold’s performances
earned him a
place in the Professional
Footballers’
Association
(PFA) Pre-
LaLiga have reportedly asked Real Madrid and Barce
lona to agree a Clasico switch so the October 26 game
takes place at the Santaigo Bernabeu, rather than the Nou
Camp, due to fears over the impact of Catalan protests
Ṡpanish publication AS are reporting that the
turbulent situation in Catalonia has thrust the
league into action with the huge clash arriving
in 10 days. A 'large demonstration' is planned in
Barcelona on the day of the game and the report
details how the league are looking to avoid security
being compromised for one of the
biggest fixtures on the calendar.
A statement from LaLiga on
Wednesday read: 'We have requested
the competitions committee
of the RFEF to meet and
change the location of El
Clasico to Madrid because of
exceptional circumstances
beyond our control.'
They went on to add that
while it is short notice ahead
of the eagerly-anticipated
first Clasico of the league
season, these are 'exceptional,
unforeseeable and unavoidable
circumstances'.
AS went on to add that bosses at
Real Madrid had not held discussions
•Mbappe
•Kompany
with LaLiga about a switch prior to the
league's plea and
feel any switch at
this stage brings
complications.
Bulgaria legend Hristo Stoichkov
broke down in tears while speaking
about the disgusting racial abuse
England players suffered during a
match against his country on Monday
night.
The Euro 2020 qualifier in Sofia
was halted twice as England's black
players were subjected to shocking
racist chants and monkey noises
from the home supporters.
UEFA have since opened disciplinary
proceedings against Bulgaria
for a number of charges and it
remains to be seen how severe their
punishment will be.
Stoichkov, Bulgaria's greatest
ever player, was asked how to tackle
racism during a television appearance
on TUDN, an American Spanish
language sports channel, and got
emotional when he delivered his
response.
'What is the solution?', the presenter
asked before Stoichkov replies:
'That fans are not allowed in
the stadium or even heavier punishments.
'Like in England for years. Five
mier League Team of the Year and
he has also become a regular at international
level for England.
His effectiveness in the final
third has drawn most acclaim and
his remarkable haul of 12 assists
is a new record for a defender in
the Premier League, going one better
than his team-mate Andy
Robertson, who managed 11 in the
same season.
Alexander-Arnold, who also
shone in Europe to help Liverpool
win the Champions League, described
it as “an unbelievably
proud moment” to have surpassed
the record previously held jointly
by Everton duo Andy Hinchcliffe
(1994-95) and Leighton Baines
(2010-11).
“He (Robertson) probably
thought he had the competition
wrapped up! Near the end of the
season we both hit really good
form, we were both getting lots of
assists and it was good to help the
team in those games that we
needed to win,” Alexander-Arnold
said after being presented with his
accolade.
•Alexander-Arnold with his Guniness Book
Zidane's son Luca has no
regrets leaving Real Madrid
Luca Zidane insists he is happy with his decision to
join Racing Santander on loan in the summer despite
seemingly missing out on playing
time at Real Madrid.
Zidane signed for the Spanish
second-tier club in search of firstteam
football but Madrid No 1
Thibaut Courtois missed out last
time out against Granada due to illness.
The son of manager Zinedine
Zidane has made two previous
appearances for Real and at 21
years old could have been in line
to stand in for the former Chelsea
stopper.
Fellow goalkeepers including
Keylor Navas and
Andriy Lunin also left the
club over the summer,
paving the way for
Alphonse Areola to
join from Paris Saint-
•Luca
Germain. He has
since stepped in to
replace Courtois.
Stoichkov breaks down in
TEARS over Bulgaria racism
years without going to stadiums.
People don't deserve to suffer.' The
53-year-old then leaned forward and
appeared to start to cry as the conversation
moved on to the other
guests.
It is believed Stoichkov is talking
about a similar punishment to
that imposed by UEFA in the aftermath
of Heysel.
English club sides were banned
from European club competitions for
five years after 39 people were killed
before the start of the 1985 European
Cup final in Belgium.
•Stoichkov