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Soccer

Real Madrid unimpressed by Ronaldo remarks after Champions League triumph

Madrid – Cristiano Ronaldo won the Champions League for a fifth time on Saturday but the striker’s petulant posturing over his future has left a sour taste at Real Madrid.

While his team-mates were celebrating a record-stretching 13th European crown, earned after a gutsy 3-1 victory over Liverpool, Ronaldo was casting doubt over his commitment to the club.

“It was very nice to be in Madrid,” said Ronaldo, who was told it sounded like he was saying goodbye.

“In the next few days I will give an answer to the fans,” he replied. “Because they have always been by my side.”

For months, Ronaldo and his representatives have been wrangling with Real over a new deal, as the Portugese reportedly seeks to surpass Lionel Messi at Barcelona and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain as the highest paid player in the world.

Florentino Perez’s resistance has offended Ronaldo, who has implied several times all is not well in their relationship. His latest referencing of the support of the club’s fans, as opposed to the hierarchy, has been interpreted as another dart aimed at Real’s president.

When Ronaldo’s comments were put to Perez on Saturday night, he expressed annoyance at their timing and appeared to brush off the possibility of a departure.

“Do not ask me these things the day we are celebrating a Champions League title like today,” Perez said.

“Everyone has the right to speak but here the important thing is the club, that we are all celebrating this title. Cristiano was happy, is happy and remains happy. He is under contract.”

Zidane was not in the mood to indulge.

“I’m not thinking about that,” Zidane said. “I am thinking about what we are doing now, the game, what we have achieved. On Cristiano, we will see later. He has to stay, yes or yes.”

Reports in the Spanish press on Sunday say Real’s players were also vexed by Ronaldo diverting attention from the team’s third consecutive Champions League success. Sergio Ramos was among those to make his feeling known to the 33-year-old in the changing room.

“Cristiano will not find a better place,” Ramos said.

Even Real’s fans appear to be unimpressed, with a poll on the website of Madrid daily, Marca, asking if the club should make a special effort to keep Ronaldo. After more than 25,000 votes, 65 per cent said no.

‘CR7 Champions League’

There would certainly seem to have been an element of sulkiness in Ronaldo’s assessment, coming so soon after the final whistle. He had not scored and the final had been decided by the brilliance of Gareth Bale, who scored twice, the first with a stunning bicycle kick.

When this was put to him, Ronaldo replied: “Maybe the Champions League should change its name to the CR7 Champìons League.”

“Who has more Champìons League titles and more goals?” he asked.

Ronaldo finished five clear at the top of the tournament’s scoring list with 15 goals and in April broke a Champions League record by scoring in his 10th successive match.

Even though Ronaldo is 33, it is hard to imagine the likes of PSG and Manchester United not jumping at the chance to poach such a powerful asset, on and off the pitch.

But, separation remains the less likely scenario and in the meantime, Ronaldo has served only to irritate those around him.

“If Ronaldo has learned anything in his years in Madrid, it is that sadness, like euphoria, lasts a week in this club,” wrote Marca on Sunday.

“The week after, the club comes back to compete and fight again to win, to win Champions League titles. Let’s see where Cristiano goes to win as many Champions League trophies as he has at Real Madrid.”

NFL

Chancellor says he'll let body decide on future
10:15 PM ET

  • Brady HendersonESPN

Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor, speaking publicly for the first time since he suffered a career-threatening neck injury last season, said he wants to continue playing if his health permits.

“If my body says I can play, I’m playing,” he told 13News Now in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, before repeating that line. “If my body says don’t play, I’m not playing. I’ll listen. I’m a very good listener.”

The 30-year-old Chancellor added: “I don’t see myself as old. I feel like I’m still in my prime, so it’s not an age thing at all. It’s just a matter of structural issues in the neck and if they change or not.”

Kam Chancellor’s future is still up in the air following a neck injury he suffered last season. Matt Kartozian/USA TODAY Sports

Chancellor, a four-time Pro Bowler, missed the final seven games of last season after he was injured while making a tackle late in a November win over the Arizona Cardinals. He has yet to be cleared to resume playing football, and coach Pete Carroll had an ominous comment about Chancellor’s football future when he said at season’s end that Chancellor as well as defensive end Cliff Avril would “have a hard time playing football again.”

Avril, who also suffered a serious neck injury last season, was released by the Seahawks earlier this month with a failed-physical designation.

While updates from the team on Chancellor’s status have been infrequent, general manager John Schneider said before the draft that he was scheduled to have a scan in late June or early July that would provide some clarity to his future. In an apparent reference to that scheduled scan, Chancellor later wrote on Instagram, “After this exam, God will direct me on which way to go. He always has, always will. I listen, and I follow.”

With Chancellor’s future up in the air, Bradley McDougald is projected to start at safety for Seattle alongside Earl Thomas. Seattle signed McDougald to a three-year deal in March after he made seven starts for the team in 2017, including the final seven for Chancellor at strong safety.

Chancellor signed a three-year, $36 million extension last summer. His $6.8 million base salary for 2018 became fully guaranteed in February.

Chancellor’s comments came during his annual event in Norfolk, Bam Bam’s Spring Jam. According to the station, this year’s event raised $10,000 in scholarship money for his alma mater, Maury High School.

Soccer

Liverpool's Karius: 'I'm infinitely sorry'

Liverpool shot-stopper Loris Karius apologised Sunday via Instagram for his pair of shocking errors in Saturday’s 3-1 Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid.

“Haven’t really slept until now … the scenes are still running through my head again and again … I’m infinitely sorry to my teammates, for you fans, and for all the staff,” Karius’ statement reads. “I know that I messed it up with the two mistakes and let you all down. As I said I’d just like to turn back the time but that’s not possible.”

Karim Benzema was gifted the opener in the 51st minute when Karius’ thrown clearance struck the Frenchman’s boot and ricocheted into the net.

Karius added insult to injury in the 83rd minute as Liverpool sought an equaliser when Gareth Bale’s speculative effort from the car park struck the ‘keeper’s mitts before trickling in.

“It’s even worse as we all felt that we could have beaten Real Madrid and we were in the game for a long time,” Karius continued.

“Thank you to our unbelievable fans who came to Kiev and held my back, even after the game. I don’t take that for granted and once again it showed me what a big family we are. Thank you and we will come back stronger.”

NFL

Meet the new Blake Bortles, a confident QB with peace of mind

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Blake Bortles has plenty of things he wants to improve on over the next several months before the Jacksonville Jaguars begin the 2018 regular season, but he hit the practice field for the team’s first organized team activity with nothing to prove.

That isn’t a position he has been in much in his previous four seasons with the team.

Bortles has a new contract, some new players and playmakers on offense, and a new confidence that comes from playing in an offensive system he likes — a system that helped produce the best season of his career in 2017. That can only be a good thing for the team that came within 10 minutes of making the first Super Bowl in franchise history.

“It’s a little bit unfair because I was just getting to know him last year, but I really did notice a certain level of comfort [on Tuesday] as opposed to a year ago,” quarterback coach Scott Milanovich said. “Now a year ago, I was still learning this offense, too. We kind of leaned on each other a little bit, but his confidence has clearly grown.”

Bortles heads into the 2018 season not worrying about his mechanics and holding onto his job, not answering questions about the team’s decision to pick up his fifth-year option, not trying to prove to his teammates that he can be their leader, not learning a new offense and not adjusting to a new coordinator.

Putting those concerns behind him has been important. Playing quarterback in the NFL isn’t easy, but it is made much simpler when a player can concentrate on deepening his understanding of the offense so adjustments, audibles and tweaks become almost second nature.

Blake Bortles played turnover-free football in three playoff games last season. AP Photo/Steven Senne

“I think any time you feel you get the support of the locker room, that definitely helps just playing quarterback, and I felt that I had that all last year,” Bortles said. “The contract stuff doesn’t really change anything about how I think or how I approach every day. I think the biggest difference going into this year is just the fact that we’re going into Year 2 with [coordinator] Nathaniel [Hackett] and having him calling plays for the second year in a row.

“Having that continuity and being out there, trying to coach the guys and being able to be there and help those guys out rather than this time last year, I’m trying to learn it right there with him.”

Bortles said Hackett tells him regularly that he should know the offense better than anyone else in the building — including Hackett. That might be a bit of a stretch, but Marrone said one of the biggest differences he sees in Bortles from the end of the 2017 season is an increased knowledge and understanding of the “why” part of the offense. As in, why Hackett is calling that particular play at that particular time against that particular defense or front with that personnel group at that particular point on the field.

“I think that if I have seen anything that would be the difference, it’s that he has a better understanding of what we were doing on offense because last year was the first year,” coach Doug Marrone said. “I have always believed that when your quarterback is ahead of everyone and the rest of the offense has to catch up, that is a pretty good thing. You don’t want the quarterback trying to catch up to the rest of the offensive players. I think that Blake is in a good spot from there, as far as what he knows of the offense, what we want to do.”

Bortles wasn’t there at this point last year. He was in prove-it mode. Even though the team had picked up his fifth-year option — a move that was widely panned by football analysts — and hadn’t drafted or signed a quarterback, Bortles didn’t exactly have a strong hold on his future with the franchise.

Having the worst season of an otherwise average to below-average career will do that to you.

Bortles was a mess in 2016. His mechanics deteriorated to the point that his college offensive coordinator didn’t recognize him, he threw 16 interceptions (including three pick-sixes), and the Jaguars won just three games. By the end of it, Bortles was admittedly somewhat of a mental mess.

He spent much of the early part of the offseason in California working on his mechanics at 3DQB, then had to learn a new offense — his third since he was drafted third overall in 2014. He was learning from Hackett, who was his position coach in 2016 until taking over as the coordinator when then-coach Gus Bradley fired Greg Olson during the season.

Things didn’t go well at first. Bortles had a five-interception practice early in training camp last August and got pulled from a practice days later. Then Marrone opened up the quarterback job after Bortles’ dismal performance in the second preseason game.

But Bortles won the job back, played solidly but not spectacularly for much of the season, was the league’s top-rated quarterback for three weeks in December and played turnover-free football in three playoff games. He completed 60 percent of his passes for the first time and cut down significantly on his turnovers (16, five fewer than his average in his first three seasons).

That landed him a contract extension (three years, $54 million, $26.5 million guaranteed) and something even more valuable: renewed confidence and some peace of mind.

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