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Ronaldo to run for Brazil federation presidency

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Brazil legend Ronaldo has announced he will run for the presidency of the country’s football association and wants to “recover the prestige” of the national team.

The 48-year-old, who was capped 98 times, will run as a candidate to replace current Confederation of Brazilian Football (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues.

Brazil, record five-time winners of the World Cup, last won the competition in 2002 and have not progressed further than the quarter-final stage since.

“For many decades, Brazilian football has always been the escape route for the Brazilian people when they faced daily problems,” Ronaldo told Globo Esporte., external

“This was the fuel of the Brazilian people and today we see a total lack of interest from the population in the national team.

“Among hundreds of things that motivate me to become a candidate for president of the CBF is to recover this prestige and respect that the national team has always had and that no-one else has today.”

Rodrigues’ term runs until March 2026 and the presidential elections must take place in the 12 months before then.

Ronaldo, a World Cup winner in 1994 and 2002, is second on the competition’s all-time top scorer list behind Germany’s Miroslav Klose with 15 goals in 19 appearances.

The former Real Madrid striker’s international career spanned 17 years and included two Copa America titles and an Olympic bronze medal.

Brazil have won the Copa America once since Ronaldo’s international retirement in 2011 and were knocked out of the 2022 World Cup by Croatia in the quarter-finals.

“We have the best players, we have [Vinicius Jr], Neymar, Rodrygo, Estevao, Endrick… we have a lot of talent, how can we not play well?” said Ronaldo.

“We have to change this dynamic. Brazil has to be a protagonist in the World Cup, in the Copa America, it can’t miss out on the Olympics. It’s unacceptable for the talent we have.”

As part of his bid for presidency, Ronaldo says he will sell his stake in La Liga side Real Valladolid.

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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