Jon Rahm goes into the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship with a one-shot lead, but Tyrrell Hatton, Francesco Laporta and Rory McIlroy are all within two shots of him. The Spaniard shot a bogey-free six-under 66 at Yas Links on Saturday to reach 18 under.

Rahm’s response under pressure

Rahm began the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Hatton and Laporta and pulled clear late. Hatton briefly drew level after his seventh birdie of the round at the 14th. Rahm reclaimed the outright lead at the 15th with a curling 20-foot birdie putt. He nearly stretched his advantage at the last but narrowly missed another birdie chance.

The 31-year-old is chasing his first individual win outside the LIV tour since the 2023 Masters. He has said recently that he does not know what 2027 holds after leaving LIV. Reports this week say the breakaway league has confirmed it will wind down after five years.

Hatton and Laporta both signed for 67s and sit on 17 under. All three will play together again on Sunday, and Hatton has made clear he relishes the pairing. “Naturally we are going to want to beat each other,” he said. “Hopefully I can get off to a good start and put him under some pressure.” Laporta, 36, led after round one with a 10-under score and is bidding for a first DP World Tour title.

McIlroy’s record chase

The biggest name in the chasing pack is McIlroy, who is on 16 under after a 67. He has recovered from a two-shot penalty in round one for improving his lie before a chip. In round two he made 11 birdies in a 63, then added eight more on Saturday. He also ran off seven birdies in a row from the seventh to the 14th.

Two costly holes cost him the outright lead. He made a double-bogey six at the par-four 10th, then dropped another shot at the par-three 17th after sharing the lead earlier in the round. He admitted to being “a little rueful” about the missed chances but still likes his position. “I’m going to have to go out and shoot a low one, something in the mid to low 60s to get it done,” he said.

The stakes go beyond the trophy. A win would reportedly give McIlroy an eighth Race to Dubai title, matching Colin Montgomerie’s record. He is already projected to rise to second in the standings behind Eugenio Chacarra, who is on eight under after a 67.

Who else is in contention

Adam Scott has not dropped a shot all week. His 66 on Saturday moved him to 15 under and fifth place. Matthew Jordan and David Puig are a shot further back on 14 under. Three Masters champions are in the top five: Rahm (2023), McIlroy (2025 and 2026) and Scott (2013).

The event is the first leg of a two-week playoff series. Seventy players entered, and the top 50 advance to a $10 million finals event in Dubai next week. That gives players lower down the board something to play for on Sunday, even if the title looks likely to go to one of the leading names.

Sky Sports Golf has live coverage of the final round of the Abu Dhabi Championship from 6.30am UK time on Sunday.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Jon Rahm Ryder Cup 2025-130 (cropped).jpg by Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Header image: AI-generated illustration by WordUp News.

The headline from the Crown Jewel 2026 results is simple: Roman Reigns walked out of Riyadh with the Crown Jewel Championship, but only after Sami Zayn pushed him to the edge in a match that kept teasing an upset. Reigns, the World Heavyweight Champion, finished Zayn, the WWE Champion, with a Superman punch and two spears at the ANB Arena.

A champion-versus-champion main event three years in the making

The match carried history. Per The Standard’s preview, it was the first one-on-one meeting between the pair since the 2023 Elimination Chamber, when they fought over the undisputed title after Zayn turned on Reigns at the Royal Rumble. Forbes noted that the booking returned to the peak of The Bloodline saga, with Zayn now at the top of SmackDown and Reigns at the top of Raw.

The build also had a twist. Penta, the 2026 Money in the Bank winner, can cash in his contract for a title match at any time, and he teased doing so on the October 26 Raw. That hung over the main event. Forbes’ account suggests Reigns, like LA Knight and Penta before him, ultimately avoided the fate of an upset.

How the match unfolded

According to Forbes’ blow-by-blow, the Riyadh crowd sided with Zayn and chanted “overrated” at Reigns, as it had for Cody Rhodes earlier in the night. Zayn kept the champion off balance with a sunset flip powerbomb off the top rope, a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall and a dive to the outside. Reigns answered with a uranage and a string of Superman punches.

The match turned on its referees. Reigns accidentally took out the first official, and Zayn’s Helluva Kick found its mark with no one there to count. When a second referee arrived, Reigns kicked out because of the delay. Zayn, frustrated, hit that referee with a Helluva Kick too. Reigns then landed a Superman punch and a spear, but the original referee was so slow to count that Zayn kicked out of that as well, which drew one of the loudest reactions of the night.

With the officiating chaos spent, the two traded signature moves in the middle of the ring. Zayn hit a Superman punch of his own and even tried a spear, but Reigns beat him to it with two spears and got the 1-2-3.

The handshake that didn’t quite land

Afterward, Zayn offered his hand and, in Forbes’ telling, demanded that Reigns shake it. Reigns hesitated and slapped it away, then pulled Zayn into a hug. The moment suggested lingering respect between the former allies without erasing the tension, and Zayn’s performance did nothing to hurt him.

What the rest of the card and the road ahead look like

The Standard’s pre-show card listed a Women’s Crown Jewel title match between Liv Morgan and Chelsea Green, a tag title bout with Penta and Je’Von Evans against The Vision (Bron Breakker and Austin Theory), and a last man standing match between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. That match was billed as a rematch from WrestleMania, where Orton punted Rhodes after the finish. The card’s formatting appears to list winners, but the sources I reviewed don’t give full accounts of those bouts, so they’re not detailed here. A related Yahoo headline also refers to Tiffany Stratton cashing in on Chelsea Green.

Forbes points toward Survivor Series: WarGames. Reigns has so far largely avoided the new heel faction 946, even as it targeted his cousins in The Bloodline, and the outlet expects a clash between Raw’s top two factions. With Reigns now expected to head into WrestleMania season as world champion, the Crown Jewel 2026 results give him momentum and leave Zayn, despite the loss, with a boost from the crowd.

WWE’s Crown Jewel 2026 aired from Riyadh on Saturday, November 7, and in the UK it streamed on Netflix.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

Header image: AI-generated illustration by WordUp News.

The Sao Paulo grid penalties handed out on Saturday have scrambled Sunday’s race. Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton will start from the back, Charles Leclerc drops 10 places and George Russell five. The four drivers are separated by only 16 points in the fight for second place behind newly crowned world champion Kimi Antonelli.

Why the Sao Paulo grid penalties hit these four drivers

All four penalties come from power-unit rules, but the reasons differ. Verstappen’s Red Bull team found problems after Friday practice and fitted an all-new engine, which put him at the back. Russell takes a five-place drop for a new internal combustion engine. It is the second time he has gone past that component’s limit, which is why his penalty is smaller.

Ferrari’s situation is more painful. Leclerc’s 10-place penalty is larger than Russell’s because it is the first time Ferrari have exceeded the four-engine allowance on his car. Hamilton began the day with the same 10-place penalty. His replacement engine then failed in final practice, and Ferrari chose to fit a complete new power unit, which sends him to the back too.

That failure was visible on track. Hamilton complained of vibrations, came in, then returned to the pits with smoke pouring from the rear of the car. His mechanics started taking it apart with 23 minutes left. He managed only seven laps and finished 12th.

Ferrari tension and a rare opening for rivals

The timing is awkward for Ferrari. Hamilton and Leclerc held talks with team boss Fred Vasseur on Thursday evening after Hamilton’s anger over Leclerc’s first-lap overtake in Mexico. Hamilton questioned his team-mate’s mentality and said he would not be silenced at the team. Vasseur and Leclerc say the matter is now settled. Having both cars sent backwards by engine trouble will not make the weekend any easier.

Their Mexico clash also helped Verstappen win last weekend. He has now taken three of the last four races and has climbed to second in the standings. Starting from the rear is familiar for him in Brazil. He has done it in each of the last two years and famously won from 17th in the wet in 2024.

Pace is not the problem. Verstappen was fastest in final practice in 1:11.622, only 0.025s ahead of Antonelli, with McLaren’s Lando Norris a further 0.106s back in third. Russell was fourth and Leclerc, after big setup changes, was fifth, 0.274s off the pace.

Wet weather could add to the chaos

With so many front-runners penalised, Antonelli and Norris look the favourites for pole. Rain began about an hour before qualifying and could return at any point on race day. Oscar Piastri, sixth in practice, and the Racing Bulls and Red Bull drivers from seventh to ninth could all benefit from the shuffled order. Home hope Gabriel Bortoleto was 10th for Audi.

Haas have also made a change. Rafael Camara makes his F1 debut after the team said Esteban Ocon will not drive in the remaining races following a dispute in Mexico. Camara was 15th in practice, ahead of team-mate Oliver Bearman.

Away from the track, F1 announced a five-year extension that keeps Interlagos on the calendar until 2035. Series chief executive Stefano Domenicali called Brazil “an important part of F1’s history and our future”.

For the fight over second place, the Sao Paulo grid penalties make Sunday a damage-limitation exercise. Whoever carves through the field best, especially if rain arrives, could gain the most.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

The Gloucestershire rebrand is now official: from 2027 the county’s men’s and women’s T20 sides will compete as Bristol, ending more than 150 years in which the club’s white-ball cricket carried the county name. The change is aimed at a specific financial problem. Income from the Blast fell 21% in 2026 compared with 2025.

What is changing, and what is not

The new identity covers T20 only. In the County Championship and the One Day Cup the club will continue as Gloucestershire. Fixtures for the 2027 Blast are due on 24 November, and the new name, kit and logo are expected to be revealed at the same time.

The club has framed the move as a way to “attract new audiences across the region” and to “drive commercial reinvestment back into the sport”. Chief executive Neil Priscott told members the plan was to keep strengthening the club’s identity as it chases a top-eight ambition while creating “a distinct Bristol-based T20 team to reach a new audience”. The club says it spent several months consulting players, a members’ working group, the England and Wales Cricket Board and other stakeholders.

The numbers behind the decision

The business case rests on one awkward contrast. Overall attendances at the club are rising, but the Blast, which accounts for about 20% of ticketing revenue, is going the other way. A format that should be the commercial engine is weakening.

That is especially striking because Gloucestershire won the competition as recently as 2024. They beat Somerset in the final at Edgbaston for their first major trophy in nine years, and the title is their only Blast win. Even a championship season has not stopped the slide in income, which is presumably why the club has decided a change of brand is needed rather than just better results.

The Warwickshire precedent

The clearest comparison is Warwickshire, who became the Birmingham Bears in 2014 with the stated aim of getting more people through the gates and reaching a new audience. By the club’s own account, the city-based name did help. Attendances grew to record levels, and commercial income rose.

Yet Warwickshire dropped the experiment ahead of the 2026 season. Chief executive Stuart Cain said the city name had worked, but that with the long-term future in mind and after member feedback, “we represent the county, and that’s what returning to Warwickshire Bears is about.” The lesson is not straightforward. The rebrand delivered commercially, but the club still judged that the cost to its county identity outweighed the gains.

Members push back

The reaction from some supporters suggests Gloucestershire could face a similar tension much sooner. Life member Tim Lezard, a supporter for 40 years and author of a book on the club’s 2015 One-Day Cup win, said he was “horrified” when he heard the news at the members’ meeting in Bristol. He called the decision “a massive misstep” and “marketing madness”, and said everyone he had spoken to was appalled. Some, he said, would not bother attending if the name changed.

His sharpest criticism was geographic. Gloucestershire has played matches across the county, and he argued that a Bristol-branded team risks alienating fans in the north of the county, who may feel detached from it. A second members’ meeting was scheduled for Cheltenham, which he expected to be “quite feisty”. He did acknowledge that the club was trying to do something positive and needed new income.

What to watch next

The Gloucestershire rebrand puts the club in a gamble with two sides. The potential gain is a fresh audience in a large city, in a format where income is falling. The risk is that loyal members, who are the base of the club’s support, turn away. The club has promised that Gloucestershire Cricket “will always remain” its overarching identity, but that reassurance will be tested when the Bristol name, kit and logo are unveiled on 24 November. How the Cheltenham meeting goes, and how many members stay engaged through 2027, will show whether Gloucestershire ends up with the Bears’ attendance gains or their reversal.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: The Gloucestershire County Cricket Club ground at Bristol – geograph.org.uk – 7212930.jpg by Ruth Sharville, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Scotland All Blacks fixture has produced 33 Tests and no Scottish wins. On Saturday at Murrayfield (2.10pm kick-off), Gregor Townsend’s side try to change that in a 34th meeting, and they will do it with their two most influential players back in the starting XV.

Fly-half Finn Russell and captain Sione Tuipulotu both start after missing July’s 33-17 win over Fiji. Russell’s selection is also a milestone. The Independent reports he will win his 100th international cap, made up of 96 appearances for Scotland and four Tests for the British and Irish Lions. Huw Jones returns alongside Tuipulotu in midfield, restoring the Lions centre pairing that Scottish Rugby’s own social media has nicknamed “Huwipulotu”.

Scotland All Blacks: how the teams line up

Townsend has made sweeping changes from the Fiji game. Rory Sutherland is the only forward to keep his starting place, and he gets the nod at loosehead ahead of Pierre Schoeman despite making just one appearance for Glasgow this season because of a calf injury. Ewan Ashman, Zander Fagerson, Gregor Brown, Scott Cummings, Matt Fagerson, Rory Darge and Jack Dempsey make up the rest of the pack.

Behind the scrum, Kyle Rowe is preferred to Blair Kinghorn at full-back, and Kinghorn sits on the bench. Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie are on the wings, with Ben White at scrum-half. Record try-scorer Darcy Graham and wing Duhan van der Merwe have been left out.

New Zealand made just two changes to the side that beat Australia 43-21 in Sydney on October 17. Ethan de Groot replaces George Bower at loosehead, and Jordie Barrett returns from injury in place of Timoci Tavatavanawai. Both of those players are on the bench. Codie Taylor captains the side, and he and Beauden Barrett are both centurions.

A familiar face in the opposition camp

The occasion has plenty of Scottish links on the other side. All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie is a former Glasgow Warriors boss, a job Townsend later took over from him. Rennie’s coaching staff also includes former Scotland scrum-half Mike Blair, whom he praised for his decision-making and innovative coaching.

Rennie also said the two sides “play a pretty similar type of game” and noted that the last four meetings have been tight. His team edged last year’s contest 25-17. “We’re well aware of the quality of the side and the performance required to beat them,” he said.

Townsend, though, is wary of a changed opponent. He described a New Zealand side “playing much more ambitious rugby” that is “informed” and “cohesive” after a busy summer of Tests. He also pointed out that this is Scotland’s first match of the season, which makes it a tougher ask. “We’re going to have to find ways to win, find ways to stay in the fight because they’ll have a lot of possession too,” he said.

The match opens a heavy month at Murrayfield. Australia visit on November 15 and Japan on November 21, and BBC Sport says a fourth opponent is still to be confirmed for finals weekend. That makes the Scotland All Blacks game a test of both ambition and depth.

The scale of the task is clear from the long wait. A BBC Scotland podcast framed it as 121 years without a win, and Scotland’s record in the fixture is still no wins from 33. With Russell, Tuipulotu and Jones all back, and New Zealand missing several injured players, Saturday gives Townsend’s side a strong chance to end it.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: 2017.06.17.15.35.32-Finn Russell charge down try (34527432994).jpg by www.davidmolloyphotography.com from Sydney, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson has revealed that unexplained neurological symptoms put him in hospital for several days, ending weeks of vague “illness” listings on the team’s injury report. The 24-year-old said doctors still cannot explain what happened, even though his test results have been encouraging.

Henderson shared the news in a statement on social media on Friday, 6 November. He described “an unexpected and unusual medical emergency” that required hospitalisation and extensive testing. The results, he said, came back “positive and reassuring”, yet the cause “remains unknown and unexplainable”.

What Henderson Says the Symptoms Have Done

The most concrete detail in his statement is how the episode has affected him physically. Henderson said the symptoms have hit his strength, coordination and “some of my physical functions”. He is working with specialists and physical therapists on his recovery. He added that he is “committed to doing everything necessary to return to full health”, and that his long-term wellbeing is his top priority.

He closed by asking for “continued prayers and privacy”. That request suggests he does not plan to say much more in public for now. No timetable has been set for his return, and the sources do not say what diagnosis, if any, doctors are working towards.

A Timeline Pieced Together

Henderson appeared on the Patriots’ injury report on 29 October with an illness, and he has not practised since late October. His last appearance was a 30-24 road loss to the Chicago Bears, in which he carried three times for nine yards. He then missed the 24-19 win at the Miami Dolphins. He is expected to sit out Sunday’s home game against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium.

Until his statement, the team had publicly referred only to illness. That made the full picture, including the hospital stay, a surprise to many followers of the team. The Patriots had not commented publicly on Henderson’s situation beyond those injury listings, according to the reports.

Why the Absence Matters to New England

Henderson was a second-round pick, 38th overall, in the 2025 draft. He played every regular-season game as a rookie, running for 911 yards and nine touchdowns on 180 carries, and he added a receiving score. The Patriots reached the Super Bowl last season but lost 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks.

This season he has made six appearances, rushing for 203 yards on 52 attempts with one touchdown. The Patriots are 5-3 and second in the AFC East, so they will have to manage without one of their main backs while his health remains uncertain.

Before the NFL, Henderson starred at Hopewell High School in Virginia, then at Ohio State, where he was part of a national championship-winning team. That history helps explain the local attention his announcement has drawn in Virginia.

For now, the football questions are secondary to the medical one. Henderson has said that the unexplained neurological symptoms are real and have affected his body, but also that the early testing is reassuring. How long recovery takes, and whether doctors eventually find a cause, are things neither he nor the team has yet been able to say.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: 2025-0118 TreVeyon Henderson.jpg by Bobak Ha’Eri, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A two-shot McIlroy penalty has turned what looked like a strong start to the Abu Dhabi Championship into a mid-pack round. Rory McIlroy believed he had shot a four-under 68 at Yas Links. After the round, officials ruled he had improved his lie on the 12th hole, and he signed for a two-under 70.

The trouble began at the par-four 12th. McIlroy missed the green with his approach, and his first chip from the rough rolled back down to his feet and into a divot. As he set up for the next shot, video showed a tuft of grass behind the ball appear to move when his wedge touched down. The DP World Tour said this breached rule 8.1b(4). That rule allows a player to ground the club lightly behind the ball, meaning the grass supports the club’s weight. It does not allow the club to be pressed into the ground. A light touch carries no penalty even if the lie improves, but pressing does.

How the McIlroy penalty changed the scorecard

The ruling turned a six into an eight, a quadruple bogey on a par four. It was McIlroy’s only dropped shot of the day, and it moved him from four under to two under. That left him eight strokes behind the leader and level with Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra and Tommy Fleetwood.

McIlroy accepted the decision without a fight. He said there was “no intent” and that he was only trying to get a feel for a ball sitting in a sandy divot. “I don’t feel like I pressed down,” he said, but he conceded the footage “doesn’t look very good.” He added that he did not want people thinking he had got away with something, so he was “happy” to take the two shots and move on.

The timing is awkward for the world number two. He is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, which would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie. He started the week one place behind Patrick Reed in the standings. Reed, second behind Chacarra, opened with a 74 and double-bogeyed the last after finding water.

Laporta leads as Rahm returns

While the marquee names stumbled, Italy’s Francesco Laporta shot a bogey-free 62 with eight birdies and an eagle. He missed a chance at a course-record 60 by making only par on the closing hole. The 36-year-old is chasing a first DP World Tour win and needs a strong week to break into the top 50 who reach next week’s season-ending event in Dubai. He compared his round to “a video game.”

Jon Rahm sits three back after a bogey-free 65, alongside Sam Bairstow and Bernd Wiesberger. It was his first competitive round since leaving LIV Golf. He had not played since September because of the birth of his daughter, but he showed little rust. Defending champion Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton are at five under.

For McIlroy, the arithmetic is tough but not impossible over three more rounds. Eight shots is a lot on a course where Laporta found 62. After the McIlroy penalty, the Northern Irishman will need a clean, low weekend to stay in the Race to Dubai conversation.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Rory McIlroy watches drive flight (portrait orientation).jpg by TourProGolfClubs, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Header image: AI-generated illustration by WordUp News.

Gianni Infantino now has a credible rival for the Fifa presidency. Kozo Tashima, honorary president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), announced on Thursday that he will stand in the March election, less than two weeks before nominations close on 18 November.

Who is Kozo Tashima?

Tashima, 68, is a former Japan international and coach who currently sits on the Fifa Council. He led the JFA from 2016 to 2024. He is the second person to declare against Infantino, after the former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega, who announced his intention in October.

Tashima framed his candidacy around values rather than a manifesto. He spoke of the “sincerity, integrity and high ethical standards” that Japanese football has built up. He told the Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon that “it’s not about winning or losing”, a notable admission for someone entering an election. JFA president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said the bid would show the world “the ideals and attitudes that Japanese football has cherished.”

Why the Fifa presidency is suddenly contested

The challenge follows a bruising summer for Infantino. His plan to sell a stake in Fifa’s commercial rights, reported as 20%, to private investors drew heavy criticism across the game. The proposal, known as Fifa Forward Enterprise, was dropped at the end of July. Uefa said it had “lost confidence” in the Swiss and promised to find a credible alternative candidate.

Since then Infantino has recovered much of his footing. At last month’s Asian Football Confederation congress in Tokyo, its president, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa, reversed course and publicly endorsed him. Salman had previously sided with Uefa and Concacaf in trying to push Infantino out. Infantino has told BBC Sport he has the support of the “vast, vast majority” of world football. Reports say he also has Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Africa and South America behind him. He is expected to reach the 106 votes needed for a fourth term.

What Tashima’s candidacy could change

A candidate needs the backing of five of Fifa’s 211 member associations to get on the ballot, and the Guardian reports that Tashima will have no trouble securing them. It describes him as widely respected and says he is understood to have acted with Uefa’s blessing, having held talks with its officials in Tokyo. The Press Association, however, reports that Uefa’s search is continuing and that several candidates are still being sounded out. Uefa had not commented on Tashima’s announcement at the time of reporting.

The choice of a non-European may be deliberate. The Guardian suggests Uefa could have concluded that such a challenger would fare better given resentment over its perceived dominance of the sport. Tashima could also split the Asian vote, which Infantino appeared to have consolidated in Tokyo, and is expected to draw support from Europe and Concacaf. Whether Vega can reach the five-association threshold remains unclear.

Realistically, the arithmetic still favours the incumbent. But a contested ballot in Rabat, with a respected Fifa Council member as the main alternative, makes the race for the Fifa presidency more than a formality. The coming fortnight will show whether other names enter before the deadline and whether Tashima’s bid grows into a broader campaign against Infantino.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s international retirement closes one of the longest and most prolific careers in the history of the men’s game. The 41-year-old announced on Thursday that he is handing back Portugal’s number seven shirt after 23 years. He leaves as the country’s leading scorer, with a men’s world record of 146 international goals and 234 caps.

A farewell shaped by a falling-out

The timing was not what many fans hoped for. Weeks of speculation followed a public dispute with Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus, who also managed Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. Ronaldo spent the whole of a 2-1 Nations League win in Norway on the bench in late September. He later said the manager had agreed he would miss that game and the next one against Denmark to manage his fitness, but then told him he would play 30 minutes. According to Ronaldo, he warmed up from half-time and was never used.

Ahead of the Denmark game, Ronaldo left the squad’s training camp after a news conference in which Jesus confirmed he would again be left out of the starting lineup. He accused the coach of breaking his word twice. Jesus said the door remained open and that Ronaldo should decide how his time with the national team ended. His last appearance was the 1-0 home win over Wales.

In his farewell address, posted across social media, Ronaldo did not give a reason for stepping away and made no mention of the dispute. He said only that it “was not an easy decision” because it was made “with the heart” as well as the head. He spoke of Portuguese people living abroad who “felt a little closer to home” for ninety minutes, and added: “Goals fade, trophies end up in museums, records are eventually broken.”

The numbers behind the legacy

The statistics explain why this international retirement carries so much weight. His 146 goals are 20 more than Lionel Messi, the next man on the list. His 234 caps are 26 more than Messi’s. He scored for Portugal in 23 consecutive calendar years, from his first goal against Greece at Euro 2004 to a penalty against Croatia at this summer’s World Cup. He was also the first man to score 10 international hat-tricks.

He is the only man to score at six World Cups, finishing with 11 in total, including four at the 2018 tournament. This summer’s three goals took him there, but Portugal lost to eventual champions Spain, and he left saying he had given his all. The one prize he never won was the World Cup, which also eluded Messi’s great rival in a different way, given that both played in every tournament from 2006.

Defining moments before the final chapter

His Portugal story began in August 2003, when he came on at half-time against Kazakhstan to replace Luis Figo. The same summer, a pre-season friendly changed his club career. Ronaldo set up two goals for Sporting in a 3-1 win over Manchester United in Lisbon, and Alex Ferguson’s players reportedly urged their manager to sign him on the flight home. He joined for £12m.

The peaks came quickly. He won the Premier League and player of the year awards in 2006-07, then the Champions League in 2008. His 40-yard strike against Porto in 2009 won the first Fifa Puskas award. A move to Real Madrid for £80m followed, and he went on to become the club’s all-time top scorer. He finished with 450 goals in 438 games and became the first player to win five Champions League trophies.

For Portugal, the defining night was 2016. Ronaldo went off in tears injured in the first half of the European Championship final in Paris, then acted as an unofficial coach from the touchline as his team beat France 1-0. He retires as the top scorer in the tournament’s history with 14 goals. Portugal also won the Nations League with him.

What remains: the 1,000-goal chase

Ronaldo’s playing career is not over. He remains at Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, where he has won a league title, and he has said he is driven by the goal of reaching 1,000 career goals. He currently stands on 985 for club and country, so he needs 15 more. The 146 he scored for Portugal count towards that total, but they will no longer grow.

How he is remembered will depend partly on whether people focus on the bitter final weeks or on the longer story. That story runs from a teenager catching Ferguson’s eye in Lisbon to a captain who delivered the nation’s first major tournament win.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Cristiano Ronaldo Croatia v Portugal 2 July 2026-075 (cropped).jpg by Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Alan Jones, the 1980 Formula 1 world champion and the man who made Williams a title-winning team, has died at the age of 80. His death came just three days after his birthday on 2 November. He remains the last Australian to win the drivers’ championship.

His wife, Amanda Butler-Davis, announced the news in a statement released through Motorsport Australia. Jones died on 5 November “following a short illness”. “He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered by those closest to him, as well as the many fans whose support he was always grateful for,” she said. Jones is survived by Butler-Davis and his six children.

How Alan Jones became a Williams legend

Jones was born in Melbourne, the son of a racing driver, and left for Europe in 1970 to chase a career in the sport. He made his F1 debut with Hesketh at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. His first win came in Austria in 1977 with the Shadow team, a victory over Niki Lauda’s Ferrari that hinted at his talent. The Independent notes that his career had been largely undistinguished until he moved to Williams in 1978.

The team was still young and had yet to win a grand prix. Jones, together with co-founders Frank Williams and Patrick Head, helped change that. BBC Sport’s Andrew Benson describes a close, almost brotherly bond between the three men. Williams and Head admired his pugnacious, no-nonsense style, and later Williams drivers were often measured against him, usually unfavourably.

The breakthrough came with the FW07 car in mid-1979. Jones won four of the last six races that season and finished third in the standings. In 1980 he won five races, in Argentina, France, Britain, Canada and the United States. He was on the podium in all but one of the grands prix he finished, and he beat Brabham’s Nelson Piquet to the title with a race to spare. Williams had taken its first drivers’ championship in only its fourth season in F1. As F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali noted, the team also took its first constructors’ title that year.

Retirement, comebacks and a second career

Jones finished third in the standings again in 1981, winning the opening race at Long Beach and the finale in Las Vegas. He retired at 34, and the Independent says homesickness and a dislike of British weather played a part in his return to Australia, where he bought a farm. Cattle breeding did not hold him for long. He made a one-off return with Arrows in 1983 and raced a full season for the new US-based Haas team in 1986, after a late-1985 start. The car was not competitive, and his best finish was fourth.

The sources differ slightly on his race tally: BBC Sport counts 116 starts and Yahoo’s report 117. They agree on 12 wins. Yahoo also credits him with 24 podiums and six pole positions.

Away from the F1 grid, Jones won the 1978 Can-Am title and finished third in his only IndyCar race in 1983. He kept competing in Australian touring car and endurance racing until 2002, when he was 55. He then became a well-known television pundit at home, known for blunt analysis. He was critical of modern drivers, whom he called “prima donnas” and “too corporate”. He was a member of the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and was made an MBE.

Tributes for a “true Australian icon”

Williams called him “a true Australian icon and a Williams legend”. It said he “set the standard for Williams champions: a fast, uncompromising racer with a challenger mentality”. Domenicali called him “a formidable competitor, a natural leader and an icon who inspired generations of fans, particularly in his beloved Australia”.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown offered a personal note. The first race he ever attended was the 1981 Long Beach Grand Prix, which Jones won. He said that day sparked his lifelong love of racing, and that he is proud to own Jones’s championship-winning car.

The Australian Grand Prix said his 1980 title “inspired a generation of Australian motorsport fans”. Jones also remains the last Australian to win the Australian Grand Prix, taking the 1980 race at Calder Park when it was not part of the world championship. He and his father Stan are among only three father-and-son pairs to have won the event.

Alan Jones’s F1 peak lasted barely three seasons. Yet he put Williams on the road to becoming one of the sport’s great teams, and he has had no Australian successor as champion in the four decades since.

Explore more on this topic with Vexel Search.

File photo: Alan Jones 1980 (cropped).jpg by Original: NL-HaNA, ANEFO / neg. stroken, 1945-1989, 2.24.01.05, item number 930, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.