Carlo Ancelotti was not put out by Manchester City being named the team of the year in Monday's Ballon d'Or ceremony, saying last season's Champions League glory is proof of Real Madrid's standing.
Madrid finished third in the votes for the team award, despite winning LaLiga and the Champions League last season.
Liverpool finished as runners-up behind City, as they did in the Premier League. The Reds also lost to Madrid in the Champions League final, but won the EFL Cup and FA Cup last term. Indeed, Los Blancos also beat Pep Guardiola's side en route to winning their 14th European crown.
Ancelotti, though, insists Madrid – who won the Super Cup in August and are top of LaLiga after defeating Barcelona in Sunday's Clasico – are still the best.
He said in a press conference: "I don't know the criteria well, because they don't talk about the team. Madrid is the best team and that is why they have won the Champions League.
"I have all the respect for that award. We received the most important award in May."
Madrid did enjoy success on Monday, though, with Karim Benzema taking home the main individual prize after his stunning season in 2021-22, becoming the first French player to do so since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
Benzema, 34, led Madrid to their success, which came somewhat against the odds – at least in the Champions League.
However, when asked if had been surprised by his achievements since re-joining Madrid from Everton last year, Ancelotti replied: "No, I don't think so. What we have achieved so far has been very good.
"For me it is not so surprising, here you have everything to be successful: history, tradition, competition, quality of the players, atmosphere... At the beginning of last season I had many more doubts than now."
Benzema scored 44 times last season, a tally bettered only by Robert Lewandowski (50) of players in Europe's top-five leagues.
Next on the list after Benzema was Kylian Mbappe, who scored 39 goals for Paris Saint-Germain and appeared all set to join his France team-mate at Madrid until a late change of heart.
Reports last week claimed Mbappe now wanted to leave PSG, though he denied those rumours on Monday.
Asked if Mbappe would deserve another chance to sign for the club, Ancelotti instead chose to hail the next generation already coming through at the Santiago Bernabeu.
"What is the future? I do not know. On a personal level, I don't know what can happen," he said.
"The future of this club and this team is already written with young players like Vinicius [Junior], Rodrygo, [Aurelien] Tchouameni, [Eduardo] Camavinga, [Federico[ Valverde, [Eder] Militao... who have already written the future of this team.
"The players change, but these players have shown what the future of Real Madrid will be."
Howe does not want 'constant speculation' over Guimaraes' future
Eddie Howe acknowledged he cannot control speculation over Bruno Guimaraes' future, though the Newcastle United boss wants it to end swiftly.
Reports emerged this week that Manchester City, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are all interested in the Brazil international, who has been crucial to Newcastle's rise under Howe, having been signed from Lyon in January 2022.
According to the rumours, Newcastle value their star player at a minimum of £80million.
And ahead of Newcastle's meeting with Premier League strugglers Sheffield United, Howe conceded the club cannot control the speculation.
"Having that was well planned and structured by the club, in a sense that there’s a sort of finish point," he said.
"We don't want constant speculation, it's not healthy for the player or for us.
"It goes without saying we want to keep him, I want to build our team around him. His form has been very good and he seems very happy and settled.
"He'll be thinking about a very busy summer ahead, where hopefully we can take the team, with him a big part of it. But we aren't in control of that so let's see."
Chelsea midfielder Fernandez undergoes groin surgery
Chelsea will be without Enzo Fernandez for their final six games of the season due to a groin issue.
Fernandez was forced off with an injury during Chelsea's 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday.
And it has now been confirmed the 23-year-old World Cup winner has undergone surgery, and will subsequently miss the final month of Chelsea's campaign.
Fernandez has made 28 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three goals. Chelsea did not put a timeframe on his return, though Argentina will be hoping the former Benfica star is fit to feature in the Copa America, which begins in late June.
The Blues sit ninth in the table, though they do have games in hand on all of their rivals for European qualification.
Mauricio Pochettino's team take on Champions League hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday, with fixtures against Tottenham, West Ham Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth to follow.
D.C. United v Seattle Sounders: Jordan Morris reflects on ‘special’ moments with club-doctor father
Seattle Sounders star Jordan Morris reflected on the “special” nature of being able to share some incredible moments with his father Micheal, who is leaving his role as the team’s chief medical officer.
Dr Morris has been with the Sounders for 18 years.
However, Dr Morris is now calling time on his stint at the club.
Dr Morris’ son, Jordan, has established himself as a United States regular and a leading light in MLS, and the winger is delighted to have shared such a path with his father in close proximity.
“It's been special to share moments like after winning MLS Cup at home and after winning the Champions League at home,” said Jordan.
“We took pictures with the trophies together, He was in the locker room while we were celebrating and I think it's a really unique experience to kind of have him on the sidelines for all these games and something that not a lot of people get to experience, so I feel fortunate to have had him around.”
Dr Morris said: “It’s been a blessing. It’s a gift.”
“Being part of the Sounders has been the best thing in my professional career. It’s the most rewarding thing and I'll definitely miss it.”
Seattle have had a poor start to the season and sit 12th in the Eastern Conference. D.C., meanwhile, are 11th in the West.
Morris Jr said: “We know this stretch is huge. And playing two games on the road against really good teams is not going to be easy.”
“We have to find a way to turn that around.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke won 13 of 18 aerial duels for D.C. last time out, his fourth match this season with at least 13 aerial duels won, something no other player has done once this MLS season.
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz is the Sounders’ leading scorer in MLS this term, with four goals. No other player has managed more than one.
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
D.C. ended a six-match losing streak against Seattle with a 2-0 home win the last time the sides met in September 2019. It was only D.C.’s third win in 15 all-time meetings with Seattle in all competitions (D2 L10).
Seattle’s six points through eight matches is the worst start to a season in the club’s MLS history. This is the first time the Sounders have not won at least two of their first eight games of an MLS season.
D.C. have suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since late August last year. United hasn’t lost more than two straight games since a four-match losing streak to end the 2022 season.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
D.C. United – 36.1%
Seattle Sounders – 34.2%
Draw – 29.7%
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