Ronaldo ‘furious' at losing to Modric
monaco: Cristiano Ronaldo was hopping mad at losing out to Croatia star luka Modric for the UEFA Player of the Year, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed on Friday. Real Madrid and Croatia midfield star Modric beat his former teammate Ronaldo and liverpool's Mohamed Salah to the prize which was awarded on Thursday in Monaco. "Thursday he (Ronaldo) was very angry, and it's only normal," said Allegri. "He scored 15 goals in the Champions league and won the trophy with his teammates. "The attitude of Ronaldo shows how much he continues to strive and work to be still the best. This is an advantage for us." Allegri added that the choice of Modric was "a personal choice" of those who voted "and, as such, must be respected." Ronaldo, 33, had the consolation of being awarded the prize for best striker.
Henry promoted to assistant coach
brussels: Belgium on Friday promoted Thierry Henry to the number two job with the national side, just days after the Arsenal and France great turned down the manager's job at Bordeaux. The 41-year-old, who helped manager Roberto Martinez steer the Red Devils to third place at the World Cup in Russia, rebuffed the six-time French champions citing "uncertainty" behind the scenes at the club. Henry, the all-time leading goalscorer for both Arsenal and France, takes over from Graeme Jones who left the Belgian set-up to join the staff at second-tier English side West Bromwich Albion. "We are delighted that he has decided to stay with the Red Devils. We are looking forward to welcome him back, now he is going to have a bigger role in terms of his contribution on a daily basis, because now he is going to full time in the structure of the Belgian federation," Roberto Martinez said.
Trapp rejoins Frankfurt on loan
frankfurt: Germany goalkeeper Kevin Trapp has rejoined Eintracht Frankfurt on a one-year loan deal from French champions Paris Saint-Germain, it was confirmed Friday. "I'm looking forward to another year with Frankfurt," said the 28-year-old who played for Eintracht from 2012 until 2015 before joining PSG for 10 million euros ($11.6m). Frankfurt recruited Trapp hours before the transfer window closed in Germany and France and he could feature in Saturday's home Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen. Trapp, Germany's third-choice goalkeeper behind Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen, also found himself third in the pecking order at PSG behind Gianluigi Buffon and Alphonse Areola this season. He jumped at the chance to rejoin Frankfurt for 2018/19.