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Cristiano Ronaldo lifted another trophy on Sunday when Portugal defeated Spain in the UEFA Nations League final. After receiving a couple of offers to play in the Club World Cup, he refused the invitation as he takes time to rest before the next season.
At 40 years old, Cristiano is not only the biggest goalscorer for the Portugal national team, but it's also the biggest goalscorer ever, with 938 official goals, more than Pelé, Maradona, and Messi. 938 official goals, more than Pelé, Maradona and Messi.
After years of playing for Portugal, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus, Sporting, and Al Nassr, he still has the hunger to win championships, but with his national team, it's different. Ronaldo got emotional after the match, talking about his team, and would gladly trade his personal achievements for Portugal to win more trophies.
With that in mind, Cristiano shuts down any transfer rumor for Al Hilal as he confirmed he'll stay with Al Nassr.
BREAKING: Cristiano Ronaldo confirms plan to stay at Al Nassr by signing new deal.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 9, 2025
“My future? Basically nothing is gonna change. Staying at Al Nassr? Yea”. pic.twitter.com/WQBCXGGTKE
If Cristiano manages to stay healthy, which is what he has done almost his whole career, playing in the World Cup in 2026 is a real possibility. The striker didn't announce that this was his last game for Portugal, and with one of the most talented generations in the national team's history, Ronaldo has a real shot at the World Cup.
Cristiano had never scored for Portugal in final
Until now, the most talented generation in Portugal's history happened in 2016 when Ronaldo led his country to the Euro final in style, scoring almost every match with the help of Bernardo Silva, João Moutinho, Ricardo Quaresma, Raphaël Guerreiro, João Mário, Nani, Pepe, and Rui Patrício.
Unfortunately, he got hurt at the beginning of the match and had to leave the field earlier than expected. Eder stepped in to substitute CR7, and in overtime, he scored the goal that gave Portugal the win over France.
Three years later, Cristiano guided Portugal to the first UEFA Nations League final against the Netherlands. This time, he remained on the field until the final whistle, but still didn't score a single goal for his national team in big finals.
Six years later, Cristiano scored the goal to tie the game 2-2 and gave the lead to Portugal. He couldn't stay until the end of the regular time due to an injury in the posterior ligament, but kept cheering from the bench as Portugal and Spain went for the penalty shootout. Ronaldo didn't want to watch the penalties as he had hidden behind Diogo Dalot, but when Ruben Neves scored the last one, he knew it was another title won with his national team.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to the last penalty.
— TC (@totalcristiano) June 8, 2025
What a video.
pic.twitter.com/wY8ie7JXNq
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Why prolific goalscorer remains ignored by USMNT
With three goals in three games for Norwich City this season, American striker Josh Sargent is playing exceptionally well. It's not surprising. Last season, he earned Player of the Season for Norwich City in a vote by the team's fans. But despite his stellar play, the versatile Sargent is a U.S. Men's National Team reject. He hasn't played for the national team since 2024. "It is a football decision," USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino said calmly when asked in the spring about Sargent's absence from his team (h/t SBI Soccer). A "football decision" means Sargent's absence isn't because of injury, fatigue, logistics or any one of the other myriad reasons a USMNT player might miss out on an international call-up. Pochettino simply isn't interested in what Sargent offers. A quick look at Sargent's USMNT stats makes it easy to see why. He hasn't scored for the USMNT since 2019 despite making 16 appearances for the team during that time period. He has zero assists, too. Sargent has experienced highs with the USMNT — he was a part of head coach Gregg Berhalter's World Cup team that lost in the Round of 16 in 2022 — but his legacy with the team is largely one of wasted promise. Many American strikers have suffered through dry spells, but the curious thing about Sargent is that his dry spell seems limited to his national team performances. He has starred elsewhere, scoring 51 goals in all competitions since he signed with Norwich City in 2021. Sargent tallied either a goal or an assist every 125 minutes for the Canaries in the Championship last season. That's the best — and the most efficient — scoring record of any American striker anywhere in the world during that time period. Top American goalscorers Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Haji Wright (Coventry) and Patrick Agyemang (Derby County) can't compare. Sargent's stats blow theirs out of the water. That's the mystery of Sargent. He has been the most prolific, most consistent and most fit American striker anywhere in the world since 2024. But when it comes to the national team, Sargent remains on the outside looking in, sitting out major tournaments for "football decisions." At a certain point, when a player's club form looks so wildly different from his international form, one must stop asking questions about the athlete and start asking questions about the teams that field him. Norwich has found a system that works for Sargent, so why can't the USMNT? Does it just not want to? Signs point to yes. Norwich and Pochettino's USMNT play a fairly standard 4-2-3-1 formation built on attacking fullbacks, a high press and quick transitional play. But while Norwich builds its goals from all over the field, the USMNT is utterly reliant upon ball delivery from its wide players, but that kind of service is never going to be ideal for a hard-charging center forward like Sargent. Call it "The Christian Pulisic Effect," after the talented but enigmatic USMNT midfielder. When a wide-attacking midfielder is your best player, a team must build its roster to cater to him. That's precisely what the USMNT has done, and for better or worse, it has left Sargent out in the cold. “Sarge role-models everything you want,” said Norwich coach Liam Manning, per The Athletic. “He’s a top person, a top professional. You see his work rate and how he leads by example. He’s top class.” He is. But with the USMNT developing in a different direction, Sargent may never get to show that for the national team — and the USMNT will be far worse for it. Sargent and Norwich will return to Championship action on Saturday against Middlesbrough. The USMNT will returns to action on Sept. 6 against South Korea.
Russell Westbrook already made his biggest free-agency mistake
A first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he decides to hang it up, Russell Westbrook has long been revered as one of the NBA's premier point guards, both with his aggressive play and infectious energy. Despite the former MVP's impressive resume, though, he remains unsigned nearly two months after free agency opened on June 30. It's no secret that Westbrook is no longer an All-Star-caliber player, but it's certainly jarring to see his name alongside the summer's other leftovers. Over the last two seasons, Russ has willingly accepted a bench role and shown his ability to contribute even without being the offense's focal point. He finished top-10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting with both the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24 and the Denver Nuggets in 2024-25. The Nuggets may have been Westbrook's most seamless fit since the 36-year-old left the Oklahoma City Thunder, which brings us to the key mistake he made this offseason: He decided to bet on himself when his career was trending south. It's understandable why Westbrook decided to decline his player option with Denver. $3.5 million is pocket change relative to today's NBA salaries, so it's possible the nine-time All-Star expected to land a bigger payday on name brand alone. But that's no longer the case with Westbrook. The Nuggets, like several teams before them, took a chance on Westbrook, whose play has been nothing short of a wild card in recent years. Alongside Nikola Jokic, though, he found success operating off-ball by utilizing his natural explosiveness, a sensible calling card for one of basketball history's most athletic playmakers. It seemed like the perfect spot for Westbrook to finish out his career. Instead, he has continued to seek out a more lucrative deal with a team that is looking to give him more offensive freedom. While the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks are both reportedly interested in adding his services, neither team can offer both a higher salary and an expanded role. It also seems unlikely that Westbrook will find a more seamless fit for himself than what he had in Denver. Whether it's due to his erratic offensive tendencies or his relentless determination to involve himself in every action, it's easy to see why teams have to talk themselves into Westbrook at this point in his career. It appears that Russ will finally be picked up soon, but the damage has already been done. The two-time scoring champion already gave up his best chance at winning a title once he departed from Denver.
Former Green Bay Packers RB to miss entire 2025 NFL season due to injury
The Green Bay Packers are dealing with some concerning injuries to significant members of their roster. As their fans are well aware, the Packers have seen multiple wide receivers projected to be at the top of the depth cart go down during training camp with various injuries. Christian Watson, of course, has not been practicing all offseason as he is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in Week 18 against the Chicago Bears. In addition to him, the Packers also played their previous preseason game without Romeo Doubs (back), Jayden Reed (foot) and Dontayvion Wicks (calf). And while Doubs returned to practice this week, Reed and Wicks remain out. Elsewhere around the NFL, other teams are dealing with injuries of their own, and some involve players that are former Packers. Former Green Bay Packers running back Patrick Taylor is out for the 2025-26 NFL season One of these players is former Packers running back Patrick Taylor, who played in Green Bay from 2021-2023. An undrafted free agent who often filled in as Green Bay’s third running back, he accumulated 261 rushing yards and a touchdown in his three seasons with the Packers. He found himself out of a job when the Packers revamped their running back room before the 2024 NFL season. Taylor ended up with the San Francisco 49ers last season and had the best year of his career with 183 rushing yards and a touchdown while appearing in 13 games. He will not be playing any games this season as San Francisco just put him on season-ending injured reserve: NFL teams can only have so many players on an injured reserve list. Interestingly, Taylor’s injury led to the 49ers to release another former Packer, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, who was placed on injured reserve last week. In order to release an injured player, teams and that player must come to an injury settlement, which St. Brown received. He is now free to sign with any team in the NFL should he be able to pass a physical.
Adam Schefter's latest Micah Parsons update gives Packers fans even more reason to believe in a blockbuster trade
Days after Ian Rapoport reported that the Green Bay Packers would make total sense as Micah Parsons' landing spot if the Dallas Cowboys decide to trade the All-Pro edge defender, Packers fans have gained another reason to believe that a deal is actually possible. On ESPN Radio, NFL insider Adam Schefter mentioned that the Cowboys parting ways to Parsons truly is a realistic scenario. "It sounds like at some point in time—whether that's now, after the season, after two seasons—it sounds like the two sides are headed to a divorce at some time," Schefter said. On the Pat McAfee Show, Schefter said something similar. "These things always can change, and situations often change at the end of August and September. It changed for CeeDee Lamb last year. It changed for Dak Prescott last year. This one doesn't feel that way. It doesn't feel that way today. That doesn't mean it can't change, but the way that it's tracking, it feels more likely that these sides are headed for a divorce today than they would be for a new deal. Now, I don't know that it'll play out that way, but that is what I see when I look at the market, first of all. Now, I don't know whether that means there will be a trade. I think the most likely scenario would be that he's there this year, his contract expires, they franchise tag him, and then after they franchise tag him, then they have the ability to go and try and trade him." Micah Parsons is playing on the fifth-year option of his rookie deal with the Cowboys, and he will make $24.007 million in 2025. Even though he's slated to hit the free agent market next offseason, Dallas could utilize the franchise tag to keep him around—which would be 120% of his current salary, $28.8 million. Parsons wants a long-term deal with the idea of becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in football, surpassing $40 million in yearly salary. To make that happen, the Packers would have to be willing to spend the combination of high draft picks and the big extension. But at 26 and with his extremely productive profile, Parsons is the type of player worthy of that effort. For now, though, the Cowboys control the cards.
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