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Nov 18, 2025, 05:32 AM ETWASHINGTON — Soccer superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was at the White House on Tuesday as President Donald Trump hosted a glitzy dinner to honor Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.The soccer star was seated near the front of the East Room, not far from where the president and crown prince gave remarks to officials from both nations, along with major business leaders such as Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla founder Elon Musk.Trump, in his speech, made a point of recognizing Ronaldo, whom he said he introduced to his teenage son.Ronaldo has been the face…

Nov 18, 2025, 05:14 AM ETManchester United turned down Chelsea’s offer of including Romeo Lavia or Christopher Nkunku as part of the deal that saw Alejandro Garnacho head to Stamford Bridge this summer, sources have told ESPN.Garnacho, 21, signed for Chelsea in a £40 million ($52.62m) deal on Aug. 30 after falling out of favour under United head coach Ruben Amorim.United spent £225m on new signings this summer, adding forwards Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko to Amorim’s squad before completing a deadline day move for goalkeeper Senne Lammens.But sources have told ESPN that despite an acknowledgement that they…

Mohamed Salah, Victor Osimhen, Achraf Hakimi and… Tylon Smith?It is certainly possible a 20-year-old defender yet to make a senior league appearance at QPR could join that list of star players in winning an African Youth Player of the Year award. Smith was nominated after helping steer South Africa to victory at the U20 AFCON in May, and is down to the final three shortlisted in the category ahead of the ceremony in Morocco on Wednesday night.”Being nominated is huge,” Smith tells Sky Sports. “For a defender it’s rare, but it was possible for me. I feel I deserve it…

Freya Godfrey has been called up for the England Women’s squad for the first time after Sarina Wiegman named her Lionesses squad for friendlies against China and Ghana. London City Lionesses forward Godfrey netted her first two goals of the season against Tottenham earlier this month and is in the senior squad for the first time after being a regular for the Under-23s national side. There are returns to the England squad for Man City duo Lauren Hemp and Grace Clinton after injury – but Lauren James and Jess Carter have not been selected to monitor their fitness. Please use…

Benjamin Sesko is set to miss Manchester United’s Premier League fixture with Everton on Monday, sources have told ESPN, but the striker is expected to return from injury before the start of the Christmas fixture list.Sesko suffered a knee problem during the 2-2 draw with Tottenham before the international break. He was withdrawn from international duty with Slovenia to have treatment at Carrington with United’s medical team.Initial scans ruled out major injury. And while follow up assessments indicated Sesko will face a spell on the sidelines, there’s hope that it will be limited to a matter of weeks and he…

Ian DarkeNov 18, 2025, 03:41 AM ETCloseDarke, who called games for the network during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is ESPN lead soccer voice in the United States. He has covered the Barclays Premier League and the Champions League since 1982, and has one of the world’s most recognizable soccer voices.Sport defies predictions, and seasons take unexpected twists and turns. It was only a few weeks ago, after a run of dramatic late wins, that everyone was handing the Premier League title to Liverpool; now, Arsenal look to be strong favorites. But things can change again, and…

There was a moment in 2023 when Sudan was all over the news.  Headlines screamed from front pages, stories led TV news bulletins, and prominent journalists posted about the country on their socials. There were even live blogs. It was April, and war had just erupted between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). People were fleeing the capital Khartoum as gun battles erupted and artillery shells flew. There was danger on every corner.  But that wasn’t what caught the western media’s attention. The focus of their rolling coverage was the foreigners – the…

Norwich City are set to appoint former Rangers boss Philippe Clement as their new head coach.Sky Sports News understands the Canaries hope to make an announcement later on Tuesday. Norwich were previously looking at former Sweden boss John Dahl Tomasson as Liam Manning’s replacement, with Gary O’Neil also in the running.But Tomasson removed himself from the process on Monday night after the two parties were unable to come to an agreement following their talks.Sky Sports News reported last week that Norwich also held talks with former Wolves and Bournemouth manager O’Neil. However, those discussions did not progress. It is understood…

Graham HunterNov 18, 2025, 03:30 AM ETCloseGraham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team.Absolutely nobody who knows Álvaro Arbeloa will have been shocked at his angry outburst against one of his own players at the weekend. But just about everybody else in the world would have been, so vituperative and unrestrained was the way he slammed his Real Madrid academy centre half Joan Martínez. But back to that in a moment.First of all, you remember Arbeloa … don’t you? He was that rangy, pipe cleaner-thin defender for Liverpool and…

Nov 18, 2025, 03:28 AM ETA leading official has told a tribunal that a football referee coach “forcefully pushed her” and that his behaviour was influenced by her gender.Lisa Benn, 34, said she was harassed and unfairly lost her position as an international referee after raising a complaint.The Women’s Super League (WSL) official had complained that she was manhandled on a pitch in 2023 by Steve Child, a Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) coach and former Premier League assistant referee.Giving evidence to a south London employment tribunal on Monday, she alleged Mr. Child also told her “your card has…