Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Lisbon as Real Madrid land in Portugal ahead of Champions League final against rivals Atletico Madrid

Cristiano Ronaldo made an emotional return to Lisbon on Thursday evening as Real Madrid touched down in Portugal ahead of Saturday's all Spanish Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.

The 29-year-old looked relaxed as he chatted with compatriot Pepe after stepping off Real's private plane at Lisbon airport, just 48 hours before Carlo Ancelotti's side take to the pitch at the Estadio da Luz.

Ronaldo arrived back in the capital, where he spent six years playing for Sporting Lisbon before moving to Manchester United in 2003, having been assured of a place in Carlo Ancelotti's starting XI against Atletico.

Home sweet home: Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mates arrive at Lisbon airport

All smiles: Ronaldo shares a joke with Portugal team-mate Pepe as Real's players board a coach

Ready to go: Ronaldo is expected to be fit for Saturday's Champions League final against Atletico Madrid

Big occasion: Gareth Bale is also fit to take on Diego Simeone's side at the Estadio da Luz

Man in charge: Carlo Ancelotti is looking to lead Real to their first Champions League title in 12 years

The Portuguese has not played since Madrid's 1-1 draw with Valladolid on May 7, when he had to be withdrawn after just eight minutes because of injury.

Ronaldo was set to play against Espanyol in Real's final La Liga game of the season last weekend, but felt discomfort during his warm-up and was removed from the squad as a precaution.

Despite worries over his fitness, Ancelotti has confirmed that his star man will be able to face Diego Simeone's title winners.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Italian said: 'Gareth (Bale) and Cristiano will play and that's the most important thing.'

Ronaldo added: 'Nobody wants to miss a final, a final we have been aiming for and it is obviously important.

'If the body can't do it then it is not the end of the world but I will be there, I am confident.'

Defender Sergio Ramos is certain to start Saturday's showpiece as Real aim to win 'La Decima' - the club's 10th European Cup.

The Spanish international has never played in the Champions League final before and describes the chance to win the famous trophy as a 'dream'.

Previewing the clash with Atletico for club sponsors Bwin, Ramos said: 'It's a special moment. It is a dream and a reward for the sacrifices and work of so many years.

Looking good: Madrid stars (from left to right) Marcelo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos step off the plane

Ramos: 1st Champions League final is reward for sacrifices made

   

Even battle: Sergio Ramos believes the Champions League final against Atletico is '50-50'

Young gun: Spanish star Isco (right) looks likely to be left on the bench for Saturday's final

'Although we look at it more as a collective level, it is a reward for the work of the team has carried out all of these years.'

There has been plenty of talk about Real's failure to be crowned kings of Europe since 2002, but Ramos insists that his side will not be overwhelmed by pressure

'We shouldn't talk about pressure or obsession either,' he said. 'I think it is more the hopes we have to be able to win the Champions League and to be able to share it with the fans.'

Ramos had claimed that Real were underdogs to emerge victorious in Lisbon, but he now admits that the clash with city rivals Atleti is too difficult to call, even after his side's defeat in the 2013 Copa del Rey final.

He added: 'They aren't very different (the finals), we are practically the same players, there is a title at stake. It is 50-50. Both of us will use our strengths to try and win the game.'

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Lewis Hamilton and singer girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger attend star-studded gala after pop at Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton turned the World Championship into class warfare, claiming that his humble origins make him 'hungrier' than his privileged Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton, who is the richest sportsman in Britain with an estimated fortune of £68million and joined girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger at a star-studded Cinema Against AIDS event on Thursday, grew up in an end-of-terrace house on a tough council estate in Stevenage. He once talked of watching drug dealers from his window.

Glamour couple: Lewis Hamilton and Nicole Scherzinger attend amfAR's 21st Cinema Against AIDS Gala at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in France

 

 

Happy days: Lewis Hamilton has all the trappings of wealth that come with his celebrity status

Rosberg is the son of 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg and attended elite European schools.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton said: 'I come from a not great place in Stevenage and lived on a couch in my dad's apartment.
'And Nico grew up in Monaco with jets and hotels and boats. So the hunger is different. I've got to be the hungriest guy in the cockpit to win the World Championship.'

Rich pickings: Hamilton is is the richest sportsman in Britain with an estimated fortune of £68m

Taking it easy: Hamilton leaves the paddock by boat as world championship leader prepares for Monaco

The pair have tried to keep their rivalry friendly this season to help them cope with the pressure of being first and second in the standings.

Hamilton now lives in Monaco and previously spoke of how he and Rosberg played table tennis while sharing a Monaco apartment block. Rosberg has since moved out and Hamilton has changed apartments.

Despite living so close to the track, Hamilton 'overslept' on Thursday. He had to be taken by boat to the paddock. He then ran along the harbour front to get into his overal ls for f irst practice, in which he set the fastest time of the day.

Home from home: Nico Rosberg grew up in Monaco and used to walk the roads which form the tracks to get to school

All eyes on me: Hamilton leads the drivers' standings by three points from Rosberg after four straight wins

The second session was a damp squib. It rained beforehand, and with eight minutes remaining only nine cars had set times - why not introduce a regulation demanding cars do a minimum of, say, 30 laps per session unless the rain is so extreme the officials ban running?

Nobody expects anything other than Mercedes coming first and second in qualifying tomorrow and in the race on Sunday.

But Hamilton hopes not. Asked for his ideal result, he said: 'Ha, me finishing first, Fernando Alonso second and Sebastian Vettel third.

'The dream result for the team would be the Mercedes cars finishing one-two and one of those guys in third.

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Gunners go for £18m Griezmann... and Wenger is ready to splash the cash by bringing back fans favourite Fabregas

Arsenal are chasing Real Sociedad's £18million-rated forward Antoine Griezmann - while a return for former skipper Cesc Fabregas is also being considered.
Griezmann, 23, has earned rave reviews among Gunners scouts and the club are seriously considering a move for the Frenchman, who has been named in Didier Deschamps' World Cup squad.
Speaking in March, manager Arsene Wenger said: 'We are following him [Griezmann] in great detail. He attracts other clubs as well but we follow him, he is a known commodity.'

Special talent: Antoine Griezmann is attracting interest across the continent after dazzling for Real Sociedad

A wanted man: Griezmann (left) chases Leverkusen's Liverpool target Emre Can

But it is the possible return of Fabregas that will get Arsenal fans excited this summer.
The midfielder's future at Barcelona is uncertain following the arrival of new manager Luis Enrique, a situation the Gunners have been made aware of.
And the FA Cup winners are refusing to close the door on a return for Fabregas, who still has a close relationship with manager Wenger.
Arsenal secured a buy-back option on Fabregas upon selling him to Barcelona in 2011, a stipulation which leaves them in pole position to sign the midfielder.

Returning hero: Could Cesc Fabregas (left) be heading back to north London?

Sensational return: Will Arsene Wenger be calling upon Fabregas next season?

Sources close to Fabregas maintain his preferred destination should he return to the Premier League is the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester United have been linked with a fresh move for Fabregas following the club's foiled attempt to sign him last summer.
The Spaniard is also likely to attract Manchester City given he meets home-grown quota regulations.

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David! Luiz on brink of record £50m PSG switch as mega-rich French giants close in on Chelsea defender

David Luiz is on the brink of joining Paris St Germain in the next 48 hours in a sensational deal that could cost the French superpower close to £50million.

Exact terms are still to be thrashed out by the clubs, but the transfer of the 27-year-old Chelsea star will be the world's most expensive for a defender, beating the previous two highest fees - both paid by PSG, for Marquinhos and Thiago Silva.

Once a fee is agreed with Stamford Bridge, PSG will seek approval from Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to fly to their World Cup base to carry out a medical.

Farewell: David Luiz waves to the crowd at a World Cup event in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Tuesday

Pointing to the sky: Chelsea star Luiz is on the brink of joining PSG in a deal costing close to £50 million

Tongue out: Luiz celebrates with the Europa League trophy after Chelsea beat Benfica in the 2013 final

WHEN SPORTSMAIL VISITED LUIZ'S STUNNING PENTHOUSE APARTMENT

Sportsmail's Lee Clayton and Alex Kay visited David Luiz's home in February 2013 to interview the Chelsea star and QPR goalkeeper Julio Cesar ahead of the England v Brazil friendly at Wembley.

PSG believe they are capturing one of the most stylish defensive players in the world and last night it looked as though they are ready to pay the figure demanded by Chelsea.

They are flexing their financial muscle again in what will be the first major transfer of a busy World Cup summer.

The previous best deal received by an English club for a defender was when Rio Ferdinand left Leeds for Manchester United for £30million twelve years ago. This deal will dwarf that British record transfer.

Sources in Paris have confirmed PSG had to move quickly to beat Barcelona and Bayern Munich. It may explain the size of the fee they are prepared to pay as they move quickly to clinch the transfer. It is not believed they have any competition at that fee.

Chelsea will use the money to rebuild their squad next season, with Diego Costa top of their wish-list.

Close shave: Luiz shaves his beard next to Brazil team-mate Paulinho during the Gillette event on Tuesday

Euro glory: Luiz holds the Champions League trophy during a victory parade through London in May 2012

Flying the flag: Luiz climbed onto the crossbar in Munich after Chelsea won the 2012 Champions League

Their decision to sell comes quickly after John Terry agreed a new contract. Terry will play alongside Gary Cahill next season.

Luiz will play at centre half for Brazil in the World Cup but he can also play as a holding midfielder.

Head to head: Luiz and Edinson Cavani come together during the Champions League quarter-final between PSG and Chelsea in April - and the two could be team-mates next season

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Watch one of the greatest goals ever scored in beach soccer

Bruno Xavier may not be a household name to most but in the world of Beach Soccer he is a legend and here he proves why. 

The World Cup is just weeks away but Xavier has already started the party with an incredible goal in a recent match against Germany.

After exchanging passes with a team-mate Xavier received the ball in the air and then didn't let it bounce as he proceeded to knock it over two members of the opposition and then the goalkeeper.

VIDEO Scroll down for footage of this amazing goal

Touch: Xavier took the ball from a team-mate and it didn't drop from that point

Grounded: Opposition defenders were left on the floor by Xavier

Xavier, 29, plays for Corinthians in Brazil and is widely considered to be the best Beach Soccer player in the world right now.

At the 2013 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Xavier won the Golden Ball award and finished as the tournament's second highest scorer with 10 goals.

The video has quickly become an internet sensation and there are suggestions from those in Brazil that it should become part of the voting for the Puskas Award - which has never contained a Beach Soccer goal on the shortlist - at the end of the year.

Composure: After his run Xavier was cool enough to lift the ball over the keeper

Quality: Supporters were left mesmerised by what they had just seen

 

Brazilian Bruno Xavier scores an incredible beach soccer goal

 

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Legends gather to celebrate the genius of Coleman

Over a few beers one night Brendan Foster managed to squeeze out of David Coleman a few of his secrets about what makes a great commentary.

‘When it’s a big race,’ he replied, ‘don’t say something that people might just remember, say something that they will never forget.’

Not an easy trick, of course, but through his distinguished career Coleman managed to pull it off ridiculously often, either with vocabulary or purely by intonation.

He was there: David Coleman with West Ham's Bobby Moore after the 1964 FA Cup final win over Preston

Memorable: Coleman's commentary of Gordon Banks' save against Pele at the 1970 World Cup is iconic

It was this ability that helped draw many of the great and the good from his world to the BBC’s Broadcasting House on Wednesday for a celebration of the life and work of a man described several times as ‘the nation’s greatest ever sports broadcaster’.

Sports fans of a certain age will recall that the voice of Coleman, who died at 87 late last year, brought a stamp of authenticity to so many great events. And even if it was not a significant occasion, he could transport you to a world where it was.

As Sue Barker, who also took to the Radio Theatre stage to pay tribute, said: ‘He made sport sound so special, including the mundane.’

Coleman was a colossus behind the microphone in an era when sports coverage was less atomised than it is now, with the relative lack of players in the market making huge stars out of their figurehead broadcasters.

That less can be more was a recurring theme, as one of his articles of faith was never to talk too much. ‘When you see a picture, caption it,’ he told Foster. ‘And don’t forget that silence can be the most powerful thing.’

Wembley moment: Manchester United captain Noel Cantwell hangs onto the FA Cup as he is interviewed by Coleman in the 1963 final win over Leicester City

Ups and downs: Coleman speaks with Wolves' winning captain Bill Slater, as a dejected Blackburn captain Ronnie Clayton listens in after their 3-0 FA Cup final loss in 1960

Bursts of footage reminded us that nobody could impart such meaning to a few simple words of the language, such as ‘One-nil’. His exclamation that accompanied Gordon Banks denying Pele in the 1970 World Cup — ‘What a save!’ — is a moment of spine-tingling drama comparable with Cliff Morgan’s ‘What a score!’ to describe Gareth Edwards’s great Barbarians try three years later.

Coleman’s first television shift in London was the night Roger Bannister broke four minutes for the mile in 1954 and his last major event was his 11th Olympics at Sydney in 2000.

Proud of his local newspaper roots, he brought a hard, journalistic edge to his work. He was unlike many of the pristine, photogenic young sports presenters of today, who you might prefer to marry your daughter than tell you the score.

While Coleman could be almost childishly hostile to some rivals from other organisations, they respected his talent, and he inspired fondness, admiration and loyalty among BBC colleagues such as John Motson.

‘Every time he picked up the microphone he came alive, he elevated his performance,’ said Motson.

‘He encouraged us to aim for the standards he set. There was David and then there was the rest of us.

Instantly recognisable: Coleman covered 11 summer Olympics for the BBC, including the 1980 Moscow Games

The voice of sport: David Coleman was recruited by the BBC in 1955 and presented Grandstand

‘Somebody once told me, ‘‘His bark is worse than his bite’’. Don’t you believe it! The new generation of broadcasters could learn a lot by looking back at Coleman gems.’

Athletics was particularly well represented on Wednesday, with Daley Thompson, Linford Christie, David Hemery and Roger Black among those in attendance.

Steve Cram said that words of praise from Coleman could mean more than those from a coach, and Foster recalled the inspiration of his commentary from the Rome Olympics of 1960: ‘I wanted to do something that David Coleman would speak about.’

The man who brilliantly anchored coverage of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre was versatile too. He could ‘do light’, repeatedly illustrated in a long and successful run as presenter of A Question of Sport for nearly 20 years.

The edition in 1987 that featured Princess Anne, seen as a massive coup, drew a gargantuan 18 million viewers.

Coleman also pulled off another trick that cannot have been easy — enjoying an extremely happy family life with his wife Barbara, despite the pressures of a hugely demanding career and considerable fame.

The touching tributes from two of his six children, all of whom were present along with grandchildren, bore testament to that.

Quite remarkable: Coleman presented A Question of Sport for 18 years. Here he is pictured with John Rutherford, Emlyn Hughes, Nigel Mansell, Bill Beaumont, Princess Anne and Linford Christie

First with the story: Coleman stands alongside victorious Nottingham Forest captain Jack Burkitt after the 1959 FA Cup final

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Lewis Hamilton arrives late in Monaco but still goes quickest ahead of team-mate Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton was fashionably late for the the opening practice session for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, but that didn't prevent him from posting the fastest time.

The Mercedes man, who leads the drivers' standings after four consecutive wins, was forced to dash from his boat to the Mercedes motorhome after arriving at the Monte Carlo circuit just minutes before the start of Friday's first practice session.

But Hamilton was soon in his Mercedes overalls, ending the session marginally faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg, with Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo third quickest.

On track: Lewis Hamilton ended the first practice session on top of the timesheets ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg

In form: Mercedes man Hamilton has won the last four races, and leads Rosberg by three points

The top two may have been the same, but at least there was a whiff of a suggestion Hamilton and Rosberg may not have it all their own way.

For once, though, the Mercedes duo did not blow away their rivals as they have achieved in most other practice outings in what has so far been a dominant campaign.

Five successive poles between the pair, five straight wins and four consecutive one-twos have been the story of one of the most crushing starts to this or any other season.

After Rosberg produced a clean sweep last year in topping the times at the end of all three practice sessions, qualifying and then taking the chequered flag, Hamilton managed to get his nose in front on this occasion by just 0.032secs.

Making a dash for it: Hamilton arrives on boat just moments before the start of Friday's opening session

On the run: Hamilton sprints to the paddock after arriving on boat for the opening practice session in Monaco

Picture that: Kimi Raikkonen was sixth fastest in Friday's opening practice session

Champion: Fernando Alonso was five tenths quicker than Raikkonen

In posting a time of one minute 18.271secs, Hamilton finished just over two seconds off Rosberg's best in FP1 a year ago to underline the gap between last year's V8 power and this season's 1.6-litre V6 turbo-chargers is slowly being reduced.

Behind them was Ricciardo, with the Australian just 0.235secs adrift, offering a glimmer of hope of ending Mercedes' run of results.

With the tight, twisty nature of the track more appropriate for high downforce than outright power, with Mercedes having a stranglehold on the latter, the former may yet come to Red Bull's aid.

There was a gap then, however, with Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari 0.659secs off the pace, followed by the second Red Bull of reigning four-times champion Sebastian Vettel, with the German 0.772secs down.

No other driver came within a second of Hamilton, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen the best of the rest in sixth and 1.196secs behind.

McLaren's Jenson Button was down in 11th position, 1.762secs adrift, finishing two places and a quarter of a second behind team-mate Kevin Magnussen.

 

Ride on board with Lewis Hamilton for a lap of the Monaco GP

For his first outing around Monaco, Toro Rosso's Russian rookie Daniil Kvyat was 18th and 2.643secs down.

Marussia's Max Chilton, currently on a record run of 24 consecutive finishes since his F1 debut, managed just seven laps due to an early technical failure, leaving him at the bottom of the standings, 7.5secs back.

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