đ¨ Casemiro on his ideal replacement at Manchester United;
đŁď¸âFor me, all the names being linked are talented in their own way, but if youâre asking who fits Manchester United best and who can properly take my role when the time comes, I would go with a player like Carlos Baleba.â
âBaleba is powerful, aggressive, and still developing that hunger that this club demands. He has the physical presence to dominate the middle of the park, the energy to press high, and the mentality to fight for every ball â exactly the things that define the position.â
âHe understands how to cover space, break up play, and then release the ball quickly. That balance of steel and intelligence is what Manchester United have needed. With someone like Kobbie Mainoo beside him, Baleba would give the team freedom. Mainoo can carry and create, while Baleba does the dirty work, protects the defence, and still contributes going forward.â
âThat partnership would be very strong because it mixes youth, energy, and real quality. Baleba already has Premier League experience, so there is no long adaptation period. If United want a long-term solution who can step in and make the midfield more stable from day one while growing into a leader, a player like Baleba is the one.â
đ¨ Casemiro on Facing Lionel Messi in La Liga ClĂĄsicos ahead of him joining Inter Miami;
đŁď¸âPlaying against Lionel Messi in those La Liga ClĂĄsicos when I was at Real Madrid was incredibly difficult. Every time we faced Barcelona, I tried not to talk too much or push him hard because I didnât want to make him angry. Iâd make a tackle and immediately say âsorry, sorryâ â you simply canât stop him alone. Itâs impossible. You need the whole team to help. Even when Barcelona werenât playing well, Messi would take over, score, and win the three points by himself. He was on another level.
Now Iâm so happy and excited to finally be on the same team with him at Inter Miami. After all those battles, getting to play alongside one of the greatest players ever is a dream come true.â
đ¨ Marc Cucurella was asked who gave him the hardest time between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
đď¸ Reporter: âMarc, as a left-back youâve faced both Messi and Ronaldo in big games. Who was the tougher opponent for you personally?â
đŁď¸ Marc Cucurella: âTheyâre legends in completely different ways, but facing Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup was something else.
âEven at 41, Ronaldo remains a massive threat. You canât switch off for a second because one run or clever movement can create a chance out of nothing. Our team had to stay ultra-focused to handle him.
âIn that match, Portugal didnât create much overall, but Ronaldo still managed a few dangerous moments and got shots away â it shows his incredible mentality and finishing instinct. He forces defenders into tough 1v1 situations with his speed and power.
âWith Messi it was more about collective organisation. We tried to stay compact, limit his space in between the lines, and make it hard for him to link up with teammates.
âPersonally, the intensity and constant danger Ronaldo brings, even when the team isnât dominating, made him the harder one to face in that game. Heâs a legend and it was special to share the pitch with him.â
đ¨đď¸NEW Kun AgĂźero on Rodri winning the Golden Ball ahead of Messi;
đŁď¸ âFirst of all, congratulations to Rodri. Heâs a great player and he had an excellent tournament. But if you ask me whether I believe Messi deserved the award based on what he did throughout this World Cup, then my answer is yes, che.â
âI know Leo has never played football to collect individual trophies, but itâs impossible to ignore when you give everything for your country, lead your team in the biggest moments, and still watch the award go somewhere else. Thatâs football, but it doesnât mean I have to agree with the decision.â
âIn the end, trophies with Argentina will always mean more to him than any individual prize. People watched every match and they can decide for themselves who truly left the biggest mark on this tournament. Thatâs the only opinion that really matters.â
âIâll leave the debates to everyone else. My job has always been to play alongside him, compete, and give everything for this shirt. History will judge every performance far better than any voting panel ever could.â
đ¨ Enzo FernĂĄndez on his red card in the 2026 World Cup Final:
đŁď¸ âThis is football. Not a courtroom, not a lab where every tackle is frozen and measured to the millimetre.
Tonight we gave everything against a very strong Spain side. We were still fighting, still believing deep into extra time. The boys kept pushing, kept throwing their bodies in front of everything. In those final moments we were still in the game â one more chance, one more attack, everything still possible.
Then the whistle goes for a challenge, a physical one in the heat of the moment, and Iâm shown the second yellow. I respect the officials, I really do. But these marginal decisions, these split-second physical battles that happen every single game⌠thatâs football. Thatâs what midfielders and defenders do when the World Cup is on the line.
It feels like the system has been against us from the very first match of this tournament. Little things here and there â the calls that go against you, the yellow cards that seem to pile up quicker on our side, the moments where the flow and the emotion get interrupted in ways that never seem to happen the other way. Weâve felt it all the way through.
If we start sending players off in the biggest games of their lives for the kind of challenges that have always been part of this sport, then what are we left with? The game loses its soul. The passion, the chaos, the raw fight that makes people fall in love with football â they get taken away by rules and interpretations that were only ever meant to protect the obvious dangers.
We accept that sometimes the ball and the decisions donât go your way. Weâve done it our whole careers. But when it feels like the system has been rewriting the story from the beginning, and then one moment in extra time takes you out of the World Cup Final⌠it hurts. Not just me in the dressing room, but every single person who has lived and breathed this journey with us.
Spain played well and they deserved to win the tournament â they showed their quality. But nights like this make you wonder where the game is heading. We play with our hearts, we fight until the final whistle, and then one decision changes everything.
Thatâs not protecting football anymore. Thatâs changing it into something else.â
đď¸đ¨ Roy Keane on Enzo Fernandez foul on Cubarsi resulting in a red card;
âThat red card for Enzo FernĂĄndez is absolutely the right decision. No complaints whatsoever. Second yellow, heâs off, and Argentina are down to ten men in the World Cup final. About time.
These lads have been pushing the limits all tournament. Late tackles, dissent, surrounding the referee, the whole circus. Theyâve been doing it game after game, thinking theyâre untouchable because theyâre Argentina and theyâve got the badge and the history. Well, finally itâs caught up with them. You canât behave like that at this level and expect to get away with it forever.
This is a major shock for them, but they had it coming. Iâve watched this team tonight and for large parts of the tournament. They didnât come here to play football. They came for something else: the dark arts, the gamesmanship, the intimidation. Itâs not about winning the ball, itâs about stopping the other team from playing. And when Spain kept their composure and kept coming at them, Argentina fell apart.
You wear that shirt and youâre expected to show fight, but thereâs a difference between proper fight and this nonsense. Theyâve been asking for a red card, and the referee finally gave them one. No excuses. If youâre not prepared to play the game properly, this is what happens. End of story.â
đ¨đď¸Roy Keane on the 2026 World Cup Final Halftime Show:
đŁď¸âAbsolutely embarrassing. This halftime show with all the pop stars, the dancing, the fireworks, itâs turned the World Cup final into a bloody circus. The Americans are ruining this game of football. They donât understand what it means. Itâs not about entertainment and showbiz. Itâs about two teams going to war for 90 minutes, about passion, about heart, about putting your life on the line for the shirt.
Instead weâve got this nonsense dragging on for 20-odd minutes in the middle, wasting everyoneâs time with all this commercial crap, trying to appeal to people who donât even care about the actual football. Itâs all about money and spectacle. Pathetic. This is supposed to be the pinnacle of the game, not some Hollywood production that eats into the match. Focus on the football. Everything else is just noise.â