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Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's football round-up where we take a look at all the major football headlines from the day.
Lionel Messi the highest-paid Latin American entertainer, Francesco Totti and Carles Puyol win lifetime achievement awards, Adriano's return to football, Ronaldo Nazário's real reason behind his cult haircut at the World Cup, SpongeBob SquarePants' role in football - we have got it all covered, just for you!
1. A Spanish club has unveiled their new mascot that looks like SpongeBob SquarePants
Spanish third-division side Racing Santander have unveiled their new club mascot Bob Sobao which strikingly resembles SpongeBob SquarePants.
However, Los Racinguistas claim that the mascot is a tribute to the famous sobao treat that has its origination from Valles Pasiegos in Cantabria. The dish comprises of ingredients such as bread dough, sugar and rum.
Hmm... interesting!
2. An interesting fact about Virgil van Dijk's transfer to Liverpool!
Liverpool drew severe criticism on themselves when they signed defender Virgil van Dijk from Southampton for a world-record fee of £75 million. Now, an interesting fact has come to the fore: Bayern Munich's entire defence of Manuel Neuer, Joshua Kimmich, Jérôme Boateng, Mats Hummels and David Alaba cost £70 million, £5 million less than van Djik's record move.
The effect of the Premier League or football's market inflation? You decide.
3. LaLiga named the best league in the world!
LaLiga was named 'Best League of the Year’ at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai yesterday. The league was recognized with the award for being “the most dominant league in Europe since the turn of the millennium, winning 9 Champions League and 8 Europa League titles since the year 2000”. La Liga president Javier Tebas received the award from Fabio Capello.
"We're a global, professional, modern and socially responsible organisation that is a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector, so winning this internationally renowned prize is a source of great pride for everyone connected with LaLiga and particularly the fans who follow our football matchday in, matchday out," Tebas said on receiving the award.
4. Arsène Wenger reveals what Thierry Henry said to him before leaving for Barcelona
Arsène Wenger has lifted the lid on what Thierry Henry said to him when he decided to leave Arsenal for Barcelona. Speaking to Sky Sports, Wenger said, "He told me, 'Look, we have a young team, we cannot win the Premier League. I'm 31, I need to go, I need to win, and I cannot wait for the young players to be good enough.'
5. Keylor Navas' new biopic released
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas was the star attraction as he attended the launch of his biopic "Hombre de fe" (Man of Faith) in Heredia in his native Costa Rica. Directed by Dinga Haines, the movie showcases the story of the goalkeeper's life from his humble beginnings in San Andrés to his move with San Jose outfit Deportivo Saprissa and traces his move to Spain playing with Albacete Balompié, Levante and current side Real Madrid.
"I want to thank God for making a dream come true, God changed my life", the 31-year-old said.
Navas also makes a cameo appearance in the film alongside Zinedine Zidane and club president Florentino Pérez.
The film was released in Costa Rica yesterday and is slated to be released in Europe in 2018.
6. André Villas-Boas set to take part in Dakar Rally
Former Chelsea and Tottenham boss André Villas-Boas is set to try his hands on racing. The 40-year-old will participate in the 2018 Dakar Rally. He will drive a Toyota Hilux in the car category.
"I spoke with my friend Alex Doringer, the manager of the KTM team, who told me that I would still need a full year's preparation to get there and that it was better to consider doing it with a car," the 40-year-old said. "So I got in touch with Team Overdrive and here I am."
The event starts on January 6 in Peru.
7. Manchester City are set to be on top of the table until February even if they loose!
Feeling a bit out-of-sorts? Here's another interesting fact that will surely amaze you: Manchester City's 15-point lead at the top of the Premier League table means they will stay on top even if they lose every single match from now until February.
Certainly delightful news for Manchester City fans!
8. Lionel Messi is the highest-paid Latin American entertainer in 2017!
Lionel Messi is the highest paid Latin American entertainer in the world this year, according to Forbes. With €80 million in income, Messi is ahead of pop-stars Jennifer Lopez and Bruno Mars and former teammate Neymar. He is also 14th in the general list of top-paid entertainers.
9. Francesco Totti and Carles Puyol win lifetime achievement awards
Francesco Totti and Carles Puyol were rewarded for their immense contribution to the game with lifetime achievement awards. Both of them received the 'Best Player Career' title at the Globe Soccer awards.
The other recipients at the award ceremony were -
The Sport Business Award - Ferran Soriano (Manchester City CEO)
Football Executive of the Year - Vadim Vasyliev (AS Monaco Vice-President)
Coach Career Award - Marcelo Lippi (China national team manager)
Best Referee of the Year - Dr. Felix Brych (Bundesliga referee)
Best Arab National Team Coach - Héctor Cúper (Egypt national team manager)
Best Arab National Team - Saudi Arabia
10. Is Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City's very own Lionel Messi?
At least that's what Xavi thinks. Speaking to The Mirror, the Barcelona legend said:
“At Barcelona, we had it with Messi and this team Manchester City have it with De Bruyne.
“Every time he has the ball, you get the feeling that he is going to do something special with it.
“Not every game you can win 3-0 or 4-0, especially in the Champions League and that is when you need one moment of brilliance from a special player."
11. Zico shows he has still got it by nutmegging an opponent 37 years younger than him!
Zico may have long retired from international football but the 67-year-old showed he has still got the skills when he nutmegged 27-year-old Marinho in a charity match at the Maracanã.
12. Atlético Madrid's Stefan Savi? voted Montenegrin Player of the Year
Atlético Madrid centre-back Stefan Savi? was voted as the Montenegrin Player of the Year for the second successive year. He collected a total of 88 points.
"It is an honour to receive a prize in your country," the 26-year-old said on receiving the award.
13. Adriano makes a return to football
Former Inter Milan striker Adriano made a return to football in the same match as Zico's nutmeg. He even scored a goal and provided an assist in the match.
"I am very happy to return to the Maracanã, it reminds me that we won the title in 2009, it's exciting," Adriano said in the post-match interview. "Everything is going in the right direction; both the fans and my family want me to return there."
The 35-year-old has expressed his desire to return to playing football in 2018. "I'm still not in the best shape, let's talk with the club and see what happens from there," he further added.
14. Vincent Kompany gets an MBA degree
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany has earned a degree in Master's in Business Administration from Alliance Manchester Business School.
“I’ve always felt education is very important and this was instilled into me by my late mother from an early age," Kompany said. "It felt like a fitting tribute to my mother to pursue my academic career by studying an MBA. The programme at Alliance Manchester Business School was the ideal option for me."
15. Ronaldo Nazário reveals the inspiration behind his cult 2002 World Cup haircut
Ronaldo has finally revealed the real reason behind his iconic haircut at the 2002 World Cup. Speaking to Deporte Interactivo, he said that a character called Cascão, from a popular Brazilian cartoon series Turma da Mônica (Monica's Gang), was the real inspiration behind his famous haircut.
16. Matthias Ginter gets engaged
And what better way to round-off than an engagement story? German international and Gladbach defender Matthias Ginter got engaged to his girlfriend Christina Dirr. The pair has known each other since their childhood days and got into a relationship in 2015.
The couple is currently on vacation in Dubai and following an air trip, Christina took to Instagram to confirm the engagement.
That's all for today. Have a good day. We will be back soon!
