Cristiano Ronaldo has criticised France Football after their editor-in-chief stated the Manchester United forward's priority is to retire with more Ballon d'Or awards than Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo and Messi are both on the shortlist for the prestigious award, which is returning after it was scrapped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both players have made the top 10, with the players ranked from 30th to 11th having already been confirmed. Messi is expected to vie with Robert Lewandowski for the accolade.

While Messi is bidding to win a seventh Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo has five to his name. However, earlier this week, Pascal Ferre, the editor-in-chief of France Football, the organisation that runs the award, claimed the Portugal star had told him that his ambition was to retire having won the prize on more occasions than his Argentine counterpart.

Ronaldo was not in attendance at Monday's awards ceremony and, just before the celebrations started, the 36-year-old insisted Ferre's claims were false, while also claiming the journalist had fabricated a story of Ronaldo having to isolate as to the reason why he had not made the trip to Paris.

"Today's outcome explains Pascal Ferre's statements last week, when he said that I confided in him that my only ambition was to finish my career with more Ballon d'Or than Lionel Messi," Ronaldo posted to his official Instagram account, possibly suggesting he already knew who the winner would be.

"Pascal Ferre lied, he used my name to promote himself and to promote the publication he works for. And he lied again today by justifying my absence from the Gala with an alleged quarantine that has no reason to exist.

"It is unacceptable that the person responsible for awarding such a prestigious prize could lie in this way, in absolute disrespect for someone who has always respected France Football and the Ballon d'Or.

"The biggest ambition of my career is to win national and international titles for the clubs I represent and for the national team in my country.

"The biggest ambition of my career is to be a good example for all those who are or want to be professional footballers.

"The biggest ambition of my career is to leave my name written in golden letters in the history of world football."

Ronaldo concluded his post by saying: "I will end by saying that my focus is already on Manchester United's next game and on everything that, together with my team-mates and our fans, we can still achieve this season. The rest? The rest is just the rest…"

Ferre and France Football have yet to respond to Ronaldo's comments.

Neymar, Harry Kane and Erling Haaland are among the most notable players to have missed out on the top 10 of the Ballon d'Or.

The first 20 names from the 30-man shortlist have been announced, with Haaland just failing to break in at 11th, while Neymar is 16th and Harry Kane is down in 23rd.

Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who led Inter to their first Serie A title in 10 years last season, is just behind Haaland in 12th, while Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes did not make the top 20, finishing joint-21st in the voting.

Of players from Europe's top five leagues, only Bayern Munich centre-forward and Ballon d'Or favourite Robert Lewandowski scored more goals in all competitions than Haaland's 38, which the Norway forward netted at a rapid rate of one every 87.66 minutes.

While the Borussia Dortmund sensation, who scored his 50th Bundesliga goal in as many games on Saturday, can count himself unlucky not to feature higher up on the list, the same cannot be said for Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar.

The Brazil forward, who finished third in 2015 and 2017, had an underwhelming, injury hit year in which he scored just 11 goals and recorded eight assists for PSG across all competitions, although he did reach the Copa America final with Brazil, losing out to club team-mate Lionel Messi.

Kane won the Premier League golden boot award in 2020-21, and topped the assist charts before helping England to a Euro 2020 final.

However, Tottenham finished seventh in the Premier League and the England captain - who had a prospective move to Manchester City break down - has only a solitary top-flight strike to his name this term.

Lukaku recorded the same tally as Kane, but did help Inter to a first Serie A title in 10 years, while Fernandes, who split 21st place with Inter's Lautaro Martinez, hit one less, but did also record 17 assists for United.

Manchester City's Ruben Dias, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling were placed joint-26th, 25th, 20th and 15th respectively, while 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric was 29th alongside Cesar Azpilicueta.

The Chelsea captain's team-mate Mason Mount was 19th, with Luis Suarez 17th, the Uruguay forward having played a pivotal role in Atletico Madrid's LaLiga success last term.

Italy defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini came 14th and 13th, with compatriot Nicolo Barella sharing 26th place with Dias and Villarreal's Gerard Moreno.

Barcelona youngster Pedri enjoyed a wonderful year, and was ranked at 24th.

The top 10 players remaining are: Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema, Kevin De Bruyne, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Kylian Mbappe.

Joe Root believes that England's four-day warm-up game against England Lions in Brisbane provides his side with an opportunity to get ahead of Australia in their Ashes preparations.

Jos Buttler, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Chris Woakes are finally available to participate again after 14 days in quarantine following their involvement in the T20 World Cup.

Australia's preparations have hardly been smooth. Six players in their squad were involved in the T20 World Cup success in the United Arab Emirates, while Tim Paine resigned as captain due to a sexting scandal before subsequently taking an indefinite break from cricket, meaning he is out of the series.

Pat Cummins, one of the players to lead Australia to glory in the shortest format earlier this month, has taken over as captain.

While poor weather conditions cut England's initial three-day practice match short, Root is hoping a high-intensity meeting with the Lions will set the tone for the Test series, which begins in Brisbane on December 8.

"There's a lot of people that will want to prove things, and will want to show that they deserve an opportunity for that first Test match," Root told reporters.

"This is a really good chance for us to get ahead of things, maybe get ahead of Australia in terms of preparation and game-time ahead of the series, and it would be silly for us to just cosy our way through the four days.

"It's been unusual. Having spent a period of time in quarantine and training within that quarantine phase, and then coming to Brisbane.

"We haven't had that three-day game, as we would have liked, but it was always going to be the case that tomorrow was really the first day as a squad that we would get together, with those World Cup guys joining us.

"So we always knew that this next phase was going to be the most crucial part, in terms of getting tight, getting clear and readying ourselves, and that's going to be the real test for us.

"We want that intensity to be as high as we can, as close to the Test matches as we can, and I expect it to be very competitive," Root added.

"The quality of the players will be there from both teams and, because of the lack of preparation that we've had in that previous three-day game, having that extra bit of flexibility to make sure we can get as many guys what they need throughout these four days is going to be crucial.

"But whether you play those games in your mind a little bit more, visualise a little bit more, it's really important you find different ways of making sure that, when that first ball comes down at the Gabba, we're in the best place possible."

England are looking to regain the urn after a drawn series in 2019 saw Australia retain the Ashes for the first time since 2002-03.

Paris Saint-Germain have confirmed Neymar will be out for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury.

The Brazil star was taken off on a stretcher during the closing stages of the 3-1 win over Saint-Etienne and was seen leaving the stadium on crutches.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he did not expect the injury to be serious, but tests have shown Neymar has sprained the ligaments in his left ankle.

PSG said on Monday that a further update on his recovery time would follow this week.

Should Neymar be sidelined for two months, he would miss eight games in all competitions, including PSG's final Champions League group game against Club Brugge and the league trip to Lyon on January 8.

The 29-year-old has struggled for top form in 2021-22, managing three goals and three assists in 14 appearances in all competitions.

A nail-biting first Test between India and New Zealand ended in a draw, despite the hosts coming within one wicket of victory in Kanpur on day five.

Some expert spin bowling from Ravindra Jadeja (4-40) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3-35) helped India reduce their opponents to 165-9, but they were denied the win by some determined batting and poor light.

A slow-moving pitch that showed little sign of day five deterioration made it difficult for either team to aggressively seek victory, and despite a brief flurry from Tom Latham and Kane Williamson, the Black Caps rarely looked like playing for anything other than a draw.

Resuming on 4-1 and chasing a target of 284, New Zealand set about frustrating the hosts, not losing any wickets before lunch despite the presence of nightwatchman Will Somerville, who lasted 110 balls and managed 36 runs before succumbing to a brilliant catch from Shubman Gill off the bowling of Umesh Yadav.

Latham (52) and Williamson (24) then occupied the crease for another 19 overs, though Latham was eventually back in the pavilion after being bowled by Ashwin.

Ross Taylor (2), Henry Nicholls (1) and then Williamson all fell to lbw decisions to give India hope, but Tom Blundell (2) and Rachin Ravindra (18) took another nine overs out of the game before the former unluckily clipped the ball onto his stumps.

Jadeja thought he had Ravindra lbw but the initial out decision was reversed on review with the impact outside off stump, but after taking the second new ball just a few overs later, the same bowler trapped Kyle Jameison (5) instead, this time successfully, and Tim Southee (4) soon followed to leave New Zealand 155-9.

Urgency gripped India with the light fading over the Green Park Stadium, but they were unable to dislodge either Ravindra or Ajaz Patel, who defended the final nine overs before bad light stopped play.

The second Test begins on Friday in Mumbai.

Spin almost leads to win for India

India began the morning session as favourites, but an inability to dislodge nightwatchman Will Somerville looked certain to cost them.

A second session fightback was followed by steadily taking more wickets in the final session, and the bowling in particular of Ashwin and Jadeja took their team to the edge of a win that had seemed impossible at lunch, with all four of the latter's wickets coming via lbw. Fortune swung the way of New Zealand, though, who held on for the draw.

Latham and Somerville save the day for Black Caps

Latham shone with a first-innings 95, followed up by a vital 52 in the second, though more crucial was the 146 balls he ticked off as well as managing an improbable partnership of 76 with Somerville that took 32 overs out of the game.

It was Ravindra and Patel who were the heroes at the end, holding off one last India attack in the final overs, but the work during the morning session from Latham and Somerville is what gave them the opportunity to do so.

Manchester United have appointed Ralf Rangnick as their interim manager until the end of the season.

Club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and United parted ways following the 4-1 humiliation at Watford, with the Red Devils announcing they were looking for a temporary boss until the end of the campaign when they will search for a permanent solution.

Rangnick, 63, leaves his role as head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow to take up the vacancy at Old Trafford, which Michael Carrick had temporarily occupied.

Former midfielder Carrick took temporary charge for the 2-0 Champions League win at Villarreal and the 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday.

Rangnick, whose appointment is subject to work visa requirements, will take up a two-year consultancy role with United once 2021-22 is concluded.

Rangnick, who is known for his high-pressing philosophy and influence on some of Bundesliga's brightest minds, started his career with his hometown club Viktoria Backnang.

After spells with the likes of Stuttgart, Hoffenheim, Hannover and Schalke, Rangnick enjoyed a brief managerial stint with RB Leipzig, who rose from the fourth tier of German football to the Bundesliga with the new United man as director of football.

Across 293 games in the German top flight, Rangnick has 120 victories to his name at a win percentage of 41, though he remains somewhat of an unknown quantity outside of his homeland.

Indeed, Rangnick has only faced United twice in his managerial career when in charge of Schalke, who were outclassed over two legs in the Champions League semi-final in 2011 as Alex Ferguson's side made their third final in four years.

The Red Devils are eighth in the Premier League, five points outside the top four and 12 adrift of Chelsea.

Novak Djokovic is unlikely to play at the Australian Open in January unless COVID-19 vaccination rules are relaxed, according to the player's father.

Organisers recently confirmed that players must be vaccinated against coronavirus to compete in the tournament, which begins on January 17.

World number one Djokovic, who won a record ninth title in Melbourne last year, has not publicly stated whether he has had the jab.

Srdjan Djokovic told Serbia's TV Prva that being vaccinated is a personal choice, and that Tennis Australia's rules are essentially "blackmail".

"As far as vaccines and non-vaccines are concerned, it is the personal right of each of us whether we will be vaccinated or not," he was quoted as saying by news website B92.

"No one has the right to enter into our intimacy, it is guaranteed by the constitution. Everyone has the right to decide on their health.

"Whether [Novak] is vaccinated or not, that is his exclusive right. Will he publish it, I don't think so. I don't know that decision either, and if I did, I wouldn't share it with you. He has the right to decide as he wants."

When asked about Djokovic's decision to play in Australia, his father added: "Whether he will appear there depends on how [the organisers] position themselves. He would want it with all his heart because he's an athlete, and we would love that too.

"Under these blackmails and conditions, he probably won't. I wouldn't do that. And he's my son, so you decide for yourself."

Djokovic, who is tied on 20 major singles titles with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, recently said he was unsure of his participation following his appearance at the ATP Finals in Turin.

"I was just waiting to hear what the news is going to be and now that I know we'll just have to wait and see," he said.

Angry and frustrated, Stephen Curry said a non-call fuelled him in the Golden State Warriors' comprehensive victory at the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Curry posted a game-high 33 points to guide the NBA-leading Warriors (18-2) to a 105-90 win over the Clippers – Golden State's eighth in a row.

The two-time MVP scored 13 points in a final quarter, which saw Curry lose his cool after not receiving a foul call at Staples Center.

Curry thought he had been fouled by Clippers small forward Terance Mann, leaving the Warriors superstar outraged.

"I thought I got fouled, so I let my emotions go," Curry said afterwards. "And definitely fired me up, fired our team up -- you have to be able to direct that energy into just putting the ball in the basket, obviously, after that.

"So that's where I feel like we do it well, where you don't let it become a distraction for the rest of the game, and it obviously helped open up the game."

Curry is averaging 28.6 points, a career-high 5.8 rebounds and 6.8 assists (his best since 2014-15) per game in 2021-22, while shooting 46.6 per cent from the floor and 42.3 from beyond the arc.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr: "It was as upset as I've seen Steph in a long time. And it was as upset as I've been in a long time, too. It's kind of a miracle that I didn't get a technical, but it seemed to get him going.

"Whatever it takes, I guess ... he clearly got fouled. Steph is a guy who, he's just so competitive, and when he knows he got fouled -- especially in a play like that in transition where it's right out in the open, easy to see, and he doesn't get the call, every once in a while he's going to snap.

"He doesn't do it often, but when he knows he's right, the competitor in him comes out and he'll kind of lose his mind a little bit, but it often spurs him, like it did in this instance."

The Golden State Warriors continue to set the pace in the NBA after Stephen Curry fuelled the league-leading franchise to a 105-90 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Curry put up a game-high 33 points and the red-hot Warriors celebrated their eighth consecutive victory on Sunday.

The two-time MVP also had six assists, six steals and five rebounds as the Warriors improved to 18-2 this season.

Golden State had 19 steals in total at Staples Center, where Paul George (30 points) and the Clippers shot just 40 per cent from the field.

The Warriors have held their opponents to under 50 per cent shooting in all 20 games this season – Golden State have the best defensive rating and opponent field goal percentage in 2021-22.

Lakers win grudge match

The Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the lowly Detroit Pistons 110-106 as the two teams renewed hostilities for the first time since LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart were ejected following a melee. James had struck Stewart in the face – drawing blood, sparking wild scenes as the Pistons big man repeatedly charged at the Lakers superstar on November 21. On Sunday, James scored 33 points and tallied nine assists to help the Lakers. Anthony Davis (24 points and 10 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (25 points and nine rebounds) also contributed in LA.

Defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks eased past the Indiana Pacers 118-100 for their seventh successive victory. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a day out with 26 points and 13 rebounds.

Tatum overshadows Celtics triumph

The Boston Celtics left Canada with a 109-97 win against the Toronto Raptors, but it was a miserable outing for All-Star Jayson Tatum. While he had 10 assists and seven rebounds, Tatum finished with just eight points on two-of-16 shooting in a team-high 38 minutes. He also recorded four turnovers.

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro hailed "difference maker" Vinicius Junior after the in-form Los Blancos star produced a moment of brilliance to sink Sevilla in LaLiga.

Vinicius' stunning late goal helped Madrid overcome rivals Sevilla 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Rafa Mir's early header had Madrid on the backfoot against former head coach Julen Lopetegui, but Karim Benzema restored parity after the half-hour mark.

Vinicius then stepped up three minutes from the end with a wonderful long-range shot as Madrid moved four points clear of Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad atop the standings.

The Brazil international has now scored nine goals in 14 LaLiga appearances this season – one more than in his previous 82 games for Madrid in the competition, and Casemiro lauded 21-year-old.

"He knows that the teams are going to make it difficult for him because they realise that he's a very important player for Real Madrid," Casemiro said of his countryman.

"Great players score great goals whenever they get the chance.

"We know he's a great player, he's a difference maker when he gets the chance."

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois added: "Vini struggled to get into the game, but then he got a great goal.

"[He] trains really hard so that things like that come off in games. He didn't have the best of games, but the confidence he has in his own ability to make the difference is what we need from him and he delivered tonight.

Madrid have won more points from losing positions than any other team in LaLiga this season – 10 points, two more than neighbours and defending champions Atletico.

"It's important for us to play at home with the fans behind us. The coach makes it very clear that the substitutions are important," Casemiro said.

"The players who came on today did very well. We're Real Madrid and we have to have a strong squad."

Sergio Ramos endorsed Lionel Messi for the Ballon d'Or as the Paris Saint-Germain superstar targets a record-extending seventh crown.

Messi is among the favourites for the 2021 Ballon d'Or, which will be announced during Monday's ceremony in Paris.

Bayern Munich talisman Robert Lewandowski is expected to provide stiff competition as well as Chelsea and Italy midfielder Jorginho, who celebrated Champions League and Euro 2020 glory.

Ramos has often backed Cristiano Ronaldo for the top gong over the years, given they were Real Madrid team-mates and rivals of former Barcelona captain Messi.

But Ramos now calls PSG home and wants ex-foe Messi to succeed once more following Argentina's drought-ending Copa America triumph.

"Yes, of course [I hope he wins]," Spain international defender Ramos told ESPN.

"I'm going to defend the guys in my team. I wish him all the luck in the world.

"He's in good shape, and I think he's the kind of player who really makes a difference. He's a unique player and it's a privilege to have him in the team.

"I think that bit by bit, each of us is going to bring our own quality to make Paris Saint-Germain even greater and achieve the things we want to achieve."

In Sunday's 3-1 win at Saint-Etienne, Messi delivered three assists in a single league game for the third time of his career after March 2016 against Getafe and February 2020 against Betis.

Messi became the first PSG player to achieve the feat in Ligue 1 since Blaise Matuidi against Angers in January 2016.

At 35 years and 243 days, Ramos became the oldest outfield player to make his first appearance with PSG in Ligue 1 since David Beckham (37 years and 298 days against Marseille in February 2013).

Ramos attempted 101 passes against Saint-Etienne – a game-high and the best tally for a PSG player making his Ligue 1 debut since Opta started analysing this data in 2006-07.