Eduardo Camavinga described Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph as a "dream come true" as he reflected on a glorious first season at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Camavinga came on as an 85th-minute substitute at the Stade de France as Madrid claimed their 14th European crown courtesy of Vinicius Junior's goal, meaning the French midfielder ends his first campaign in Spain with LaLiga and Champions League winner's medals.
Despite finding himself behind experienced midfield trio Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos in the pecking order, Camavinga has made 44 appearances in all competitions since joining from Rennes last August.
The 19-year-old, who has been tipped as a future star for both Los Blancos and France, made a series of valuable contributions to Madrid's Champions League run from the bench, producing a particularly lively performance as Carlo Ancelotti's team recovered from a 5-3 aggregate deficit to eliminate Manchester City in the semi-finals earlier this month.
Speaking to Canal+ after Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0, Camavinga was delighted with the "dream" victory, saying experiencing such occasions was the reason he joined the Spanish giants.
"It's a crazy thing, it's a childhood dream come true. Touching the cup, experiencing matches like that, it's crazy... That's why I came here," he said.
"From the moment we come here, we know that we are in the best club in the world, we only play big matches. I am very happy to have played in the final and to have won it."
Camavinga has some way to go to match the honours of some of his Madrid team-mates, with Karim Benzema, Dani Carvajal and Modric all winning their fifth European titles in Paris. No one has won more.
Touching on the illustrious careers of his colleagues, Camavinga laughed: "Some have five Champions Leagues here, but I already have one, I still have four left [to win]. We're going to enjoy it. Next year, we'll see."
With his late introduction, Camavinga, aged 19 years and 199 days old, became the youngest player to appear in a Champions League final since Kingsley Coman for Juventus against Barcelona in 2015 (18 years, 358 days).
Coman is also the only Frenchman to have played in a European Cup/Champions League final at a younger age than Camavinga.
And the midfielder believes he has improved as a player after making 16 starts in his first season with the club, though he insists his playing time is of secondary importance compared to the team's performances.
"It's been an incredible season, an extraordinary accomplishment, very positive," he said in comments reported by Marca.
"I've learned a lot in this first year from the players here, from my coaches too, so I think I'm a better player than I was a year ago.
"The first thing to remember is this victory, the work of the team and [only] after that, whether I've played more or less is important."
Sheikh Jassim bid still on table as Manchester United takeover tests patience
Sheikh Jassim’s fifth and final bid to buy Manchester United will remain on the table beyond Friday but the Qatari’s patience with the takeover process is wearing thin.
The Sheikh and his Nine Two Foundation, which is seeking to buy 100 per cent of the club, are understood to feel that by Friday United’s owners, the Glazer family, and the Raine banking group which is conducting the sale process will have had ample time to seek or request clarification and revision of the bid, and will therefore no longer engage with them on it beyond this date.
Some observers have interpreted the submission of two additional bids from Sheikh Jassim as an indication that the rival offer from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos is preferred by the Glazers.
However, sources close to the Qatari say he is simply keen to bring the matter to a swift conclusion with a crucial summer transfer window for United coming up.
The fifth and final bid was issued earlier this week, and Sheikh Jassim considers it an enormous premium on the current share price of the club, both now and at any stage of the club’s recent share price.
Ratcliffe is understood to have made an improved offer on April 28. It has been reported that his offer enables Avram and Joel Glazer to retain a 20 per cent stake in the club, something the Ineos camp has not confirmed.
The Glazers are reported to value the club at £6billion.
This is a crunch period on and off the field for United, who won the Carabao Cup, finished third in the Premier League and lost Saturday’s FA Cup final in Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge.
Co-owner Avram Glazer was at Wembley for Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester City and ignored questions about the takeover as he left through the interview area.
Asked about the potential takeover and summer improvements, United boss Ten Hag said: “I think in this moment I don’t want to discuss that.
“It’s about finalising the season. We have to be quiet, analyse the season, go into the depth, then set the right conclusions and then take action.”
England to face Portugal in Milton Keynes ahead of Women’s World Cup
England will face Portugal on July 1 in their final home warm-up match before flying to Australia for the Women’s World Cup.
Sarina Wiegman’s side are due to leave for the tournament four days after the meeting with their fellow finalists in Milton Keynes, with the game to kick-off at 3:15pm and be broadcast live on ITV.
Their opening game of the competition, which is being hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand, is against Haiti in Brisbane on 22 July, before the team fly to Sydney to face Denmark then finish the group stage against China in Adelaide.
Wiegman finalised her squad for the World Cup, which England are looking to win for the first time following their Euro 2022 triumph last summer, in May with Arsenal’s Beth Mead a notable absence through injury.
Portugal are competing for the first time in the World Cup and are building on their first major tournament appearances at the last two editions of the European Championships.
Canada will be England’s final warm-up opponents in a behind-closed-doors friendly on July 14.
“I am really pleased to have a competitive game for our last home fixture,” said Wiegman. “We had two big games in April against Brazil and Australia where we learned so much.
“This will be another challenging match against a team that have performed well and are going to their first World Cup.
“Portugal will also want to show they can be a threat to teams in Australia, and they have very technical players with good ability. For us, it will be important to come together again as a team after the end of the club season and feel the support of our fans.
“We will do our best to give them a good performance. It will only be three weeks until our opening World Cup game so it will be such an important moment in our preparation.”
The Football Association and Women’s Super League clubs had been in a dispute over the release date for players called up to the squad.
The FIFA-sanctioned date by which clubs must make players available is July 10, just 10 days before the tournament kicks off.
It was reported last week that the FA had planned for the squad to meet up on June 19, though a formal agreement between parties took time to reach.
That date has now been confirmed by the FA, which said in a statement: “We are grateful for the mutual understanding of the clubs, as we have collectively worked towards a solution with the wellbeing of players at the heart.”
England beat Portugal the last time the sides met competitively, Toni Duggan and Nikita Parris scoring the goals in a 2-1 win for the Lionesses in the Euro 2017 group stage.
Phil Neville joins Canada coaching staff
Phil Neville has joined the coaching staff of the Canada national team just days after leaving his role with Inter Miami.
The 46-year-old will join up as part of John Herdman’s technical team alongside Richard Shaw, and the two new additions will be part of Canada’s plans for their CONCACAF Nations League finals in Las Vegas.
Neville was relieved of his duties with Inter Miami last week with the club sitting rock-bottom of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer, just days before Lionel Messi was announced as their new marquee signing.
The former England Women boss will take a familiar role with another national team after leading the Lionesses to a fourth-place finish at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2019 SheBelieves Cup success.
Canada reached just their second ever World Cup in 2022 and first since 1986 but exited the group stage, and now have the opportunity for their first trophy since 2000 when they play Panama in the semi-finals of the Nations League where the winners face the United States or Mexico for the trophy.
Shaw will take up a similar position to Neville and his first as part of any national team having previously been involved at Watford, Millwall and Crystal Palace.
Following the announcement, Canada boss Herman told their website: “Both Phil and Richard bring with them winning experience at the highest levels and have worked with some of the Premier League’s top managers during their careers.
“They’ll work as positional and unit coaches with the aim of helping us to win our first trophy in over two decades.”
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