Raissa's Blog - Best of Sports, Culture, and Entertainment

The highly speculated transfer of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid takes a dramatic twist as Chelsea have placed a £200million tag on Hazard. Real is willing to pay £150million for the Belgian ace but Chelsea want more than Neymar's world record £198million that Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona for the Brazilian forward. Following the turn of events, Real are reportedly ready to cool off their interest in Hazard. Hazard has two years left on his contract with Chelsea but hasn't renewed with the club despite Chelsea offering him a £300,000/week deal. The Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is ready to hand Hazard captaincy of the team to keep him happy. Hazard had hinted at the 2018 World Cup finals that he was ready to move to his dream club Real Madrid if he were made an offer.  Jose Mourinho has shown great interest in Chelsea's Willian while  Real Madrid pursue their hunt for Chelsea goalkeeper Courtois. New Chelsea boss Sarri is doing his best to retain his key players. 

Roma's legendary striker and director, Francesco Totti made comments on Barcelona's talisman for whom he has much admiration. These comments were made following the recent squabble between Roma and Barcelona over Malcom's somewhat illegal transfer from Bordeaux to Bernabeu. The Roma director was asked about Roma's chances of signing Messi as per reports that they could be preparing a bid for the Argentinian forward. There is a strong desire in Italy for Messi to join Roma. Were Messi to join Roma, with Ronaldo in Juventus, Serie A would enjoy a big boost in its ranking in world football. Totti was also asked if Roma should retire his iconic #10 shirt. His response was exactly what you'd expect from the legend and visionary that he is. He said no, because he wouldn't want to kill a kid's dream of wearing that number, which was his dream as a kid.  “I have always said no, they shouldn’t, but in the end it is a decision for the club to make. For t

AS Roma are totally upset over the loss of Brazilian winger Malcom as his transfer to Roma was hijacked by FC Barcelona. AS Roma president James Pallotta said he would only accept the Spanish giants' apology if they give them their superstar, Lionel Messi. AS Roma had reached an agreement with French club Bordeaux for the transfer of Malcom and had announced the arrival of the player in Rome for the signing of the deal. They were left stunned as Bordeaux rather accepted Barcelona's offer. Malcom signed with the Catalans less than 48 hours after Bordeaux announced their agreement with Roma over Malcom's sale. Roma president Palotta had a lot to say on the subject in an interview with Sirus XM. "In terms of Barcelona, it looks like a pattern for them over the last few years of doing things that just should not be done at a club with the reputation that Barcelona intends to have," Pallotta said, as quoted by his club's website. "In fact, they apol

photo credit: XXL Mag The nominees for the 2018 MTV VMAs are now known. The list of nominees was revealed by MTV via IGTV on Instagram. Cardi B is the most nominated artist - with ten nods - in top categories like Artist of the Year, Video of the Year and Song of the Year. She is followed by The Carters (Beyoncé and Jay-Z) with eight nods - for "APEST" from their  Everything is Love  joint album, while Childish Gambino and Drake have seven nods each. Bruno Mars comes next with six, then Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello with five. Voting is ongoing on www.vma.mtv.com . Fans can vote for eight of the award categories including Artist of the Year, Video of the Year, and Best New Artist. The VMAs are returning to New York City as the event will air live from Radio City Music Hall on Monday, August 20 at 9:00 p.m. ET.  See the full list of nominees below.  Video of the Year: Ariana Grande – “No Tears Left to Cry” Bruno Mars – “Finesse (Remix)” [ft. Cardi B] Camila

photo credit: Soccerladuma  Antonio Cassano, former Inter Milan and A.C. Milan forward, and Italy international has voiced his opinion on the ongoing G.O.A.T. debate. In an interview by Italian sports website Football Italia , Cassano likens Messi to Roger Federer and Ronaldo to Rafael Nadal, in a bid to explain their uniqueness and difference. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are two of the greatest in tennis, just like Messi and Ronaldo who have dominated football over the past decade, splitting the last 10 Ballon d'Or awards equally. Cassano made his preference clear in his in-depth comparison and appreciation of both players.  photo credit: Mundo Deportivo "I love Messi not as a counter-point to Cristiano, but because in my view he's the best of all time and the emotions he gives me are unique. "If I have to rationalize it or convince you, I ask you to find me someone else who handles the ball and scores so consistently as Messi. "Cristiano lac

Sunday July 15 marked the end of 32 days of the world's biggest football celebration. France was crowned World champion after beating Croatia 4-2. The FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) met to decide the distribution of the FIFA 2018 awards prior to France lifting the much coveted trophy. Adidas Golden Ball: Luka Modric  adidas Golden Ball Award: 🥇Luka MODRIC ( #CRO ) 🥈Eden HAZARD ( #BEL ) 🥉Antoine GRIEZMANN ( #FRA ) #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/KQSRiwUznh — FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 15, 2018 The Golden Ball, introduced in 1982, is arguably the most prestigious accolade of the tournament. Real Madrid and Croatia's superstar midfielder and captain, the most complete and consistent player of the tournament, served as the heart and soul of the Croatian team, tirelessly leading Croatia to its first World Cup final. Modric kept Croatia afloat in the first half of the semifinal game where they struggled against England. This supremely gifted No 10's t

Cristiano Ronaldo, Juventus' newly acquired ace was unveiled at a much hyped presentation at Turin on Monday July 16th. In a news conference attended by media from all over the globe, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner appeared as confident as always and made his objectives at Juventus clear. Ronaldo wasn’t shy about expressing his happiness in joining The Old Lady as he said,  "To come to this club at this stage of my career, I am very happy."  "I want to win," he declared. "I want to be the best. Who knows, maybe I will be awarded the Ballon d'Or again but things will happen naturally. "It was difficult to win it in Manchester and Real Madrid, but maybe here? We will see." Ronaldo said there were "many important things" that contributed to his decision to leave Real Madrid, and loved the time spent at Madrid. "The nine years at Real Madrid were wonderful, but it's a brand new step in my life, so I thank all

France just won its second World Cup title in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium, and its first since it hosted the tournament in 1998, 20 years ago. France Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps was a member of the 1998 French squad that defeated Brazil at the 1998 final. On Sunday, Deschamps became the third to ever win the World Cup as a player and coach. The other two to have made such an accomplishment are  Mário Zagallo from Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer from Germany. Croatia's Mario Mandzukic scored the first ever own goal in the World Cup finals history. The 32-year-old Juventus forward brought the overall tally of own goals in the tournament to 12 with a historic header into Danijel Subašić's net.  Ivan Perisic scored a brilliant equalizer for Croatia 29 minutes into the first half. Mandzukic redeemed himself when he a goal in the second half following Hugo Lloris' shocking blunder.  The 31-year-old keeper who doubles as France captain was savagely mocke

Eden Hazard and his team - Belgium - couldn't be happier. They beat England 2-0 on Saturday to finish third at World Cup. After the game, Hazard gave reporters hints he could be leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid. The Chelsea forward told Belgian outlet HLN  “After six wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different.” “Certainly after this World Cup. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision - if they want to let me go. You know my preferred destination.” Hazard has always been a Real Madrid admirer, and Los Blancos are on a hunt for Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement. Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois isn't ruling out a transfer to Real Madrid either as he said:  “Wherever I go, Hazard must come along. We will not let each other go. We'll see. Now first vacation. And agree with my entourage in between.” The 26-year-old also alluded to the possibility of staying at Chelsea once he speaks with the new