Ronaldo Isn't Giving Up on Portugal, Europe Rises Against Infantino: This Week Football Is Being Played Off the Pitch

Ronaldo: no retirement, but the coach broke his word

Cristiano Ronaldo will not retire from the national team. The 41-year-old striker confirmed it in a long social media post, after abruptly leaving Portugal's Nations League camp last week following a row with coach Jorge Jesus. He apologised for his behaviour and said he should answer for it - but in the same breath accused Jesus of breaking their agreement. The plan was for him to skip the away games in Norway and Denmark, and on the morning of the Norway game the coach told him he would play half an hour after all. "I was warming up from half-time, watching the minutes go by, and I wasn't called on. The coach broke his word," Ronaldo wrote. Behind him are 146 goals in 234 games for Portugal, but also a round-of-16 exit at the World Cup this summer and being subbed off in the 67th minute against Wales. When a legend starts publicly counting the minutes he didn't get, the question is no longer whether he'll play, but who is actually running the national team.

Kane draws level with Shilton, England breeze past Czechia

Harry Kane played his 125th game for England, drawing level with record holder Peter Shilton for appearances. He rounded off the night with two goals in a 3:0 Nations League win over Czechia at Wembley. The first was an own goal - Vladimír Coufal turned Kane's cross into his own net in the 27th minute - and the captain made it 2:0 in the 40th, from a pass by Morgan Rogers. After the break he hit the woodwork, then completed his brace from a Lewis Hall cross. At 33, he became the oldest England player to score twice in two consecutive games. Thomas Tuchel's team now has three wins in a row, with Croatia next on November 12 and Spain three days later - the first real test for a side that, so far, beats the teams it has to beat.

FIFA knew the goalkeeper was ineligible - DR Congo went to the World Cup anyway

France-born goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi chose to play for DR Congo in 2021, but never completed the mandatory procedure for switching federations. According to an internal FIFA decision, he was ineligible for more than four years - and it was precisely in that period that he was one of the key players who took DR Congo to its first World Cup in 52 years. Nigeria lodged a complaint, but FIFA declared it inadmissible because it came too late. The story follows the suspended bans for US striker Folarin Balogun after, according to reports, Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino intervened, and a similar reprieve for Ronaldo before the World Cup. FIFA insists its judicial bodies are "autonomous" and "firmly rejects" any suggestion that the president interferes. If a rule only applies when someone complains in time, is it even a rule?

Malisheva, a club with four Macedonians, offers Guardiola 650,000 euros a year

From Kosovo comes an offer that sounds like a joke but is reportedly signed. Malisheva of the Kosovo Superleague, which has four Macedonian players - Besnik Ferati, Valmir Nafiu, Rexhep Murati and Xhemal Ibishi - has sent an official offer to Pep Guardiola. It was signed by club vice-president Afrim Bitiqi: a base salary of 650,000 euros gross a year, a 100,000-euro bonus for winning the Kosovo title and 300,000 euros for reaching the Champions League league phase. In the best-case scenario, that's 1.05 million euros gross a year. The team is coached by Thomas Brdarić, a former Shkëndija coach, and last year the bench was held by another ex-Tetovo strategist, Qatip Osmani. Confirmation that Guardiola has even considered the offer - none. But the marketing has already worked: Malisheva is now being talked about across the whole region.

Europe meets in Berlin today looking for someone to topple Infantino

The heads of all 55 UEFA member associations - including the Football Federation of Macedonia - are gathering in Berlin today to agree whom they will back in the FIFA presidential election set for March 18 in Rabat. So far the only challenger to Gianni Infantino is Ramon Vega, a 55-year-old former Swiss international with 23 caps and one-time centre-back for Tottenham and Celtic, who moved into finance after his playing career. Vega says football is "on life support" and there's no more time to wait. The backdrop is the scandal over Infantino's attempt to sell World Cup hosting rights to private investors - a plan that was rejected, with UEFA the loudest voice against it. The European associations hold more than a quarter of the 211 votes, but they aren't a single bloc: Azerbaijan and Latvia have already promised Infantino their support. Whose side will the Macedonian federation take - and will it say so publicly?