The first Madrid derby to be played outside of Europe has been confirmed for this year's International Champions Cup. Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid is one of 18 matches that will take place across North America, Europe and Asia in July and August.  Joining the Madrid clubs in the seventh edition of the competition are reigning champions Tottenham, Manchester United, Arsenal, Roma, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter, Bayern Munich, Benfica and Chivas. Madrid's clash with their city rivals will take place on July 26 at MetLife Stadium, the home of the New York Giants and Jets, while other eye-catching fixtures include Bayern vs AC Milan, Tottenham vs Man Utd and Juventus vs Inter. In addition to New Jersey, the United States will play host to games in Los Angeles, Landover, Chicago, Charlotte, Santa Clara, Houston, Arlington, Kansas City and Foxborough. Cardiff, London, Stockholm, Singapore and Shanghai will serve as the venues for the Europe and Asia matches. Each team will play three matches and the club with the most points at the end of the tournament will lift the trophy. Games that end in a draw go straight to penalties with the winner receiving two points and the loser one. Fixtures: table.tableizer-table { font-size: 14px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #00a9ce; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; } Date Match Time (local / BST) Venue Jul 16 Roma vs Chivas TBC SeatGeek Stadium, Bridgeview, IL Jul 17 Arsenal vs Bayern Munich TBC Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, CA Jul 20 Manchester United vs Inter TBC National Stadium, Singapore Jul 20 Arsenal vs Roma TBC Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC Jul 20 Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid TBC NRG Stadium, Houston, TX Jul 20 Benfica vs Chivas TBC Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA Jul 21 Juventus vs Tottenham TBC National Stadium, Singapore Jul 23 Real Madrid vs Arsenal TBC FedExField, Landover, MD Jul 23 Bayern Munich vs AC Milan TBC Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, KS Jul 23 Chivas vs Atletico Madrid TBC Globe Life Park, Arlington, VA Jul 24 Juventus vs Inter TBC China venue TBC Jul 24 Roma vs Benfica TBC Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ Jul 25 Tottenham vs Manchester United TBC Hongkou Football Stadium, Shanghai Jul 26 Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid TBC MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ Jul 28 AC Milan vs Benfica TBC Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA Aug 3 Manchester United vs AC Milan TBC Principality Stadium, Cardiff Aug 4 Tottenham vs Inter TBC Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London Aug 10 Atletico Madrid vs Juventus TBC Friends Arena, Stockholm

European giants Manchester United, Juventus, Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur are all set to feature in the third edition of the International Champions Cup (ICC) in Singapore this summer. A new format of the ICC will see just two matches taking place over a weekend on July 20th and July 21st. In the first match, Manchester United will take on Inter Milan. On the following day, Juventus play Tottenham Hotspur. Speaking about the event, Executive Chairman of Relevent Sports Group Charlie Stillitano said, “We are very pleased to bring the International Champions Cup to Singapore again. The event is the only platform for fans in the region to get up close to their favourite teams. Manchester United, Inter, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur are clubs with strong support in the region, and we believe the fans will be happy to see them in action.”    The International Champions Cup Singapore has roped in AIA as their first ever presenting partner. Incidentally AIA is also the global principal partner of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. AIA Group Chief Executive and President, Ng Keng Hooi said, “AIA is proud to be the Presenting Partner of the 2019 International Champions Cup Singapore, especially during our Centennial year. It is a wonderful opportunity for our customers, agents, partners and staff to witness Tottenham Hotspur, with their many international stars, compete in Asia.” Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United had earlier visited Singapore in 1995 and 2001 respectively. They will play at the new National Stadium of Singapore. While the English giants will play their first match at the National Stadium, both the Italian clubs had played at the venue back in 2014 and 2017. Juventus had played against Singapore Select in 2014 and Inter Milan had won the 2017 International Champions Cup beating Bayern Munich and Chelsea respectively.

Cristiano Ronaldo has undergone tests in Portugal after suffering an injury in Monday's Euro 2020 qualifier against Serbia. The forward was forced out in the 30th minute of Monday's match after pulling up with an apparent leg injury. Portugal went on to draw the tie 1-1 with Danilo Pereira cancelling out Dusan Tadic's opening finish from the penalty spot.  Following the match, the forward insisted that he was not worried about the injury and that he would be back in "one or two weeks with no problem" . And his assessment has proven to be correct as the tests in Portugal revealed that Ronaldo suffered a "minor injury". However, he is also set to undergo tests in Italy when he returns to Juventus to conclude the international break. "After being forced to go out at the 30th minute of the first half of the match between Portugal and Serbia, valid for the Euro 2020 qualifications, Cristiano Ronaldo was subjected in Portugal to investigations that showed an apparent minor injury to the right thigh flexors," Juventus said in a statement. "His conditions will be monitored and will be subjected to new investigations to define the resumption of competitive activity." Juventus will certainly be hoping Ronaldo is cleared to return before April 10, when they will face off with Ajax in the Champions League quarter-finals. The two clubs will collide in Amsterdam on April 10 before facing off in the second leg six days after that. Prior to that, though, Juventus will have to focus on Saturday's Serie A return against Empoli before facing off with Cagliari three days later. The focus will then turn towards AC Milan on April 6 ahead of the trip to the Netherlands for the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Ronaldo has scored 19 goals in 26 league appearances since joining the club from Real Madrid this past summer.

Lionel Messi is “more technically gifted” than Cristiano Ronaldo, says Romario, but a Portuguese superstar is also “among the five best players in history”. Iconic figures now on the books of Barcelona and Juventus have spent more than a decade battling for top spot in the global pecking order. They have shared 10 Ballons d’Or between them, broken numerous records and collected countless individual and collective honours. Debate still rages, though, as to who can consider themselves to be the best. Personal opinion and allegiance shape the thinking of many, with it no surprise to see that World Cup winner Romario is a member of the Messi fan club. As a man with strong ties to Camp Nou, the former Barcelona striker was always going to side with a mercurial Argentine in Catalunya. The ex-Brazil international is an admirer of Ronaldo, but he considers the Portuguese’s eternal rival to shade things when it comes to natural ability and entertainment factor. Romario told Fox Sports Brasil: “I love Messi, he's great, but it must also be said Cristiano Ronaldo is among the five best players in history. “If I had to choose one to play with, I would stay with Messi. “He's more technically gifted, I'd rather see Leo than Cristiano.” Messi is among those to have followed in the footsteps of the legendary Barcelona sides that Romario formed part of under the guidance of Johan Cruyff. The club have always boasted strong ties to talented performers from South America and appear set to benefit from those skill sets in the years to come. Romario is, however, able to acknowledge the ability of others and is not surprised to have seen Ronaldo take up a standing alongside Messi in the modern day and all-time pecking order. He added on the 34-year-old former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward: “He's a very focused guy with undeniable talent. “It's necessary to celebrate him, he works to be the best. I think his evolution is a direct result of that work.” Ronaldo, who suffered an untimely knock on his most recent outing for Portugal, has netted 24 times in 36 appearances for Juventus this season. Messi, meanwhile, has found the target on 39 occasions across 37 games for Barcelona – although he too picked up an injury during the international break after returning to the Argentina fold for the first time since the 2018 World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo insists there is nothing to fear after suffering a hamstring injury in Portugal's 1-1 draw against Serbia on Monday, adding that he is "not worried" about it going forward. Portugal hosted Serbia in Lisbon for Monday's Euro 2020 qualifier, having drawn their opener in a scoreless effort against Ukraine. But the day was marred by an early Ronaldo injury as the Juventus star pulled up with an apparent hamstring issue in the first half. He was removed in the 30th minute of the match, but Ronaldo himself insists that the issue is a minor one that doesn't have him concerned heading into some vital matches with Juventus. "I'm not worried, because I know perfectly my body," Ronaldo said following Monday's draw. "It happens, it's football. Who's out there risks it. I'm calm, because I know I'm going to be back well in one or two weeks with no problem." Ronaldo's assessment will be received as good news by Juventus, who are set to face Ajax in the Champions League semi-finals. Juventus will go toe-to-toe with the Eredivisie side on April 10 in the first leg of that semi-final clash in Amsterdam before returning to Turin for the second leg six days later. If Ronaldo can recover in that "one or two" week timespan, it would have him back in time for those clashes after previously leading Juve to that round with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Round of 16 battle. Before facing off with Ajax, Juventus do face a trio of Serie A matches at the conclusion of the international break, having already amassed a 15-point lead on second-place Napoli. Juventus are set to return to action on Saturday against Empoli before facing off with Cagliari three days later. Focus will then turn towards AC Milan on April 6 ahead of the trip to the Netherlands for the Champions League semi-final first leg. With the Ronaldo injury, Portugal ended up settling for a 1-1 result on Monday, with Dusan Tadic's early opener cancelled out by Danilo Pereira's 40th-minute equaliser.