Frenchman thanks Big Sam for the “best times of his career”

Chelsea forward Nicolas Anelka is quite the journeyman: the Frenchman has played for no less than five English clubs, and has also made time for two stints at Paris St-Germain, a season in Turkey and a Champions League-winning spell at Real Madrid.

Anelka has served under plenty of managers, but reserves the greatest amount of praise for Sam Allardyce. In the latest issue of ICON magazine, Nico explains why he was persuaded to join Bolton in 2006:

I met Sam Allardyce and I really liked him. He had a lot of confidence in me. I’d been told how things worked under him and when I met him I could see he was a good coach.

He’s tough, but at the same time, he’s funny. He was very honest. And he’s the best coach

Portuguese man-o’-sex wants to meet injured golf legend

Cristiano Ronaldo knows he is brilliant at football, great at sex and looks wonderful in a nice pair of shiny hotpants. Clearly, he’s got it all. Yet the one thing he truly desires - with the obvious exception of a transfer to a club based in Spain’s capital - is a meeting with his sporting icon Tiger Woods:

“In terms of footballers, I have met everyone,” he said. “But I’d like to meet Tiger Woods. He’s phenomenal.

“My golf is very bad. I don’t like to play golf but I like to watch it.”

Wait a minute, did Cristiano Ronaldo just say he was bad at something? What possible reason could he have for temporarily abandoning his unfaltering self confidence? Could it be that he is deliberately trying to raise the profile of a fellow Nike endorser who has been off the golf radar for some time?