PATRICK COLLINS, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: The great ones in sport leave the deepest memories; such as John McEnroe unfolding a cross-court backhand, for example.

PATRICK COLLINS, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Football managers won't ever voice contemptuous sentiments about their fans, but sometimes their faces reveal their private thoughts.

PATRICK COLLINS: Although players are banned from betting on football, a climate has been created in which betting is the natural, inevitable and acceptable partner of the sport.

PATRICK COLLINS: The cry rang out on January 1; a warmly familiar sound, like the chimes of Big Ben or the singing of Auld Lang Syne.

PATRICK COLLINS: In a week of sound and fury, of passionate conviction and vigorous dissent, the voice of Steve Bruce soared out above the din to give his contribution to the Ched Evans saga.

PATRICK COLLINS: Sport at its cleanest and brightest generates a sense of wonder, a feeling that peaks are being scaled and limits are being breached.

PATRICK COLLINS: Charlton are owned by a chap who is apparently the 18th richest man in Belgium, however the Championship outfit are just his bit on the side.

PATRICK COLLINS: Bolt, Ali, Woods, Pele, Bradman and a precious few others — Jack Nicklaus, certainly, and, in time, Lionel Messi — constitute an elite on whom the term ‘genius’ sits lightly.

PATRICK COLLINS: When his massive contribution has been adequately assessed, Jimmy Hill will be seen as one of the most significant figures in the modern history of British football.

PATRICK COLLINS: Fifty-two years have passed since that February dawn, yet still the cry comes ringing down the decades: ‘Ah shook up the world! Ah shook up the world!’

Muhammad Ali could be cruel, arrogant, and merciless, then he would turn a wicked phrase or smile a roguish smile, and the world would forgive him his trespasses, writes PATRICK COLLINS.

PATRICK COLLINS: It should be remembered that the FA's initial instinct was to approach Arsene Wenger, a worthy if futile attempt to hire the very best. But then, absurdly, they changed tack.

PATRICK COLLINS: When youngsters wanted to know just what made Glenn Hoddle so very special, their fathers would search out a 20-second film clip. Tottenham versus Watford.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: To think Jordan Henderson's first official season as Liverpool captain ended with the club finishing eighth in the Premier League is quite remarkable.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: This has been Leicester's first real wobble. But their manager Brendan Rodgers will have been looking forward to this one - Liverpool at the King Power Stadium.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: With Carlo Ancelotti as a manager and Duncan Ferguson as a mentor, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is getting the best of both worlds. He can become a true No 9.

I say get rid of this shoulder and armpit nonsense and judge offside by the players' feet. Draw the line and see whether the attacker's foot is closer to the goal then that of the last defender.

JAMIE REDKNAPP - INSIGHT: Late October 2017, Liverpool went to Tottenham. Harry Kane destroyed Dejan Lovren, who was hooked after 31 minutes, and Jurgen Klopp's side lost 4-1.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: I remember Crystal Palace losing 9-0 to Liverpool in the old First Division in 1989. Then later that season, the Eagles exacted their revenge in the FA Cup semi-final.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: If Mourinho needs a striker, then he could do worse than look at Troy Parrott. He's been training with the first team, learning from the master Kane and has been capped by Ireland.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: We look at VAR as if it's the oracle but in reality it's one man, sat behind a bank of screens at Stockley Park, offering his opinion. It's not matter of fact - it's subjective.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: There is something about away games that Gabriel Jesus loves. Since arriving in the Premier League, he has scored more goals and racked up more assists on the road than at home.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: This was not a day to analyse Liverpool's downfalls to death but rather to celebrate Watford for what was a complete team performance.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: I remember times my brother, Mark, got angry or upset if someone was having a go at me in the stands. He'd want to say something. Now we have seen this with Eric Dier.

COMMENT: Perhaps, the one plus side to this summer's European Championship being moved to 2021 is that it offers Kane time. The team figurehead will not have to rush to get back.

JAMIE REDKNAPP: Harry Kane is at home, in self-isolation, with a series of Tottenham Hotspur shirts on the wall behind him and Sportsmail's Jamie Redknapp on the screen in front.

EXCLUSIVE: The defender who earns his living by not giving opponents an inch is contemplating the fact he now has to steer two metres clear for the foreseeable future.

Ahead of facing Watford this weekend, Fernandes opened up on the impact Cristiano Ronaldo, who he plays alongside for the Portuguese national team, has had on his career to date.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner may make his 1000th professional appearance against the Serie A strugglers. Ronaldo has played 835 games in club football and 164 times internationally.

As a result of his support, Michu reached out to the Borussia Dortmund star to send him a signed Brugos jersey with Haaland's name on the back. 'Wow what a legend!!' Haaland responded.

The award-winning footballer, 34, enjoyed some quality time with his kids Cristiano Jr, nine, twins Eva and Mateo, two, and Alana - his daughter with girlfriend Georgina - also two, in the bathtub.

Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, nine, amassed almost 800,000 Instagram followers on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after joining the photo-sharing platform.

The evergreen pair of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo may continue to defy the laws of time but a changing of the guard has started to emerge at football's elite level.

The Champions League is a must, rather than a want, for Juventus these days. It's an itch that they cannot scratch, an addiction they cannot kick and Maurizio Sarri knows it is top of his brief to go and deliver it.

David Alaba believes that Bayern Munich teammate Robert Lewandowski should be rated alongside Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the best player's in the world. 

Former Argentina forward Diego Maradona suggested Lionel Messi was 'in decline' after Barcelona's 1-1 draw in the Champions League against his old side on Tuesday evening.

Juventus host Inter Milan in the standout fixture of this weekend's Serie A schedule but, as things stand, the top of the table clash will be played out in front of empty stands.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Vinicius delighted the Bernabeu - including the watching Cristiano Ronaldo - by opening the scoring against Barcelona. So is the 19-year-old Brazilian coming of age?

Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to glory in 2016 despite injury and is one of a number of greats to write his name into the glittering history of the Euros since they were introduced in 1960.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO IN ITALY: Juventus president Andrea Agnelli (inset) has retained a close relationship with club legend Zinedine Zidane (right) and is hopeful of luring him back to Turin.

Former Red Devils midfielder Fletcher, who was at the club from 2003 to 2015, played with Ronaldo for six years after the Portuguese moved to United at 18 years of age in 2003.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO IN ITALY: It hasn't been easy for Aaron Ramsey since he swapped Arsenal for Juventus but the midfielder finally appears to have understood the mechanisms of Serie A.

Cristiano Ronaldo has NOT been infected with the coronavirus despite being held in quarantine in his native Madeira, the president of the Portuguese islands has confirmed.

The footballer, 35, is self-isolating after his Juventus team-mate Daniele Rugani tested positive for COVID-19, however his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez did enjoy some retail therapy on Tuesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo obtained permission from Juventus to go to Madeira, the Portuguese island where he was born, to assist his mother and complete the quarantine from coronavirus at home.

Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes will finance three intensive care units for patients suffering from coronavirus at hospitals in Lisbon and Porto - with the donation worth £1million.

Serie B goalkeeper Alberto Paleari says footballers cannot be expected to give up their wages like Cristiano Ronaldo because he will not struggle financially.

ALVISE CAGNAZZO IN ITALY: Juventus is grateful to their players for the eight consecutive league titles but they will remember who chose to leave, abandoning Italy in the process.

The experienced defender has been forced to settle for reduced game time this campaign after the arrival of Ferland Mendy from Lyon, and has long since been linked with a potential switch to Turin.

The NHS have enlisted the help of leading sports stars such as England manager Gareth Southgate and Manchester City's Raheem Sterling to encourage fans to stay at home amid the coronavirus crisis.