Thibaut Courtois 'doesn't understand' how he missed out on Ballon d'Or podium

A rogue property dealer pocketed £100,000 from a house sale after buying it with a government Covid loan his companies weren’t eligible for.

Humza Yousaf has written to the UK Health Secretary Steve Barclay asking for more funding to help avert industrial action later this winter.

A Halloween-themed event hosted by a Larkhall opticians raised the spirits of the town this month, as well as more than £900 for a children’s hospital charity.

Rihanna looked nothing short of sensational in a black thigh-skimming minidress, which showcased her toned legs, while attending a party hosted by her boyfriend A$AP Rocky at The Fleur Room lounge in West Hollywood.The Grammy winner and rapper, both 34, who welcomed their first child together in May, held hands as they exited the same luxury black SUV and walked toward the swanky cocktail lounge on Friday night. For their date night, the Diamonds hitmaker paired her velvet frock with a long silver necklace, long jacket, and a pair of sky-high stilettos with straps that laced up to her knees. Happy couple: Rihanna looked nothing short of sensational in a black thigh-skimming minidress, which showcased her toned legs, while attending a party hosted by her boyfriend A$AP Rocky at The Fleur Room lounge in West HollywoodMeanwhile, her man kept his look simple in a black leather jacket, white button-down and light-wash blue jeans. Earlier this week, the Fenty Beauty founder compared the early months of motherhood to 'tripping on acid every day.'  While reflecting on her life new life as a mom, the Umbrella crooner admitted that 'motherhood is a whole other beast.' 'Life starts over when you become a parent, it's life that you've never known before,' explained the Ocean's Eight actress.  New chapter: Earlier this week, the Fenty Beauty founder compared the early months of motherhood to 'tripping on acid every day' Funny: While reflecting on her life new life as a mom, the Umbrella crooner admitted that 'motherhood is a whole other beast'The performer added: 'The beginning is like your tripping acid every day.

A selection of 'much-needed' family homes have gone on the market at a new Irvine estate.

Real Madrid over Manchester United.The French forward, who won the prestigious Ballon d’Or on Monday beating the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne, said that he turned down the chance to head to Old Trafford in 2009 and has never looked back since.With Los Blancos, the veteran attacker won four La Liga titles, five Champions Leagues, and two Copa del Reys. But things could have been a whole lot different 13 years ago when he was at Lyon and had some of Europe’s elite clubs to pick from.READ MORE: Karim Benzema's winning Ballon d'Or outfit inspired by rap legend Tupac say fansAnd Benzema has explained just how his £35million move to Madrid came to fruition, saying to Spanish radio station Onda Cero: ''I remember I was with my friends.

Rihanna - before joking about their social media interactions. Benzema, now 34, is in the the form of his life having scored 44 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid last season before picking up the 2022 Ballon d'Or ahead of Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne.

Darwin Nunez has been stumbling from calamity to calamity all season and has even managed to turn his 2022 Ballon d'Or nomination into a point of ridicule.The Liverpool striker received a grand total of zero votes to finish dead lost in the polls, but at least he wasn't alone.Manchester City's Joao Cancelo joined him at the foot of the leaderboard, as did Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger, AC Milan's Mike Maignan, RB Leipzig's Christopher Nkunku and Bayern Munich's Joshua Kimmich, all of whom failed to garner a single vote.READ MORE: Karim Benzema's winning Ballon d'Or outfit inspired by rap legend Tupac say fansReal Madrid striker Karim Benzema was deservedly named Ballon d'Or winner after inspiring Los Blancos to La Liga and Champions League glory last season, pipping Bayern's Sadio Mane and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne to top spot.Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski and Liverpool forward Mo Salah completed the top five, with City goal machine Erling Haaland settling for a 10th-place finish.Elsewhere, Spain and Barcelona prodigy Gavi won the Kopa trophy, awarded the best U21 player, while Madrid's Thibaut Courtois scooped the Yashin trophy, given to the best goalkeeper.Does Darwin Nunez have any chance of being nominated for the Ballon d'Or again next year? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.For the first time ever the Ballon d'Or was based on the results of the previous season instead of the calendar year, meaning Nunez' nomination was more than justified, despite his stuttering start to life at Anfield.The 23-year-old netted 34 goals in 41 games in all competitions for Benfica last season, promoting the Reds to bring him to Merseyside for a club-record fee in June.Nunez bagged a goal on his debut in

won his first Ballon d'Or award on Monday night and fans reckon his outfit was inspired by rap legend Tupac Shakur. The Real Madrid striker was picked for the prestigious individual accolade ahead of France team-mate Kylian Mbappe, who was booed ahead of the ceremony, and ex-Los Blancos pal Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished in 20th spot - his lowest ever position in the rankings.Benzema was tipped to lift the award as bookies had him at 1/33 favourite to do so.

Kevin De Bruyne has become the first player in the history of Manchester City to be named one of the top three players in the world.

Karim Benzema has been voted the best player on the planet after scooping FIFA 's prestigious Ballon d'or gong.

Karim Benzema has won the 2022 Ballon d'Or with eight Manchester-based players named in the top-30.

Real Madrid ace beat the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, and Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the prestigious title on Monday evening at a ceremony in Paris' Theatre du Chatelet. The French striker, who scored in Real's 3-1 El Clasico win over Barcelona on Sunday, netted 27 goals last season in the league - and was even the top scorer in the Champions League with 15.Overall, he scored 44 goals in 46 appearances across all competitions.

Manchester United attacker Cristiano Ronaldo received his lowest-ever ranking at this year’s Ballon d’Or - even behind one of his team-mates.The superstar, who was nominated among 29 other players on the shortlist, landed in 20th place - while Red Devils midfielder Casemiro received 17th place in the ceremony.Ronaldo had also hit 20th spot in 2005 during his junior years at United, tying with Liverpool’s Jamie Carragher. Though this year's result comes after a season where he was United's top scorer with 24 goals in 38 matches.READ MORE: Man Utd could finally land Frenkie de Jong after he was left 'disgusted' at BarcelonaThe Portuguese international has won a total of five Ballon d’Ors - the second-highest but still behind Lionel Messi, who has claimed a record seven titles.

Barcelona and Real Madrid will once again dominate the star-studded ceremony of the Ballon d'Or with the 2022 awards being handed out on Monday evening (October 17). Karim Benzema is a huge favourite to pick up the golden trophy for the first time which would make him only the second player other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to win it since 2008 after Luka Modric in 2018.The other top awards are the Yashin Trophy, which is presented to the best performing goalkeeper and the Kopa Trophy which is handed to the best performing player under the age of 21. READ MORE: Robert Lewandowski misses El Clasico sitter with Barcelona beaten by Real Madrid With the awards being based on performance from the preceding season rather than the past 12 months for the first time, Marca report that Benzema will win the top prize.

Barcelona crashed to a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico.Madrid went 1-0 ahead early on when Karim Benzema slotted home from close range after Vinicius' initial effort was parried by Ter Stegen. But Barcelona should've drawn level 12 minutes later when former Leeds star Raphinha played a teasing ball into the box.While Frenkie de Jong couldn't get on the end of it at the front post, Lewandowski looked a certainty to turn it home at the back stick.

Barcelona forward made the switch from Bayern Munich earlier this year as he looked to help in the revival of the fallen giant, but despite being in good form, the 34-year-old reckons he's lost out to rival forward Benzema in the hunt for the award handed to the best male footballer in the world. The Frenchman will definitely be up there in the rankings after an unforgettable year with Real Madrid, dominating La Liga and beating Liverpool to the Champions League.

Manchester United used stoppage time to rescue themselves from an embarrassing draw with Europa League minnows Omonia on Thursday.

Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly set to attend next week's Ballon d'Or ceremony - but football fans can't understand why. A five-time winner of the award, the Manchester United star is in the running again this time around, although he is not expected to take top honours.