Cucurella wishes success to the Ballon d'Or candidates, Djokovic wins with difficulty in China, and Real Madrid submits Negrera's file to UEFA

Mark Cucurella, Spain and Real Madrid defender, said he wishes success to the candidates for the Ballon d'Or.

Cucurella added in his statements at the press conference before his country’s confrontation with the Czech Republic, on Saturday, in the European Nations League competitions: “If the matter depends on me, I will vote for myself. All the candidates are my colleagues, and I do not care about the identity of the winner, and I will leave that to the voters.”

Regarding playing for the Spanish national team and Real Madrid, Cucurella said: “It is a process and progression. In the national team, we have been playing as a group together for a few years, and with a specific coach, but in Real Madrid, we have started with a new coach, and it is too early to talk about the team now.”

He added: “The beginning was not what we expected, but everything is progressing and we will see where we end up.”

Speaking about the presence of Real Madrid players in the Spanish national team, he continued: “It is one of the best teams in the world, and it must have players who represent it in the national teams.”

He explained: “Having teammates on the team is very important. They are young players, and there are very good players in the club’s academy. If they gain more experience, they will advance to play with the first team and the national team.”

The Spanish national team, with the participation of Cucurella, won the first two matches in the European Nations League at the expense of England and Croatia, and will meet, on Saturday, with the Czech Republic, in the third round of Group C.

Veteran Serbian star Novak Djokovic achieved a marathon victory over his Chinese rival Bo Yunchaoketi in the China Open Tennis Championship, on Friday.

Djokovic turned a set deficit into winning two sets to one, after a dramatic scenario that almost knocked the Serbian star out of the round of 16 early in the tournament.

Djokovic extended his winning streak in the Chinese Championship to 31 matches with this difficult victory.

Djokovic said after the match: “I had to play at a very high level and serve well in the decisive moments. “His performance was very strong, and I had real difficulty finding holes in his game, and he directed his serves with great accuracy towards difficult angles.”

He added: “He deserves praise for his good performance.” The atmosphere was amazing; The stadium's stands were filled with fans again for three hours... What a wonderful match I participated in.”

If Djokovic wants to win another title, he is likely to face Alexander Zverev, the US Open champion, in the next match, as the German player will meet Shang Junzheng, on Saturday, to reserve a place in the quarter-finals.

A state of relief prevails within the Spanish club Real Madrid, after it handed over the file of the Negrera case, in which arch-rival Barcelona is accused, to the European Football Association (UEFA).

Barcelona was a party to the case that was raised a few years ago regarding the nature of its cooperation with the Vice-President of the Technical Committee of Referees in the Spanish Federation, who left his position.

The Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo" reported that UEFA's confirmation of its receipt of the Negrera case file goes beyond simply adding information to the file that was already opened in 2023, which UEFA does not intend to close before a court ruling is issued in Spain regarding it.

However, Real Madrid officials believe that this comprehensive report - which exceeds 50,000 pages and was submitted by the club on June 17 - will be a crucial element for UEFA to take action against Barcelona. The European Union now has the necessary information about the case, information that the Commission lacked until now.

This information also explains why the case file remains pending without treatment until that moment.

The report explained that Real Madrid's satisfaction stems from the availability of sufficient evidence to move in accordance with the regulations, which stipulate the possibility of imposing penalties on any club that is directly or indirectly involved in any purposeful activity to manipulate and influence matches, whether locally or internationally, which may lead to the exclusion of this club from the Champions League for one season, in addition to a financial fine.

Real Madrid also believes that Barcelona's behavior of paying money to the Vice-Chairman of the Referees Committee over a period of 15 years is a serious violation of European Union (UEFA) regulations.

The Royal Club is seeking to take legal measures regarding the matter in Spain, as it has joined as a party to the case, and it is considered that the file submitted to UEFA justifies this step in order to take disciplinary measures against the Catalan club.