Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person in the world to hit 200 million followers on Instagram.

Ronaldo celebrated the milestone with a post.

Ronaldo is the most-liked athlete on Facebook with 122 million followers.

Messi is the second most-followed athlete on Instagram at 142 million followers.

Kieran Trippier labeled Diego Simeone as the best manager in the world. 

"When people actually play for him, they realise how good he is. Obviously you've got some good managers: [Jurgen] Klopp, [Pep] Guardiola... Sean Dyche. You've got quality managers out there but he's certainly up there for sure. I think everybody knows how good he is, how passionate he is when he is on the touchline and when he's in training. He's unbelievable and I've got this opportunity to learn from him," said Trippier.

Trippier also discussed improvements in his Spanish as he settles with Atletico Madrid.

"My Spanish is coming on. I understand a lot more than I can speak. I've got the right people around me who are helping me and the staff have been fantastic. It's not going to be like a day to learn it, it's going to be a process, but I'm excited."

Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin backed Diego Simeone despite his side's recent struggles.

Atleti were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Cultural Leones, a third-division side.

"In the last decade we have competed in many finals, we have won nine trophies and consolidated ourselves among the greatest teams in Europe. The quality and commitment of the squad and coaching staff, led by Diego, cannot be questioned and I have no doubt they will achieve the club's objectives this season and help us grow over the next few years," said Gil Marin.

Atleti were eliminated from the cup in the round of 32 for the first time since 2011. 

Matias Pellegrini and Julian Carranza have each received their green cards, opening up two international slots with Inter Miami.

The two 19-year-olds were Miami's first signings.

“We liked that Pellegrini can play inside and out wide, has very good aerobic capacity and can cover a lot of ground, while Julián is a very grounded player with an impressive work rate. He’s the player that strives to score goals and is very good in the box," Miami general manager Paul McDonough.

Miami currently has 24 players on their roster. 

Arsene Wenger said that Arsenal lost its sense of soul when the club moved to the Emirates Stadium in 2006. 

"We built a new stadium but we never found our soul -- we left our soul at Highbury. We could never recreate it for security reasons. The distance from the pitch to the stand had to be bigger as we needed ambulances to come in. The inclination of the stands had to be smaller all those things together that we didn't find to recreate the atmosphere," said Wenger.

Wenger added that Anfield is currently the best stadium experience in England. 

"[Anfield] is the best stadium in England. It's simple because the people are so close to the pitch. People really love football in every family, they are football connoisseurs. I've been in positions there where I've been leading 5-1 with five minutes to go and they were chanting 'You'll Never Walk Alone.' It's one of the few cities, maybe the only city in the world where you find that."

Xavi said that he was offered the Barcelona management role, but he was too inexperienced to take the position.

Xavi currently manages Al-Sadd in Qatar.

"Yes, I received an offer from Barcelona in the presence of [Barca sporting director] Eric Abidal and [Barca chief executive] Oscar Grau here in Doha but I did not accept it, especially because it's too soon for me to coach Barcelona," said Xavi.

Xavi added that he would consider managing Barcelona in the future. 

"It will continue to be a dream of mine in the future to manage Barca," added Xavi, before backing Quique Setien. 

Jurgen Klinsmann said he forgot his coaching license in California ahead of taking over the managerial position at Hertha Berlin.

Assistant Alexander Nouri will take over if Klinsmann fails to present his documents.

Hertha have 2 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss under Klinsmann.

Coaching licenses in Germany must be renewed every 3 years. 

The African Cup of Nations will be moving back to a January-February calendar in 2021.

Cameroon's Football Association announced that they will be hosting the upcoming tournament.

The move is likely to be unpopular with European sides. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Naby Keita, Wilfred Ndidi, Riyad Mahrez, Serge Aurier and Wilfried Zaha could be affected from the Premier League. 

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, said he will attempt to buy Arsenal in 2021.

"I'm not buying Arsenal right now, I'm buying Arsenal when I finish all these projects, because I'm trying to take the company to the next level," said on Bloomberg's Dan Rubenstein show.

Josh Kroenke of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) reiterated the ownership group's commitment to Arsenal.

"From our coaching staff to our management, there have been significant changes that have gone on and I'm really excited to let those foundations continue to grow and take shape to build a successful future for Arsenal."

Quique Setien said he was surprised by Barcelona's interest considering he doesn't have the resume of past managers.

"Honestly, I just could not imagine them going for me. I don't have an extensive CV, I've not won any trophies. The only thing I have, which I have demonstrated for many years, is this philosophy of football which I love," said Setien.

Setien added that he couldn't guarantee results, only that they would play entertaining football.

"I have used that same philosophy wherever I have been, Look at my sides at Las Palmas and Betis, they played good football. Whenever I go to a new club, I only guarantee one thing: that they will play good football. I didn't know if that would be sufficient to convince such a big club to give me an opportunity, but I am extremely grateful."