Vinicius Jr. should have won the Balon d"Or - Cristiano Ronaldo

Arsenal faces a tough challenge with Saka out until March, while Ronaldo critiques the Ballon d'Or and Liverpool works on Salah and Van Dijk deals.

Cristiano Ronaldo, speaking at the 2024 Globe Sports Awards said Vinicius Jr. should have been awarded the Balon d'Or instead of Rodri. (Photo credit: GOAL)

The Premier League fixtures on Boxing Day evoked a familiar feeling, as both Manchester United and their city rivals, Manchester City, continued to struggle, and Arsenal narrowly defeated Ipswich. What are the other buzzing headlines in football? Let’s take a look!

Arsenal’s Saka is out until March after surgery.

Mikel Arteta broke the terrible news to Arsenal fans on Friday night after the Gunners managed to beat Ipswich Town in the final game of round 18 of the current Premier League season.

Despite the victory propelling Arsenal to second place in the standings, the announcement of Bukayo Saka's surgery implies his absence until at least March of next year. Saka tore his hamstring in the 5-1 win away at Palace last weekend, and the question is: How do the Gunners cope without him?

Vinicius deserved the Ballon d’Or over Rodri—Ronaldo

"In my opinion, he [Viníius] deserved to win the golden ball [Ballon d'Or award]," Ronaldo said. "It was unfair in my opinion. I express my opinion in public. They give it to Rodri; he deserved it too, but they should have given it to Vinícius because he won the Champions League and scored in the final."

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star said this at the Globe Awards ceremony where he was named the Middle East player of the year after his heroics for Al Nassr. Ronaldo berates the Ballon d’Or organisers for giving the award to Rodri. Has he incited unrest?

Liverpool insists VVD and Salah talks are ongoing.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has hinted that the club is close to an agreement with the duo of Mohammed Salah and club captain Virgil Van Dijk over long-term deals.

Salah has been in inspired form this season, scoring more than 40% of Liverpool’s goals and contributing immensely to goals from other players with assists; fears have begun to grow among fans over his future and that of Van Dijk, but the club insists they’re working on it.

Barca’s annual financial crisis could see Olmo leave for nothing.

While it is not the first time we’ve heard of a player registration issue at Barcelona without real consequences, it looks like the Catalan giants are in real trouble over Dani Olmo.

The Spanish playmaker joined Barcelona in the summer, with strong performances showing he was a great buy. But, with the club struggling to fulfil certain financial obligations, Olmo could leave the club in January if Barcelona doesn’t find a way to register him.