Sports Shorts: Ronaldo's Agent Claims He Will Never Return To Manchester

Portugal's football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has revealed that the forward would play out the rest of his career at Real Madrid, shunning reports of a return to Manchester United. Ronaldo has been linked with a sensational return to United in the past few weeks after reportedly growing frustrated at the Bernabeu. However, his agent Jorge Mendes said insists that his client is happy in Real and aims to stay until his playing days are over. Mendes said that Ronaldo would retire at Real when he turns 40, adding that he is very happy at the Spanish club. He said that it is impossible to lure the striker away from Real as he breaks all the records and is regarded as the best athlete ever, The Mirror reported. Mendes said that Ronaldo is happy at Real and has always been happy there. Mendes added that United would always have a place in Ronaldo's heart, because he spent six years there.

But he also said that the Portuguese international is only thinking about Real now and will always stay there. Unseeded Frenchman Gilles Simon moved into his first Masters Series final in six years after outclassing big-serving Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in Shanghai on Saturday. The World No 29 faced little pressure on his serve and dominated the match from the baseline with some sumptuous ground strokes as he blasted away the 33-year-old Lopez 6-2, 7-6(1) on stadium court. Simon, whose only previous Masters Series final appearance came in 2008 in Madrid, will face the winner of Saturday's second semi-final between world number one Novak Djokovic and 17 times grand slam singles champion Roger Federer. The Frenchman knocked out Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka and sixth seed Tomas Berdych en route to the last four in Shanghai and once again took down a more fancied opponent by moving him around the hardcourt with strong groundstrokes.

The Spaniard mixed up his tactics in the second set, opting to attack the net more to hustle his opponent with some success. Indian golfer Jeev Milkha Singh came back strongly in the last four holes to make the cut in the weather-hit Portugal Masters in Vilamoura. Jeev, who shot one-over 72, carded four-under 67 to get to three-under 139 and make the weekend rounds. His round included an eagle and a birdie in the last four holes. Meanwhile, Shiv Kapur missed the cut as he carded a 76 and 70 in his two rounds. The majority of players will now have to complete and, for half the field, start their second rounds this morning, and Levy faces a strange situation where he will now not play until the third and final round on Sunday. Spanish World Cup-winning striker David Villa needed only 15 minutes to register a classy first goal for Melbourne City as the rebranded side opened their A-League season with a 1-1 draw at Sydney FC. It was Villa's first match since scoring for Spain in a 3-0 rout of Australia as both sides exited the World Cup at the group stage in June.

Former Barcelona and Valencia forward Villa, Spain's all time leading scorer, received warm applause upon his arrival from the 25,000 fans but was quiet after his neat goal. City, formerly Melbourne Heart but rebranded after their purchase by English champions Manchester City, had the best of the game but Mate Dugandzic was particularly wasteful. The Melbourne club gave a debut to former Ireland international Damien Duff but were without their other marquee signing, Slovenian midfielder Robert Koren, because of a calf injury. On Friday, AFC Champions League finalists Western Sydney Wanderers were brought crashing back to earth after their continental success when they opened with a 4-1 thrashing at Melbourne Victory. Defending champions Brisbane Roar open their campaign on Sunday at home to Adelaide United. American Simone Biles led from start to finish to retain the women's all-around title at the Gymnastics World Championships in Nanning, southern China on Friday.

Biles, a member of the US outfit that won the team title earlier this week, became the first female since Russian Svetlana Khorkina in 2003 to capture a second consecutive all-around crown. The 17-year-old's celebrations were interrupted when the gold medal was placed around her neck and she spotted a bee in the bouquet of flowers she had been handed. Biles had taken the lead in the event by topping the vault routine and finished with a flourish in the floor exercise to win the four-apparatus final with 60.231 points. She struggled on the balance beam in Wednesday's team final and made an uncharacteristic mistake on the uneven bars during qualification but there were no nerves when it mattered on Friday. Japan's Kohei Uchimura claimed a record-extending fifth consecutive men's all-around title on Thursday and Biles said it would be tough to match his feat. Italian Andrea Dovizioso claimed Ducati's first MotoGP pole position in four years at the Japan Grand Prix on Saturday, while world champion Marc Marquez will start from fourth in a race that could see him retain the title.