The 32-year-old helped Real Madrid win the Champions League for a third season running and then led Croatia to the World Cup final.
* Liverpool will host Chelsea in the League Cup third round after Thursday's draw threw up four all-Premier League ties. Tottenham Hotspur will host Watford, Southampton visit Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers welcome Midlands rivals Leicester City in the other top-tier encounters.
* Marko Arnautovic is ready for a return to the West Ham United squad for Saturday's Premier League clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers after he returned to training this week, manager Manuel Pellegrini said. The Austrian forward hobbled off during West Ham's 3-1 loss at Arsenal with a knee problem last weekend, and missed their 3-1 League Cup win at AFC Wimbledon on Tuesday.
* Fulham captain Tom Cairney is expected to be out for several weeks after suffering a foot injury, manager Slavisa Jokanovic said on Thursday. The 27-year-old midfielder, who has pulled out of international duty with Scotland, picked up the injury in Fulham's Premier League win against Burnley last weekend and was taken off after 78 minutes.
* Bahrain's Nigerian-born Edidiong Odiong picked up her third gold medal of the Asian Games on Thursday when she led her country to the women's 4x100 metres relay title, ending China's hold on the event. The 21-year-old Odiong had completed the women's sprint double with the 100m and 200m titles at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium and also won silver in the 4x400m relay later on the final day of athletics at the 18th Asian Games.
* AS Monaco have brought in Belgium forward Nacer Chadli on a three-year contract from English second-tier side West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee, the clubs announced on Thursday. West Brom, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, said the deal was concluded after the Ligue 1 side made an improved offer for Chadli late on Wednesday.
* Burnley's European adventure ended on Thursday at the hands of Greek team Olympiakos Piraeus as the Premier League side failed to make the Europa League group stage. The Clarets trailed 3-1 from the away leg of the tie and a 1-1 draw meant a 4-2 aggregate defeat for the Lancashire side.
* The unified Korean women's basketball team defeated Chinese Taipei 89-66 on Thursday to reach the final at the Asian Games as players from both sides of the divided peninsula got onto the scoresheet to the cheers of joint supporters. The Koreans will face China in Saturday's final and will be followed by dozens of supporters wearing T-shirts with the unified Korean flag.
* Indonesian authorities have stated their intention to ensure tight security during the closing ceremony of the ongoing Asian Games, amid considerable clamor for tickets to watch the event. While 52,000 tickets for the ceremony have already sold out, more fans are expected to try to attend, said the Games' organizing committee chairman Erick Thohir.
