Sergio

The Mexican was dropped by Red Bull at the end of last season despite having two further years on his contract after the team felt he had run out of time to prove he could provide the required support for Max Verstappen.

Dan Towriss, chief executive officer of GM’s partner TWG Global, said Cadillac had considered signing a young and up-and-coming driver before confirming this line-up.

“Their experience, leadership and technical acumen are what we need,” Towriss said. “We’re humbled by their belief in us and this project.

“There is a young pool of drivers who are exiting and very talented so it was a tough decision. But it was the leadership of these two drivers that stood out.”

Bottas said in a team statement that he felt Cadillac were “ambitious but also grounded”.

He added: “This isn’t just a racing project; it’s a long-term vision. It’s not every day that you get a chance to be part of something being built from the ground up and helping shape it into something that truly belongs on the F1 grid.

“I’ve had the honour of working with some of the best teams in the world, and I can already see the same professionalism and hunger here.

“This is an iconic brand with a big legacy in American motorsport, and to be a part of the story as it enters the world stage of F1 is incredibly special.”

Perez added: “From our first conversations, I could sense the passion and determination behind this project.

“To help bring such a fantastic company to F1 is a huge responsibility, one I’m confident of taking on.”

After Tijjani Reijnders’ impressive debut for Manchester City, BBC Sport looks back at other players who starred in their first Premier League match.

READ MORE: ‘Top signing for coming years’ – all-action Reijnders stars for Man City

Available to UK users only.

Players do not come much more decorated than Ramos. His spell at Real Madrid, where he made 671 appearances, resulting in four Champions Leagues and five La Liga titles. Plus four Fifa Club World Cups.

He was a key cog in one of international football’s most dominant teams as he won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 during his 180-cap Spain career.

But by February 2025 he had not played competitive football for almost nine months, having ended his second spell at Sevilla at the end of 2024-25.

And so came the call from Monterrey, who are also known by their nickname of Rayados.

They are five-time champions of Mexico – and five-time Concacaf Champions League winners – including in 2021, which meant they would compete in this summer’s Club World Cup.

Ramos accepted the offer, a one-year deal to become Monterrey’s top earner.

Rayados president Jose Antonio Noriega spoke to the Athletic, external in February about how they persuaded Ramos to join.

“It’s a package deal. There is no single aspect, Sergio is not convinced by just one thing,” said Noriega, a former midfielder for Monterrey and Mexico.

“We are a team that fights for titles and that attracts Sergio. But surely that wouldn’t be enough.

“It’s a serious team with a good reputation and the city is nice. It’s an accumulation of things that Sergio found fulfilling. Also the fact that each year there are five championships and one of them this year is the Club World Cup, which is special.”

He added: “We knew there was a market for Sergio. We heard about the interest from San Diego FC, from some clubs in Brazil and some in Saudi Arabia.

“Let me tell you a metaphor – it’s like when you want to fall in love with a girl. The only way to make a girl fall in love is to be yourself. We were like that with Ramos.

“We told him ‘this is who we are, this is what we can give you’. Fortunately, we understood each other.”

SERGIO AGUERO brutally trolled Cristiano Ronaldo for being absent from the Club World Cup after meeting the footie icon’s biggest fan, iShowSpeed.

The revamped 32-team tournament got underway early on Sunday morning, with Inter Miami and Al-Ahly lighting the blue touch paper.

3

3

Despite the competition now consisting of 32 teams, Ronaldo‘s Al-Nassr failed to qualify for the stateside competition.

He could’ve played in the tournament had he joined one of the participating teams on a short-term deal.

But the 40-year-old opted against doing that, much to the disappointment of American streamer iShowSpeed.

And CR7 was on the receiving end of several shots from Aguero during a live stream with social media sensation Speed.

Aguero asked Speed: “You’re a very big fan of Cristiano, no?”

In response to Speed’s confirmation of his Ronaldo fandom, former Argentina international Aguero said: “I respect it, it’s OK.

“He’s a good player. I prefer [Lionel] Messi, of course.”

Aguero then stuck the knife into Ronaldo by sarcastically asking Speed: “Ronaldo is playing here now at the Club World Cup or no?

JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS

3

“Maybe he’ll have to watch on TV.”

Speed leapt to the defence of Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, insisting the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will guide Portugal to glory in the 2026 World Cup.

Aguero sarcastically then asked the 20-year-old: “[Ronaldo] just won the [Euros] no?

“Ah the Nations League… congratulations.”