Monaco failed to move up the Ligue 1 table after suffering a 2-2 draw with Ajaccio.

The result could have been worse for Leonardo Jardim’s team had it not been for the late equaliser from Ricardo Carvalho. The former Chelsea defender has just become the oldest scorer in the French top division with his goal against Ajaccio. This was also his first goal for the French outfit after completing a move from Real Madrid a few years ago.Carvalho was a major threat from set pieces during his time at Chelsea. Hence, Monaco fans were left a little surprised to see him not score on a regular basis from such opportunities.

Earlier in December, the former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho was asked about what he thought was going to happen with Jose Mourinho.

At this point in time, the Portuguese manager was struggling trying to clinch victories with Chelsea but despite the clear struggles that Mourinho was going through with the Premier League club, Carvalho was certain that his former boss was capable of turning things around and rescues the team from their disastrous start of the season.

Unfortunately for Ricardo Carvalho, his prediction of seeing Mourinho coming back to the top of the Premier League never happened as the Portuguese coach was sacked and left Chelsea hanging in the bottom spots of the top tier English League.

Despite a strong finish to last season, Fiorentina recently parted company with manager Vincenzo Montella due to differences in opinion.

Ever since the arrival of Montella, Fiorentina have been on the up. They are now ever closer to reaching the Champions League places on a consistent level. However, all the good work done by Montella is in danger of being taken away by the new management. It is still unclear if Fiorentina will go for an inexperienced coach in their own house or hire an experienced candidate in the form of a manager like Paulo Sousa.

Ricardo Carvalho is 37 years old and the Portuguese player does not have any plans of stepping down anytime soon as he signed a contract extension with As.Monaco for 1 more year. Even with his elevated age, Carvalho still plays an important role for his club as he made 25 appearances for As.Monaco in the previous season and decided to extend his stay with the French club which will be keeping him at the Stade Louis II at least until 2016.

After penning the new deal with As.Monaco, the experienced defender said that he is optimistic about the near future with his club as his adventure in the Ligue 1 will continue.

Monaco manager Leonardo Jardim has ruled out the possibility of his team winning the league title this season, despite going on a remarkable run of form in the last few months.

Monaco were struggling with the prospect of relegation early on in the campaign, but they have sufficiently recovered to be in a position of finishing in the top three.

They are only nine points behind third placed Paris St Germain, while table leaders Lyon are a further two points ahead. Since there are still several matches left in the season, the prospect of Monaco winning the first league title after a long time has been raised.

Former Chelsea defender Ricardo Carvalho says that he is hoping that, as a Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo wins the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for this year.

The winner of this award will be announced in a few weeks and Ronaldo is in the running to lift his third title. He is the reigning holder, but he faces stiff competition from the likes of Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer. Ronaldo has been one of the outstanding Portuguese players in recent decades. The phenomenal goalscoring record of the 29-year-old has helped Madrid win the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in one season.

Ricardo Carvalho has no hard feelings for Jose Mourinho despite the fact that the latter did not treat him in the best way at Real Madrid.
Mourinho first dropped Carvalho at Bernabeu and then, later released him at the end of the 2012-13 Season.
According to Carvalho, there are always some reasons behind a manager making a particular call. It’s important for a player to understand that.
While being interviewed by a Sports website recently, the veteran centre half said, “Jose came to me and gave me the explanation about everything. So, I didn’t feel let down. It’s obviously difficult, but, as a player, you’ve got to understand the situations.”

Ricardo Carvalho reckons that if his teammate Radamel Falcao signs for Real Madrid, he would form an unstoppable offensive combination there along with Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Falcao was speculated to be close to making a move to Real Madrid last year as well, but, that hadn’t happened eventually and the Colombian forward had joined Monaco.
But, this summer, he might be on his way to Bernabeu.
Falcao is on the radar of a couple of Premier League clubs too, but, there is not much possibility of him going to England.

Falcao had signed for Monaco in May 2013 and he stood out in his very first season there striking 9 times in the top tier in 16 matches that he got to play.

Monaco manager Claudio Ranieri has stepped down from his role after his failure to lead the club to any major title last season. Monaco spend a huge amount of money on several players including star striker Radamel Falcao last summer. However, the club only managed to finish second in the table behind Paris St Germain. This is a considerable achievement considering that the team was playing in the second division only last season. Yet, Ranieri has stepped down from his role after this perceived poor campaign. The French outfit will now be searching for a new manager.