The defender was full of praise for the Portuguese forward and Raphael Varane following Real Madrid's overwhelming victory over Barcelona to seal a place in the Copa del Rey final

Sergio Ramos has called teammate Cristiano Ronaldo the best player in the world after his inspirational performance led Real Madrid to an incredible 3-1 win at Barcelona in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal.

The capital outfit will play either Atletico Madrid or Sevilla in the final on May 18 after a pair of goals from Ronaldo and a corner kick header from Raphael Varane saw Los Blancos progress by a 4-2 aggregate scoreline. Jordi Alba’s last-ditch strike came too late for Barcelona to have any consequence, as Madrid coasted to the victory at Camp Nou, with Ronaldo's penalty kick and follow of a saved Angel Di Maria shot providing plenty of road fireworks.

Ramos was full of praise for Ronaldo’s display, telling reporters: “For me, Cristiano is the best in the world, and has always shown up in these types of games.

“We have done very well because against Barcelona it is complicated to find space. The result is deserved.”

Ramos also had kind words for the performance of 19-year-old central defensive partner Varane, who scored a goal in each leg of the semifinal and was outstanding defensively throughout the tie.

"Young people like Varane must be given opportunities to play, and tonight, we have seen the positives [of this approach],” Ramos said.

The Spanish rivals will face each other once again on Saturday at Santiago Beranbeu in La Liga in what is sure to be another feisty clash despite Barcelona carrying a 16-point edge with 13 games remaining in the league season.

The Brazilian and his representatives have met with the Rossoneri on Thursday as they look to thrash out a deal to bring the 30-year-old back to San Siro.

Following the news on Wednesday night that the Brazilian was unhappy at Santiago Bernabeu,the two sides' presidents, Milan's Silvio Berlusconi and Madrid's Florentino Perez, have begun talks over a possible loan deal for the 30-year-old.

The forward has failed to cement his place in the first team under Jose Mourinho and Kaka's representatives went to Milan's head office on Thursday to discuss the player's options.

Kaka, who has previously played for Milan between 2003-2009, has made only seven league appearances for Madrid this season.

The same eight ties were pulled out of the hat in Wednesday's dry run in a bizarre twist of fate, including Real Madrid-Manchester United and AC Milan-Barcelona.

The UEFA Champions League draw for the last 16 has seen the same teams pitted against one another as Wednesday's rehearsal.

The draw, conducted by UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino in Nyon, Switzerland, conjured up mouthwatering ties such as Real Madrid-Manchester United and AC Milan-Barcelona. It also had an air of familiarity to it, as Wednesday's mock-up produced the same eight ties, with Bayern Munich also facing Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund playing Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Selecao star's father, who is also his agent, reveals that his son will not make a switch to his former club during the winter period, but says a summer move is very likely.

AC Milan striker Robinho is likely to complete a move back to Santos during the summer transfer window, according to the player's agent and father, Gilvan de Suoza. 

The 28-year-old has been linked with a return to the Brazilian side where he started his professional career in 2002, but his father was adamant that an earlier move in January would not occur.

"These stories are only rumors – he will not move from Milan [in January]. I'm sure he will go to Santos in the summer,"  De Souza told UOL Esporte.

"Robinho will not leave Milan [in January]. He does not want to deceive the fans of other clubs. The Rossoneri have already sold other strikers, so they will not let him leave too."

Robinho joined Milan in 2010, appearing 71 times and scoring 22 goals in the Rossoneri jersey so far.

Manchester City have apologised to Rio Ferdinand after the Manchester United defender appeared to be hit by a coin as he celebrated his side's third goal in their 3-2 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

The Italy playmaker, now 33, has claimed that he almost followed former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti to Stamford Bridge before joining the Old Lady in 2011

The Juventus star will line up against the Blues on Tuesday evening, but admitted he was in deep negotiations with club officials, before AC Milan - his club at the time - pulled the plug on a deal.

The 33-year-old told the Daily Mail: "Actually, Milan wouldn’t let me go. I have a very strong connection with Ancelotti, so I was in touch with him when he went to Chelsea and I’m still in touch with him now he’s at Paris Saint-Germain.

"I had already started negotiating with the people at Chelsea but then finally Milan didn’t let me go. That’s why I stayed.

"Certainly it would have been a different experience that I’d have liked, especially when I was 30 years old. So why not? But unfortunately it didn’t happen."

The midfielder has enjoyed somewhat of a renaissance since joining the Bianconeri, contributing to Juventus' unbeaten title success last season, before shining for Italy at Euro 2012.

Pirlo also admitted he is still looking to challenge himself, and refused to rule out a future move to the Premier League.

"Maybe, who knows? I don’t know what might happen. You never know. I still have two years left with Juventus, this season and next," he added.

"I like English football a lot. There are plenty of very good teams. They are very aggressive so it’s always entertaining to watch.

"It wouldn’t be a problem for me fitting into that particular style because I’ve played with different players with different characteristics throughout my career."