10/10 wouldn’t go again.

The Algarve lies neatly curled up at the bottom of Portugal like a contented cat in a strip of sunlight.

The only suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will be released from prison in a matter of weeks.

Christian Brueckner will be released on September 17 after serving a sentence for an unrelated rape conviction, the lead prosecutor investigating Maddie’s case confirmed.

Hans Christian Wolters said the prime suspect had to leave prison, despite believing the 48-year-old is still dangerous.

Brueckner has denied being involved in Madeleine’s disappearance in Praia da Luz, Portugal, and has not been charged in relation to it.

He is known to have been in the Praia da Luz area between 2000 and 2017, and is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal in 2005.

Then aged three, Maddie vanished while on holiday with her family in the Algarve resort after her parents went out to dinner and left her sleeping in a room with her toddler twin siblings.

The little girl’s disappearance sent shock waves around the world and sparked a massive investigation that continues to this day.

Wolters, who has led the German efforts to solve Madeleine’s case, told the BBC there is ‘no one else’ they suspect other than Brueckner.

He added: ‘We have evidence which speaks against [Brueckner], which indicates that he is responsible for the disappearance and the death of Madeleine.

‘We haven’t found anything in the last five years that exonerates [him]. We found evidence that strengthens our case.

‘But in our view, it’s not strong enough to make a guilty verdict likely, and that’s why so far we couldn’t charge him or apply for an arrest warrant.’

The suspect told a journalist earlier this year that if he does get out of jail, he will leave Germany for a country with no extradition treaty and lie low as he is so well known.

He also said he most looking forward to eating steak with a beer when he walks free.

A new search for evidence was carried out in July this year at the request of German police as they raced against time to charge Brückner.

Investigators searched areas between Praia da Luz and a house near the holiday resort where he used to live, but nothing was found.

Timeline of events since Madeleine’s disappearance

• May 3, 2007: Kate and Gerry McCann leave their children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, while they dine with friends. They check on their children three times throughout the night, and, at 10 pm, they find her missing
• May 14, 2007: Police take property developer Robert Murat in for questioning and make him a formal suspect – this is later withdrawn.
• August 11, 2007: 100 days after her disappearance, detectives acknowledge that she could be dead.
• September 7, 2007: Maddie’s parents become formal suspects in their daughter’s disappearance.
• September 9, 2007: The McCanns return to England with their two-year-old twins.

• July 21, 2008: Portuguese authorities shelve the investigation and remove the McCanns and Murat as suspects.

• May 12, 2011: Kate McCann publishes a book about her daughter’s disappearance on her eighth birthday

• April 25, 2012: Scotland Yard detectives say they believe Madeleine could still be alive and release a picture of how she may look as a nine-year-old. They ask Portuguese police to reopen the case, but they say they have found no new information.

• July 4, 2013: Scotland Yard confirms it has launched its own investigation and says it has identified 38 people of interest, including 12 Britons.
• October 24, 2013: Portuguese police decide to reopen the case

• January 29, 2014: British detectives fly out to Portugal
• June 3, 2024: Sniffer dogs and specialist teams are used to search an area of scrubland close to where Madeleine went missing.
• December 12, 2024: Detectives begin questioning 11 people who it is thought may have information on the case.

• September 16, 2014: The Government states that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance has so far cost £10 million
• October 28, 2014: Scotland Yard cuts the number of officers working on the inquiry from 29 to four.

• April 30, 2017: The McCanns mark 10 years since her disappearance with a BBC interview.

• May 3, 2019: Local media reports say Portuguese detectives are investigating a foreign paedophile as a suspect in the abduction of Madeleine.

• June 3, 2020: Police reveal that a 43-year-old German prisoner, later named as Christian Brueckner, has been identified as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance.

• April 21, 2022: Christian Brueckner is made a formal suspect by Portuguese authorities.
• October 11, 2022: Brueckner is charged with three counts of rape and two charges of child sex abuse, unrelated to Madeleine’s disappearance.

• May 3, 2023: Kate and Gerry McCann mark the 16th anniversary of Madeleine’s disappearance by saying she is “still very much missed” and that they ‘await a breakthrough’.
• May 22, 2023: An area near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, about 30 miles from Praia da Luz, is sealed off as police prepare to start searching on May 23.
• May 23, 2023: Searches begin with police divers in the water and officers with sniffer dogs and rakes seen on the banks.
• June 23, 2023: A man named Helge B claimed to the German newspaper Bild that Brueckner almost confessed to killing Maddie, allegedly telling him ‘she didn’t scream’ when the pair talked about the case at a music festival

• July 11, 2023: The German prosecutor involved with the case warns not to ‘expect too much’ from the search.
• February 16, 2024: Brueckner’s trial starts over three counts of alleged rape and sexual abuse of two children not connected to the Madeleine investigation
• October 8, 2024: He is acquitted of all the allegations due to ‘insufficient’ evidence. An appeal over the acquittal is launched, which is still ongoing
• March 27, 2025: A 60-year-old woman is charged with stalking the McCann family
• May 3, 2025: Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, mark the 18th anniversary of her disappearance with a heartbreaking message
• June 3, 2025: a new search near Brueckner’s home and trenches around Praia da Luz begins
• September 17, 2025: This is the date Brueckner could be released from prison if no further charges are brought

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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A former mayor in Portugal has died while battling wildfires that continue to sweep across southern Europe, also affecting Spain and Greece.

Officials said Carlos Damaso, the former mayor of Vila Franca do Deão in northeast Portugal, was reported missing while helping fight a blaze. His body was found on Friday.

Nearly 4,000 firefighters are now deployed across the country, and the government in Lisbon has joined Spain in requesting assistance from the European Union’s civil protection mechanism.

However, authorities in Portugal have warned they lack enough resources, while strong winds were causing blazes to spread across the country faster than firefighters could contain them.

Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, offered ‘heartfelt condolences’ to former mayor Damaso, and cut short a holiday to join emergency meetings this weekend.

Wildfires have burned across much of Europe in the last week. In Spain, blazes have burned 610 square miles so far this year – an area roughly the size of London.

There were 14 major fires burning in the country this weekend, with firefighters deployed on a public holiday on Friday as persistent heat and dry conditions made the spread ever more likely.

Spain’s national weather agency Aemet said temperatures had risen above 44C in several places on Saturday, warning of a very high risk of fires across ‘practically the entire country’.

France, Bulgaria, Albania and Montenegro have also suffered devastating fires so far amid heatwaves in August.

And in Greece, the popular tourist island of Chios saw villages evacuated after a wildfire burned for the fourth day despite water-dropping planes and helicopters trying to halt it.

While wildfires happen frequently across Europe over the summer, meteorologists say extreme weather which makes them more likely is becoming more frequent as a result of climate change.

According to EU data, about 6,290 square km (2,429 square miles) of land has burnt across the bloc since the beginning of the year.

And the Met Office said that even the UK is currently being affected as smoke carried over from the fires in Europe creates hazy conditions in parts of the country.

The weather agency said the conditions will lead to brighter sunsets, combining with Saharan dust that has blown towards the country this weekend.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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Ditch Venice’s crowds for this Portuguese alternative.

Jose Mourinho gave a tearful tribute to his former Porto captain Jorge Costa, who has died aged 53.

Costa was the captain and one of the influential figures in Mourinho’s Porto side which won the Champions League in 2004.

The former centre-back won 21 trophies during his time at Porto, including eight Portuguese league titles and the UEFA Cup. He was also capped 50 times by Portugal.

Costa, who returned to Porto last year to become their director of football, suffered a cardiac arrest at the club’s training ground on Tuesday. He was immediately treated and taken to Sao Joao Hospital in critical condition before he died.

‘It’s part of my history that goes,’ Mourinho said during his press conference with Fenerbahce on Tuesday night.

‘You have captains and you have leaders. It’s not always about the armband but what you represent,’ Mourinho added. ‘And Jorge was one of these guys who cleaned the garbage and let the coach do his job as a coach.

‘That’s perfection for a coach when his captain does this work. Of course, I’m very sad it’s part of my history that goes.

‘But let’s forget football, let’s focus on him, on Jorge, on his kids, who I met when they were really kids, but now are grown men.

‘And I’m here now because if he could speak with me now he would tell me, come on, do your press conference. And he would say tomorrow play the game Mister, win the game and forget about me. That would be Jorge.

‘So that’s what I’m going to try and do, do my job today, do my job tomorrow and then cry after. But today and tomorrow I have a job to do and I know Jorge would tell me to do my job.’

Former Chelsea and Tottenham manager, Andre Villas-Boas, who is now the president of Porto, said in his tribute message: ‘Jorge Costa has left us. Our Beast. The eternal Legend of the Club.

‘Respected by so many, loved by all Porto fans, a role model as a person, as a professional and an idol to many.

‘Firstly, and on my own behalf, on behalf of FC Porto, its Board of Directors and its Governing Bodies, I would like to express our deepest condolences to his family, children and friends.

‘Next, to all Porto fans and our Blue and White family, I leave my sincere condolences.

‘Jorge Costa was one of our most beloved players, a legend who lived the Club and Porto like few others. He was unique in his way of being and relating to us and our colors. Today, we want to tell him that we will always be by his side, with the awareness and obligation to give back to him everything he gave us throughout his life. And it was a lot: blood, sweat, and tears.

‘Jorge is indescribable. He embodied everything that FC Porto is and always will be. His upright approach to victory, his limitless spirit of conquest, his moving dedication to his club, and the leadership he carried with him, wearing the legendary and eternal number 2, continued to mark FC Porto’s history with national and international achievements.

‘Jorge Costa left his mark on us all with his dedication, with everything he gave and continued to give to FC Porto. Any book that recounts the beautiful and long history of our Club will portray him as one of the most important athletes in our history. That’s how we will remember him.

‘Personally, I remember him in a special way. I always considered him a friend and saw him as a source of strength and inspiration in the dedication we are obliged to give to our Club. A friend who was always by my side. A demanding friend who, when he felt someone was flagging, was quick to offer a message of strength and focus. Not long ago, he wrote me these words:

‘Andre, I want you to know that I will always be by your side, for our FC Porto.

‘It was like this: he would get involved, scold us, lead us into the fight and only let go when he saw us celebrating a victory again.

‘Many of us remember what he suffered when he had to leave us to play for Charlton. And most of all, we remember his unbridled joy when he returned and donned the blue and white jersey once again. And what did he do next? He won everything.

‘We also remember that, while he was making his mark as a coach, he decided to abandon his career because he believed he could once again be useful to his club in a management role. He arrived without regrets and devoted himself wholeheartedly to his new role as Director of Professional Football. And that’s how he left us today: working for FC Porto’s success, after a technical meeting and an interview in which he discussed the next game of this season, which is now beginning, with the same desire to win that has always characterized him.

‘Jorge Costa never gave up. Even knowing how important he was to all of us, he never claimed a victory for himself. Victories always belonged to FC Porto. He was like that on the field and will be like that for eternity. Jorge Costa’s legacy will live on in the memories of all Porto fans.

‘Jorge, we will miss you immensely, but don’t doubt that we will fight for you just as you fought for us and for FC Porto.

‘You will never be forgotten, Captain.’

A statement from Porto read: ‘Jorge Costa, the legendary FC Porto captain and current Director of Professional Football, passed away this Tuesday from cardiac arrest,’ a Porto statement read.

‘Futbol Clube do Porto expresses its deepest sadness and consternation at the passing of an inescapable figure in the Club’s history.

‘Throughout his life, both on and off the field, Jorge Costa embodied the values that define FC Porto: dedication, leadership, passion, and an unwavering spirit of achievement. He touched generations of fans and became a major symbol of Porto.

‘In this time of immense grief, Futebol Clube do Porto extends its deepest condolences to Jorge Costa’s family, his friends, and all who shared unforgettable moments with him.

‘As this is a time of grief for his entire family and for the Porto Alegre family, we ask everyone to exercise the required discretion and respect during this time of farewell. More information will be released in due course.

‘Jorge Costa’s legacy will forever live on in the memories of all Porto fans.

‘You will never be forgotten, Captain.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

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