If history ultimately judges the finest talents by their achievements on the international stage, where neither player has tasted success, then the Portuguese captain could use Sunday's Euro 2016 final to land a haymaker blow in one of football's great rivalries.
Atletico Madrid maintained a two-point lead in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at Las Palmas and Barcelona and Real Madrid stayed hard on their heels with thumping wins over Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Jeison Murillo became Colombia's unlikely hero, scoring his first international goal to give his side a 1-0 victory over Brazil.
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Victor Moses has become the third player to join Liverpool on Monday, with the forward signing on a season-long loan from Chelsea, the Premier League club confirmed.
Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory.
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Juventus's win over Real Madrid has strengthened their conviction that they are good enough to rejoin European football's elite after years of watching the Champions League final stages from the sidelines.
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The plucky underdogs were brought down to earth as Manchester City, Everton and Stoke City reached the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, ending the hopes of second-tier sides who felled fancied opponents in the last round.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar motored past 100 goals for the season.
European champions Spain produced a quality exhibition of tiki-taka as they decimated Iran 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi, on Sunday.
Inter Milan staged a late smash-and-grab raid as goals by Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino secured a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group B opener on Tuesday.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insists he will not change the way his team play despite suffering two defeats in a week and losing playmaker David Silva ahead of Manchester United's visit on Sunday.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
Spanish striker Sergio Contreras Pardo's opportunistic first-half strike gave NorthEast FC a 1-0 victory over Sachin Tendulkar co-owned Kerala Blasters FC in the second match of the Hero Indian Super League, in Guwahati, on Monday night. The former Marseille frontman, popularly known as Koke, struck at the stroke of half-time with a snap angular right-footer from the top of the box, sending the ball past former England custodian David James's far right.
Pressure is something that Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says comes with the territory, but after a dismal run, the odds on him becoming the season's first managerial casualty are swiftly shortening.
Barcelona extended their near-perfect start to the season when Alexis Sanchez tapped in at the far post from Neymar's clever assist to secure a 1-0 win at home to city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Friday.
Brazil playmaker Kaka scored his first goal, a delightful curling shot, since his return to AC Milan at the start of the season but his struggling team were held 1-1 at home by Lazio in Serie A on Wednesday.
Gijon spoiled Asier Illarramendi's return to Real Sociedad's midfield after rejoining from Real Madrid this week when they held the Basque club, coached by Scot David Moyes, to a 0-0 draw in San Sebastian.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid returned to winning ways after two defeats, making light of playing most of the second half with 10 men to triumph 3-0 at home to mid-table Espanyol on Saturday.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
Decision to sack Claudio Ranieri nine months after he led Leicester City to a historic title widely criticised.
Mesut Ozil quit Real Madrid to join Arsenal because he realised he no longer had the confidence of Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, the Germany playmaker said.
Real Madrid set up a King's Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success.
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While Gareth Bale is fully expected to regain his place in the Real Madrid side when he returns from injury, team mate Isco is making the most of his chance to prove his worth on the pitch.
Belgium became the first European team to qualify for next year's World Cup when a Romelu Lukaku header gave them a 2-1 win away to Greece on Sunday with the goals coming in a five-minute second-half spell.
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They cheered him to the Old Trafford rafters just for warming up on the touchline, then roared their approval when he finally made it onto the pitch as a Manchester United player in the 67th minute of Sunday's 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
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News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An impudent individual goal from Philippe Coutinho steered Liverpool comfortably into the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday after a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Manchester United completed a 3-1 aggregate win.
Napoli's decision to loan Emanuele Calaio to Genoa came back to haunt them on Monday when the 32-year-old scored with a late free kick in a 1-1 Serie A draw costing his owners two points in the race for a Champions League spot.
Jose Mourinho's wretched week ended on a high note as Manchester United's big guns Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba finally began firing, both finding the target in a 3-1 win at dismal Swansea City on Sunday. Mourinho watched from the stands at the Liberty Stadium following his touchline ban imposed by the Football Association on Wednesday and was buoyed to see Ibrahimovic score twice -- his first league goals in eight weeks -- and Pogba net a superb volley. United, vastly improved after their midweek Europa League defeat at Fenerbahce, went ahead with a 15th minute strike from Pogba worthy of his 89 million pounds price tag before Ibrahimovic ended his goal drought with a sharp first-half double in the space of 12 minutes.
Images from the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers played across the globe on Saturday
Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-2 via penalties to enter the final of the World Cup on Wednesday. The teams were goalless at the end of 120 minutes, and extra-time in the second semi-final.
Wales will move higher than their richer rivals and neighbours England when the new FIFA rankings are announced after Euro 2016, the first sign for what, many predict, will be a bright future after they made history at the tournament. Playing in their first finals since 1958, the Welsh reached the last four of a major tournament for the first time and are expected to move up close to the top 10 countries in the world rankings.
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"I want to reach the highest level possible as a player and I think the most important thing is that at the end of the season we can be happy and maybe have some titles," playmaker De Bruyne told the City website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
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