Paris Saint Germain's Neymar, Laywin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes as well as Marseille's duo of Dario Benedetto and Jordan Amavi were given their marching orders after rival players threw punches and kicks at each other.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has labelled Lionel Messi has the 'best' player he has seen after the Argentine forward spurred a 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam that secured the Spanish side a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
A summary of sports events and persons in the news on Saturday.
"Barcelona and Sergio Busquets signed this morning an agreement to renew the player's contract, which will end on June 30 2023," Barca said in a statement.
The winner will be named on August 26, along with UEFA's women's player of the year and Champions League positional award winners, at the Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.
Nice strengthened their grip on the Ligue 1 standings when they beat 10-man Olympique Lyonnais 2-0 at home on Friday.
Barcelona have won the Champions League five times, most recently in 2015, and face a tough task to get back to the top table of European football after being forced to sell club legend Lionel Messi due to financial problems.
Spain's La Liga on Thursday rejected payment of a record-breaking release clause that would allow Neymar to leave Barcelona for Paris St Germain, a source from the national soccer league said.
Lionel Messi is set to join Paris St Germain after Barcelona were forced to let their Argentine talisman go as they could not afford to give him a new contract under La Liga's salary limit rules.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
With two days to go before his country meet Denmark in the first leg of their Euro 2016 playoff at the Friends Arena, Ibrahimovic also hinted that the two games against Sweden's Scandinavian rivals could be his last for the national team.
PSG can exploit Bayern's high defensive line, says Rooney
Lens falter in title race after draw at Nice, Marseille hit six
'We do a lot of activities outside the pitch, maybe it's too much for some but that's how you win titles.'
Barcelona were in danger of being toppled from the top of La Liga standings on Sunday after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric urged Neymar to join him at the Champions League winners after swapping shirts with the forward following Sunday's international friendly between Brazil and Croatia.
Argentina's Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or award for the best player in the world for a record-stretching seventh time on Monday, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho to lift soccer's most prestigious trophy yet again.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck a last-minute winner to put Paris St Germain in the French League Cup final with a 2-1 win at Nantes on Tuesday having opened the scoring as they boosted their hopes of a maiden domestic double.
The Champions League will resume in August after being halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a 'Final Eight' tournament being held in Lisbon after the remaining second-leg games from the last 16 ties are decided.
Real Madrid are confident going into the Champions League final against Liverpool and will count on their big-game experience
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Holders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday's draw for the first knockout stage.
Last year's finalists Juventus will face-off against Bundesliga champs Bayern.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
Mauricio Pochettino has left his job as Chelsea manager by mutual consent, the Premier League side announced on Tuesday.
Brazilian striker Neymar should be fine to continue in the World Cup despite limping off with a swollen ankle during his team's 2-0 victory over Serbia on Thursday, coach Tite said.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Argentina have called up Mallorca's Spanish defender Pablo Maffeo for the first time ahead of this month's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil in the squad announced by its FA on Friday.
Paris St Germain centre back Thiago Silva says the French club has what it takes to win their Champions League Group F after Tuesday's decider at Barcelona.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has failed to recover from a calf strain and will miss Tuesday's Champions League Group F match at APOEL Nicosia.
New Chelsea signings David Luiz and Marcos Alonso are not ready for a first-team place in Sunday's Premier League clash with SwanseaCity, manager Antonio Conte said on Friday.
Real Madrid have courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the 24-year-old, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May last year.
The French professional league (LFP) ended its season last week with 10 games left, awarding the title to Paris St Germain and leaving Lyon outside the placings for European competition next season.
Earlier, Messi's World Cup-winning team mate Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin award for the world's best goalkeeper.
Serie A witnessed some breath-taking football action, especially when AC Milan could not convert the umpteen chances they had against Sassuolo while Inter went to top. In Ligue 1 action, all the star players found the net for PSG. Here are images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A first-half double from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid cruise to a 3-0 victory away to Cadiz that moved them top of La Liga.
France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed his final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday, including defenders Adil Rami and Samuel Umtiti in place of the injured Raphael Varane and Jeremy Mathieu. Liverpool centre back Mamadou Sakho was not included even though his 30-day provisional suspension for failing a drugs test expired last weekend. Hosts France geared up for the finals with a 3-2 victory over Cameroon in Nantes on Monday. They take on Scotland in Metz on Saturday.
Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic put his disciplinary woes aside on Friday.
