Mohamed Salah heads to the World Cup with the reputation of being one of the most lethal finishers in the game, and his country's hopes of making it to the knockout stages rest overwhelmingly on his shoulders.
Failing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo is outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's biggest transfer regret
Cristiano Ronaldo signed off his stellar 2016 in style on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick to lift Real Madrid to Club World Cup glory and underline his status as the world's best player.
The PSG frontline is already formidable, with Messi's former Barca team mate Neymar and young France striker Kylian Mbappe seen as two of the best players on the planet.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Vinicius started a foundation that is building schools in impoverished areas and is investing in research to develop new ways to improve the education system in Brazil.
The Champions League is part of Real Madrid's folklore and it is the nature of the Spanish side to always set their sights on Europe's most prestigious club tournament, having won it more times than any other team, winger Gareth Bale has said.
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England's north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford to buy him. "He already knows there's no beach!," Aguero, who has scored 120 goals in 185 appearances during his four-and-a-half years at the Etihad, told Sky Sports. "We play every three days so we just eat, rest between games -- so the weather is not really that important.
Five-times world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Juventus from Real Madrid.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
An Argentine football club has recreated the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of its gymnasium, with Diego Maradona as God, Lionel Messi as Adam and a host of angels that include Mario Kempes, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Batistuta.
PSG's Champions League tie with Newcastle is like a final, says Luis Enrique
The Real Madrid forward apologises after Real Madrid dumped out of King's Cup by Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid failed in their attempt to sign France striker Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain on the final day of the transfer window as Cristiano Ronaldo completed his move from Juventus to Manchester United.
The reigning Ballon d'or winner gave a perfect start to his side's new campaign by scoring twice in Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Cypriot visitors APOEL in the opening match.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 22nd La Liga goal of the season to set Real Madrid on their way to a laboured 2-0 win at home to Granada on Saturday that lifted them above Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the top of the standings.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo collected a record fourth Golden Shoe award as Europe's top scorer on Tuesday for his 48-goal haul in La Liga last season.
Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski scored the winner to secure Poland a place at Euro 2016 with a 2-1 victory in Warsaw on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted that he needs to rest more and that sitting out the odd game is in the interests of him and Real Madrid, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday. Real's all-time top scorer has missed four of his team's 15 league games this season, two more than in the whole of the last campaign, and he was a surprise omission from the squad for Wednesday's King's Cup game against Sevilla. Zidane remarked last year that he would prefer Ronaldo to rest more after injuries forced him to miss vital games at the end of the season, although the Frenchman appears to have reached agreement with his talisman this campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he is "still handsome" after his face was left covered in blood from being kicked in the face against Deportivo La Coruna last week and declared he wants to remain at Real Madrid despite reports that he is unhappy in Spain.
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
CR7 started the game against the Toons in his second debut at Old Trafford.
Players at this year's women's World Cup, trying to settle a lawsuit against FIFA, will play on artificial turf as long as the final matches are on natural grass, their lawyer said.
They say never go back, but United fans had been longing for Ronaldo to rejoin their side for many years, more in forlorn hope than anything else.
Germany's bid to win a record ninth European Championship got off to an emphatic start as they beat Denmark 4-0 in their Group B opener on Friday.
After scoring one of the goals of the tournament and upstaging Lionel Messi by leading his team to the top of their group, Croatia captain Luka Modric hopes to fulfil a dream that began when he watched his nation record a best ever World Cup showing.
From soccer genius Lionel Messi to sprint king Usain Bolt, a shimmering array of the world's greatest sports stars are in the race for top honours at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards -- also called the 'Oscars of Sport' -- to be presented.
'I speak with Cristiano all the time and I know him very well. He knows that until now he played 60-70 games a season and the accumulation of all those years meant he needs to rest a little'
More than 50 Africa-born or African-origin players are spread across 11 teams -- excluding sides from the continent -- that are part of the tournament in Qatar.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has a full squad available, including forward Karim Benzema, for Saturday's La Liga Clasico at home to Barcelona.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates have issued a strong defence of his value to Real Madrid as the Portuguese striker grapples with a barren streak that has sparked a debate about his place in the team.
Tottenham Hotspur will be without five key players for at least two weeks due to injury, but manager Mauricio Pochettino was in upbeat mood ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Finances aside, though, there is an even bigger question mark hanging over Lionel Messi. Is he a fading force?