There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has a full squad available, including forward Karim Benzema, for Saturday's La Liga Clasico at home to Barcelona.
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos performed another rescue act to wreck Napoli's brave comeback attempt and take the Champions League title-holders into the quarter-finals.
Yet for all of his 451 goals in all competitions and the silverware he helped amass, Ronaldo's time at the Bernabeu was fraught with moments of high tension leading to Tuesday's announcement that he was joining the Italian champions.
A brief history of previous World Cup semi-final appearances by England and Croatia, ahead of their last four match at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on Wednesday.
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.
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced he will invest over USD 40 million in hotels bearing his CR7 moniker in his native Portugal, Madrid and New York.
Barcelona forward Neymar finds himself at the centre of unwanted media attention in Spain as his struggling team's promising season threatens to unravel after a run of defeats. The Brazilian has not scored in his last five games and is being portrayed as one of the reasons for Barca's woes after three straight La Liga losses has seen them caught by Atletico Madrid, who have also knocked them out of the Champions League. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia this week focused on the 24-year-old's conduct off the pitch, particularly his "trips away, parties at unadvisable times and commercial commitments". He visited Brazil in March for his sister's birthday party. TV programme 'El Dia Despues (The Day After) on Tuesday showed Neymar arguing with Jordi Ala during Sunday's home defeat by Valencia after the defender chose not to pass to him. Camera footage showed Neymar appearing to swear at his team mate. Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday looking to get their title bid back on track with the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo focusing on Neymar, pictured between Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, below the headline 'This cannot go on'.
Argentina's Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez, English third tier player David Hall and U.S. women's international Carli Lloyd were among players included on the shortlist for FIFA's goal of the year award on Friday.
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.
'What he has done in half as many matches as Raul is incredible'
Barcelona leapfrogged Atletico Madrid to go top of La Liga after Lionel Messi's acrobatic volley secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against tenacious Malaga on Saturday.
'I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games.'
Holders Barcelona cruised into the King's Cup quarter-finals when a side missing several regulars beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, with Munir El Haddadi netting both goals in a thumping 6-1 aggregate success on Wednesday.
In one of season's biggest signings, former Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto Carlos was oficially appointed marquee manager of the Delhi Dynamos franchise for the second edition of Indian Super League (ISL) football.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Breaking records has become Cristiano Ronaldo's favourite pastime. Very few footballers can do everything and Ronaldo is of that rare breed
He might be travelling halfway across the globe to promote youth football through Subroto Cup but Brazilian legend Pele on Friday declared that there won't be another like him and the man who draws constant comparisons with him, the inimitable Diego Maradona.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Unlike some young football players of his generation, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is a complete family man.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a colossal figure in club football having completed a hat-trick of Champions League (1 Manchester United, 2 Real Madrid) victories. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo has won several league titles. But the Portuguese magician tasted success for the first time with the national team as Portugal defeated hosts France to lift the 2016 Euro title.
Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo scored the opening goal as 10-man Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-0 on Wednesday to qualify for the King's Cup quarter-finals 4-0 on aggregate.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
On Saturday he made the difference yet again with two goals to help Real Madrid secure a third Champions League title in four years as they crushed Juventus 4-1 in a riveting final.
Not content with setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of the Champions League last season, Cristiano Ronaldo is already well on the way towards breaking Lionel Messi's La Liga best haul of 50 goals in one campaign.
The BCCI has retired the No 10 jersey in Tendulkar's honour. But in football, number 10 signifies the legend. After Pele and Diego Maradona, the two great strikers of the ball, Lionel Messi has made the number priceless, notes Veer Arjun Singh.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
In other matches, super-sub Messi helped Barca romp past Atletico
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were being touted as the best strike force in soccer history a month ago as they spearheaded Barcelona's record unbeaten run but the tiring trio are now taking the blame as the club's season unravels.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The following is a factbox on former Dutch international who was popularly known as 'Flying Dutchman'.
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.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Fernando Torres stole the show with a dramatic double as Atletico Madrid secured a battling 2-2 draw at Real Madrid on Thursday that dumped the holders out of the King's Cup 4-2 on aggregate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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