The brain may be sharp as ever, but the legs seem heavier, the pace worryingly slower. He's still only 32, but the strain of a decade-and-a-half of paranormal activity on the pitch may just be piling up.
Argentina have reached three major finals in three years but the team who came so close to winning the 2014 World Cup face crunch games against Peru and Ecuador that will determine if they miss out on the global showpiece event for the first time since 1970.
Granada have suspended new signing Jose Angulo after he failed a drug test with his former Ecuadorian club Independiente del Valle during the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League.
The tournament brings together the six continental champions from across the world, with European Champions League winners Bayern Munich the first to have qualified.
'I always said I wanted to play abroad but the only thing that would stop me was if I was winning and successful on home shores. I was lucky I found a great club at Manchester United it would've been almost impossible for me to leave'
Brazil coach Dunga launched a stinging attack on referee Enrique Osses after the Chilean whistler sent Neymar off.
Coach Ernesto Valverde and midfielder Sergio Busquets were due to give a news conference before the training session but spoke to the media after training due to their late arrival.
Brazil have decided not to appeal against the four-game ban that will keep Neymar out of the Copa America but the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) hit out at CONMEBOL for their harsh treatment of the forward.
Champions Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to lowly Burnley on Thursday, ending their 68 match unbeaten home record in the Premier League as their title defence continued to fade.
'We are not hiding. We the players are primarily responsible and I, as captain, more than anyone'
Argentina's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
Lionel Messi kept his nerve from the penalty spot to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday and return his side to the top of the table.
Revolution is in the air at Real Madrid after their Champions League empire was razed to the ground with an astounding 4-1 loss at home to Ajax Amsterdam, with a huge clear out of players expected as well as a change of manager.
The Barcelona legend showed his support following the end of the World Health Worker Week, which concluded on Saturday.
Messi, who won the Spanish La Liga title with Barcelona last season as well as the European golden boot having scored 54 goals in 58 games in all competitions, last won the award in 2015.
Lionel Messi does not need a Copa America win to feel like the king of the world. He captured that crown a long ago, says Dhruv Munjal.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the celebrations.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches.
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has defended centre-back Gerard Pique's right to make comments about referees favouring Real Madrid.
Fernanda Colombo Uliana, a 25-year-old assistant referee, is fast becoming an internet sensation. It is not just because of her model-like looks, but also her flag-waving work.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
'Pay me and I will leave, I have given everything and broken my back for this badge, this club and for you'
'That's what we're trying to do, by creating a tournament that is much more attractive than the current one, with more quality among participants and more clubs. That will attract more sponsors and television companies from around the world'
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Barcelona were hailed as La Liga champions-elect in the Catalan media after their 1-0 win at Real Madrid on Saturday, while the capital's press called for sweeping changes at Real after another domestic failure.
The hard-fought win took Zinedine Zidane's side on to 77 points after 34 games, seven clear of second-placed Barca who visit in-form Villarreal later on Sunday.
Brazil's disappointingly one-sided win over Argentina in the Copa America final was a victory for muscle over finesse and could prompt the losers to revert to a more physical, less entertaining, style.
'Cristiano scored 50 goals and you can't find someone today who scores that many. Some of us have to take a step forward and, while not scoring 50, what we need is two or three players who score 15, 20, or 10 goals and we don't have that.'
No amount of preparation is enough to snuff out the threat of Argentina's "assassin" Lionel Messi, Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomez said ahead of Friday's Copa America clash between the teams. Messi was an unused substitute in Argentina's 2-1 win over holders Chile in their opening Group D match in Santa Clara, California on Monday after a back injury but will reappear when they face Panama in Chicago. "Leo trained normally, he will play," coach Gerardo Martino told a news conference on Thursday. Both sides have three points after Panama marked their first appearance in the world's oldest international tournament with a surprise 2-1 win over Bolivia, who face Chile in Foxborough on Friday.
The current generation of Argentina players is one of the best ever even though the team have not won a major trophy in 22 years, coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday.
The gifted 23-year-old attacking midfielder is moving to Anfield from Germany's Hoffenheim, where he played since 2010, scoring 47 goals in 151 appearances.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Fernandao, the swashbuckling striker who led Internacional to Copa Libertadores and World Club Cup triumphs in 2006, has died in a helicopter crash in central Brazil, his former club said on Saturday. He was 36.
Kaka and Ronaldinho were included in the squad for Brazil's friendlies against England and Turkey next month even though they asked not to be picked for the Copa America.
While domestic leagues are hoping to resume when the threat from the virus has receded, concrete start dates have yet to be fixed. That leaves the issue of expiring player contracts, which are usually timed to finish at the end of a given season, as a potential headache.
'The pandemic has caused football to change a lot, and for the worse. You can see it in the matches, and I hope this all ends soon and we can get fans back into the stadiums and return to normality.'
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