La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first defeat in three games under new coach Quique Setien as they were beaten 2-0 away at Valencia on Saturday. Barca are still top of the standings on 43 points after 21 games but second-placed Real Madrid, who are also on 43, can go three points clear at the summit if they beat Real Valladolid away from home on Sunday.
Real Madrid dug deep in a 3-0 home win against lowly Alaves in the La Liga, but Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain their second Ligue 1 loss of the season.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks to fire champions Manchester City to a rampant 6-3 thrashing of local rivals Manchester United in the English Premier League on Sunday.
The 33-year-old Messi, who signed his last contract in 2017, has become more outspoken against the club's hierarchy in the last year and radio station Cadena Ser said last Thursday he is unhappy with how Barca is being run and wants to leave in 2021.
The Bolivian and Chilean football teams announced more positive COVID-19 tests among players or staff
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.
The self-confessed Lionel Messi loyalist recently flaunted her unique body art.
Paraguay's Lucas Barrios scored in the 90th minute to give his side a dramatic 2-2 draw against Argentina in the Copa America in Santiago, on Saturday.
Barcelona hit out at the referee and his assistants for failing to award Lionel Messi's first half 'goal' in an action-packed 1-1 draw at Liga title rivals Valencia on Sunday.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi pulled his side level in the 57th minute after a handball by Paraguay's Ivan Peris which no-one on the pitch appealed for but was spotted by a VAR review.
Messi was Argentina's key man in their 1-0 win.
Lionel Messi returned from international suspension to score the winner in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Brazil in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Lionel Messi led Barcelona to a 3-1 win at home to Napoli for a 4-2 aggregate victory which took the club into the Champions League quarter-finals, where they face Bayern Munich.
Sensational teenager Ansu Fati shows there is life after legend Messi at Camp Nou.
Like life, elite sports can at the same time be cruel as well demanding. Virat Kohli had faced that for the past three years when he faced the run drought.
The World Cup lost its headline acts on Saturday as the game's two biggest stars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, readied to leave Russia after their teams were eliminated in the round of 16. Messi's Argentina lost 4-3 to France and hours later Ronaldo's Portugal went down 2-1 to Uruguay, leaving the tournament without its two best known and most loved players.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Fresh from propelling Barcelona to their fifth trophy of 2015, their prolific strikes are now seeking to break the Spanish record of goals in a calendar year when they play Real Betis on Wednesday.
Real Madrid duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are in the running with Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
Richarlison is a rarity among the overindulged footballing elite. In a World Cup which has been overshadowed by social issues, Brazil's latest football sensation is championing more than just one cause, observes Deepti Patwardhan.
Former Brazilian great Ronaldinho feels that Lionel Messi has been the perfect senior to Neymar at Barcelona, exactly the role played by him when the Argentine stalwart joined the first team of the Catalan giants more than a decade ago. "I think so. When Messi came in, he was a young kid and there was so much potential in him. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with him and we did share a great rapport on the field and off it too.
AIFF President Praful Patel congratulated Chhetri on being conferred with the Khel Ratna.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half to help Barcelona to a 2-0 win over Arsenal in their UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday.
Hannes Halldorsson used to make zombie films for a living but it was watching videos that let Iceland's goalkeeper outwit Lionel Messi and save a penalty on Saturday that gave his side a shock World Cup point.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar motored past 100 goals for the season.
Lionel Messi is still the best player in the world despite never winning a major international trophy for Argentina, former Barcelona team mate and Brazil great Ronaldinho said on Sunday. The 29-year-old Messi, who retired from internationals last month after Argentina lost to Chile in the Copa America final, is his country's top scorer with 55 goals. The five times World Player of the Year has played in three Copa America finals and the 2014 World Cup final, but lost them all.
An earlier tax fraud case against Messi is to be heard in a Barcelona court between May 31 and June 3 after the World Player of the Year and his father Jorge were accused by the tax office in 2013 of defrauding the Spanish state of 4.2 million euros ($4.5 million) from 2007-09.
Lionel Messi has become the first player to win Europe's Golden Shoe award for three straight years after his nearest challenger Kylian Mbappe failed to score the four goals he needed in Paris St Germain's final league match of the season on Friday.
Holders Real Madrid will start their attempt to win a record third straight Champions League title in a group with Borussia Dortmund, Tottenham Hotspur and Apoel Nicosia after Thursday's draw.
Earlier in the day, Bolivia beat Venezuela 3-1 at home and Uruguay and Paraguay drew 0-0 in Montevideo.
Atletico meet city rivals Real Madrid in the final at Jeddah.
'This is the highest point of my career. When I look at this award it makes me even more determined to win more.'
Barcelona have given their full backing to Lionel Messi in the Argentina forward's tax fraud case and vowed to fight "external decisions" they say are unfairly targeting the club.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi was at the heart of another devastating attacking show.
Floyd Mayweather tops the Forbes list of best paid athletes for the fourth time in seven years, followed by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Messi's contract expires at the end of June and there has been no announcement on an extension.
Both sides had shots cleared off the line but Real were left feeling more disappointed after winning the tactical battle but failing to take their chances.
Villarreal's struggles in the Spanish league continued with a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao, with striker Gerard Moreno not finishing the game because of an injury.
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta.
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