Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Saturday
News that transpired on and off the football field.
Brazilian fans turned on the men's soccer team after a 0-0 draw with Iraq on Sunday that left them in serious danger of exiting at the first stage of the Olympics.
Players from European champions Barcelona made up nearly half of UEFA's Team of the Year which was revealed on Friday, while Cristiano Ronaldo made the lineup for a record 10th time. Eight players from La Liga were included in the final XI, voted for by 7.2 million UEFA.com users from a 40-strong shortlist. Lionel Messi, Dani Alves, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Neymar were the Barcelona players included, while Real Madrid provided Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez.
For the first time since 1998, the Champions League final will feature two teams who entered the competition as domestic champions, a throwback to the day's of the old European Cup when only a country's title winners were allowed to enter.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
Brazil may have been one of the big disappointments so far at the Russia World Cup, but the pressure is on their opponents Serbia in their final Group E match in Moscow on Wednesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Argentina was due to host this year's Copa America but withdrew at the last minute due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. The tournament was moved to Brazil, even though the death toll there is higher than anywhere outside the United States.
Members of Brazil's national team, which was knocked out of the 2018 World Cup, were applauded by fans greeting their arrival at Rio de Janeiro's international airport on Sunday.
Brazil may be five-time winners of the World Cup and joint favourites to make it six in Russia this year but the South Americans do not yet have the right blend for success, three-time World Cup winner Pele said.
Argentina finished their 2021 Copa America campaign unbeaten. Lionel Scaloni's side finished top of their group with three wins and a draw against Chile. In the quarter-final, they beat Ecuador 3-0 to progress to the final four.
Barcelona fall to shock Malaga defeat.
Uruguay's Edinson Cavani has always played second fiddle to his more illustrious attacking colleagues at country or club level but the long-haired marksman emerged out of those shadows with his twin strike in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
Philippe Coutinho scored a spectacular first-half goal for Brazil in their World Cup Group E opener on Sunday, only for Steven Zuber to cancel it out after the break.
Stopping prolific Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the Champions League final will be a formidable task, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after his side clinched their place in next month's showpiece in Berlin.
Barcelona abandoned their hopes of signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool after the Merseyside club demanded 200 million euros ($237.14 million) for the Brazil attacking midfielder, the Liga side's director Albert Soler said.
Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.
Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes, the second a first international goal from Real Madrid striker Rodrygo, to cap a comfortable 4-0 win over Paraguay in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.
The Brazilian, the only player to claim three World Cup winner's medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time, said all monies raised will help Brazil's fight against and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barca, who had a rather disappointing season, managed to restore some pride with victory over last season's second division champions in what was the final match to be played at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Barcelona squandered the chance to go 11 points clear in La Liga on Sunday after blowing a two-goal lead in the space of six minutes in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal overshadowed by a controversial penalty.
Luis Suarez and Rafinha scored in the first half before three late goals in seven minutes including two from Neymar gave Barcelona a 5-0 win at 10-man Sporting Gijon on Saturday, their first game this season without Lionel Messi. ? After a slow and dull start by Barca, Arda Turan set up Suarez and the Uruguayan rounded Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to tap in the opener in the 29th minute.
Major world record deals are here.
You may be entranced by the foot magic, but don't miss the hair cuts!
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Barcelona have denied wrongdoing after local media said Spain's public prosecutor had asked for charges to be brought against the club for alleged tax fraud in last year's signing of Brazil forward Neymar.
Rediff.com brings you some interesting clicks from the by lanes of Indian cities that summarise the soccer madness...
'We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works'
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.
On Saturday evening, Lionel Messi finally got what had eluded arguably the finest footballer of his generation throughout his glorious career -- a trophy playing for his country.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
The Barcelona striker has won the FIFA World Player of the Year a record six times and is widely considered one of the greatest players ever to play the game, alongside Pele and countryman Diego Maradona. But his inability to win an international title with Argentina always left an asterisk beside his name on the all-time greats list.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
PSG have never reached the semi-finals of the Champions League
A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Saturday.
One goal determined the outcome of the Champions League final on Sunday but there could be no doubt that Bayern Munich deserve to be crowned European champions for the sixth time. With a 1-0 victory over Paris St Germain courtesy of Kingsley Coman's header, Bayern have achieved what no team have managed in Europe's elite club competition -- win every game.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
Arsenal's defence not afraid of Barcelona trio, says Ozil
