Lionel Messi has passed a kidney stone which ruled him out of their Club World Cup semi-final and Barcelona will now decide whether he will be fit for the final, the Spanish sports daily AS said on Friday.
Paris St Germain's then sports director Leonardo declared the club were ready for tougher competitions in Europe two years ago but Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final exit suggests PSG need more time to reach the top.
Carli Lloyd, captain and hat-trick hero for the United States in their World Cup final triumph, heads the trio of nominees for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, announced on Monday.
India captain Virat Kohli, senior batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni and stylish left-handed batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, have found places in this year's ESPN World Fame 100 list that made its debut last year.
New Brazil coach Mano Menezes made wholesale changes with only four survivors from the World Cup when he named his squad on Monday for next month's friendly against the United States.
Brazil inflicted France's first defeat since the World Cup when a perfectly executed second-half performance earned them a 3-1 win in a friendly game at the Stade de France on Thursday.
Real will ease the pain by retaining their Champions League title, their only hope of salvaging a disappointing season.
Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career seemed to be heading for a premature end last season but the striker showed on Tuesday he may yet have an important role after taking his chance during a rare start in the Champions League win over Paris St Germain.
Brazil scrapped their way to a flattering 3-0 friendly win over France on Sunday in an ugly, disjointed match against opponents who are even worse off than themselves.
Barcelona's star striker Messi is an alien who plays with us humans, says the Juventus 'keeper
India's Test captain and numero uno batsman Virat Kohli has been named as 'Third Most Marketable Sportsperson' in the world ahead of football superstar Lionel Messi, world No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic in a latest survey published by magazine 'SportsPro'. Kohli is ranked behind NBA's 'Most Valuable Player' Stephen Curry and Juventus' French international Paul Pogba. Incidentally, Kohli is just ahead of golfer Jordan Spieth. Djokovic is 23rd in the list, followed by Messi at 27th and 'Sprint King' Usain Bolt at 31.
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
Clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona are rarely short on drama and Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' may have more than its usual share with Luis Suarez poised to return from a biting ban and Barca teammate Lionel Messi on the brink of equalling the top-flight scoring record.
Messi, whose deal expires in 2021, had called his side "weak" and "inconsistent" after they lost the league title to Real Madrid.
Real's Cristiano Ronaldo will be going in search of his third consecutive World Player of the Year award
Football legend Pele has termed Argentine forward Lionel Messi as the "best in last 10 years", but also spoke highly of his fellow Brazilian Neymar and Portugal's Ronaldo.
Next year's Copa America in Chile will give Brazil the chance to bury the ghosts of their miserable World Cup, the president of the country's soccer federation said.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
From the debate-arousing introduction of VAR to maximum number of Penalties to the superb Ronaldo, here are the A to Z of the ongoing 2018 World Cup
Barcelona made a brisk start to the season with new coach Luis Enrique at the helm in place of Gerardo Martino and a host of additions to the squad, including midfielder Ivan Rakitic and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
After a World Cup where they failed to live up to expectations, the smiles appeared to return to Brazilian faces again on Tuesday after a new-look team beat the United States 2-0 in a friendly.
The Frenchman, who won nine trophies in two-and-a-half years, suggested it is events off the pitch, rather than on it, that made him leave.
The match marks just the second time, and first in 35 years, that El Clasico will be played outside Spain.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Forward Adriano and former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho were left out of Brazil's World Cup squad on Tuesday.
Former World Player of the Year Ronaldinho will learn on Tuesday whether or not his impressive season with AC Milan will be enough to earn him a place at his third World Cup.
Barcelona's bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.
The following factbox details five times a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made an impact at the World Cup.
A compelling cast of players, two attacking teams propelled by great pace and a clash between neighbours to boot.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo has received an offer to leave Real Madrid and join Italian champions Juventus, a source close to the player said.
Robinho scored twice as Santos beat Bragantino 6-3 on Thursday in his first home match since returning on loan from Manchester City.
German champions Bayern Munich sacked coach Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday, a day after they suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League.
Merseyside Police is reportedly investigating racist abuse received by Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli on Twitter after he tweeted 'Man Utd...LOL' after the crushing 5-3 defeat met by Manchester United at the hands of Leicester on Sunday.
Spain's footballing giants, FC Barcelona won their 23rd La Liga crown after defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Sunday. And after winning, what was their fifth title in seven years, the Barca players let their hair down and celebrated in style at the Vincent Calderon stadium. Rediff.com invites you a peek into their wild celebrations. Have a look...
Jeison Murillo became Colombia's unlikely hero, scoring his first international goal to give his side a 1-0 victory over Brazil.
