From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
Real Madrid's reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.
World-record signing Neymar greeted delirious fans at a grand welcome event at Paris St Germain's stadium on Saturday but must sit out the French club's Ligue 1 opener after his transfer was not registered in time.
UEFA announced in a statement that City had committed "serious breaches" of the rules while the Premier League club swiftly said on their website that they will appeal the decision to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
FC Goa got their act together after a couple of winless outings as they handed Delhi Dynamos an embarrassing 4-1 defeat, riding on Youness Bengelloun's twin strikes in an Indian Super League encounter in New Delhi.
Mumbai City FC manager Peter Reid is all praise for his star signing, Frenchman Nicholas Anelka.
"This was one of the reasons why I took this opportunity. To train with all these personalities and this talent."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is hoping the home crowd in Sweden sing his name on Wednesday, despite his determination to fire Paris Saint Germain into the knockout stages of the Champions League and end boyhood club Malmo FF's European adventure.
Champions Paris St Germain provisionally moved back to the top of Ligue 1 as Adam Lang's own goal, Edinson Cavani's penalty and a second-half header from Lucas Moura downed promoted Dijon 3-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again the chief tormentor as French champions Paris St Germain won 3-0 at Bastia to stay eight points clear at top of the Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Neymar lived up to expectations as he showed his class on his Ligue 1 debut on Sunday, scoring one and setting up another goal in Paris St Germain's 3-0 win at En Avant Guingamp.
Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc criticised the new generation of footballers after defender Serge Aurier was suspended indefinitely by the French champions for insulting the former national team manager.
Misfiring Real Madrid need quick response ahead of Barcelona visit.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has been relying on second-string players to get the club through a mini injury crisis but should have several of his heavyweights back when Paris St Germain visit in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Wolfsburg winger reckons he didn't enjoy Jose Mourinho's trust during his stay at Stamford Bridge
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has criticised their tactical and physical frailties after a 4-0 thrashing at Paris St Germain in the last 16 left them on the brink of their earliest Champions League exit in a decade.
Following this stunning turn-around of fortunes for Barcelona, here is a flashback of some of the best come-from-behind wins recorded in Europe's premier club competition.
Spanish winger Asensio cost Real a mere 3.5 million euros from Mallorca in 2014 and entered the game only in the 79th minute but played a decisive role in Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo each scoring late on to give the European champions the edge in the tie.
Media attention has focused on whether their most prized asset Neymar will eventually make a sensational move to the Santiago Bernabeu.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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'.
'I selected the team, I selected the strategy and I am as disappointed as the players, but the buck stops with me.'
Manchester City look to take an important step in their transformation into one of the world's leading clubs on Tuesday by reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time.
'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
'If they put a statue of me in place of the Eiffel Tour, of course I'll stay.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
While their nearest chasers lost, Olympique Lyonnais succumbing 2-1 at home to struggling Lille and Monaco falling 1-0 at Nantes after a last-gasp Lucas Lima thunderbolt, PSG marched on without ever hitting top gear.
Real Madrid have endured a miserable season since Zinedine Zidane left in May, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Back in his hometown of Bondy, on the gritty northeast outskirts of Paris, there is immense pride at his exploits, but not that much surprise -- they always knew he'd make it big.
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.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Brazilian striker Neymar Jr is leaving FC Barcelona, the Catalan club confirmed on Wednesday, as a radio report said he was moving to French team Paris Saint-Germain.
Kaka wants Real fans to show more gratitude to Cristiano Ronaldo.
French World Cup winner Lilian Thuram has criticised FIFA's decision to dissolve its anti-racism task force, telling Reuters he found the decision "shocking".
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
United States striker Tim Weah says his side felt like playing at home during their 5-0 thrashing of Paraguay in their FIFA U-17 World Cup pre-quarterfinal match, in New Delhi, on Monday.
Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Jerome Valcke, the banned former FIFA secretary general, and Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chief executive of Qatar's beIN Media, over World Cup broadcasting deals.
French soccer clubs will stage a strike at the end of next month in protest at a controversial super tax on player salaries in an escalation of a row over president Francois Hollande's tax policy.
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