A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
The Frenchman, voted the world's third best player of 2016, has been the subject of intense transfer speculation since signing a new contract with Atletico in May 2017.
Olympique Marseille let 10-man Ajax Amsterdam off the hook in a UEFA Cup first leg meeting of former European champions on Thursday, while holders Zenit St Petersburg suffered a 2-0 defeat at Udinese. The only other emphatic victory in the first legs came from ambitious Manchester City, 2-0 winners at home to Danish club AaB Aalborg.
Barcelona equalled a club record of 12 consecutive league wins as Neymar and Lionel Messi were among the scorers in a 6-0 thrashing of struggling Getafe 6-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Russia's Elena Dementieva battled her way through brutal conditions to beat unseeded Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-2, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Wednesday. Both players struggled in the scorching heat as the temperature approached 40 degrees Celsius but it was the more experienced Dementieva who coped best.
Serena Williams eased her way into the fourth round of the Australian open on Saturday with a 6-1, 6-4 win over China's Peng Shuai. She will meet Victoria Azarenka, who knocked out former champion Amelie Mauresmo.
Barcelona are on the verge of completing a reported 30 million euro ($33.57 million) move for Spain international Paco Alcacer from Valencia after the striker arrived for a medical with the La Liga champions on Monday.
Neymar should return to Spain with renewed enthusiasm after leading Brazil to their first soccer gold medal at an Olympic Games, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. Neymar, who has scored 85 goals in 141 games in his three seasons at Barcelona, was given permission to stay in Brazil until after international games early next month. "I think it's a good decision to grant him (Neymar) that," Pique told El Mundo Deportivo. "He has earned it.
Such is the impact Sadio Mane has made on Liverpool that the 24-year-old is an automatic pick to face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday while experienced international teammates scrap it out to play alongside him.
La Liga leaders Barcelona won a tight and tense 'Clasico' 1-0 at Real Madrid on Saturday, beating their great rivals at their Bernabeu home for the second time in four days and moving a staggering 12 points clear of them in the standings.
Gijon spoiled Asier Illarramendi's return to Real Sociedad's midfield after rejoining from Real Madrid this week when they held the Basque club, coached by Scot David Moyes, to a 0-0 draw in San Sebastian.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been ruled out for a month with a calf injury sustained in Saturday's 6-3 win over Arsenal, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Monday.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has hinted the club may be pursuing Real Madrid's Spain defender Sergio Ramos and could also sign a "surprise" striker.
Lionel Messi set a new Champions League scoring record with a hat-trick and Luis Suarez netted his first in Barcelona colours as the Spaniards comprehensively beat APOEL Nicosia 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Jon Dahl Tomasson converted an 86th-minute penalty to salvage a point for Feyenoord in a 2-2 draw against arch rivals Ajax Amsterdam in the Dutch league on Sunday.
Maintaining her rich vein of form in the current season, Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza and her Zimbabwean partner Cara Black bagged the women's doubles title at the WTA Toray Pacific Open with a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Spain's Garbine Muguruza and Carla Suarez Navarro.
Russia took a commanding 2-0 lead in the Fed Cup final on Saturday after top 10 players Vera Zvonareva and Svetlana Kuznetsova overpowered their Spanish rivals to put the holders within reach of a fourth title in five years. World number nine Zvonareva beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-3, 6-4 in the opening rubber of the five-match tie on Saturday before Svetlana Kuznetsova dismissed 20-year-old Carla Suarez 6-3, 6-1.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu hit out at Neymar's lack of loyalty to the club on Monday and criticised the Brazilian for staying silent up until his world record 222 million euro ($261 million) move to Paris St. Germain.
Argentina, helped by a majestic Juan Roman Riquelme performance, maintained their perfect record in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday while Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez quit after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay. Riquelme scored two second half goals, including an exquisite free kick, in a 3-0 win over Bolivia which left Argentina with nine points from three games in the South American group.
Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani scored twice to earn the South Americans a 2-1 win over European champions Portugal in their World Cup round of 16 clash on Saturday and set up a quarter-final against France.
'Dad, I understand and respect your opinion but my decision has been taken. I ask that you support me as you always do'
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros (198.82 million pounds) transfer from Barcelona to French side Paris Saint-Germain appeared close to completion on Wednesday, when his agent predicted he could be unveiled by the weekend.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he believes Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with the Spanish champions despite reports the five times World Player of the Year is stalling over a new deal.
Barcelona's talismanic Lionel Messi remains the driving force of a talented side on the brink of repeating 2009's historic treble despite a change in their coach and style of football, not to mention a host of players.
quick dash home to Serbia could not stop Jelena Jankovic from setting up a tantalising French Open semi-final showdown with compatriot Ana Ivanovic on Tuesday. The third seed, who has endured a rash of aches and pains over the past week, flew back to Serbia after her fourth-round match to have treatment on a sore right arm. On her return, she wasted little time in defeating Spanish qualifier Carla Suarez Navarro 6-3, 6-2.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho captures classic moments from the planet's greatest sports competition: The FIFA World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two best players in the world right now but Neymar will eclipse them both next year, former Brazil striker Ronaldo told Reuters.
Check out the most shocking upsets at this year's Wimbledon.
Lionel Messi scored yet another hat-trick and surpassed 400club goals as Barcelona came from behind to win the Catalan derby 5-1 against Espanyol.
Argentina had a scare when Lionel Messi had to be substituted after incurring a back injury during a 1-0 win over rugged Honduras in a Copa America Centenario warm-up friendly on Friday. Messi walked off in pain in the 64th minute in San Juan after a clash with Honduras substitute Oliver Morazan 10 days before Argentina's opening Group D match against Chile. The team later dispelled fears of a serious injury, saying on their Twitter account that Messi had "suffered bruising on the left of his lower back and ribs." Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal for Argentina. In other warm-up matches for the June 3-26 tournament in the United States, Edinson Cavani struck twice as Uruguay overcame Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 and title holders Chile were upset 2-1 by Jamaica.
Novak Djokovic had to fight back from a set down to beat Thomaz Bellucci and reach the Italian Open quarter-finals.
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the season which provoked questions about his longevity, Cristiano Ronaldo has roared back to life with a torrent of goals and now has La Liga's top scorer award in his sights.
'I'm definitely not going to change, players have to know that when they face me that I have my own way of playing and that is dribbling, scoring goals and helping my team mates'
'Soul might not win trophies. But, unlike trophies, soul actually matters,' says Shougat Dasgupta.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez hit a brace and set up a double for a spritely Lionel Messi to score in his first start after injury in a rampant 6-1 Champions League victory over AS Roma on Tuesday.
Included in Barcelona squad to face Dortmund
The France international is widely expected to move to Liga champions Barcelona at the end of this campaign.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp wants his players to be "angry" and guard against complacency when they entertain promoted HullCity on Saturday.
