Real Madrid's Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d'Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's decade-long hold on the prestigious award.
His Brazilian fans loved him for his idiosyncratic personality and unapologetic nationalism. He liked to say he was born with victory at his side and was rarely shy to challenge those who said his teams were too defensive.
The Brazilian ace has scored 20 goals in all competitions and his total since joining Real Madrid two years is 50. \n\n
A summary of Wednesday night's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Juventus beat visiting Bologna 2-1 on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of the Serie A table. Ronaldo struck from close range after 19 minutes, but Danilo levelled for the visitors soon afterwards.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go head-to-head once again for the title of world's best footballer after being short-listed along with Neymar on Monday for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Playmaker Zinedine Zidane and defender Ivan Helguera were also included in the Real Madrid squad despite nursing injuries.
The Brazilian scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid that sent Real Madrid to the top of the Primera Liga.
Gerd Mueller netted 68 goals in 62 internationals, including the winner in the 1974 World Cup final, and is third in the all-time list of most goals in the global showpiece tournament with 14, behind Brazilian Ronaldo (15) and German Miroslav Klose (16).
A near-record crowd of 105,826 saw Real Madrid score three first-half goals and hang on for a 3-2 win against Chelsea in a friendly at Michigan Stadium on Saturday. The attendance was less than 4,000 shy of the United States record attendance for a soccer match, set two years ago at the same stadium in Ann Arbor when 109,318 watched Real Madrid and Manchester United square off.
Al-Hilal wrapped up a place in the Asian Champions League semi-finals as a 2-0 win over fellow Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad in Jeddah on Tuesday completed a 4-0 aggregate success and set a world record with their 28th straight win in all competitions.
Nine-times European champions Real Madrid fielded their big guns on Sunday for a friendly against Bournemouth that was all about a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for the English second tier club rather than the Spanish giants' 6-0 victory.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has defended team mate Gareth Bale after the Welshman was jeered by sections of the Bernabeu crowd during Wednesday's 3-0 win over APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Paris St Germain 3-1, while Sadio Mane grabbed a hat-trick as Liverpool demolished Porto 5-0 away in the Champions League round-of-16 on Wednesday.
Portugal's football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has revealed that the forward would play out the rest of his career at Real Madrid, shunning reports of a return to Manchester United.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
From an exclusive interview with GQ magazine's Daniel Riley, for GQ India's April 2016 issue, here are 12 things you should know about Cristiano Ronaldo - the footballer, the father and the man
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of the concluding day's action in the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Saudi Pro League.
Cristiano Ronaldo ended a three-game goal drought as Real Madrid won 2-0 at Schalke.
Al Hilal, managed by Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, play Al Fayha on Saturday with Neymar expected to wear the number 10 shirt.
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.
Cristiano Ronaldo set a record for goals scored in the group stage of the Champions League of 11 when he netted four against Malmo in Group A on Tuesday.
Precisely how many time Pele hit the net is a matter of debate, with most statisticians agreeing the number is between 1,281 and 1,283.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe starred in PSG's win as they topped group A after thrashing Galatasaray 5-0. Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, pumped in two goals to oust Leverkusen from the tournament, while Gabriel Jesus netted a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
The historic rivals will meet again twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match set the entertainment bar high, with Barcelona maintaining their 100 per cent record in pre-season.
Brazil soccer great Pele died on Thursday, aged 82, after a long battle with cancer.
Brazil lived up to expectations by smashing Bolivia 5-1 at home in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers opener on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United kicked off their Europa League campaign poorly, losing 0-1 at home to Real Sociedad, while Arsenal's new signing Marquinhos scored in a 2-1 win at FC Zurich on Thursday.
'I hope Brazil can win. It's a long time since 2002, and I think it's time'
Sunil Chhetri's late goal earned India the 1-0 victory over Nepal in the SAFF Championship, at the National Football Stadium in Male, Maldives, on Sunday. The victory took India to third in the group standings with five points, just a behind Maldives and Nepal, both of whom have six points each.
Vinicius started a foundation that is building schools in impoverished areas and is investing in research to develop new ways to improve the education system in Brazil.
