Former Brazil international Zico has expressed a desire to run for president of FIFA.
But after an exceptional transfer window and with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, Napoli dominated the title race while their main rivals all suffered slumps during the season.
The Italian coach considers that having healthy players, such as striker Karim Benzema, will be the key to face the schedule that awaits the Madrid side, who will be looking to defend their LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League titles.
Pochettino, who is well aware of Messi's game-changing abilities having worked with the 35-year-old last season, said he was still the best player in the world.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
Manchester United's miserable season continued with a 3-2 home defeat by Galatasaray.
Atletico Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday thanks to an own-goal by Rui Silva and a header by Alvaro Morata as Diego Simeone's side ended a three-game winless run in all competitions.
The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri said having Eden Hazard in such unstoppable form makes winning "easy" but appears almost resigned to losing him.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Many flocked to Buenos Aires's tattoo parlors to commission designs depicting Lionel Messi.
Argentina are on a 36-match unbeaten run with top scorer and captain Messi playing his fifth and last World Cup in search of the elusive honour
For Argentina players and captain Messi, who netted twice in the 120 minutes before also scoring in the shoot-out, it was the biggest title of their careers.
Argentina and Australia have only two full days to rest, a factor Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni called 'madness'.
Messi has spoken at length about the dream of winning a title with Argentina and his compatriots know how much an international trophy means to him.
The enormous structured global advertising machinery that surrounds every football game on the planet today? Pele was perhaps single-handedly responsible for all of it. By just being brilliant, captivating crowds, and behaving like a being from the future, doing things that STILL provoke oohs and aahs from watchers. Vaibhav Raghunandan salutes the Incomparable Pele.
Former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic criticised Gareth Bale for lacking leadership qualities
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Diego Maradona's Argentina finally clinched a place in the 2010 World Cup finals following a tortuous qualifying campaign with a 1-0 away win over bitter rivals Uruguay on Wednesday.
Messi's image is everywhere, adorning the sides of buildings.
Argentina dominated the opening stages and earned the penalty when Di Maria was fouled by Ousmane Dembele, with Messi sending France keeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to move to the top of the goalscoring charts in Qatar.
Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away a penalty and slammed home a free kick as he set a new record for the most international caps
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia played at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
Eight years is a long time in the life of an athlete. But just like Messi, Di Maria has preserved and persisted towards his childhood dream, points out Deepti Patwardhan.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid through to next round, win 6-2 on aggregate, Liverpool ousted
Playing against Mohun Bagan on a slushy and jam-packed Eden Gardens on September 24, 1977 in the twilight of his career, the three-time World Cup winner was overwhelmed by the depth of talent a "little known" Indian club possessed.
Diego Maradona, expected to be confirmed as Argentina's new coach on Tuesday, has likened his future team to a grimy Rolls Royce. Maradona is set to take charge for the first time in the friendly in Scotland on November 19.
IMAGES from soccer matches played on Monday.
Lionel Messi can stamp his authority on international soccer when Argentina clash with arch-rivals Brazil in Saturday's World Cup qualifier, coach Diego Maradona said.
Luis Fabiano's second goal against Ivory Coast at the World Cup was not with the Hand of God as the Brazilian claimed, Diego Maradona said on Monday.
Brazil continued their dominance over England with a 1-0 friendly win on Saturday but 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa's troubles persisted with a 0-0 draw at home to Japan on coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's second debut. Spain added to Diego Maradona's worries by beating his Argentina side 2-1 thanks to two Xabi Alonso goals, including a late penalty, as the teams already qualified for South Africa began their preparations.
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
Football action from across Europe in matches played on Saturday
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
Argentina's Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, overlooked by coach Diego Maradona for the World Cup, and playmaker Andres d'Alessandro were recalled to the national team squad on Friday.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
