Messi's lawyers informed Barcelona, on Tuesday, that the Argentine wanted to take up a release clause in his contract which could allow him to leave for nothing.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played between Everton and Manchester City on Wednesday
Asalanka came in and smashed 10 fours and a six for his maiden ODI century
Chelsea maintained their stranglehold on the Premier League by beating Sunderland 1-0 on Wednesday to register their 10th successive win and move six points clear at the top of the table.
Spain are still favourites to finish top of Group E above Sweden, Poland and Slovakia but, after struggling to break down conservative sides such as Georgia and Greece in March, they know coming first will not be a procession.
Chelsea reached the Champions League quarter-finals as a first-half goal from Raheem Sterling and a controversial penalty by Kai Havertz overturned a first-leg deficit.
James Maddison scored a brilliant winner to help Leicester City come from behind and beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday in a match dominated by VAR drama.
League One Burton, managed by Nigel Clough, the son of former Nottingham Forest boss Brian, must endure another 90 minutes at their own ground on Jan. 23 before City formally book their place in the final.
Diego Costa is in favour with Spain's national team again after a couple of terrific displays -- and nobody is happier than the country's other premier striker, Alvaro Morata. Since coming on for Morata after the Real Madrid forward picked up a knock in Spain's 2-0 win over Belgium in Brussels last week, Costa has done nothing but impress new coach Julen Lopetegui.
Valencia recaptured fourth place in La Liga from Sevilla when Sofiane Feghouli scored the pick of the goals in a 4-0 stroll at home to second-from-bottom Granada on Monday.
The Champions League has not been a distraction for Manchester City in the Premier League, manager Manuel Pellegrini said after his side's erratic performances continued in Tuesday's draw with struggling Newcastle United.
Pep Guardiola claimed his maiden English silverware as his side thrashed Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup final with Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva all on target in a disappointingly one-sided showpiece on Sunday.
Sri Lanka's Chamika Karunaratne picked up three wickets, including the crucial one of Glenn Maxwell, to trigger an Australian collapse as the hosts won the rain-hit second one-day international by 26 runs.
Manchester City strengthened their Premier League top-four aspirations with a 5-0 thrashing of a woeful Crystal Palace side at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester City survived a stirring Leicester City fightback to claim a 2-1 win that lifted them above Liverpool into third in the Premier League on Saturday.
Manchester City started their Premier League campaign in scintillating fashion on Monday with a stylish 4-0 win at home to 10-man Newcastle United that will ring alarm bells for the rest of their title rivals.
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup Super 12 match played between Australia and Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday.
A virtuoso performance from Sergio Aguero earned Manchester City a 4-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Saturday, the Argentine scoring all his side's goals in an incident-packed clash at The Etihad.
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
IMAGES from the World Cup match between England and Sri Lanka, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, on Thursday.
Chelsea is currently at the fourth place in the Premier League standings with 63 points from 37 matches.
Whether that unusual arrangement had any influence on untypical performance from City, who lacked zip and inspiration as they struggled to break down the French side, is a matter of pure guesswork and Arteta wasn't in the mood to be drawn on it.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola praised Sergio Aguero's natural goalscoring ability after his hat-trick on Wednesday helped defeat Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 in their opening Champions League Group C match at the Etihad Stadium.
Sergio Aguero netted his 13th hat-trick for Manchester City as the champions made light of the absence of the injured Kevin De Bruyne to thrash Huddersfield Town 6-1 and move joint top of the Premier League.
Borussia Dortmund snatched a 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the Champions League round of 16 first leg on Wednesday
Spain coach Luis Enrique promised evolution rather than revolution when he took charge of the national side following their disastrous World Cup campaign this year when they were eliminated in the round of 16.
Spain's preparations for Euro 2016 suffered a blow as they were beaten 1-0 by Georgia on Tuesday in their final warmup friendly ahead of the tournament in France. Tornike Okriashvili tapped in from close range in the 39th minute to secure a surprise victory for Georgia at Getafe's Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium. Spain, who have won the last two European Championships, had not lost since being beaten in a friendly by the Netherlands in March 2015 and came into their final warmup match after convincing wins against Bosnia and South Korea. The hosts, however, lacked a cutting edge against a well-organised Georgia side who defended deep after taking the lead.
But such was Pep Guardiola's team's domination of the Premier League last season that reinforcements hardly seemed necessary and the solitary addition of Riyad Mahrez makes an already potent attack even more fearsome.
Manchester City beat Dynamo Kiev 3-1 during their UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg match in Kiev on Wednesday.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Steve Smith was on 59 unbeaten with Labuschagne at the close.
Watford climbed into the top four of the Premier League after Tom Cleverley's 92nd-minute goal gave them a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga and the Bundesliga.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
West Ham United maintained their impressive start to the season when they beat champions Manchester City 2-1 at Upton Park on Saturday to consolidate their place in the top four of the Premier League.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
Ten-man Arsenal suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City on Sunday in another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Holders Spain lost for the first time in 15 matches at the European Championship finals on Tuesday when Croatia beat them 2-1 to win Group D at Euro 2016.
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