Ever the perfectionist, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is still chasing the complete performance despite a run of six straight victories that have propelled his side to third in the Premier League table.
I am not the best person to judge, I cannot separate sentiment from my objective decision. Whatever season Messi has had on footballing grounds, I would still vote for him.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Germany have four players and Argentina three in the 10-man FIFA shortlist for the adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the World Cup's most outstanding performer.
After five misses in the World Cup's first penalty shootout, Argentina wisely practiced spot-kicks before flying to Sao Paulo for their last-16 clash with Switzerland.
Summary of the Europa League semi-final matches played on Thursday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice as Paris St Germain made up for their midweek Champions League defeat by crushing Toulouse 5-0 to stretch their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points on Saturday.
Piotr Zielinski converted two penalties for Inter Milan as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus.
Substitute Lionel Messi scored his 38th goal for Argentina as they breezed past Slovenia 2-0 in their final World Cup warmup on Saturday.
Following the clarification from Maria, Gaffoor sang a different tune, and said that what he had meant was that 16 persons were involved in the terror attacks. Nine of them were killed, one is in custody with us, two others have been arrested, and four handlers are based in Pakistan, he said
Juve forward Cristiano Ronaldo had an unusually quiet game after scoring a hat-trick against Atletico in last year's competition, although he came within inches of grabbing a last-gasp winner when he sent a shot just past the far post.
Star footballers Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award, have been selected by their peers for the 2014 FIFPro World XI team.
Gareth Bale raced away to score a stunning late winner as Real Madrid made light of the absence of top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo to beat arch-rivals Barcelona 2-1 to win a riveting King's Cup final on Wednesday.
Tottenham have reportedly agreed to a Gareth Bale transfer to Real Madrid in exchange for a world-record fee of over 80 million pounds plus having Luka Modric back from the Spanish club.
Manchester United has reportedly been linked with a move for Welsh forward Gareth Bale in recent weeks as Real Madrid has revealed that they are willing to sell the former Tottenham Hotspur star.
Versatile Dutch international Daley Blind is set to join Manchester United after the English Premier League side agreed a deal with Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam.
There was no dream ending for Olimpic de Xativa after an efficient performance from a second-string Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win at the Bernabeu which sent them through to the King's Cup last 16 on Wednesday.
An early penalty by Alexis Mac Allister and a Darwin Nunez brace helped Liverpool to thrash Sparta Prague 5-1.
Striker Ezequiel Lavezzi scored two first half goals as Argentina, lacking four key players including Lionel Messi, beat Peru 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier at the Monumental on Friday.
With most Manchester United fans praying for much-needed defensive reinforcements, manager Louis van Gaal made a surprise deadline-day swoop for flamboyant Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on Monday.
Cristiano Ronaldo admits that he suffered for pushing himself too much at the end of last season but is now close to his best as Real Madrid prepare to face Real Sociedad this weekend.
The 34-year-old Argentine joined PSG on a two-year contract with the option of extending it by another year after Barcelona made it clear they could not afford to keep him because of LaLiga's financial fair play rules.
Jose Mourinho maintained his hold over Arsene Wenger with leaders Chelsea enjoying a routine 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday after the two old adversaries became involved in an ugly touchline spat.
PSG have set their sights on Messi, with PSG's players, coaches talking of their excitement about the prospect of bringing the Argentine to the French capital
Lionel Messi's Argentina brushed aside Paraguay 3-1 to go top of the South American 2014 World Cup qualifiers at the Mario Kempes stadium on Friday.
A lot was expected from Lionel Messi but it was Real Madrid's Angel Di Maria who scored in the 118th minute on Tuesday to give Argentina a 1-0 win over Switzerland. Images from the match.
Argentina's decision to play their four world class forwards was fully justified in a crushing 4-0 win over Ecuador that put them top of the South American World Cup qualifiers on Saturday.
Real Madrid survived red cards for Fabio Coentrao and Angel Di Maria, and an injury to Iker Casillas, to draw 1-1 in Valencia, and qualify for the King's Cup semi-finals 3-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Real Sociedad and closed to within eight points of the La Liga leaders when Adrian and Koke struck in a 2-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi guided Argentina past a tough Uruguay side in the final half hour with two brilliant goals for a 3-0 win on Friday that keeps them top of South America's World Cup qualifiers.
Stuttering Spanish champions Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga but were well short of their scintillating best in a laboured 2-0 victory at lowly city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
France striker Karim Benzema hit out at those who questioned his work ethic as he tried to play down Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelloti's suggestion that he shies away from hard work.
An error from Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes allowed Real Madrid to grab a late second goal, which kept them alive in the Spanish Super Cup, after Barcelona ran out 3-2 winners in Thursday's first leg.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Paris St Germain beat Chelsea 2-1 to knock them out of the Champions League for the second successive season at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi created two goals to inspire Argentina to a 3-1 international friendly win over Nigeria in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took their remarkable scoring achievements to new heights when they jointly set a record for La Liga goals in a season of 41 on Saturday.
Argentina and Australia have only two full days to rest, a factor Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni called 'madness'.
Maxi Rodriguez scored twice as Argentina routed Canada 5-0 on Monday in their final match on home soil before heading to the World Cup.
Images from the second leg of the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
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