Under the terms of the contract which expires in 2021, the only way Messi can leave without the club's consent is if a rival side pays his release clause of 700 million euros (629.7 million pounds).
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan has joined Manchester United from Borussia Dortmund, the German club said on Saturday. The 27-year-old became the Premier League team's third high-profile signing since the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager in May, following defender Eric Bailly and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Old Trafford.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.
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.
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.
Lucimar Ferreira da Silva, popularly known as Lucio, has signed up with FC Goa as a marquee player for the second season of the Indian Super League.
Images from the UEFA Champions League group matches played on Tuesday night.
Former Germany captain Michael Ballack's farewell match in Leipzig on Wednesday was overshadowed by the potential transfer of Andre Schuerrle to Chelsea with German media reporting a deal has been agreed.
Barcelona's famed youth academy has taken a back seat to big-name signings in recent years but as a result of the FIFA transfer ban imposed on the club, promising youngsters have been given a chance to shine in Luis Enrique's side.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
When Massimiliano Allegri arrived in Turin last July, Juventus ownership had set two goals for him - win a fourth straight "Scudetto" and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Borussia Dortmund bounced back after slumping to their fourth straight Bundesliga defeat against Hanover 96 at the weekend, cruising past second tier St Pauli 3-0 on Tuesday to reach the German Cup third round.
Arsenal took the race to the final day last season and are strongly tipped to end Manchester City's dominance this time.
England forward Raheem Sterling joined Chelsea on a five-year contract from Manchester City, the two English Premier League clubs announced on Wednesday.
'We saw Messi play like a kid in the school playground today'
The last-16 knock-out round kicks-off this week with Chelsea visiting Paris on Tuesday; Zidane to coach Real Madrid as manager in his first match in Europe
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team's spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League.
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Rediff.com gives you a pictorial rewind of all the excitement that unfolded in the sporting world in the week gone by...
Fourth division club Carl Zeiss Jena stunned Hamburg SV 3-2 in the German Cup on Sunday, taking the scalp of the Bundesliga's former European champions to cause the biggest sensation of the competition's first round.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi is the best player ever, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said.
German soccer teams started the week in isolation on Monday after going into seven-day quarantine ahead of the Bundesliga season restart on Saturday, with club bosses saying completing the campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak will not be easy. The German Football League (DFL) decided last week to resume the first and second division from May 16 after a two-month suspension, making it the first major sports league to attempt a restart.
RB Leipzig's Timo Werner scored a hat-trick as they demolished hosts Mainz 5-0 on Sunday to reclaim third place in the Bundesliga with an emphatic victory after three straight draws. Schalke 04 slumped to a shock 3-0 home defeat by relegation-threatened Augsburg on Sunday, their fourth defeat in five games dropping them to eighth place in the Bundesliga.
Mandzukic signing adds to the Serie A champs' big haul of strikers as Paul Pogba is targetted by Barca and PSG among other clubs
FC Pune City also bolstered their defence by signing former Espanyol and Deportivo La Coruna defender Diego Colotto for the second edition of the eight-team league beginning on October 3.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Manchester United conceded two late own goals to allow Sevilla to snatch a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Apart from when German clubs are in town, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium has been a fortress in the Champions League and manager Arsene Wenger says that must continue if his side are to continue their run of reaching the last 16.
Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could not have dreamt of a better comeback after five months out when he scored the opening goal in his side's 3-0 victory at Hamburg SV on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Wednesday night's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Chelsea are banking on a lavish shopping spree to give them more bite up front and much-needed solidity in defence after coach Frank Lampard spent last season relying heavily on a crop of inexperienced home-grown players.
Bengaluru now have two draws in a row and their first clean sheet but languish at second-last with just six points.
