Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros (198.82 million pounds) transfer from Barcelona to French side Paris Saint-Germain appeared close to completion on Wednesday, when his agent predicted he could be unveiled by the weekend.
Argentina talisman Lionel Messi has revealed that his eldest son, Thiago, has little interest in the game in which his father has arguably become the greatest of his generation.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were named as the three finalists.
Messi was three ahead of nearest rival Kylian Mbappe, who scored 33 times for Paris St Germain as they won France's Ligue 1.
"Neymar and Messi are unique: they see and do things nobody else sees or can do. A great player must know and understand who he plays with, your teammates enrich your qualities."
How expensive was this 'picture of the century'?
Messi had failed to turn up to the club's tests for COVID-19 eight days ago and been absent from all subsequent sessions ahead of the new campaign after giving the club an official notice that he wished to leave.
An Argentine football club has recreated the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of its gymnasium, with Diego Maradona as God, Lionel Messi as Adam and a host of angels that include Mario Kempes, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Batistuta.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has labelled Lionel Messi has the 'best' player he has seen after the Argentine forward spurred a 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam that secured the Spanish side a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between Argentina and Croatia played at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday.
'I tried to behave with humility and respect and I hope that is what remains of me when I leave the club.'
Luis Diaz was the only Colombian in the team of the tournament, alongside four Argentines (Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo De Paul, and Lionel Messi) and three Brazilians (Casemiro, Marquinhos and Neymar).
The Argentines suffered one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history
The batting great was named the 12th 'Most Admired Man' in the world, as per a survey conducted by YouGov.
Lionel Messi trained alongside his Argentina team-mates at the Copa America Centenario as he targets a return from injury in his team's second Group D game against Panama. Messi, who has been nursing a sore back after sustaining an injury in a friendly against Honduras last month, has trained separately under the supervision of team medical staff since arriving in the United States. However the 28-year-old Barcelona superstar took part in a full training session on Wednesday at the University of Illinois campus, two days after sitting out Argentina's opening 2-1 victory over Chile in Santa Clara on Monday.
Former India captain and current Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid visited Camp Nou to witness Barcelona playing against Athletico Madrid in the La Liga clash on Sunday.
'I take responsibility for my errors and if they existed, it was only to make Barcelona better and stronger'.
Messi's donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country. Former Barcelona player and manager Guardiola made his contribution to a campaign launched by the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation and Medical College of Barcelona.
Lionel Messi returned to training on Monday after recovering from a stomach bug that caused him to miss Barcelona's goalless draw against Malaga on Saturday.
A frustrated Lionel Messi said he is tired of being blamed for problems at Barcelona after he was accused by Antoine Griezmann's former agent of making life difficult for the French striker at the La Liga club.
Barcelona have announced they will appeal the yellow card given to Lionel Messi during the team's 2-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday.
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic says he will turn to his Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic for ideas on how to stop Argentina's Lionel Messi in Thursday's Group D match between the two teams.
The storyline underpinning the match for most of the world is whether Lionel Messi can get his hands on the trophy in his fifth attempt to finally lift himself up alongside, never above, Diego Maradona in the hearts of his nation.
Laporta, whose first spell in charge between 2003 and 2010 garnered unprecedented success, announced his candidacy for a second term on Monday.
PSG's big buy has been left out squad for the Ligue 1 match against Brest.
Lionel Messi was so distraught at Barcelona missing out on reaching the 2012 Champions League final that he was reduced to tears
'But when I arrived in Barcelona, I was told that it was no longer possible, that I could not stay and that I had to find another club, because Barca could not afford to extend my contract. That changed my plans.'
"The people who have seen Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano or Diego Maradona. The opinions are sentimental, but the other side, if he (Messi) wouldn't have won the World Cup, the opinion and my opinion wouldn't change."
Argentina was due to host this year's Copa America but withdrew at the last minute due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. The tournament was moved to Brazil, even though the death toll there is higher than anywhere outside the United States.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi said defending champions France and Brazil are the favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar as they have a core group of players who have played together for a long time.
Lionel Messi won his personal duel with his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo lighting up Argentina's 2-1 win over Portugal by making one goal and scoring the winner in a lively friendly international in Geneva on Wednesday.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, are included
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has said he considered leaving the club when he was investigated for tax fraud in 2013, saying he felt "badly treated" by Spain.
Lionel Messi, who is Barcelona's all-time top scorer with 634 goals in 731 games, is expected to spend three seasons at Manchester City before moving to CFG's Major League Soccer franchise New York City FC.
Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi has revealed that his former team-mate Ronaldinho had promised him to give his No 10 jersey months before the Brazilian's departure from the club in 2008.
Lionel Messi has passed a kidney stone which ruled him out of their Club World Cup semi-final and Barcelona will now decide whether he will be fit for the final, the Spanish sports daily AS said on Friday.
The Dutchman burst through the middle of the pitch and laid the ball off for Messi to dribble into the net for an 18th league goal of the season, extending his lead at the top of the scoring charts.
Now, through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Messi has kept his promise and gifted his five-year-old fan, Murtaza Ahmadi, two autographed jerseys and a signed football, CNN reported.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi was at the heart of another devastating attacking show.
Despite Manchester City officials trying their best to sign Lionel Messi in recent years, manager Pep Guardiola has in contrast expressed his deep desire to see Argentine star striker end his illustrious career at Barcelona. Guardiola, who had worked with Messi for over four years in Barcelona, believes that the Camp Nou club has become the striker's home. "Messi will finish his career at Barcelona that is what I desire deeply. I want him to be there from the beginning to the end," Marca quoted Guardiola as saying.
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