Vinicius Jr's remarkable performances at Real Madrid have put the 24-year-old forward as the odds-on favourite to claim his first Ballon d'Or when the award for the best player in the world is announced in Paris on Monday.
Cristiano Ronaldo will play no part in Real Madrid's game against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after the prolific Portuguese forward was left out of the squad on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah have been nominated as finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award, world soccer's governing body announced on Monday.
They also topped their Nations League group ahead of World Cup holders France, Denmark and Austria, and head into the tournament on the back of a winning streak that culminated in a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their final warm-up friendly.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich powered past third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 with an impressive display of high-pressing football on Sunday.
A Jules Kounde goal in the dying minutes of extra-time handed Barcelona a dramatic 3-2 win over fierce rivals Real Madrid in an enthralling Copa del Rey final on Saturday.
After a long night of celebrations, the team arrived in Madrid early on Sunday and started the party tour at 6 p.m. local time
Croatia's road to Sunday's World Cup final, where they will play France for a chance to lift the trophy for the first time:
Cristiano Ronaldo struck a late winner as Portugal came from a goal down to beat Scotland 2-1.
Benzema and Courtois helped Real seal a record 14th European title last season while De Bruyne guided City to the Premier League title -- his fourth crown in seven seasons at the club.
Mondo Duplantis was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, while American gymnast Simone Biles bagged the top women's honour at the Laureus World Sports Awards.
The comparison with Maradona for the title of the greatest Argentine player of all time cannot be complete without a world title, which the late Maradona won almost single-handedly 36 years ago.
Both Harry Redknapp and Arsene Wenger have paid the price for leaving it too late, offloading a lot of key players at the EPL transfers, says Manu Shankar.
Real Madrid overcame an early howler from Sergio Ramos to beat Real Sociedad 3-1 at home on an eventful Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Gareth Bale was loudly booed by his own supporters and Luka Modric returned to his very best form.
Ancelotti's second-string players proved they were up to the task as they secured three points for Real and kept them on course for the inevitable LaLiga title celebrations.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ivan Rakitic outshone Barcelona team mate Arda Turan as Croatia ran out 1-0 winners against Turkey at Euro 2016 on Sunday, a victory that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric has praised the high-profile signings of World Cup pair Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez and has targeted a clean sweep of domestic and European silverware next season.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema kept up his impressive run of form by scoring and providing two assists in a 3-1 win away to Eibar on Sunday, taking the champions level on points with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
Playmaker Luka Modric said on Tuesday the onus would be on Croatia's other goalgetters to make up for the absence of Eduardo da Silva at Euro 2008. Arsenal forward Eduardo, who suffered a multiple foot fracture in February, was the second highest scorer in qualifying with 10 goals.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group F match between Morocco and Croatia on Wednesday.
'Cristiano scored 50 goals and you can't find someone today who scores that many. Some of us have to take a step forward and, while not scoring 50, what we need is two or three players who score 15, 20, or 10 goals and we don't have that.'
Tottenham Hotspur have dropped their interest in signing Porto's Joao Moutinho because the Portugal midfielder is too expensive, the Premier League club's new manager Andre Villas-Boas said.
Croatia were in dreamland on Thursday after advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 3-0 rout of Argentina that left a subdued Lionel Messi and his team mates facing yet another flop.
Real Madrid came back from the dead to write another glorious chapter in their history when they beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 in extra time helped by goals from Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to win a 10th European Cup on Saturday.
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.
A guide to the Croatia starting 11 ahead of the World Cup final against France.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid's pursuit of a record-extending 36th Spanish title
Newcastle United's Papiss Cisse has gatecrashed the Premier League in spectacular style and his second strike in Wednesday's win at Chelsea could sneak in as a goal of the season contender, especially given its potential importance.
In-form playmaker Isco struck twice and Cristiano Ronaldo netted his first goal of the campaign to give Luka Modric-inspired Real Madrid a 3-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday.
World Cup: When wingers gave Croatia flight
A Spanish Super Cup comeback against arch rivals Barcelona and the arrival of Croatia playmaker Luka Modric may provide the perfect springboard for Real Madrid to kickstart their season.
I'm the little man who can, says Croatia's Modric
Reaction to the sending-off of Manchester United winger Nani during their Champions League last-16, second-leg match against Real Madrid at Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo dealt his former club Manchester United a cruel blow by scoring the goal that put Real Madrid into the Champions League quarter-finals after the hosts were left distraught by Nani's harsh dismissal.
Croatia made heavy weather of beating Denmark in their worst performance of the tournament, but will seek to rediscover their fluency in a weekend showdown against Russia for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
Real Madrid coach Mourinho surprised many by including Kaka in the starting lineup for Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League win at Ajax and he responded with a performance full of verve and creativity that suggests he may be working his way back into contention.
Kaka, who has yet to play for Real Madrid in an official game this season, gave a reminder of his abilities with a hat-trick in his team's 8-0 rout of Colombia's Millonarios in the annual Santiago Bernabeu Trophy on Wednesday.
