Barcelona gave up more ground to Real Madrid in La Liga's title race on Tuesday after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to third-placed Atletico Madrid as a late penalty from Saul Niguez cancelled out Lionel Messi's 700th career goal. The draw meant the Catalans stayed second in the standings on 70 points and leaders Real Madrid, who have 71, will go four points clear at the top with five games left if they beat Getafe at home on Thursday.
France will look to boss the midfield in a bid to limit supply to the lethal 31-year-old, who has struggled to impose himself in the tournament.
'The Indian government is better prepared this time and has reached out to all contenders and not putting all eggs in one basket.'
This movie is perfect for all ages. Avan Verma gives his thumbs up.
Messi's contract expires at the end of June and there has been no announcement on an extension.
Croatian footballer Ivan Rakitic has said that his national team-mate Luka Modric should win everything that star striker Lionel Messi cannot.
Now, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo venturing into smaller leagues as they near the end of their brilliant careers, 2024 may finally be the year for the next in line in football royalty.
Barcelona legend Xavi believes nobody will ever be able to replace his former teammate Lionel Messi with respect to his abilities and achievements. Comparing the Argentine with Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi said that Messi was way above the Portugal's Euro 2016 winner. The 36-year old said, "There will be many good players in the future but no one would come close to Messi's level, when he eventually decides to call it quits."
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.
Lionel Messi says he is retiring from international soccer after Argentina lost to Chile in Copa America final.
Tite admitted he had been complaining to the referee during the first half and said the two men exchanged words.
Lionel Messi has added another record against his already legendary name.
This is the first Golden Ball to go for auction and while the value is still to be confirmed, the auction house expects it to fetch millions on June 6.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
Raphael Messi Bouli struck twice in the last 15 minutes to eke out a 2-2 draw for Kerala Blasters
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Messi, who scored 37 times in La Liga last season, has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, rising through their youth system to become one of the most successful and recognisable footballers in the world.
Barcelona have been frighteningly good at home this season, scoring 15 goals in three games at the Nou Camp.
A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona tightened their grip on the La Liga title race with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday to open up an 11-point lead at the top. Munir El Haddadi tapped home the opener from Luis Suarez's cross before Messi doubled Barca's advantage with a brilliant individual effort just before half-time. Messi doubled his tally from the penalty spot before Suarez lashed home the fourth six minutes from time. Barca's 11th consecutive league win also stretches their record unbeaten run to 36 games. Atletico Madrid can close the gap at the top to eight points when they visit Gary Neville's Valencia later on Sunday. Real Madrid remain 12 points adrift of Barca in third despite Cristiano Ronaldo's four-goal show in a 7-1 demolition of Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Lionel Messi insisted his fifth-place finish in Monday's Ballon d'Or awards was not a motivating factor behind his sensational performance in Barcelona's 4-0 thrashing of local rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Neymar and Lionel Messi grabbed a goal each in the first half as Barcelona rolled over Roma 3-0 in the traditional Gamper Trophy pre-season match on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi said his side were superior to every team in the league after he scored a hat-trick in Sunday's 4-2 win at Deportivo which clinched the club's 25th Spanish title with four games left in the season.
The Indian hockey team entered the Olympic semifinals for a second successive edition but Lakshya Sen's zealous push for a gold turned into a hunt for bronze on a bitter-sweet Sunday for India at the Paris Games.
Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on Thursday on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for one match after appearing to make an obscene gesture following Al Nassr's 3-2 win over Al Shabab, the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee of the Saudi Football Federation (SAFF) said on Wednesday.
Chhetri had made his 150th appearance for India in March and scored on the occasion against Afghanistan in Guwahati. India, though, lost that game 1-2.
Paulo Dybala said his two-goal performance against Barcelona on Tuesday was the sort of night he had dreamed about since he used to play on the bumpy pitches of the Argentine second division as a slightly-built teenager.
Valencia coach Cesare Prandelli has conceded there is no point trying stop Lionel Messi as he prepares to face the in-form Barcelona talisman when his side host the La Liga champions on Saturday.
The saving grace of Shankar's expanded universe is the masterful precision with which Kamal Haasan drops himself into a messy setup, only slightly to elevate the pulpy tendencies of Shankar's vision, observes Arjun Menon.
Barcelona have condemned FIFA's decision to impose a four-match international ban on striker Lionel Messi for verbally abusing a match official in Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Chile last week.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
Defending champions Bayern Munich must face Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid after they were drawn together in Champions League Group A alongside Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.
Diego Maradona says Lionel Messi's second-half penalty miss was not the reason Argentina failed to defeat Iceland at the World Cup on Saturday.
'We want to clarify that our desire has always been to apply a drop in salary because we fully understand that this is an exceptional situation and we are the first ones who have ALWAYS helped the club when asked'
World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi found himself the unlikely figure of controversy in Egypt after a local politician and a soccer official reacted angrily when he donated a pair of his boots to raise money for charity. MBC Masr channel broadcast an interview last Saturday with Barcelona's Messi on the television programme 'Yes I am Famous', but the announcement that the Argentina forward would auction his boots for charity provoked an unexpected response. Member of parliament and television presenter Said Hasasin, appearing on his own talk show, took off his shoes and said he would donate them to the poor of Argentina. "Whose shoes do you want to sell, Messi? How much do you think it will get? You don't know that the nail of a baby Egyptian is worth more than your shoes? Keep your shoes to yourself or sell them to Israel." "Messi, we Egyptians are 90 million people, who have pride, we have shoes."
Lionel Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat-trick as Barcelona kick-started their campaign with a 4-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven, although they had defender Samuel Umtiti sent off late in the second half on Tuesday.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has heatedly denied suggestions that he calls Argentine ace Lionel Messi offensive nicknames.
Sunil Chhetri said he would like to be remembered as 'the luckiest and most hardworking national team player'.
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