Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu's remarks come amid severe speculation around Messi's future at the club.
Sterling, 24, had a hand in all five goals, including an 11-minute hat-trick, as City romped to a 5-1 Champions League victory over Italian side Atalanta on Tuesday, to take his tally to 12 goals in 13 appearances this season.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Neymar's father spoke out at what he called the 'vultures' circling his son
Leicester City will play Barcelona, Celtic and Paris St Germain in this year's International Champions Cup (ICC), the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
Barcelona's 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday.
Paris St Germain forward Neymar has said he was the target of a racist slur during the French champions' 1-0 defeat by Olympique Marseille on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
'We have to think today about those people who died due to COVID before their time, those many grandparents who took their grandchildren to see Atalanta for the first time and who aren't with us anymore. I am thinking about them above all'
France forward Kylian Mbappe has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and will miss this week's Nations League international against Croatia.
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros ($263 million) transfer from Barcelona to Paris St Germain is set to be completed this week with the French club poised to pay his release clause.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
United are 16th in the standings with a game in hand heading into the international break.
Liverpool were beaten 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid in their last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
Neymar and Mbappe satins are Paris fashion must-haves.
Consecutive injuries in 2017 and 2018 saw Kingsley Coman miss the major part of both seasons and followed ankle ligament injuries in 2016 after he had joined the Bavarians the previous year. The France international even considered retiring.
Last month, Barcelona had announced that the club's presidential election will be held on March 7. The election had previously been scheduled for January 24 but got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Paris St Germain revived their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in Group C on Wednesday, leaving the English club's hopes of reaching the last 16 hanging in the balance.
Neymar's imminent arrival at Paris St Germain can help France's Ligue 1 grow to match Europe's powerhouse leagues, according to the director general of top flight side Lille.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi has become the first player to win Europe's Golden Shoe award for three straight years after his nearest challenger Kylian Mbappe failed to score the four goals he needed in Paris St Germain's final league match of the season on Friday.
Edinson Cavani scored early for Paris St Germain but a series of wasted chances came back to haunt them as Ajax Amsterdam equalised late to deny the French a winning start on the road in a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group F on Wednesday.
A first-half double from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid cruise to a 3-0 victory away to Cadiz that moved them top of La Liga.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Friday he would leave Paris Saint Germain after four years during which he played an integral part in turning the club into a force to reckon with on the European stage.
Losing is part of the sport, a dejected Neymar said after Paris Saint Germain lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich, in Lisbon.
Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris St Germain after testing positive for COVID-19 while midfielder Marc Roca will miss the game due to injury.
A controversial penalty three minutes into added time gave Paris St Germain a 2-1 win over fellow Ligue 1 strugglers Racing Lens in the French League Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Neymar was in a class of his own again on Sunday, scoring a double to help Paris St Germain extend their Ligue 1 lead to 10 points with a 2-0 win at Lille. The Brazilian dedicated his goal to former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, by raising two fingers in one hand and four fingers with the other to signal the number 24 -- Bryant's shirt number.
Bayern Munich's stellar season has been capped off with being crowned champions of Europe.
Jose Mourinho and Juergen Klopp's conflicting views on Neymar's imminent move from Barcelona to Paris St Germain offer an insight into how the 222 million euro (199 million pounds) deal has divided opinion across football.
Neymar faces a race against time to be fit for this year's World Cup finals after the Brazil team doctor was quoted on Thursday saying that he would be out for up to three months with a foot injury.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
Unai Emery's Villarreal were much improved in the second half and had spurned numerous chances before Moreno's leveller.
PSG coach Unai Emery said he wanted to be optimistic that his 222-million euro ($273 million) signing would be available to face Real as the French league leaders bid to overcome a 3-1 deficit to avoid an early exit from the tournament.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
The death of a Paris St Germain fan after a UEFA Cup game has sparked a nationwide debate in France on how to rid soccer of violence and racism, and prompted a change in policy on ticket sales.
Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list with an estimated earnings of 1.8 million pounds.