ManchesterCity's season began to unravel when Kevin de Bruyne missed 10 matches with a knee injury but as he showed when he scored against Paris St Germain on Tuesday, anything is possible with him back in the team.
Should the Portugal forward triumph, he will equal the record of his great rival and five-time winner Lionel Messi of Barcelona, who is also nominated.
Bayern Munich won its sixth Champions League crown in Lisbon on Sunday night.
Barcelona must wait a bit longer before they can claim their La Liga crown after drawing 2-2 with Athletic Bilbao, while Paris St Germain and Juventus continued to close in on the French and Italian titles.
Neymar played 'cat-and-mouse' with Barcelona during the close-season before his move to Paris St Germain, Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre has said.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League second semi-final played at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Wednesday.
Four-times winners Bayern Munich will face resurgent Juventus in the pick of the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw made in Nyon on Friday, with favourites Barcelona paired with Paris St Germain.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi injured his hamstring and defender Javier Mascherano sustained a more serious knee problem in Tuesday's 2-2 Champions League quarter-final first leg draw at Paris St Germain.
Barcelona and Bayern Munich maintained dominance of their respective leagues but there was a shock for French Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain who lost to end a nine-match unbeaten run.
Barcelona abandoned their hopes of signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool after the Merseyside club demanded 200 million euros ($237.14 million) for the Brazil attacking midfielder, the Liga side's director Albert Soler said.
David Beckham does not expect to be a regular starter at Paris St Germain but he hopes to adopt the same role as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes perform at his old club Manchester United, the former England captain said on Thursday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Milan replaced Gennaro Gattuso with former Sampdoria coach Giampaolo during the close season in a bid to improve on last season's fifth place and to take them back to the Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
The French League (LFP) will take out a state guaranteed loan to pay clubs in its top two tiers the money they would have received from television broadcasts if the season had not been abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Monday.
Bayern Munich tore Juventus apart on a rare off night for Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon but had to settle for a 2-0 win after missing a hatful of chances in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City on Wednesday and Paris St Germain joined them after overwhelming Bayer Leverkusen 6-1 over the two legs of their last-16 tie.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 Champions League win at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday but big spending trio Zenit St Petersburg, Paris St Germain and Manchester City failed to win.
Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc admitted it would be hard to play football when they visit Lorient in Ligue 1 on Saturday eight days after the deadly attacks in Paris.
Lallana signs short-term Liverpool extension
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
The win lifted Hamburg, who needed a relegation playoff to stay up last season, to seventh on six points.
A summary of Thursday night's UEFA Champions League matches.
Beckham, Ronaldo, Messi, Nadal, Rooney, paid moving tribute to Paris victims.
Atletico Madrid have signed striker Luis Suarez from Barcelona, the Spanish clubs said on Wednesday, bringing to an end his six-year stint at the Camp Nou.
Nice defeat leaves Lyon 10 points behind leaders PSG
Manchester United will swoop for Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer as new manager Jose Mourinho's first marquee signing at Old Trafford, Sky Sports has reported.
Luis Suarez said Barcelona have not given up on the Champions League despite a "difficult and painful" 4-0 drubbing by Paris St Germain in their last 16 tie this week.
Although players have been allowed to start individual training, Italian Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora said it is too early to talk about the resumption of football season.
The LFP board will meet to "study the sporting and economic consequences of the measures announced by the prime minister", it said on Tuesday night after Edouard Philippe said the 2019-20 professional season could 'not return'.
Real have underperformed on the domestic stage, trailing Barcelona by 15 points and knocked out of the King's Cup by Leganes, and many predicted an early elimination from Europe when they drew the runaway Ligue 1 leaders in the last 16.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Bayern Munich's Douglas Costa scored a first-half winner as the holders did the bare minimum to beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 on Tuesday and move into the German Cup quarter-finals.
The 41-year-old has made 640 appearances in Serie A, within striking distance of the 647-game record of AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini. Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Turin club in 2001.
Barcelona were so keen to bring Neymar back from Paris St Germain that the players were ready to accept delays to salary payments in order for the club to afford the Brazilian
A round-up of Saturday's matches in Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Roma teenager Afena-Gyan plays down apparent racist remark.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is hoping the home crowd in Sweden sing his name on Wednesday, despite his determination to fire Paris Saint Germain into the knockout stages of the Champions League and end boyhood club Malmo FF's European adventure.
