Neymar will play in the Olympics in August and will miss the Centenary Copa America in the United States in June, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday to end months of speculation.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp enjoyed a satisfying return to Borussia Dortmund as his new side frustrated his former charges and claimed a valuable away goal to draw 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday.
David Moyes made light of his first dismissal when he leapt over a fence into the stands to watch the rest of the match and accepted crisps from a girl.
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.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Yet Milan's defensive frailty was punished when Konstantinos Fortounis scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute to give his side the win that left them second in Group F on 10 points.
Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
Liverpool, Paris St Germain, Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague and Villarreal reached the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday in contrasting fashions.
Top A-League clubs have expressed interest in signing departing Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta for the next season, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive David Gallop has said.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
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.
Coaches finally put World Cup hopefuls out of their misery on Tuesday when they named their final squads for the tournament, shattering some dreams while also handing out the opportunity of a lifetime.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his recent Ballon d'Or award by scoring twice for the first time in a La Liga game this season as champions Real Madrid swept to a stunning 5-0 win over Sevilla on Saturday to go five points behind leaders Barcelona.
A thunderous free-kick by Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a 2-1 first-leg home win over Braga in their all-Portuguese Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque sprung three surprises in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa, including Barcelona pair Victor Valdes and Pedro plus Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez. Goalkeeper Valdes replaces Villarreal's Diego Lopez as Spain's third-choice behind number one and captain Iker Casillas of Real Madrid and number two Pepe Reina of Liverpool.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the English Premier League and the La Liga on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's La Liga title hopes suffered a huge blow with a surprise 1-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday which left Jose Mourinho's side seven points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid knocked bitter city rivals Atletico out of the King's Cup on Thursday with a 1-0 win at a hostile Calderon to go through to the last four 4-1 on aggregate. Cristiano Ronaldo added to his phenomenal tally of goals this season with a 23rd minute strike to help set up a semi-final over two legs against holders Sevilla after the Andalusian club saw off Villarreal on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi celebrated a second successive World Player of the Year award with a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed second division Real Betis 5-0 in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped Real Madrid fight back to beat classy Villarreal 4-2 on Sunday to cut Barcelona's La Liga lead to two points.
Atletico Madrid earned a 1-1 draw away to Girona in a chaotic and entertaining Copa del Rey last 16 first-leg match on Wednesday, leaving the tie finely balanced.
Athletic Bilbao survived a constant state of siege to hold a weakened Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg match on Tuesday. La Liga leaders Barca had won 10 successive games in all competitions, scoring 31 goals in the last seven, but they ran out of ideas against their resolute Basque visitors.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
Manchester United and Liverpool, English football's two most decorated clubs, were drawn together in the last 16 of the Europa League on Friday.
La Liga champions Barcelona's domestic struggles continued as they dropped points for the third game in a row, drawing 1-1 at home to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets had begun the match on the substitutes' bench.
Real Madrid climbed back above arch rivals Barcelona to the top of La Liga when Gonzalo Higuain netted a late winner in a laboured 1-0 win at Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Brazilian defender Filipe Luis scored for the second game running as Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Tuesday to rack up a fifth straight win in La Liga and provisionally consolidate third place in the standings.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
The European champions, who were humbled 3-0 by tiny Eibar last week, took a fortuitous lead when Valencia midfielder Daniel Wass nodded a Dani Carvajal cross into his own net in the eighth minute after former Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista had failed to clear the danger.
Real Madrid's expulsion from the King's Cup for fielding an ineligible player was upheld on Monday by the Spanish government's Disciplinary Committee for Sports (TAD) following an appeal by the 10-times European champions.
AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.
'I arrived at Manchester United a boy, and I left a man'
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored twice to help Barcelona shake off the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit with a 4-1 victory at Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has decided to rest Lionel Messi, Neymar and most of his regulars for the King's Cup last 16, second leg match at Elche later on Thursday.
A moment of genius from Lionel Messi lit up the Nou Camp as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 win over Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday that put them two points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
