La Liga club Barcelona have expressed their support for Argentine striker Lionel Messi and his father after the Spanish Supreme Court upheld their prison sentences over tax fraud charges, although neither are expected to go to jail.
Lionel Messi says he wanted Neymar to return to Barcelona this year as the Brazilian would have helped the club take a leap forward
La Liga returned to action after a long hiatus and during Barcelona's first game after the resumption, Messi struck a brilliant goal, helping his side clinch a 4-0 win against Mallorca.
Lionel Messi returned from international suspension to score the winner in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Brazil in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
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.
The victory takes Barcelona up to fourth with 10 points after six games, one point behind surprise leaders Granada, Athletic Bilbao, who visit Leganes on Wednesday, and Real Madrid ahead of their game at home to Osasuna the same night.
Barcelona have launched a campaign in support of Lionel Messi and his father Jorge after the Argentine pair were sentenced to prison terms this week over tax fraud.
Lionel Messi was sent off before half-time and then angrily hit out at "corrupt" tournament organisers after Argentina beat Chile 2-1 to win a bad-tempered third-place playoff at the Copa America on Saturday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi was at the centre of a headbutting controversy.
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.
The only goal of the game came from a clever cross by Lionel Messi although Barca's captain was kept unusually quiet for the remainder, after being left with a bloodied face from a clash with United's Chris Smalling.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi scored two goals and set up two more as the Catalans thrashed Real Valladolid 5-1 to move top of La Liga on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old ravaged Argentina from start to finish in France's thrilling 4-3 win in Kazan
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.
The 'wounds' of 2014 will probably never heal, concedes Lionel Messi but the Argentine superstar is hopeful that 2018 will bring with it the World Cup that football 'owes' him.
Murtaza Ahmadi, now aged 7, grabbed world headlines two years ago when his brother made him a shirt out of a blue and white plastic bag, with Messi's name and number 10 playing number.
Lionel Messi does not need a Copa America win to feel like the king of the world. He captured that crown a long ago, says Dhruv Munjal.
Lionel Messi is not interested in leaving Barcelona in the wake of his sentencing for tax fraud, according to club spokesman Josep Vives.
Pope Francis is known to be a football fan, and he is also a club member of Buenos Aires side San Lorenzo.
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.
Lionel Messi lifted Barcelona out of their recent slump with two goals in a vintage display as his side survived a tenacious Tottenham Hotspur fightback to claim a 4-2 victory in Champions League Group B 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.
'Whenever I talk with Leo, we always say 'Pray that one day it happens for us'. It's what he wants and it's what we all want. I put myself in his shoes and I want to do the best'
Lionel Messi won his personal duel with his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo lighting up Argentina's 2-1 win over Portugal by making one goal and scoring the winner in a lively friendly international in Geneva on Wednesday.
It was Messi's 30th goal in 39 competitive games against Atletico
Messi's contract expires at the end of June and there has been no announcement on an extension.
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.
Lionel Messi won his 100th Argentina cap when he started the Copa America Group B match against Jamaica on Saturday.
Hannes Halldorsson used to make zombie films for a living but it was watching videos that let Iceland's goalkeeper outwit Lionel Messi and save a penalty on Saturday that gave his side a shock World Cup point.
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros (198.82 million pounds) transfer from Barcelona to French side Paris Saint-Germain appeared close to completion on Wednesday, when his agent predicted he could be unveiled by the weekend.
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.
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.
Croatian footballer Ivan Rakitic has said that his national team-mate Luka Modric should win everything that star striker Lionel Messi cannot.
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.
Tite admitted he had been complaining to the referee during the first half and said the two men exchanged words.
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."
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
Lionel Messi says he is retiring from international soccer after Argentina lost to Chile in Copa America final.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
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.
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