Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were named as the three finalists.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, are included
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has reassured his club's supporters that Lionel Messi's new contract has been signed, albeit by the player's father.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
Many locals grumble that it will mostly be an inconvenience.
An Argentine football club has recreated the Sistine Chapel on the ceiling of its gymnasium, with Diego Maradona as God, Lionel Messi as Adam and a host of angels that include Mario Kempes, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Batistuta.
Lionel Messi requires two more goals to reach 500 for Barcelona and will have his sights set on achieving the milestone against great rivals Real Madrid in Sunday's Clasico.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has labelled Lionel Messi has the 'best' player he has seen after the Argentine forward spurred a 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam that secured the Spanish side a place in the Champions League knockout stages.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi is expected to play in Wednesday's King's Cup semi-final against Valencia despite missing training on Monday to have tests on his kidneys, the La Liga club said.
Barcelona removed Pere Gratacos as their institutional sporting relations director on Friday after he claimed that Lionel Messi "would not be as good" without his teammates.
Lionel Messi, so often the key man for Argentina, paid tribute to Martinez.
"It's better for Messi to play as he is the best in the world and he gives you a boost but we should be very proud as a team, as we showed that we are a great team without Messi and we have a great coach (Ernesto Valverde)," Suarez said.
Lionel Messi was lauded by opposition supporters on Sunday after he scored an outstanding hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis, which put the Catalans 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with 10 games remaining.
Leander Paes is ready to unleash his 'new version' when the sport resumes but the veteran tennis star fears that the organisers may not be able to pull off Tokyo Games and the legacy he wants to create by playing his eighth successive Olympics could remain an unrealised dream. Paes, who turned 47 on Wednesday, had announced that 2020 would be his last season and Tokyo Games was expected to be his swansong event but the COVID-19 pandemic upset his plans.
Talented winger Lallianzuala Chhangte "would not mind" stepping up as the next number 9 of the Indian football team, after talismanic forward Sunil Chhetri's illustrious career comes to an end in Kolkata on June 6.
IMAGES from the Champions League 2nd semi-final first leg match between Barcelona and Liverpool at Nou Camp on Wednesday
Barcelona's five-time soccer World Player of the Year Lionel Messi went on trial on Tuesday along with his father on accusations of defrauding the Spanish state of millions of euros (dollars).
Lionel Messi had to wait 12 years and endure a goal drought of eight games against Chelsea but he finally broke his duck in Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League last 16, first leg draw.
The Messi Experience Park, which is being launched by the five times world player of the year in collaboration with Chinese broadcaster Phoenix Group and Spanish media company Mediapro, is set to open in 2019 in the Chinese capital.
The Argentine is reportedly unhappy with coach Enrique's way of running the dressing room at Barcelona.
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England's north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford to buy him. "He already knows there's no beach!," Aguero, who has scored 120 goals in 185 appearances during his four-and-a-half years at the Etihad, told Sky Sports. "We play every three days so we just eat, rest between games -- so the weather is not really that important.
Lionel Messi scored twice as King's Cup holders Barcelona moved comfortably into the quarter-finals by thrashing Celta Vigo 5-0 at the Nou Camp in their last 16 second leg game on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chhetri has been the face of Indian soccer for nearly a decade-and-half and his 94 international goals make him the third-highest active international scorer after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani brings you unfiltered moments of chaos, hard work and confidence behind designer Rajdeep Ranawat's show at the ongoing Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.
A Spanish court said on Friday it has exchanged a 21-month prison sentence handed to Soccer player Lionel Messi for tax fraud last July for a quarter-of-a-million-euro fine.
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta.
Is it surprising that the favourite food of our manic Mumbai city has achieved a world rank?
Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
Messi ran amok at Wembley Stadium, slicing Spurs apart with incisive passes from deep, such as the one that allowed Philippe Coutinho to open the scoring, and was as dangerous as ever in front of goal, firing in the Catalan side's final two goals to end their winless run of three games.
Barcelona fell to a first home defeat in any competition for more than two years
Lionel Messi was back in scoring business for Barcelona on Sunday, leading them to a resounding 4-0 win at home against Villarreal in a near-perfect La Liga opener for the Catalans under new coach Ronald Koeman.
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
According to Associated Press, Messi was banned for "having directed insulting words at an assistant referee" during a home qualifier against Chile on Thursday, FIFA said hours before kickoff in La Paz.
Argentina forward Lionel Messi played down an incident in which someone tried to punch him outside a restaurant in his home town of Rosario on Thursday.
Lionel Messi passed up the chance to net his 300th La Liga goal and instead put a hat-trick on a plate for team mate Luis Suarez with an outrageous penalty routine.
No amount of preparation is enough to snuff out the threat of Argentina's "assassin" Lionel Messi, Panama coach Hernan Dario Gomez said ahead of Friday's Copa America clash between the teams. Messi was an unused substitute in Argentina's 2-1 win over holders Chile in their opening Group D match in Santa Clara, California on Monday after a back injury but will reappear when they face Panama in Chicago. "Leo trained normally, he will play," coach Gerardo Martino told a news conference on Thursday. Both sides have three points after Panama marked their first appearance in the world's oldest international tournament with a surprise 2-1 win over Bolivia, who face Chile in Foxborough on Friday.
Argentina president Mauricio Macri has personally contacted star striker Lionel Messi and urged him not to call it quits to the national team.
Phil Foden struck twice as Manchester City stepped up their bid for a fourth Premier League crown in a row with a ruthless 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday.
Now, through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Messi has kept his promise and gifted his five-year-old fan, Murtaza Ahmadi, two autographed jerseys and a signed football, CNN reported.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances