Spain's strong show of unity after the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui was almost enough to secure victory in their World Cup opener against Portugal on Friday, but Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal took some gloss off a superb performance.
Fernando Torres stole the show with a dramatic double as Atletico Madrid secured a battling 2-2 draw at Real Madrid on Thursday that dumped the holders out of the King's Cup 4-2 on aggregate.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his record-breaking form for Portugal as he grabbed two more goals in his country's 6-0 thrashing of Luxembourg in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Sunday.
Floyd Mayweather tops the Forbes list of best paid athletes for the fourth time in seven years, followed by soccer superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Hellas Verona produced a huge upset by coming from behind to beat Serie A leaders Juventus 2-1 on Saturday, inflicting a third defeat of the season on the Italian champions. Cristiano Ronaldo set a new Juventus record by scoring in a 10th consecutive league game to put the visitors in front at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi after 65 minutes.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winning goal to help Real Madrid become European champions, while Marin Cilic made an impressive comeback after a ban to claim the US Open crown in September. Also, Germany defeated Argentina to become football world champions. Rediff.com brings you the last instalment of the Best Sports Photos of the Year!
It's been a week now since Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo hobbled off the pitch after injuring his thigh against Villarreal during a La Liga match last Wednesday.
Real Madrid's attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema need to score twice in the Champions League final on May 28 against Atletico Madrid to hit the century mark for goals this season for the first time.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted one penalty, missed another and also scored from open play as Portugal beat Latvia 4-1 in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday. On a typically dramatic night for the Portugal captain, Ronaldo fired the European champions ahead from his first spot kick of the evening in the first half, but missed a chance to double their lead when his second effort struck the post.
After taking home their first La Liga trophy in five years, Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. took their celebrations from streets in CelebesPlaza to the Town Hall.
Sports stars around the world joined in the celebrations of the New Year and took to social media to wish their fans and followers a Happy New Year.
'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
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.
Man United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams had already faced each other in the group stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit back at critical former boss Jose Mourinho in the best way possible on Wednesday with two goals to help Real Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 and win the International Champions Cup pre-season tournament.
Juve star Ronaldo's agent rules out Sporting return
Lionel Messi intends to join Major Soccer League side Inter Miami as a free agent, the Argentina forward said on Wednesday.
While Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar follow, there's no sign of Aamir Khan, whose latest film Dangal is one of the most successful Hindi films ever made.
With eight teams left in the tournament the numbers around Euro 2024 are becoming clearer, with Spain, England and France all considered likely winners and a race for top scorer that is still very tight.
The cases made on both sides came with a host of subtexts: the Argentine versus the Brazilian, the man of the people versus the establishment figure, the party animal versus the quiet man, and the rebel versus the conformist.
The winner will be named on August 26, along with UEFA's women's player of the year and Champions League positional award winners, at the Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.
Al-Ittihad's Asian Champions League match with Iran's Sepahan was called off on Monday after the Saudi team refused to leave their dressing-room due to a statue of an assassinated Iranian general being placed at the entrance to the pitch.
Nine-times European champions Real Madrid fielded their big guns on Sunday for a friendly against Bournemouth that was all about a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for the English second tier club rather than the Spanish giants' 6-0 victory.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Messi was at his devastating his best during the Celta Vigo clash as he netted a hat-trick, helping Barcelona secure a 4-1 win on Sunday.
Messi's future at PSG has been the subject of much speculation in recent days
Hertha Berlin's Salomon Kalou scored twice, including a stoppage-time penalty, to earn a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Later on Monday, Lukaku's brace helped Inter to a win over Napoli, taking them atop the standings on goal difference from Juventus.
In the earlier match, Zverev beat Cilic -- the Croat's 9th loss in 10-round robin matches in the Finals
A source close to Argentina's captain told Reuters that he received a formal offer to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season, with a contract renewal at PSG not on the cards for the World Cup winner who turns 36 next month.
Only Brazilian superstar Neymar Junior (0.68), Ali Ashfaq (0.68) of Maldives and Edin Dzeko (0.63) of Bosnia have a better strike rate then Chhetri.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Whatever Karim Benzema does in a Real Madrid shirt his achievements are generally overshadowed by the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo yet the France forward has a splendid Champions League record of his own.
Benzema was Al-Ittihad's first signing since winning the league title for the first time since 2009 with compatriot Kante expected to join him
Real Madrid duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are in the running with Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann for the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award.
Ronaleo netted his 14th league goal for Juve this season while PSG's winning streak was snapped by Monaco in a 3-3 draw. Here are images from the matches played on Sunday
