Messi announced he wanted to leave Barcelona, on Tuesday, after spending his entire career at the Catalan club.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the passing away of the Argentine legend.
Argentina showed once again how reliant they are on Lionel Messi as the Barcelona forward scored a hat-trick in their 4-0 World Cup warm-up win over Haiti on Tuesday.
Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash last month, was posthumously named Brazil's Player of the Year after a vote by fans.
A summary of Thursday's South American World Cup qualifiers.
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
"Football and the world of sports has lost one of its greatest players today. Rest in Peace Diego Maradona! You shall be missed," Tendulkar tweeted.
The 19-year-old won the accolade ahead of Argentina's Maico Casella and Blake Govers of Australia, who finished second and third respectively.
Argentina got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday when Lionel Messi's early penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a lacklustre match in Buenos Aires.
Chile's euphoria at reaching the final of the Copa America was tempered by the reminder that every time they have been in this position before they have finished as runners-up.
Wilmar Valdez, the head of Uruguay's football association, says it was a mistake to play the Centenary Copa America in the US.
The 28-year-old's body was flown back to Argentina and arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning before being driven the 538 km (334 miles) to Progreso, where he grew up.
Argentina has made significant progress on LGBT+ rights in recent years, in 2010 becoming the first country in Latin America to let gay and lesbian couples marry and adopt children. Vega posted a letter on social media coming out to his fans - the first openly gay professional basketball player in Argentina's history.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Russia has been suspended from international athletics since November 2015 after the McLaren report discovered widespread doping.
These and many more stunning photographs are encapsulated in this weekly, striking photo feature put together by Rediiff.com.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi, having reversed his decision to quit international soccer with a view to playing at another World Cup, could miss out on Russia 2018 if Argentina continue their downward spiral. Argentina played poorly in their last three qualifiers without the injured Messi and languish in fifth place in the South American group with Paraguay and Chile hot on their tails. Only four countries are guaranteed a place at the finals.
Eight years is a long time in the life of an athlete. But just like Messi, Di Maria has preserved and persisted towards his childhood dream, points out Deepti Patwardhan.
Carlos Tevez was officially unveiled as a Boca Juniors player in a 6.5 million euros ($7.15 million) transfer from Juventus.
Despite it all, the participants, from across the American continent, show up as they vie for the medals and glory. Along the way, they give us some moments that are captured for posterity. Here are some eye-catching scenes from the Pan Am Games...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The World No 4 is unfazed by rankings drop before Madrid tournament and the French Open.
The autopsy, which was based on blood and urine samples and released by the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, said Maradona had problems with his kidneys, heart and lungs.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
Breakdancing, considered one of the pillars of hip-hop culture, will also make its Asian Games bow in 2022, two years before it features in the Olympics for the first time in Paris.
"But if you need a reminder of who he is, just look at his career stats and grand slams that he won."
Copa America kicks off in Chile on Thursday as a widening US-led investigation lifts the lid on rampant corruption among the sport's top officials.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Quaison fires Sweden to extra-time World Cup playoff win over Czechs
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
You can see Messi, Suarez and other South American superstars play in the Copa America. Why then are soccer fans ignoring the oldest football tournament and looking forward to the European championships, which begins in France on Friday?
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
