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.
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.
Nicolas Gonzalez equalised for Argentina four minutes before half-time when he bulleted a header home from a Giovani Lo Celso corner kick.
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.
McGregor earned $180 million, a figure which includes $158 million from endorsements
Barcelona and Argentina striker Lionel Messi dethroned five-division boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather as the highest paid athlete over the past year.
Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo would like Barcelona's Lionel Messi to leave Spain and rekindle their rivalry by joining him in the Italian top flight.
Mateo has inherited great goal-scoring skills from his father.
On Saturday evening, Lionel Messi finally got what had eluded arguably the finest footballer of his generation throughout his glorious career -- a trophy playing for his country.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded this year for the first time in its 64-year history after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the football calendar, organisers France Football magazine said on Monday. The prestigious award, voted for by journalists, is an annual prize given to the best male footballer in the world since 1956. The women's Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 2018.
The week gone by has been full of drama and here we bring you all the action from the sporting field in pictures!
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.
The 27-year-old Argentine posted a selfie on Facebook featuring his girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo and 22-month old son Thiago.
Blind, 32, has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in his chest to detect an irregular heart beat and deliver a life-saving shock in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
Here are some special moments from the gala night in Zurich on Monday...
Lionel Messi won his 100th Argentina cap when he started the Copa America Group B match against Jamaica on Saturday.
Messi's donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical centre in his home country. Former Barcelona player and manager Guardiola made his contribution to a campaign launched by the Angel Soler Daniel Foundation and Medical College of Barcelona.
Messi was named the top-earning footballer in the world by French newspaper L'Equipe earlier this year, claiming an estimated 8.2 million euros ($9.97 million) per month from Barca.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was ruled out of their Club World Cup semi-final on Thursday after suffering from abdominal pain, the European champions said.
Finances aside, though, there is an even bigger question mark hanging over Lionel Messi. Is he a fading force?
Croatian footballer Ivan Rakitic has said that his national team-mate Luka Modric should win everything that star striker Lionel Messi cannot.
Lionel Messi said he never expected to have such a successful career after receiving his fifth Golden Shoe, on Tuesday, for being the top goalscorer in Europe last season.
"We had a crazy coach who gave us instructions and motivated us strongly during halftime," Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdel-Ilah al-Maliki told Al-Kass TV station after the win over Argentina.
Messi was three ahead of nearest rival Kylian Mbappe, who scored 33 times for Paris St Germain as they won France's Ligue 1.
Balloons in the national colours of Israel and Qatar festooned the departure gate for the first commercial flight between the countries on Sunday, permitted by Doha for fans of the World Cup despite the absence of formal bilateral relations.
Several thousand Argentinians are expected to descend on Qatar for the tournament starting next month but not all are having an easy ride.
Lionel Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat-trick as Barcelona kick-started their campaign with a 4-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven, although they had defender Samuel Umtiti sent off late in the second half on Tuesday.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu's remarks come amid severe speculation around Messi's future at the club.
Messi, who scored 37 times in La Liga last season, has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, rising through their youth system to become one of the most successful and recognisable footballers in the world.
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi still remains the world's highest earning footballer with an annual income of 74 million euros.
Sergio Ramos has responded to a putdown from Argentina great Diego Maradona
Following are the award winners who were honoured by UEFA during the Champions League draw on Thursday in Monaco.
Shot-stoppers who turned into showstoppers during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
The Dutchman burst through the middle of the pitch and laid the ball off for Messi to dribble into the net for an 18th league goal of the season, extending his lead at the top of the scoring charts.
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.
Lionel Messi spoke for the great and the good of world soccer, not to mention millions of grassroots fans, when he acclaimed Leicester City's extraordinary Premier League triumph by tweeting: "The reason why we all love football. Congratulations"
Impressive performances from Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati helped Barcelona overcome an early red card to defender Clement Lenglet and win 3-0 at Celta Vigo on Thursday to make it two wins out of two in the new La Liga season.
'We made many changes, trying to create opportunities but the important thing today was the players were really brave. That courage made this result possible'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances