'I arrived at Manchester United a boy, and I left a man'
Champions Manchester United's hopes of retaining their English Premier League title suffered another major setback on Saturday when they were beaten 1-0 at Old Trafford by a composed Newcastle United.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
France meet Belgium in a World Cup semi-final on Tuesday. Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
It was Messi's 30th goal in 39 competitive games against Atletico
But despite some early close attempts from Uruguay, Japan began to impose themselves on the game and Koji Miyoshi gave them the lead in the 25th minute with a confident finish following a counterattack.
Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut to two points on Saturday as they squandered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at Sevilla while Real Madrid powered their way to a 3-0 home win over Eibar.
Alaba strike on Clasico debut gives Real Madrid 2-1 win at Barcelona.
Real Madrid overcame an early howler from Sergio Ramos to beat Real Sociedad 3-1 at home on an eventful Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Gareth Bale was loudly booed by his own supporters and Luka Modric returned to his very best form.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he believes Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with the Spanish champions despite reports the five times World Player of the Year is stalling over a new deal.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
Uruguay sealed their spot at the 2014 World Cup finals after a goalless draw at home to Jordan in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday saw them advance 5-0 on aggregate.
Uruguay crushed Ecuador 4-0 in their Copa America opener on Sunday with help from an early sending off that deflated their opponents and assured the 15-times champions the simplest of starts to their campaign.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez wants an "amicable agreement" to leave the club, honouring last year's contract clause that said he could leave if they failed to qualify for the Champions League.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Images from La Liga matches played on Monday.
Lionel Messi squeezed home a stoppage-time penalty to grab a 3-2 win for champions Barcelona at Valencia in a thrilling and controversial La Liga match on Sunday.
Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has denied a newspaper report that he tried to sign strikers Lionel Messi and Neymar from former club Barcelona in the close season.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
'I'm definitely not going to change, players have to know that when they face me that I have my own way of playing and that is dribbling, scoring goals and helping my team mates'
Barca dominated possession and Luis Suarez had several early chances but it was Villarreal who took the lead with Denis Cheryshev redirecting a Mario Gaspar shot past keeper Claudio Bravo on the half hour.
Luis Suarez marked his return to Premier League action with two goals to help Liverpool to a 3-1 win at managerless Sunderland that lifted them to second in the table on Sunday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp wants his players to be "angry" and guard against complacency when they entertain promoted HullCity on Saturday.
"I don't know how this affects my future," Valverde said.
After an even first 45 minutes, strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder stunned the Catalans and left them needing a second-leg comeback at the Nou Camp for the second consecutive round in the competition.
Real Madrid trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to one point when they recovered from conceding an early goal to secure a stirring 3-1 comeback win in the 'Clasico' on Saturday.
Luis Suarez struck twice and Lionel Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona who set a new Spanish record of goals in a calendar year with a 4-0 win over Real Betis that lifted them top of La Liga on Wednesday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action:
Images from the La Liga match played between FC Barcelona and Sevilla on at Camp Nou on Sunday
Yet even without a transfer fee, Messi's colossal salary, reported to be the highest in world football, means very few clubs would be able to afford him.
Former Newcastle United striker Faustino Asprilla is entering the world of business by designing and selling fruit-flavoured condoms in his native Colombia.
'I want the market to damn well close so that I know who I can count on'
IMAGES from the Champions League quarter-final played between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday.
Winning the treble last season has spurred Barcelona to try and win all six trophies up for grabs this year and replicate the feat they achieved in 2009, midfielder Andres Iniesta said on Monday.
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.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at relegation-fighting Las Palmas on Thursday in an unexpected setback that left them with a five-point lead in La Liga ahead of their top-of-the-table showdown with Atletico Madrid this weekend.
Manchester City have never gone past the semi-final stage of Europe's premier club competition.
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.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu hit out at Neymar's lack of loyalty to the club on Monday and criticised the Brazilian for staying silent up until his world record 222 million euro ($261 million) move to Paris St. Germain.
'Dad, I understand and respect your opinion but my decision has been taken. I ask that you support me as you always do'
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