Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or for world player of the year on Thursday for a joint-record fifth time, going level with eternal rival and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as the player to have won the prize the most times.
Real Madrid through to next round, win 6-2 on aggregate, Liverpool ousted
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema rescued his side again by scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Saturday and revive his side's hopes of catching leaders Atletico Madrid.
Megan Rapinoe earlier won the women's Ballon d'Or after leading the United States to a record-extending fourth World Cup title in France this year as they retained the trophy.
Jezreel Pannikot reveals life lessons the stars of the 2018 World Cup taught us.
With a population of just over four million, Croatia punched considerably above their weight to reach the final, going down gallantly to France at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Croatia have no major injury concerns going into Sunday's World Cup final despite having played three 120-minute matches
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the five best matches of the final round.
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
The Portuguese forward, who also scored a treble in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu, and five goals across that tie, is revelling in the central striker's role he has adopted this season.
Real Madrid maintained their pursuit for the title by defeating Malaga 3-1 late on Saturday.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has been relying on second-string players to get the club through a mini injury crisis but should have several of his heavyweights back when Paris St Germain visit in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Zidane calls on Madrid fans to create best atmosphere ever against Bayern
Images from Wednesday's Champions League matches, between Real Madrid and Paris St Germain, and Manchester City and Sporting CP
Koopmeiners leads Atalanta past Milan into Coppa semis
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
Real and Barca have won the title in 15 of the last 16 seasons, with Atletico breaking the duopoly in 2014.
Midfielder Santi Cazorla gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute of the game, which was rescheduled due to Real's participation in last month's Club World Cup, by bending a wonderful shot into the bottom corner.
'In my opinion he has taken on more challenges and succeeded at all of them. He's the most complete player I have seen and his work ethic, as I mentioned, is unmatched.'
Holders Real Madrid breezed past Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Champions League with Rodrygo's double securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-1 on Sunday in a highly entertaining 'Clasico' which surely will signal the end of hapless coach Julen Lopetegui's spell in charge of Real.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr both scored a brace to give the LaLiga leaders a 4-1 home win over Valencia
Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run to 25 matches and rejoined Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga when Jese, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric scored in a 3-0 win at Getafe on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo is eager to return to action as he prepares for his first start of the season when Real Madrid begin their Champions League defence on Wednesday against APOEL Nicosia, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Tuesday.
Croatia's players showed the world they are not like the supporters who brought shame on the country with their behaviour at Euro 2016, coach Ante Cacic said on Tuesday.
When Croatia meet Spain in their final Euro 2016 group match on Tuesday there will be as much scrutiny of developments in the stands as on the pitch.
Croatia captain Darijo Srna still feels the pain of losing on penalties to Turkey at the 2008 European Championship, but refused to talk of revenge ahead of another meeting between the teams at Euro 2016 on Sunday. Croatia exorcised some of their demons by beating Turkey 3-0 on aggregate in a playoff to reach Euro 2012. But Sunday will be the first time the sides have met at a major tournament since that quarter-final in Vienna eight years ago when Semih Senturk's 122nd-minute strike cancelled out Ivan Klasnic's opener three minutes earlier to send the tie to penalties.
Zinedine Zidane overcame the biggest challenge of his fledgling coaching career as Real Madrid brushed aside VfL Wolfsburg to overturn a first-leg deficit and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Argentina captain turns 31 in a few days and may be playing his last World Cup. He would need to win it to rival fellow great Diego Maradona for the eternal love of his compatriots.
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
Real Madrid showed their character by beating Barcelona 2-0 in Sunday's top-of-the-table 'Clasico', leapfrogging their rivals at the La Liga summit after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves, and substitute Mariano added the second in added time.
Madrid recovered from an early goal by Anthony Lozano to take a 2-1 halftime lead thanks to a Lucas Vazquez strike and a cheeky 'Panenka' penalty from captain Ramos but were pegged back by Alex Granell's penalty midway through the second half.
Real Madrid produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to earn a devastating 5-2 victory at Liverpool
'We aren't playing well and we can't blame the coach, as the players are the ones who have to perform on the pitch'
La Liga champions Barcelona slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling Leganes and Real Madrid were resoundingly beaten 3-0 by Sevilla on Wednesday as Spain's two biggest clubs lost on the same day for the first time since January, 2015.
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
The FIFA World Cup at Russia saw a variety of celebrations -- from the weird to some fancy dance moves -- Rediff.com has got it all covered here...
