Losing is part of the sport, a dejected Neymar said after Paris Saint Germain lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich, in Lisbon.
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.
The world's biggest superstars landed in Paris and enjoyed a game of soccer.
France striker Kylian Mbappe on Tuesday fell short of saying he would leave Paris St Germain when his contract expires at the end of the season.
"How is a guy going to hold his hand behind his back," he wrote in Portuguese on Instagram, before finishing with an expletive commonly used in Brazil.
Neymar and Mbappe satins are Paris fashion must-haves.
'Messi's departure is a move that helps Florentino. Imagine that (Kylian) Mbappe now signs for Real Madrid.'
Argentine Icardi, 27, joined PSG in September on a season-long loan with a buy-out option.
Paris St Germain buried the ghosts of their embarrassing 2017 exit as they drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona on Wednesday to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory that sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals.
A first-half double from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid cruise to a 3-0 victory away to Cadiz that moved them top of La Liga.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
IMAGES from the UEFA Nations League matches played on Sunday.
'For the Premier League, it would be great having the best player in the world in the league. I'm not sure the Premier League needs a boost but it would be.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The draw was made on Monday for the Champions League round of 16.
Ajax wary of attacking Napoli.
PSG's Neymar out until at least mid-November says Tuchel
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais.
Liverpool's Robertson frustrated by Neymar 'playacting'
Manchester City have been charged by UEFA after fireworks were set off during their 1-0 Champions League quarter-final, second-leg win over Paris St Germain on Tuesday night.
Coach Laurent Blanc will leave French Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain by the end of the week, despite signing a two-year contract extension in February, his agent Jean Pierre Bernes said on Monday.
Bayern travel to Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday and host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the first group match of their Champions League defence.
Ramos recently turned 35 and had a season littered with injuries which led to him being left out of Spain's Euro 2020 squad
French champions Paris St Germain have appointed former Netherlands international Patrick Kluivert as the club's director of football, the Ligue 1 side said. The former Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona striker had a coaching stint as the manager of Curacao and was an assistant coach for Netherlands under manager Louis van Gaal.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrated his last game at the Parc des Princes with Paris St Germain by breaking the club's goal record in a top flight season in the French champions' 4-0 win against Nantes in the final round of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Mueller has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Club World Cup final against Mexico's Tigres UANL on Thursday
Chelsea won their second Champions League title and denied Pep Guardiola's Manchester City their first with Kai Havertz grabbing a first-half goal to secure a 1-0 win in Saturday's all-English final at the Estadio Do Dragao in Porto.
Paris St Germain achieved a unique domestic treble when Edinson Cavani's goal secured a 1-0 French Cup final victory over Ligue 2 team AJ Auxerre on Saturday.
Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappe suffered an ankle sprain in Friday's French Cup final win over St Etienne and his injury will be reassessed in three days' time, the Ligue 1 champions said on Saturday. A rough tackle from Loic Perrin saw the St Etienne defender catch Mbappe on the ankle and the 21-year-old collapsed on the pitch in pain before he was substituted. Perrin was sent off for the challenge as PSG won 1-0.
Real Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination to beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in an enthralling and dramatic Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
Between trying to compose himself, wiping away tears and facing a long standing ovation, it took Lionel Messi more than a minute to start his farewell news conference on Sunday at FC Barcelona, where the Argentine has spent all of his playing career.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Ridiculed for fakery at the recent soccer World Cup, Neymar bounced back at cards this week with the aid of some well-timed bluffs, finishing an impressive sixth place in the 288-strong field of a Brazilian Series of Poker event.
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
The season-openers for champions Paris St Germain and Olympique Lyonnais were postponed after both teams reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Paris St Germain are stronger than last season and he is in the best shape of his life, yet Zlatan Ibrahimovic says experienced Chelsea are the hot favourites in the Champions League quarter-final against the French champions.
Ousmane Dembele struck early and Lionel Messi converted a late penalty as Barcelona won 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
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