Wearing a T-shirt that read "This is Paris," Messi beamed and waved at scores of fans who had come to greet him at Le Bourget airport on the outskirts of the French capital after his flight from Barcelona.
Manchester City reached the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Real Madrid 2-1 (4-2 on aggregate) at the Etihad Stadium on Friday, with scorers Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus taking advantage of errors by defender Raphael Varane.
Real Madrid set a Spanish record of 40 matches unbeaten in all competitions after they came back from two goals behind to snatch a 3-3 draw at Sevilla with a last-gasp equaliser from Karim Benzema in the King's Cup on Thursday.
Rafael van der Vaart scored an injury-time winner as Real Madrid came back to beat Sevilla 3-2 and replace Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday, after the champions were held 2-2 in Almeria.
Real Madrid win UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has not recovered sufficiently from a knee injury and has been left out of the squad for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Juventus, the holders said on Monday.
Real also have an outstanding defence, conceding only 25 times last year, and are well covered in every position.
Real Madrid battled back from a goal down to beat bottom-of-the-table Osasuna 3-1 on Sunday and reclaim second spot in the Primera Liga from Sevilla, 12 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Liverpool's Egypt forward Mohamed Salah could miss next month's World Cup in Russia after suffering a suspected shoulder injury in Saturday's 3-1 Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid, his club manager Juergen Klopp has said.
The neighbourly rivalry and the intriguing prospect of a duel between Real Madrid team mates Sergio Ramos of Spain and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo meant the Group B match was always going to be one of the highlights of the opening round.
Barcelona failed to capitalise on Real Madrid dropping points against Villarreal as the La Liga champions were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, while talisman Lionel Messi limped off with a groin injury.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to deploy defender Sergio Ramos in central midfield was the key to Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, according to captain Iker Casillas.
Striker Raul became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer on Sunday when he netted twice for the Primera Liga champions in their 4-0 victory away to Sporting Gijon.
The win increased Zinedine Zidane's side's advantage at the top of the standings to six points
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema kept up his impressive run of form by scoring and providing two assists in a 3-1 win away to Eibar on Sunday, taking the champions level on points with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the second half as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1 to go four points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Newcomers BATE Borisov got away lightly with a 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in their Champions League debut in Group H on Wednesday. Sergio Ramos gave the nine-times European champions an early lead and they threatened an avalanche of goals but BATE held firm until early in the second half. Ruud van Nistelrooy doubled the advantage with his 54th goal in the competition.
Real Madrid suffered an almighty fright before a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick hauled them back from 2-1 down and gave them a 4-2 win over rank outsiders Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Cesc Fabregas was "pissed off" with Spain teammate Sergio Ramos for raising doubts about his commitment to the national team but said the pair had buried the hatchet.
Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
Rafael Nadal has issued a rallying cry and called on Spanish athletes to help raise 11 million euros ($12.07 million) to help fight the coronavirus pandemic. Spain is one of the most badly affected countries in the world with over 56,000 cases and the parliament voted to extend the coronavirus lockdown to at least April 12 after the death toll rose to over 4,000 by Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return from injury as Real Madrid thrashed Osasuna 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday to equal the club's 1960-61 record of 15 successive La Liga wins.
Madrid's trip to San Sebastian was full of intrigue after Barca failed to beat Sevilla and the Catalan side's defender Gerard Pique said the title was now Madrid's for the taking.
Real Madrid hit four goals in a devastating first-half spell as they beat Valencia 5-1 in the La Liga.
Casemiro headed an 89th minute winner to earn Real Madrid a barely deserved 2-1 victory at Las Palmas in La Liga on Sunday as they closed the gap on second-placed Atletico Madrid to four points.
David Beckham returned from a six-week injury absence to set up Real Madrid's winner in a 2-1 victory over Primera Liga title rivals Valencia at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski was named The Best FIFA Men's Player 2020 on Thursday, beating off competition from last year's winner Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sergio Busquets has recovered from COVID-19 and is to rejoin the squad immediately
It was the third game in a row in which Real had broken the deadlock thanks to a penalty and they sealed the win when Benzema turned provider and allowed Marco Asensio to tap into an empty net early in the second half.
A 3-1 victory set up a meeting with Brazil, who they beat in the final of the 1998 World Cup.
For all Vicente del Bosque's confidence that he has the right balance of experience and youth to return Spain to their familiar place on the winner's rostrum, questions remain about his best starting line-up ahead of Euro 2016.
Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp has said his team will be 'on fire' for the Champions League final
Real Madrid star striker Gareth Bale has reportedly been rewarded for his stellar performances with a new five-year contract that will keep him at the Bernabeu until 2021.
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale lashed home to deny La Liga champions Barcelona victory in an ill-tempered 'Clasico' which finished 2-2.
Luis Suarez had been told by new Barca coach Ronald Koeman that he was not in his plans for next season.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
Real Madrid secured a 10th European Cup when they snatched a stoppage-time equaliser before extra-time goals by Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo gave them a 4-1 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday.
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