News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
After leaving fans guessing about whether or not he would take to the pitch, Lionel Messi came on in the 60th minute in Inter Miami's friendly match against J-League side Vissel Kobe in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal as well as Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr confirmed their berths in the knockout rounds in West Asia late last year, and the big-spending trio have since been joined by Qatar's Al-Sadd and Al Wasl of the UAE.
Messi and Iniesta shared the Barca dressing between 2005 and 2018, together winning nine La Liga titles, four Champions League crowns and won two trebles in 2009 and 2015.
Argentina's friendly against Ivory Coast, scheduled to be held in Beijing in March, has been cancelled, the Chinese city's football association said on Saturday, following a backlash against Lionel Messi's failure to play in a match in Hong Kong.
Messi hopes to play in Tokyo friendly after Hong Kong letdown
Some mainland fans travelled 12 hours from Xinjiang to Hong Kong to see Messi, the Global Times wrote, with the disappointment of the government and fans "entirely understandable. The impact of this incident has far exceeded the realm of sports."
Chinese sporting authorities have cancelled next month's friendly international between Argentina and Nigeria amid a growing backlash against Lionel Messi's failure to play in an Inter Miami match in Hong Kong last week.
'They're young, but they're first-team players, important and with a lot of responsibility'
Spectators chanted "refund" after Messi stayed on the bench during the match.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup winner took to Twitter to express that he wants to win the Emperor's Cup with the Japanese side.
Andres Iniesta said that while the importance of football was secondary during the health crisis it was frustrating not to be able to play. The 35-year-old, one of the most technically gifted midfielders to play the game, said it was difficult to be away from his wider family and friends back in Spain.
Barcelona are top of La Liga and have lifted back-to-back league titles under the Spanish coach, but there are concerns over the team's levels of performance and style.
Messi, Barca's all-time top scorer, has been a vice-captain since 2015 and takes the club's armband from Iniesta, who succeeded Xavi Hernandez as captain in 2015 but left for Japanese club Vissel Kobe in June.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique blamed the club's pre-season trips to the United States and Japan for their shaky start to the season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Serie A soccer matches in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto will not be played on Sunday because of an outbreak of the coronavirus, the government said in a statement. The three impacted fixtures are clashes between Inter Milan and Sampdoria, Atalanta against Sassuolo and Hellas Verona against Cagliari. Italy is tackling the worst outbreak of coronavirus yet recorded in Europe, with two people dying in the north since Friday and nearly 60 infected.
Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrated the 11th anniversary of his famous Champions League semi-final strike against Chelsea by calling two children conceived after his tie-clinching goal. Nine months later, those celebrations had a rather unexpected result, with maternity hospitals in Barcelona telling local media they were struggling to cope with demand amid a spike in the city's birth rate.
Top A-League clubs have expressed interest in signing departing Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta for the next season, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive David Gallop has said.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
De Jong is proud to join the likes of compatriots Ronald Koeman, Frank de Boer and Patrick Kluivert in heading to the Nou Camp, having dreamed of wearing Barca colours.
'It has been good on pitch and off pitch,' Lampard said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Germany's Lukas Podolski will receive an appropriate farewell when the world champions meet England in a high-quality friendly on Wednesday with the winger having become one of the country's all-time greats, coach Joachim Loew said on Tuesday.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
De Rossi, who turned 36 on Wednesday, led Roma for the final time in a 2-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olimpico in May and finished his stint in the Italian capital with 616 appearances in 18 years.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances