Thirty-two teams from around the globe will take part in the tournament across 11 cities in the United States, with the month-long action beginning at 01:00 BST on Sunday and ending on 13 July.

You do not have to wait long until the superstars appear, with teams having finalised their squads for the big kick-off.

Inter Miami, fortunate to be included as they won the Major League Soccer Supporters’ Shield for the best performance in the MLS regular season – even though LA Galaxy went on to win the actual MLS play-offs and were left out, kick-start the competition on day one.

Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is part of a legendary quartet of ex-Barcelona players at Inter Miami, alongside former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, midfielder Sergio Busquets and left-back Jordi Alba.

Defender Sergio Ramos, a World Cup winner with Spain in 2010, is captain of Mexican side Monterrey, while striker Oliver Giroud and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris – who both played in France’s World Cup-winning team in 2018 – are in the Los Angeles FC side that will be in the competition after they won a play-off against Mexican side Club America.

Fellow World Cup winners Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann are in the Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid squads respectively.

Fans of the two English teams involved will get an early glimpse of their new signings.

Manchester City have selected Tijjani Reijnders, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli and Rayan Cherki in their squad, while Chelsea’s summer recruits – Liam Delap, Dario Essugo and Mamadou Sarr – will also feature.

As part of the mid-tournament registration window, between 27 June and 3 July, clubs can add two extra players, potentially taking their squad size from 35 up to 37. A maximum of six changes can be made to squads.

Busy summer for numerous England stars

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: England internationals Harry Kane (left), Conor Gallagher (centre) and Jude Bellingham will be in action for Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid respectively

It promises to be a busy summer for some key members of the England squad.

The Three Lions played two games in June – winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona on 7 June before losing 3-1 in a friendly against Senegal at Nottingham Forest three days later.

The game at the City Ground took place just four days before the club tournament starts in the USA.

England captain Harry Kane and midfielders Jude Bellingham and Conor Gallagher will play in the United States for Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Real will have England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold available for the tournament after they paid Liverpool £8.4m to sign him a month before his contract with the Reds expired.

The Spanish giants have also included centre-back Dean Huijsen, who they signed from Bournemouth for £50m last month.

Chelsea’s England quartet Cole Palmer, Reece James, Levi Colwill and Noni Madueke will be in the United States after a busy end to the season, which included winning the Conference League final on 28 May.

Meanwhile, Phil Foden, John Stones and Rico Lewis will be among the England internationals featuring for Manchester City in the Club World Cup, although Jack Grealish has been left out with his future at the club uncertain.

​​​​​​​European dozen aiming for glory

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Bayern’s Leroy Sane (right) has been linked with a summer move to Galatasaray

There are 12 European teams competing in the United States, based on their achievements in Uefa competitions over the past five years.

Chelsea qualified via winning the Champions League in 2021, while Manchester City’s success two years later also earned them a spot – although 2025 Premier League champions Liverpool and Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal have not made the cut.

Needless to say, the European teams are packed full of former Premier League players.

Numerous former Chelsea players will be there – including Thibaut Courtois and Antonio Rudiger at Real Madrid and Cesar Azpilicueta at Atletico Madrid, whose squad also includes Argentina striker Julian Alvarez, who moved from Manchester City in a deal worth £81.5m last summer.

Former Manchester United duo Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Matteo Darmian are now at Inter Milan, Angel di Maria plays for Benfica and fellow midfielder Marcel Sabitzer is at Borussia Dortmund, with former Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross among their other options – although ex-Liverpool man Emre Can misses out because of an adductor injury.

New Dortmund signing from Sunderland, Jobe Bellingham, has been included in their squad, along with Chelsea loanee Carney Chukwuemeka.

As well as Kane, Bayern’s squad includes Michael Olise and Leroy Sane, who played in the Premier League at Crystal Palace and Manchester City respectively.

​​​​​​​A global game

Image source: Getty Images

Image caption: Former Manchester United duo Marcos Rojo (left) and Edinson Cavani play in Argentina for River Plate

Further afield, there will be plenty of names which will be familiar to British-based football fans.

Manchester United supporters may well be interested in the progress of Argentine side Boca Juniors, whose squad includes ex-United quartet Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Edinson Cavani, while left-back Alex Telles is now at Brazil’s Botafogo and right-back Guillermo Varela at another Brazilian side in Flamengo.

Former Chelsea captain Thiago Silva is also back playing in his homeland, for Fluminense, and West Ham supporters will be keen to see how former Hammers Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini get on at Palmeiras and River Plate respectively.

Striker Salomon Rondon, who represented West Brom, Newcastle and Everton in his time in England, is at Mexican outfit Pachuca and winger Ryan Kent is now at American side Seattle Sounders after a career that has taken him to Liverpool, Coventry, Barnsley, Bristol City and Rangers.

While the tournament will include Messi and Mbappe, there will be no Cristiano Ronaldo as there is only one team from Saudi Arabia and that is Al-Hilal, who won the 2021 AFC Champions League.

Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr team would still have qualified had they won that tournament in 2023-24, but lost in the quarter-finals.

Al-Hilal do, however, have some familiar names in their squad including Joao Cancelo, a Premier League title-winning full-back with Manchester City, former Newcastle and Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, ex-Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, ex-Nottingham Forest defender Renan Lodi and former Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly.

The 28-year-old was recently awarded the 2024 Ballon d’Or as recognition for a period in which he won the Champions League in 2023 and Euro 2024 with Spain the next year.

Ex-Barcelona man Messi has won three of the last four Ballon d’Ors prior to Rodri, with the midfielder claiming that the latter is the greatest “without any doubt” during an interview on Spanish TV.

“Lionel Messi is the greatest player of all time, without any doubt. Cristiano has managed to match Messi without innate talent. But those of us who have played against them can see the difference,” said Rodri, speaking to El Hormiguero.

“We didn’t want Cristiano to step into the box because he was lethal there. But with Messi, the danger was everywhere on the pitch.”

Ronaldo has scored a total of 928 goals in his career for club and country, winning 34 major trophies including five Champions League titles. He has also won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions.

Messi, meanwhile, has scored 877 goals, won the Champions League on four occasions and the Ballon d’Or eight times, most recently in 2023.

Messi is now at Inter Miami, while Rodri is recovering from an ACL injury at Manchester City, although the two faced each other in LaLiga during the midfielder’s spells at Villarreal and Atletico Madrid before his Premier League move.

“When Messi got the ball, you’d think: ‘Oh, danger’,” he added. “When I first started playing against him, I tried to take the ball from him, and he dodged you as if you were a bull in the ring. The feeling I had was that something bad was about to happen.”

This gathering of greats will feature at 17:00 CAT daily on SuperSport Variety 3 and will include a blend of documentary-style content, key matches and events that demonstrate why these athletes have carved their names in sporting lore. Plan your weeklong sporting entertainment with DStv.

Get connected, stay connected or upgrade your DStv subscription to ensure you don’t miss a single beat.

Golf Monday

Monday, 3 July brings a focus on golf great Tiger Woods, who is regarded as one of the finest players in history and has won a record 82 tournaments on the PGA Tour, including 15 major championships.

Boxing Tuesdays

On Tuesday 4 July, a closer look at boxing greats Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Tyson Fury will be on our screens. The latter, known as ‘The Gypsy King’ is one of the most charismatic boxers of recent years and is considered the lineal heavyweight world champion. “I’m a fighting man, a fighting man with generations of fighting men before me in my family. That’s all we do: we fight,” said the 34-year-old, who hails from Manchester in England.

Running Wednesdays

Wednesday 5 July brings a closer look at Kenyan long-distance running legend Eliud Kipchoge. The 38-year-old is regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, having run four of the six fastest times for that distance in history. He has also unofficially broken the two-hour barrier for the marathon and will be looking to achieve that feat in open competition as his next major goal.

Football long-weekend

Football legend Sir Alex Ferguson will be the focus on Thursday 6 July, followed on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 by episodes on two of the greatest players the ‘Beautiful Game’ has ever seen – and who are still active today – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The debate over which player, Messi or Ronaldo, is better has raged for over a decade now, but in truth football fans have been enormously privileged to see two such exponents of the sport drive the art forward through their sheer brilliance.

Sunday 9 July puts the spotlight on track running legends such as Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Haile Gebresalassie, Mo Farah, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix.

“Kill them with success and bury them with a smile,” said Bolt, who is regarded as arguably the greatest sprinter of all time and is beloved by fans for his relaxed and friendly nature.

No rival can compete with DStv sports coverage. Our viewers on DStv see the GOATs in action week in and week out. To upgrade, reconnect or manage your subscription download the MyDStv app on your mobile app store or visit www.dstv.com to join in on the excitement and manage your account. You can also catch all the sporting action while on the move. Stream all matches on the DStv App by downloading it from the app store.

Broadcast details

Everyday from Monday 3 July to Sunday 9 July at 5pm CAT on SuperSport Variety 3

Monday, July 3: Tiger Woods

Tuesday, July 4: Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Tyson Fury

Wednesday, July 5: Eliud Kipchoge

Thursday, July 6: Alex Ferguson

Friday, July 7: Lionel Messi

Saturday, July 8: Cristiano Ronaldo

Sunday, July 9: Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Haile Gebresalassie, Mo Farah, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix

The exhibition match in the Saudi capital saw two of the greatest players of all time sharing a pitch together for possibly the final time.

Messi opened the scoring and Ronaldo netted twice for 2-2 at half-time.

Both players were substituted off just after the hour mark.

The two PSG centre-backs were also on the scoresheet as Sergio Ramos added to Marquinhos’ delightful finish in the opening period.

But the French side played much of the game with 10 men as Juan Bernat received a straight red card for hauling down Saudi international Salem Al Dawsari and Neymar also missed a penalty in a breathtaking first half.

Jang Hyun-soo’s header drew the All-Star XI level at 3-3, but Kylian Mbappe’s penalty and substitute Hugo Ekitike’s composed effort put PSG out of sight.

Anderson Talisca drilled in a long-range consolation late in injury time but there was not time for a dramatic equaliser.

• Two GOATs face off

Ronaldo has had to wait for his debut since a big move to Al-Nassr because of a suspension from his time at Manchester United.

But he will make his competitive debut for his new side on Sunday, when they host Ettifaq at Mrsool Park.

So how fitting it was that his first game in the Middle Eastern country – a high-profile and hugely competitive friendly – was against his old foe Messi, who lifted the World Cup in neighbouring Qatar just a month ago.

The Argentina captain latched on to Neymar’s pass and converted the opener after just two minutes, but the 37-year-old Portugal skipper was not to be outdone.

Ronaldo’s first was from the penalty spot, which was awarded after he was floored by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ forearm smash into his face, leaving him with a badly bruised cheek.

And he showed the hunger and desire he still possesses for the second, an initial header hitting the post then reacting quickest to convert, showcasing his trademark celebration for both goals with the crowd joining in.

Both players were taken off on 61 minutes and could have faced each other for the last time, unless they cross paths again in the twilight of their glittering careers.

‘Two sportswashing superpowers flexing their muscles’

The match, however, has been criticised by human rights group Amnesty International, who said Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing strategy was at “full throttle”.

Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director, said: “Ronaldo’s big-money transfer to Al Nassr and Messi’s engagement by the Saudi authorities as a tourism ambassador are both part of Riyadh’s aggressive sportswashing programme.

“The authorities are seeking to exploit the celebrity appeal of elite sport to deflect attention from the country’s appalling human rights record.

“Saudi Arabia’s extensive use of sport as an exercise in soft power is well-known, but with Qatari-owned PSG appearing in Riyadh we effectively have two sportswashing superpowers – Saudi Arabia and Qatar – flexing their muscles.

“Footballers like Ronaldo and Messi have huge profiles and we’d like to see them resisting being used as the famous faces of sportswashing, including by speaking out about human rights issues in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”

Messi, along with Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, are among the 14 players shortlisted for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, the world governing body said on Thursday.

The trio are joined by last year’s winner Robert Lewandowski of Barcelona, Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and PSG’s Neymar and Achraf Hakimi.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema, who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or award, is also in the shortlist.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo was left off the list of nominees for the first time.

Ronaldo, who was released by Manchester United and benched by Portugal during the World Cup before signing for Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, won the FIFA award the first two times it was handed out — in 2016 and 2017 — and was among the three finalists the following three years. This was the first time he was not even selected as a contender by a FIFA-appointed expert panel.

Barca and Arsenal dominate the women’s award with three players each, including Alexia Putellas, Keira Walsh and Aitana Bonmati for the Spanish champions. The English side are represented by Leah Williamson, Vivianne Miedema and Beth Mead.

Chelsea duo Sam Kerr and Jessie Fleming and Olympique Lyonnais’ Ada Hegerberg and Wendie Renard also make the cut.

Sarina Wiegman, who led England to Euros success last year, is joined on The Best FIFA Women’s Coach shortlist by Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and Germany manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola are nominated for the men’s award, along with Argentina’s Scaloni, France boss Didier Deschamps and Morocco manager Walid Regragui.

Liverpool’s Alisson, Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Aston Villa’s Martinez are among the nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award.

FIFA said it will announce the three finalists in each category in early February.

FIFA also announced an 11-player shortlist for this year’s Puskas Award for the “most beautiful” goal of the year, with Mbappe’s spectacular volley against Argentina in the World Cup final among the nominees.

Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties, in a breathtaking final which ended 3-3 after 120 minutes of nerve-racking football.

The Argentines touched down at the Ezeiza International Airport at 2:23am – local time, to thousands of Argentine fans, as well as local and international press.

The flight of the Albicelestes was tracked online by fans and defender, Nicolas Tagliafico posted a picture of the World Cup buckled into an airplane seat on Twitter.

A picture of Messi was slapped on the plane’s tail with the words: “One team, One country, One dream” on its side.

Right after touch down, Messi was the first to step out of the plane, holding the World Cup aloft – with head coach, Lionel Scaloni right behind. Forward, Julian Alvarez followed with a host of other players, after the duo to step out.

The team hopped on a branded ‘Campeones del mundo’ open-top bus for a trophy parade – the second in some 30 hours following the first which happened on the streets of Qatar immediately after the team stepped out of the Lusail stadium.

The trophy parade headed to the AFA headquarters at a snail pace, moving through a swarm of fans gathered.

The Argentina international has won the most Ballons d’Or in history with seven, but he did not make the list despite scoring 11 goals in 34 matches for Paris Saint-Germain last season.

His team-mate Neymar is also not on the list. He played just 28 times for PSG last season in an injury-hit campaign. Kylian Mbappe does make the list.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is on the list after scoring 18 goals in 31 matches for Manchester United last season.

The favourite for the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema’s 44 goals powered Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid side to La Liga and Champions League triumph last season.

Following Real Madrid’s Super Cup win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday night, Benzema suggested he was able to take his game to another level after Cristiano Ronaldo left the Liga club.

Thibaut Courtois, who is named on the Yachine Trophy shortlist awarded to the best goalkeeper, Champions League final match-winner Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Casemiro are also listed in the top 30 for the main prize. New signing Antonio Rudiger, who had an impressive season for Chelsea last season, is on the list.

Last season’s Premier League joint top goalscorer Mohamed Salah is included, after also providing the most assists last season, despite Liverpool falling just short of the title. He is joined by team-mates Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Diaz, Fabinho and Darwin Nunez. Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are Tottenham’s representatives.

AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and goalkeeper Mike Maignan are on the list after winning the Serie A title last season.

Christopher Nkunku – Bundesliga Player of the Season for 2021/22 – and Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich all make the cut alongside former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.

Robert Lewandowski – now a Barcelona player – is once again nominated after scoring more goals than he had appearances in both the Bundesliga and Champions League for Bayern Munich last season; 48 goals in 44 matches. Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller is on the list after a productive season at Ajax in 2021-22.

Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva – who could be set to leave the Premier League champions – has been acknowledged as has Phil Foden, Kevin de Bruyne, Riyad Mahrez, Joao Cancelo and new signing Erling Haaland.

Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic has made the shortlist after spending half his season at Fiorentina before moving to the Turin club in January.

2022 BALLON D’OR NOMINEES

• Thibaut Courtois (Real Madird)
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
• Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
• Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig)
• Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
• Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool)
• Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
• Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
• Luis Diaz (Liverpool)
• Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
• Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
• Casemiro (Real Madrid)
• Heung-Min Son (Tottenham)
• Fabinho (Liverpool)
• Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
• Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
• Harry Kane (Tottenham)
• Darwin Nunez (Liverpool)
• Phil Foden (Manchester City)
• Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
• Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund)
• Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
• Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
• Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
• Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
• Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
• Joao Cancelo (Manchester City)
• Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
• Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

The winner will be crowned at the Ballon d’Or ceremony on October 17 in Paris.

The home side made a blistering start in Paris, racing to a 2-0 lead after seven minutes.

Mbappé took advantage of a poor parry from Simon Mignolet to stroke the ball into the net for his 30th goal in the Champions League.

Former Liverpool keeper Mignolet could do little about the second goal, Mbappé hammering a low volley past him from Angel Di Maria’s pass.

The visitors carved out a couple of opportunities of their own but found themselves 3-0 down before halftime after Mbappé found Messi who curled a trademark stunning shot from outside the area into the corner.

Brugge created a hatful of chances in the second half and their effort was rewarded when Mats Rits placed his first-time effort beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma.

But Messi had the last word as he often does, winning a penalty after having his ankle clipped and he dispatched the spot-kick emphatically for his sixth goal of the season.

PSG finish second of the group behind Manchester City while Brugge are bottom.

Messi struck the crossbar but, for all the hype around PSG’s new signing, it was Ander Herrera who netted the opener after great work from Kylian Mbappe.

Hans Vanaken scored a deserved equaliser before the break to get the Jan Breydel Stadium rocking.

A frustrating evening for Messi then saw him carded for a second-half foul.

PSG struggled to deal with the home side’s aggressive pressing throughout and needed goalkeeper Keylor Navas to tip Charles de Ketelaere’s well-struck effort over the crossbar to keep them level.

Mbappe was replaced after 51 minutes as PSG found it difficult to break down the energetic hosts, who may feel they could have won the game themselves.

Messi began to find more space as the Belgian side tired late on but the 34-year-old was unable to unpick the Bruges defence on his full debut for PSG.

The Argentine superstar, 34, officially completed his move to the Ligue 1 giants on Tuesday following his shock Barcelona exit.

Messi signed a two-year deal and was given an outrageous police escort to PSG headquarters after he landed in France.

PSG started selling ‘Messi 30’ jerseys immediately after the deal was made official on Tuesday night.

And incredibly the website sold out of the personalised kits in just 30 MINUTES.

Desperate to get their hands on the top, fans descended on the PSG club shop.

But supporters were left with the prospect of hours and hours of waiting in the beaming sunshine after a monster queue began to form.

At one point, the queue weaved its way all the way back to a nearby metro station such was the demand for the ‘Messi 30’ kit.

PSG staff erected fences and aimed to shepherd fans safely around the outskirts of the shop.

But the majority of die-hard supporters know they face the prospect of waiting another few days at least to get their hands on a little piece of history

It was revealed Messi – who wore the No10 jersey for the majority of his Barcelona career – would don the No30 in Paris on Tuesday.

Neymar is the current No10 at the Parc des Princes and is claimed to have offered it to his old pal Messi.

But the Argentine decided to go back to his roots by taking the No30 – the number he wore for his Barcelona first-team debut way back in 2004.

The striker, who broke down as he receives a standing ovation, said he tried to “behave with humility and respect, and I hope that’s the memory that will be left of me”. On his next move, he said: “There are a lot of clubs interested.”

The look on Messi’s face looked pitiable and distraught as he stood up to face the press.

The Argentina Legend disclosed that he wished to stay in Barcelona but unfortunately, a new contract was unable to be signed due to its financial situation plus Laliga’s regulations.

This year, my family and I were convinced we were going to stay at home, that’s what we all wanted more than anything,

We’d always made this our own, we were at home. We thought we would be staying here in Barcelona. But today, we have to say goodbye to all of this.

His announcement has been welcomed on a sad note; even photographers present at the press conference were not left out of the crying galore.

Football lovers worldwide have taken to social media to express their heartbreak as the Greatest Of All Times exits Barcelona.

Many have described the photo as the saddest on the internet today, with many describing the day as a historic one.

Check out reactions:

The football club via their website had the following announcement to make following the news that broke:

Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).

FC Barcelona wholeheartedly expresses its gratitude to the player for his contribution to the aggrandisement of the club and wishes him all the very best for the future in his personal and professional life.

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An official statement from the club has said.

Before that statement, Spanish newspaper MARCA wrote that Messi is “further from renewing for Barcelona than ever” before, and according to Catalan radio station RAC1, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner “does not like the current squad.”

This story is being updated.

He has topped Instagram’s latest rich list – ahead of rivals Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Juventus superstar Ronaldo, who has 308 million followers, is is thought to be able to command than anyone else on the planet for a sponsored post.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward can charge advertisers an eye-watering $1.6m (£1.2m) per post on his Insta account, according to social media marketing firm Hopper HQ.

That has seen him knock Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson off top spot, with the former wrestler-turned-film star able to rake in just over $1.52m (£1m) per post.

Pop star Ariana Grande ($1.51m) is third, while Messi is the only other athlete on the rich list’s top 10, with the Barcelona icon charging up to $1.1m (£798,011) per post.

Ronaldo’s huge earnings have seen him top the list for the first time since it was started in 2017 – although he has regularly been in the top five.

The 36-year-old is so far the top scorer at Euro 2020 with five goals, although he could be overtaken following Portugal’s exit at the hands of Belgium earlier this week.

He made headlines earlier during the tournament when he removed two bottles from tournament sponsor Coca-Cola during a press conference, urging those present to drink “agua” (water).

Since last year the estimated cost for an Instagram post by Ronaldo has increased by 54%.

Messi, who has 224 million followers, is the second-placed sportsperson, with PSG forward Neymar next in 16th place.

Hopper HQ runs social media accounts on behalf of companies and individuals, and published its first Instagram rich list in 2017.

The UK-based firm analysed internal and publicly available data to reveal a list of the highest-paid celebrities and influencers on Instagram, based on factors such as average engagement, frequency of posts, industry variables and number of followers.

Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ, said Instagram earnings may have peaked partly as a result of the pandemic.

“As Covid-19 continues to impact all our lives, it appears that Instagram is the one of the few places not negatively impacted by the pandemic,” he said quoted by the BBC. “And with people using the app more than ever before, some could say it was inevitable earnings would peak this year.

“It was great to see Cristiano Ronaldo take the number one spot this year after steadily ranking within the top five throughout the list’s history.

“With the Euros this year and a few controversial marketing moves over the last couple of weeks, the football royalty’s presence has skyrocketed.”

Top 10 celebrities who can charge the most per Instagram post

(according to Hopper HQ)

1. Cristiano Ronaldo, 308m followers – just over $1.6m per post

2. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, 250m followers, $1.52m per post

3. Ariana Grande, 247 million followers, $1.51m per post

4. Kylie Jenner, 244 million followers, $1.49m per post

5. Selena Gomez, 241 million followers – $1.46m per post

6. Kim Kardashian, 232 million followers – $1.41m per post

7. Lionel Messi, 224 million followers – $1.16m per post

8. Beyonce Knowles, 189 million followers – $1.14m per post

9. Justin Bieber, 180 million followers – $1.11m per post

10. Kendall Jenner, 172 million followers -$1.05m per post

Ronald Koeman opted for a back three with Oscar Mingueza coming in to play alongside Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet in central defence and the system appeared to suit Barca who started the match well.

The visitors took the lead just before the half-hour mark when Dembele finished underneath Bono in the Sevilla goal after being released through on goal by Messi with the opposition defence split wide open.

Julen Lopetegui made three changes to his side for the start of the second half with Youssef En-Nesyri, Karim Rekik and Suso all introduced, but it was Barca who came closest to another when Sergino Dest smashed a strike off the crossbar.

Barcelona made sure of the points late on, with Messi squeezing a finish past Bono at the second attempt as Barca went second in La Liga, just two points behind Atletico Madrid who still hold two games in-hand.

The Ghana Premier League side is on a mission to end the team’s 11 years trophy drought in the ongoing Ghana Premier League season.

Ahead of the local transfer window that is scheduled to open on February 13, the Serbian trainer, in an interview on Nhyira FM, said he requested for the services of Barcelona and Argentine legend Lionel Messi and Juventus ace Cristiano Ronaldo but could not afford to sign any of them.

“Whichever player I want that is not the issue. I want Messi, but unfortunately, he is not available and I tried Ronaldo and he told me he cannot come.

“Let’s not joke about it, try to understand what is going on. If the player is free and is fitting to the style, fitting the level of the club, in that case, we are going to sign him but if we don’t find that kind of player, we are going to continue with the available players,” he concluded.

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The Phobians have gone three matches without a win.

According to Papic, despite failing to sign Messi and Ronaldo, the team will still sign players to beef up the squad when the transfer window is activated.

“We’re looking to strengthen the Hearts of Oak team in the transfer window. We’ll receive the scouting reports tomorrow for the list of potential players we could buy,” he said.

“We need to strengthen the defense, midfield and striking zones during the transfer window but it’s all about the availability of the players I want,” he added.

Hearts of Oak currently sit 9th with 17 points and will host Ebusua Dwarfs in the matchday 14 games at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Maradona passed away last month, and Messi has already paid his respects by removing his Barcelona shirt when scoring against Osasuna to reveal a Newell’s Old Boys jersey.

Newell’s was the team Messi came through at, and Maradona had a season at the club towards the tail-end of his career.

It was at Napoli where Maradona cemented his legendary status, with the 1986 World Cup winner guiding the club to two Serie A titles in 1987 and 1990.

Napoli have retired Maradona’s No.10 shirt, meaning Barca’s current occupier of that jersey would need to take on a different number, but Boateng feels it is a move that Messi should make.

“Messi’s going to finish his contract at Barcelona, [but] how amazing would it be if he would just call Napoli and say ‘I will come’?” Boateng told ESPN.

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“‘They don’t give out the No.10 shirt anymore, [but] I would love to honour Maradona’s No.10 and I would love to come and play one year or two years at Naples, without thinking about money or nothing, just heart’.”

Monza midfielder Boateng, who spent a spell on loan alongside Messi at Barcelona last year, has described the possibility of a move to Napoli as being like a movie script – but would love it to happen.

“It would be like a movie,” Boateng said. “He’d have to go to practice by a f*cking helicopter because people would eat him alive. They’d be so happy.

“But just that story: ‘In honour of Maradona, I will come and play for Naples’, what kind of story would that be for the world, not only for football, for the world?

“It would be a message, it would be history everywhere. I just wish I would be in Messi’s shoes. I want to be Messi. I would call the president of Naples and I would tell him.”

For the moment, Messi’s focus is on lifting Barcelona up the Liga table – they currently sit 12 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid – starting with a home game against Levante on Sunday.

Messi, who was fined €600 while his club were fined 180, paid homage to his late compatriot by taking off his Barca shirt to reveal a Newell’s Old Boys shirt belonging to Maradona, a gesture that was praised around the world.

Yet the Spanish soccer federation’s competition committee showed little sympathy when upholding the rules, rejecting Barca’s protests against the punishment and their suggestion it should be waived as the gesture was a tribute to Maradona.

The committee’s statement said that while it accepted the gesture was a tribute, article 93 of the disciplinary code states that a player should be punished for removing their shirt when celebrating, irrespective of the motive.

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The statement added that Messi could only have had the sanction waived if he had been given the booking in error.

Messi supports Newell’s Old Boys and played for the club’s junior team before leaving for Barca aged 13.

He had also paid tribute to Maradona, who played for the Rosario side in 1993, when the World Cup winner died last Wednesday.

“He has left us but he isn’t going anywhere because Diego is eternal,” Messi wrote on Instagram.

The Brazilian enjoyed four successful seasons alongside the six-time Ballon d’Or winner at Barcelona before making a world record 222 million euro ($264m) move to the French capital in 2017.

“It’s what I most want, to enjoy being with him on the field again,” Neymar, whose contract at PSG runs until 2022, told ESPN.

“I want to play with him for sure, next year we have to do it.”

Neymar was heavily linked with a return to Barcelona in 2019, but the Catalan giants were unable to fund an acceptable offer for PSG.

Barca have had to agree salary cuts worth 122 million euros in players’ salaries this season to help offset the financial hole left by the coronavirus pandemic and are highly unlikely to be in a position to bring Neymar back next year.

Instead, it is Messi who could be on the move as the Argentine is out of contract at the end of the season and publicly expressed his desire to leave in August.

Then Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu would not free Messi from the final year of his deal at the Camp Nou, but Bartomeu has since resigned with new presidential elections scheduled for January 24.

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Manchester City were the favourites to land Messi’s signature earlier this year, but PSG could be an alternative for a player who will turn 34 at the end of this season.

“He can play in my position, there is no problem,” Neymar joked. “Take me out.”

Neymar’s partnership with Kylian Mbappe is yet to deliver PSG’s first-ever Champions League title, but the French champions should have another shot in this season’s knockout stages after a vital victory in Manchester.

Thomas Tuchel’s men are now level on points with United and RB Leipzig with one game in Group H to come.

But PSG are in the driving seat as they host already-eliminated Istanbul Basaksehir next week, while United travel to Germany needing a point to reach the last 16.

The 33-year-old, who has spent 20 years at the Catalan club, dropped the bombshell news on Barcelona in late August that he intended to leave on a free transfer.

However, Barca refused to recognize the break in his contract, as they claimed the moment for using it had passed in June, and so a stalemate began in which the Argentina international tried to find a way out.

However, Messi has accepted he must stay at Camp Nou to avoid dragging his beloved club to court, but not until after a desperately sad couple of weeks.

“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” Messi told Goal.

“The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.

“But I looked further afield and I want to compete at the highest level, win titles, compete in the Champions League. You can win or lose it, because it is very difficult, but you have to compete.

“At least compete for it and let us not fall apart in Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon. All that led me to think about that decision that I wanted to carry out.”

However, that ambition to accept a new challenge was thwarted by Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, whom Messi claims reneged on a promise he could leave.

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“I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not,” he said.

“Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season.

“And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club. Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million (£624m/$823m) clause and that this is impossible.”

There was only one way out if Messi was to leave: taking Barcelona to court. But the six-time Ballon d’Or winner refuses to take that route, and so will remain at the club for another 10 months.

“There was another way and it was to go to trial,” he added. “I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived.

“It is the club of my life, I have made my life here.

“Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”

Messi opened up to Goal on the heartbreaking conversation he had with his son, Thiago, who didn’t want to leave while praising his wife Antonella for standing by his side through all of the backlashes for his desire to leave Barca.

“Mateo is still little and he doesn’t realize what it means to go somewhere else and make your life a few years elsewhere,” he said.

“Thiago, he is older. He heard something on TV and found out something and asked.

“I didn’t want him to know anything about being forced to leave, to have to live in a new school or make new friends.

“He cried to me and said ‘let’s not go’. I repeat that it was hard, really.

“It was understandable. It happened to me. It is very difficult to make a decision.

“I love Barcelona and I’m not going to find a better place than here anywhere. Still, I have the right to decide. I was going to look for new goals and new challenges. And tomorrow I could go back because here in Barcelona I have everything.

“My son, my family, they grew up here and are from here. There was nothing wrong with wanting to leave. I needed it, the club needed it and it was good for everyone.

“My wife, with all the pain of her soul, supported and accompanied me.”

Messi will now prepare to start the season under new Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman, as the club bounce back from a dire 2019-20 in which they failed to win La Liga, the Champions League or reach the final of the Copa del Rey.

Messi senior landed in Barcelona on Wednesday ahead of talks with the club’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu about the striker’s intention to leave this summer.

Messi senior flew in from the Argentine city of Rosario, landing at the private terminal in Barcelona’s El Prat airport on Wednesday morning.

Asked by reporters about the possibility of Messi staying, Jorge Messi said: “Difficult”. He was then asked how he sees his son’s future at Barca, to which he replied: “Difficult, difficult”.

When the prospect of joining Manchester City was put to him, he said: “There’s nothing yet.” It was suggested he had spoken already to City coach Pep Guardiola. “I didn’t talk to Pep,” Jorge Messi said. “Not to anyone.”

Jorge Messi will be hoping to unblock the stand-off between Barca and his son, which threatens to descend into an expensive and bitter legal battle if a resolution cannot be found.

The 33-year-old striker boycotted Barcelona’s first pre-season training session on Monday, as he tries to force his way out of the club he joined as a 13-year-old.

Messi also failed to attend a coronavirus test at Barcelona’s training ground on Sunday.

Yet Barcelona insist their captain will only depart if his 700-million-euro ($833 million) release clause is activated, a stance that has been backed up by La Liga, that says that release clause still applies.

But Messi and his lawyers argue he is allowed to go for free this summer according to another clause in his contract, which they claim was triggered on August 25 when a burofax stating Messi’s intention to leave arrived at Camp Nou.

If Messi joins another club but loses in court, he could be liable to pay the 700 million euros Barcelona are owed.

Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City are the firm favourites to sign Messi, not least because of his previous success with City coach Pep Guardiola. Inter Milan, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested.

Messi last week told Barcelona he wanted to leave the club and invoked a contract clause that allowed him to depart for free at the end of the season. But Barcelona claimed the clause expired in June and said he must see out his current contract until June 2021, or leave by paying the buyout clause of 700 million euros ($837 million).

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Barcelona has been saying it will not facilitate Messi’s departure and will only negotiate a contract extension. The club has offered the Argentine a two-year extension that would keep him with Barcelona through the 2022-23 season.

ONE-ON-ONE TALKS:

Besides talks with Messi’s father, the club also hopes to sit down with the player himself.

The club hopes, though, that it can solve the problem by meeting with Messi in person and convincing him that the best decision for him is to stay.

Messi, who has often said in the past that he wanted to finish his career with Barcelona, has not publicly expressed his reasons for wanting to leave. He never directly named Bartomeu in his criticism of the club, but the president said last week he was willing to resign if Messi cited him as the problem.

Barcelona said it was not talking to any clubs about a possible transfer but it was open to negotiating for the players who incoming coach Ronald Koeman said were not included in his plans, including Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal and Samuel Umtiti.

Ivan Rakitic, who also was in that list, was signed by Sevilla on Tuesday.

The three others have been training with the rest of the squad for now, including Suárez, a longtime teammate and friend of Messi. The club said there was no agreement reached yet for his transfer.

Barcelona will start the new season against Villarreal in the Spanish league at the end of September.

INTER DENY MESSI PLANS:

Inter Milan meanwhile stated they have no plans to try and sign Lionel Messi nor the financial means to engineer a deal for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, a club official said Tuesday.

“I don’t know where some ideas can come from,” Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio told Sky Sport Italia. The Serie A runners-up have been linked with a move for Messi along with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain if he leaves Barcelona.

“No coach, no president wouldn’t want Messi in their team. But the reality is very different,” he added, as the Italian transfer window officially opened on Tuesday.

“Our reality is a sensible transfer market.”

Following a 8-2 drastic defeat to Bayern Munich, the number 10 player and captain of the team has decided to bow out.

His decision has been rejected by many fans and sport analysts across the world, and the latest to make his displeasure public is the Christian leader.

In an Instagram post which contained his candid advice, Prophet Joshua explained Messi is not psychologically ready to join a new team.

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“It is not good advice for @leomessi to leave Barcelona bitter and offended. It is impossible to establish a healthy relationship with a person who left a previous relationship bitter and offended. This is my candid advice to Lionel Messi. History is our boss,” he said.

Just to make his communication clearer in case it reaches the desk of the Argentine, prophet Joshua translated his speech into Spanish.

Messi wants out at the Nou Camp, becoming increasingly unhappy with life at Barca since their elimination from the Champions League in embarrassing fashion, and things are becoming increasingly unsavoury.

The club captain reportedly isn’t returning to training any time soon and has threatened legal action in order to be allowed to move for free.

Bartomeu is trying to stand strong against letting the player go and, according to Guillem Balague, it’s not just about principle or the playing side of thing but also because the president could face a fine or a jail time.

The presidential elections are due to take place in March, with the current incumbent refusing to step down earlier following the 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich, and the problems would arise if the new man voted in arrives with no Messi at the club.

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Some fans would argue that Bartomeu has already mishandled the situation and the whole club, and that’s what’s put them in this position in the first place.

Messi’s people believe the club’s all time top scorer should be able to leave the club for free, owing to a break in his contract, but the club want a buying side to pay his €700 million release clause.

If Manchester City, or anyone else for that matter, did splash the cash on the forward then the outgoing president would avoid any further punishment.

It wouldn’t be the first time in recent history a Barcelona president had ended his stint in charge of the club with time behind bars.

Bartomeu’s predecessor Sandro Rosell spent 20 months in jail after being accused of misappropriation of funds from the signing of Neymar from Santos in 2013.

Messi notified Barcelona this week that he intends to walk away from the club by exercising a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for free at the end of each season.

Even though the deadline to exercise the clause has passed, Messi’s lawyers believe Barcelona should honour it as the season had to be extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Barcelona insist the clause has expired and that the only way Messi will leave the club is if a buyer pays his €700m release clause.

La Liga has now bolstered Barcelona’s stance by releasing a statement reading: “In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid.”

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La Liga’s intervention comes just hours after Messi failed to report for coronavirus testing at Barcelona’s training complex, meaning he will be unable to participate in Ronald Koeman’s first training session as the club’s new head coach on Monday afternoon.

It is understood the 33-year-old warned the club in advance via Burofax – a form of recorded delivery provided by Spain’s postal service – that he was not going to be present.

If Messi does manage to negotiate his Barcelona exit, Manchester City are currently the favourites to sign him.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s push to depart the Nou Camp comes after Barcelona finished the season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years and ended the campaign with a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Messi’s future has been surrounded by speculation since asking to leave Barca but Klopp says there is “no chance” he will join the English champions.

Asked if he was interested in signing the 33-year-old, Klopp said: “Who doesn’t want Messi in their team?

“The numbers are not for us, but a good player, to be honest.”

Messi has been linked with a reunion with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City – something Klopp says will “obviously” help his rivals and make them “harder to beat”.

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City, who were Liverpool’s closest rivals in the top flight last season and their predecessors as titleholders, have remained tight-lipped on the rumours and have ruled out letting first-team regulars Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus leave in any exchange deal for Argentina international Messi.

“For the Premier League, it would be great, but I am not sure the Premier League needs that boost,” added Klopp.

“He’s never played in another league. Football is different here. I’d like to see it but I’m not sure I will.”

Liverpool continue their pre-season preparations against FA Cup winners Arsenal in the Community Shield on Saturday (16:30 BST), and Klopp says he is “happy” with his squad.

However, while remaining coy on the subject, he did not rule out further transfer activity before the Premier League window closes on 5 October.

“Numbers in the squad make sense, we have a big squad at the moment with a lot of young boys, and the size of the squad is OK,” he said.

“I’m happy with what we have but we look constantly for improvement – internally too.

“It will be interesting to see what other teams do but we will deal with our situation as we always have. The philosophy of this club is clear and we will see how much we want to spend.”

However, various sources insist Messi’s decision is firm, so they believe Bartomeu will not need to act out any pledge to quit.

Messi stunned Barca on Tuesday when he told the club he wanted out. His decision sparked a wave of criticisms toward Bartomeu, with fans gathering at Camp Nou, calling for him to resign. A vote of no confidence has also been lodged against him.

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However, Bartomeu does not want to fast-track elections, currently scheduled for March, and would instead prefer to leave the club in the hands of the current board of directors.

Messi sent a burofax to the club on Tuesday announcing his intention to leave this summer. He said he would invoke a clause that would allow him to leave for free.

The clause he referred to was included in his 2017 contract renewal and allows him to leave for free at the end of each season. However, he must notify the club within a certain time limit, which Barca say expired in June.

This comes after the Catalans failed to win any title in a season which was the very first time in 12 years at the Nou Camp.

Embarrassing defeat Barcelona suffered in the Champions League against Bayern Munich is still fresh in the hearts of the club’s fans.

Last season in the Champions League, Barcelona were also sent out of the competition in an embarrassing fashion losing against Liverpool.

After their failure at the just concluded League season, Barcelona chiefs decided to sack Quique Setien and he has been replaced with Ronald Koeman.

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Catalans chief are also said to have convinced Lionel Messi for him to remain at the Nou Camp this summer.

But, according to the report by Express UK, Barcelona may be making a decision that will make Messi livid if they should sell Arturo Vidal, Alba and Luis Suarez.

Reason is that Lionel Messi sees these three players as most important players in the squad he can rely on anytime.

The pairing of Lionel Messi and Suarez up front is no doubt a blessing for Barcelona and left back Alba has also produced many assists for the Argentine superstar.

Apart from Lionel Messi and these three players being teammates, they are also close friends off the football field.

Earlier, Lionel Messi failed to inspire his side in the Champions League quarterfinal. Bayern Munich humiliated Barcelona 8-2, with the Argentine spotted emotionally down in the dressing room.

Barcelona’s Messi, Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo and English former professional footballer David Beckham sent out emotional tributes to Bryant’s family.

They described him as a basketball gem and family man who would forever remain in the book of history.

Check out their posts below:

The Spanish club are eight points clear at the top of La Liga and play Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday

Group A

Manchester United 3-0 Basel
Basel had their chances early on and Paul Pogba went off injured but his replacement Maroune Fellaini headed in an Ashley Young cross and Romelu Lukaku continued his rich vein of form for his new club to turn home a Daley Blind ball. Another substitute, Marcus Rashford, got the third.

Benfica 1-2 CSKA Moskva
CSKA secured their first group away win since November 2014 as they recovered from falling behind to a 50th-minute Haris Seferović goal. Vitinho equalised from the penalty spot and substitute Timur Zhamaletdinov won it with 19 minutes left.

Group B

Bayern München 3-0 Anderlecht
Bayern never looked back after Sven Kums was sent off in the 11th minute for a foul on Robert Lewandowski, who swiftly converted the resulting penalty. Thiago Alcántara doubled Bayern’s advantage in the second half and Joshua Kimmich added a late third.

Celtic 0-5 Paris Saint-Germain
All of Paris’s front three helped themselves to first-half goals in Glasgow, where Neymar and Kylian Mbappé both struck for their new club before Edinson Cavani converted a 40th-minute penalty. Mikael Lustig netted a late own goal and Cavani’s flicked diving header made it five.

Group C

Chelsea 6-0 Qarabağ
Chelsea never looked back after Pedro Rodríguez’s fifth-minute opener as Qarabağ suffered a heavy defeat on a night when they became the first Azerbaijani club to play in the group stage.

Roma 0-0 Atlético Madrid
The visitors had most of the possession but Allison Becker in the Roma goal ensured the points were shared.

Group D

Barcelona 3-0 Juventus
Lionel Messi moved on to 99 UEFA club competition goals either side of an Ivan Rakitić effort as Barcelona exacted a little bit of revenge for their quarter-final elimination by Juventus last season.

Olympiacos 2-3 Sporting CP
Sporting will welcome Barcelona in high spirits in a fortnight after a fine win in Greece. Seydou Doumbia, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes put the visitors three up at half-time and they protected the points despite substitute Felipe Pardo pulling one back in the 89th minute and scoring again in added time.

By the time the draw for the finals is conducted in Moscow in December, even Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could be facing up to spending next June on the beach rather than on the fields in Russia.

For now, only seven qualification slots have been filled by Belgium, Brazil, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Another 24 places are still vacant, after the latest rounds of qualifiers.

MESSI AND RONALDO

Time is running out for the two best players in world soccer over the last decade. Not just to win the World Cup for the first time, either, because Ronaldo and Lionel might not even make the trip to Russia.

As things stand in Europe, Ronaldo’s Portugal is second in its qualifying group and the reigning European champions are facing a November playoff to gain a spot in the following month’s finals draw.

At least Portugal won both games in the last week. Argentina was held by both Uruguay and Venezuela in Jorge Sampaoli’s first games in charge, despite having Messi back from suspension.

Argentina still has time to move up from fifth to the fourth and final automatic qualification place. But the final two qualifiers next month for the two-time world champions are against Peru – currently fourth – and Ecuador – chasing Argentina in fifth place for the right to face New Zealand in a playoff.

CHAMPIONS COLLAPSE

The World Cup will be without African champion Cameroon. Copa America winner Chile could be absent too.

Cameroon’s qualification bid ended this week, while Chile is sixth in the South American standings and struggling to force its way into a playoff after losing to Bolivia on Tuesday. It’s barely two months since the Chileans were contesting the Confederations Cup final where they lost to Germany, and players are feeling the heat.

”You get tired of being criticized with reason and without reason,” Chile forward Alexis Sanchez wrote on Instagram. ”You get tired of wanting to be defeated, you get tired of saying to yourself ‘Once more I’ll get up’ after crying after a defeat, and you get tired of telling the world and people who are with you, that everything is going well.”

AMERICANS CLING ON

The United States is in danger of missing its first World Cup since 1986 after a home loss to Costa Rica and a draw in Panama. Bruce Arena’s team is hanging onto fourth place by goal difference ahead of Honduras. The fourth-place team is still plunged into a playoff against Australia or Syria to qualify for Russia.

Next up in October for the Americans are a Panama side which is a point ahead of them in the third automatic qualification place and last-place Trinidad and Tobago. It’s the first time since 1989 that the qualification fate of the U.S. has been on the line going into the finale.

SYRIA’S BID

Several teams are still in contention to make their World Cup debuts in Russia: Burkina Faso, Panama, Uganda … and Syria.

To qualify, Syria would have to beat Australia over two games in October and then overcome a CONCACAF opponent in a November playoff round.

When Syria drew in Iran on Tuesday in qualifying, there were celebrations home back in the capital Damascus. What makes Syria’s progress on the field even more remarkable is the team is playing as a civil war rages. That is also what makes the prospect of a Syrian team packed with government supporters appearing at the World Cup potentially problematic for critics of the President Bashir Assad’s regime.

FIFA rules say politics should be separated completely from the soccer.

A World Cup trip next June by Assad to Russia, Syria’s chief international ally, could rapidly become a sensitive issue for FIFA.

Without citing any country, the Asian Football Confederation opened an investigation on Wednesday into rule breaches linked to the need for national teams to respect political neutrality.

DUTCH DESPAIR

The Netherlands is facing missing a second straight major tournament, with even a place in the playoffs slipping out a sight. The 2010 World Cup finalists were dealt one of the hardest groups, but a 4-0 loss to leader France last week showed the size of the gulf between Dick Advocaat’s side and the continental powers. The Dutch are third in its group with two games remaining, three points behind its final group opponent, Sweden. Although France leads the group from Sweden, Les Bleus have carelessly dropped points in a late defeat to Sweden in June and a 0-0 home draw with lowly Luxembourg.

Neymar Sr revealed his son never wanted to challenge the position of Messi at Barca out of respect for the Argentina international, but insists moving to PSG is not about boosting his chances of winning the Ballon d’Or.
Neymar Sr told COPE: “Imagine a place where you are the protagonist of a club, where you are the idol of that club and everyone wants to transform you into the star that you do not want to be.
“Messi is the star and will always be the star. Not only because of the love and respect that Neymar has for Leo, he is his idol.
“Imagine that everyone said that Neymar has to be Messi’s substitute, he does not want to be his substitute. You have to leave Messi, he is the idol at Barcelona.
“Neymar has to make his own way and accept the challenge he has. I think my son has been a man, shown respect [to Messi] and now he has to go his own way.
“He could go to any club and be in the spotlight, not that he wants to be number one. He is taking a risk. Can PSG guarantee him the Ballon d’Or? No. And it is crazy that people believe that. It would be easier at Barca, with the help of that team.”
While Neymar sought opinions over whether he should go ahead with his Barca departure, the final decision was the player’s alone.
“It was his decision,” added Neymar Sr. “He was at the club he had dreamt of. He was comfortable, calm, but it was a choice.
“He listened to the advice of his friends, he listened to the people around him. He wanted to rise to this challenge. He had the right to make that decision. Now he is following his destiny and I think he has had a lot of courage.
“I think he wanted to change his destiny, but I cannot summarise [the reasons]. Several feelings led to his view that he had to make that change. We waited for the right moment, with enough time to have the peace of mind to choose.
“We had that time and when he came back from China, he made the decision and we will respect and support him. We communicated his exit to the club and we asked Paris to pay his release clause.
“He was proud of everything he did with Barca and left through the front door. People forget how things have gone.”

Messi and his new wife, Antonella Roccuzzo, hit up the beach with their 2 sons for some fun in the sun … and an epic game of Smashball!!!

If it looks like the soccer star doesn’t have a care in the world, it’s probably because he signed a massive contract with FC Barcelona — $33.6 million a year through 2021 — just days after tying the knot with his childhood sweetheart.

About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel.
They included Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, who was joined by his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira. Former Messi teammates Carles Puyol and Cesc Fabregas were also in attendance.

A civil ceremony for Messi, 30, and Antonela Roccuzzo, 29, was held at a luxury hotel in the city of Rosario.
Football stars and celebrities were among the 260 guests, with hundreds of police deployed for the event.
Messi, the Argentina and Barcelona forward, met Roccuzzo as a child before he moved to Spain aged just 13.
Among the guests at Friday’s wedding were Messi’s Barcelona teammates Luis Suárez, Neymar, Gerard Piqué and his wife, Colombia’s pop star Shakira. A number of guests flew into Rosario on private jets.
Argentina’s Clarín newspaper has variously called the wedding “the wedding of the year” and “the wedding of the century”.

Earlier, crowds gathered at the local airport to try to spot some of the famous guests.
A private security firm was working inside the hotel to keep out potential gatecrashers.
About 150 journalists received accreditation to enter a special press area, but were not given full access to the venue, organisers said.

Where did the bride and groom meet?

Messi met Roccuzzo when he was just five years old. She is the cousin of his best friend, Lucas Scaglia, who also became a professional football player.
Messi accepted an offer to play for Barcelona when he was 13, on condition that they pay for treatment for his growth hormone deficiency.

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He has spoken about the difficulties he faced on leaving behind his loved ones and former club.

The couple, who now live in Barcelona, have two sons together.
In May, his appeal against a 21-month jail term for tax evasion in Spain was rejected. He is unlikely to go to prison as the sentence can be served under probation or possibly avoided by paying a fine.

What do we know about the big day?

The event was held at Rosario’s City Center hotel complex, which has an adjoining casino.

Roccuzzo, 29, was widely expected to wear a dress by Rosa Clara, a Barcelona-based designer who has dressed actress Eva Longoria and Spain’s Queen Letizia.
Aside from a “sushi station”, the menu was a very Argentine affair, including empanadas (traditional pasties) and all parts of the cow, from a casserole of sweetbreads to blood sausage.

Who is on the guest list?

Messi invited the Barcelona squad, including Neymar, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué, who arrived in Rosario in a private jet with his wife, Colombian pop-star Shakira.
Teammates from Argentina’s national team, including Sergio Agüero, were also present.
Clarín reported that Messi did not invite any of his recent coaches, including Pep Guardiola, who is now at Manchester City.
Argentina’s other big football legend, Diego Maradona, was also omitted from the list, according to the local press.

Where is Rosario?

The port city of Rosario sits on the banks of the Paraná, about 300km north-west of Buenos Aires in the centre of the country.
Another famous Argentine to have spent his early years here is Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Messi is known locally simply as Lío.

He has been a local hero since his days as a star player for Newell’s Old Boys.
The team has a staunch rivalry with nearby Rosario Central, similar to that of Boca Juniors and River Plate in Buenos Aires.
Since moving to Spain, Messi has won a record-breaking five Fifa Ballon d’Or awards.

About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel.
They included Messi’s Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, who was joined by his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira. Former Messi teammates Carles Puyol and Cesc Fabregas were also in attendance.

Argentines were abuzz over the wedding in Rosario, an agricultural hub and the country’s third-largest city about 300 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires.
About 150 journalists were allowed to cover the event that Argentina’s largest newspaper Clarin called the wedding “the wedding of the year” and “the wedding of the century”.

Curious onlookers gathered before the wedding near the heavily guarded site hoping to snap photos of the soccer stars.
“We think it’s great that Messi has come to Rosario to get married,” Julio Sosa, who cleans windows for a living, said.

Messi, 30, grew up in a lower-middle-class neighbourhood in Rosario along with two brothers and a sister.
His bride, 29, is the cousin of a close Messi friend and the new couple has been close friends since meeting at a young age.

Messi and Roccuzzo stayed in touch after he left to play soccer in Spain at age 13 and they eventually started a romantic relationship in the late 2000s.
Roccuzzo moved to Barcelona, where the couple live with their two sons: four- year-old Thiago and one-year-old Mateo. But they often return to their native Rosario.

“Messi could have had this wedding wherever he liked — Dubai, the moon. He can pay any plane ticket to anyone but he chose the city that’s in his heart,” Leandro Macaya said.
Messi, a five-time FIFA world player of the year, has faced criticism in Argentina because he has never brought the country a major title, in contrast to his repeated successes playing for Barcelona.

But he is praised both at home and abroad for keeping his common touch.
“He was always the same and he never changed,” said Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend who was invited to the wedding.

“Despite everything that he’s accomplished in life, he’s still the same simple kid, the skinny dude that I grew up with.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling; I’m both a friend and a fan.”

Lionel Messi is being backed to remain at Barcelona by Joan Laporta, but he admits that he feared losing the Argentine to Inter in 2006.

Speculation is once again surrounding the future of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, with no extension agreed as yet to a contract due to expire in 2018.

This is not the first time that Barca have found themselves in such a situation, though, with Messi having been the subject of record-breaking interest in the past.

Inter were prepared to spend big on taking him to Italy a few years after his breakthrough at Camp Nou, but Laporta and Co. stood firm to ensure that no deal was done.

The former Barca president told The Guardian when asked if Messi ever came closing to leaving during his reign: “It was 2006 when Inter made an offer.

“They were prepared to pay the €150m buy-out clause, which is why we [later] raised it to €250m, but I always felt reassured by my relationship with his dad, Jorge.

“I told him: ‘They’ll have to pay the clause because I won’t sell. He’ll be happy here, he’ll get glory. There, he’ll only win financially. Your son’s destined to be the greatest in history and here he’ll have a team to help get there. He’ll enjoy it’.”

Laporta added: “I’m very Cruyffista but what Leo does – and I talked about this a lot with Johan – makes him the best in history. Johan said so too.

“Messi’s football is beautiful and effective. For me the best ever are Cruyff, Maradona and Messi. Leo’s a mix of Cruyff and Maradona, but he is Leo Messi.”

Since seeing a move to Italy blocked, Messi has been heavily linked with a possible switch to England – with the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea boasting the financial firepower required to put a deal in place.

No transfer has ever been done, but Laporta is among those adamant that the mercurial South America would have caught the eye in the Premier League had he ever found himself on that stage.

He said: “Of course he could do it in England. He has a gift. He could do it covered in mud in the pouring rain.

“He has done it. He’s played in England and been spectacular, he adapts to any circumstance, any conditions. And I love the fact that he enjoys himself and never complains, never dives.

“Yet he has character: it’s a mistake for opponents to forget that. It happened at the Bernabéu: the moment they hit him [Marcelo split Messi’s lip], that was it. Grrr and off he went.”

Having worked hard to keep Messi on their books, Barca have been rewarded with a club-record 507 goals in just 583 appearances.

Those efforts have helped the club to eight La Liga titles, four Champions League successes and three Club World Cup wins.

“It’s what I always dreamed and what I always wanted,” he said.

The 29-year-old Argentina international joined Barcelona aged 13, made his first-team debut at 17 and has scored more than 500 goals for the club.

He has won La Liga eight times with Barca, the Champions League four times and Ballon d’Or world player of the year title five times.

Last season under coach Luis Enrique, Barcelona were second in La Liga, three points behind champions Real Madrid and lost 3-0 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-finals to eventual beaten finalists Juventus.

Enrique announced in March that he would leave the club in the summer after three years in charge and his final match saw Barca capture the Copa del Rey trophy.

Messi scored the opening goal as they beat Alaves 3-0 to win the competition for a third successive season.

Messi, who was runner-up to Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the Ballon d’Or, told the Barcelona website his goal is “to try to im

The four-star hotel has 77 rooms — five of which are junior suites and one of which is a superior suite — and is situated in the second line of buildings from the sea.

There is a swimming pool included on the top floor which you can see the sea from and the price of a room in high season ranges from 250 euros to 300 euros per night.

The establishment will be run by the Majestic Group. It has 300 square meters of lounges, a spa, a terrace with a swimming pool and panoramic views of Sitges beach.

The hotel has been renamed Hotel MiM Sitges and is located on Avenida Sofía, 12. The building was built in 2013 and belonged to a local businessman named Francisco Sánchez who owns other hotels in the tourist town.

See Photos below.

Pep Guardiola believes Lionel Messi is one of the most ‘gifted’ athletes in history, and would like to ‘enter his brain’ to understand how he handles pressure.

The current Manchester City manager won a trio of La Liga titles and lifted the Champions League twice with a Messi-inspired Barca team between 2008 and 2012.

Messi is reportedly close to signing a new long-term contract at Camp Nou and Guardiola said the way the Argentina international handles an extreme level of expectation places him among history’s sporting elite.

“He is one of the most privileged, gifted athletes of all time,” Guardiola told Catalunya Radio .

“I would like to enter his brain and find out how he can withstand the pressure like he has, with both Barcelona and Argentina on his back.

“The whole world expects him to score three goals and set up three goals in every match. The other players know that they have Messi on their side and will rely on him.”

Despite Luis Enrique’s final season at Barcelona ending with a single trophy – the Copa Del Rey – Guardiola insisted his time at Camp Nou did not end on a low note.

“You cannot say that they ‘only’ won the Copa del Rey,” the Catalan added. “They chased Real Madrid to the final day of the [LaLiga] season.

“Then in the Champions League, people are wrong if they believe that you can beat all of the big teams in Europe every year.”

Guardiola believes Luis Enrique’s replacement, former Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde, is a good appointment for the club.

“Barcelona have not gone anywhere, they’re still there,” Guardiola said. “Real Madrid have a lot of confidence, but Barcelona will return to fight this year with Valverde’s team.

“I am very happy that the club has chosen Valverde as head coach. I spoke to him once and always said to push forward.

“The leadership must now be in this profile: calmer, providing fewer headlines, letting the results speak. He is a sensible person and he knows a lot about football. I have always liked to see his teams play.”

The Barcelona icon and Ronaldo are often competing for the top team and individual honours in the world game, with the Madrid forward hot favourite to win his fifth Ballon d’Or in 2017.

That would see the former Manchester United star match the Argentina international after his side’s 4-1 final win over Juventus in Cardiff.

Messi, though, insisted the perceived rivalry between the pair is hyped up by the media and was happy to talk up Ronaldo’s ability.

Ronaldo’s constant drive to improve is what most impressed Messi, who labelled him as one of the world’s best players.

“That thing about our rivalry is something more invented by the press than by us,” Messi said to Tencent Sports.

“What we want is to do our best every year, to do the best for our teams and what is spoken from outside is not something I give importance to.

“He is a phenomenal player who has many qualities that year after year he improves and that is why he is one of the best in the world.”

Barcelona star Lionel Messi dreams of finishing his career with the La Liga giants after reportedly agreeing to a new deal.

Pique hammers Madrid over bus parade

The 29-year-old’s future has been widely discussed with his contract expiring next year and talks seemingly progressing slowly.

But reports on Wednesday suggested Messi had agreed to a new deal until 2021 or 2022.

In an interview with Tencent Sports and published by ESPN, the Argentina star said he wanted to finish his career at Barca, the club he joined as a 13-year-old.

“It’s what I always wanted and dreamed. I would love to finish my career at Barcelona,” Messi said.

Messi has enjoyed a trophy-laden career at Camp Nou, winning eight La Liga titles and four Champions League crowns.

He has developed into arguably the world’s greatest ever player, claiming the Ballon d’Or a record five times.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are “both the best in the world”, according to former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Luis Figo.

The Argentine and Portuguese forwards continue to set the standard when it comes to the planet’s finest footballers.

Ronaldo makes Ballon d’Or prediction

They have dominated the battle for individual awards over recent years, splitting nine Ballon d’Ors, while helping their respective teams to domestic and European honours in La Liga and the Champions League.

Figo is the latest to be quizzed on which of the iconic duo can be considered the greatest, but he has refused to be drawn into a debate with no obvious answer.

The 2001 World Player of the Year told reporters: “They are both the best in the world. It is always difficult to choose one of them and say he is the best.

“In the end Ronaldo and Messi are the ones who have been winning all the individual awards in the world of football and that says it all about their tremendous individual talent as footballers. I would never choose between them.”

Messi and Ronaldo have enjoyed another standout year in 2016-17, with the latter having one more fixture to take in.

With Messi, Barca golden age continues

Madrid are looking to become the first team to defend the Champions League crown in its current format, with Ronaldo already making history in the competition by breaking the 100-goal barrier.

Messi, meanwhile, plundered 54 goals over the course of the campaign for Barca, although those efforts were not enough to keep the La Liga title at Camp Nou, with Luis Enrique’s side having to make do with the consolation of Copa del Rey success.

Messi and his father Jorge, who manages his finances, were both convicted in 2016 of defrauding Spain of €4.1m (£3.5m; $4.6m) in taxes.

Jorge Messi’s jail term was reduced because he paid some of the taxes.

In Spain, prison terms of under two years can be served under probation.

The case will now return to the court in Barcelona that handed down the original judgement.

Lionel Messi, a five-time world footballer of the year, has always denied any involvement and told his trial in June 2016 that “I only worried about playing football.”

Both men were convicted of three counts of fraud, for using tax havens in Belize and Uruguay between 2007 and 2009, and were also given weighty fines.

They were found guilty of using fictitious companies to evade paying Spanish taxes on income that came from companies paying for the use of Lionel Messi’s image rights.

Jorge Messi’s jail term was reduced from 21 months to 15 by the Supreme Court to take into account the money he had since handed to the tax authorities.

What would you do if you bore a resemblance to one of the most famous footballers on Earth?

The race for the Golden Shoe

If you’re like Iranian student Reza Parastesh, and you look like Lionel Messi, you don the famous Barcelona No.10 jersey and walk about town.

Unfortunately for Parastesh, 25, the police in Hamadan had to impound his car and take him into the station to quell the stir caused when the lookalike — self-dubbed the “Iranian Messi” — prompted too many people to stop him for photos over the weekend.

He got the idea from his dad a few months ago, after father asked son to pose in a replica Messi jersey. That led to Parastesh styling his hair — both facial and on his head — like the Argentine superstar.

“Now people really see me as the Iranian Messi and want me to mimic everything he does,” Parastesh told AFP. “When I show up somewhere, people are really shocked.

“I’m really happy that seeing me makes them happy and this happiness gives me a lot of energy.”

Parastesh may have found himself a career imitating the Barcelona forward, with media appearances growing thanks to his newfound notoriety.

The Kurdish Yazidi child, now five, was seized by the terror group along with his mother and sister from their home in Sinjar, northern Iraq in 2014.

While in captivity, ISIS extremists targeted the family with ransom demands – even though they had no money.