Barcelona played Boca Juniors in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in a friendly dubbed The Maradona Cup, with all proceeds going towards paying Philippe Coutinho's salary. The match also served as a second club debut for 38-year-old right back Dani Alves, who signed as a free agent after last playing for São Paulo with nothing but goodwill in his heart and a somewhat good feeling in his feet.
Paris St Germain will face Real Madrid in a titanic clash in the last 16 of the Champions League while Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid after UEFA declared the original draw void due to a technical error in the process on Monday.
Earlier, United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams had already faced each other in the group stage while the Premier League side's ball was not added to the bowl as a potential opponent for Atletico Madrid.
Round of 16 draw ✔️
Kylian Mbappé realizó esta tarde una enorme exhibición en el Parque de los Príncipes. El delantero lideró con un doblete la cómoda victoria del PSG (4-1) sobre el Club Brugge y cerró el paso del equipo por el Grupo A de la Champions League. Sin embargo, parte del show también recayó en los hombros de Lionel Messi, quien con dos conquistas escribió otra jornada histórica para su larga lista de logros personales.
Desde hoy, Messi tiene oficialmente más goles que Pelé.
There was nothing on the line for PSG during Tuesday's Champions League group stage finale against Club Brugge with Manchester City already clinching top spot and the Parisian side locked in second, although the Belgian's harbored faint hopes of achieving a result at the Parc des Princes to qualify for the Europa League above RB Leipzig — that dream was dead inside seven minutes.
Only two minutes in, Kylian Mbappé punished Simon Mignolet for struggling with an effort at his near post, although the 22-year-old Frenchman's finish was ice cold.
STATS! They can be used in all manner of ways. In the right hands, they can provide you with some excellent insight into the best women's goalkeepers in the world right now. In the wrong hands, you end up with some diabolical shitposting that's effectively ESPN FC's Twitter account.
Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at comments made by Ballon d'Or organizer Pascal Ferré, saying the editor-in-chief of France Football "lied" about his rivalry with Lionel Messi.
Ferré told the New York Times on Friday that Manchester United forward Ronaldo's sole ambition was to retire with more of the awards for the world's best player than Messi.
Lionel Messi won his record-extending seventh men’s Ballon d’Or on Monday. Anyone who watched him carry both Argentina and Barcelona over the last year knows he absolutely deserved it. But even Messi admitted on Monday that Robert Lewandowski deserves the 2020 Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi edged Robert Lewandowski for the men’s 2021 Ballon d’Or, the Argentine’s record-extending seventh trophy as the best men’s player in the world. But Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t even attend the award show in Paris, still managed to make it all about him.
Messi, who this year helped Argentina win the 2021 Copa América and Barcelona win the Copa del Rey (lol), was also named the world’s best men’s player in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.
HERE IS THE WINNER!
On Sunday morning, for the first time this season, all of Paris Saint-Germain’s heavy hitters graced the pitch together, including a debut for Sergio Ramos at the heart of defense alongside Marquinhos. Up top, Saint-Étienne squared up with the quartet of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Ángel Di María.