Spain

Lionel Messi has extended his Barcelona contract through the 2020-21 season, putting an end to growing speculation that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was looking to negotiate with other clubs come January. Messi has now committed himself to the Camp Nou until the age of 34.

According to a statement from the club, the buyout clause is set at €700 million ($835m). By the conclusion of the 2020-21 season, Messi will have spent 17 years with the first team.

Lionel Messi and company look to be running away with La Liga. Heading into the Barcelona vs Valencia match on Sunday at the Mestalla, the Catalan club is unbeaten with 11 wins and one draw. Barcelona is sitting on 34 points, 10 ahead of both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, the only other two clubs to have won La Liga in the past dozen years.

There was one clear winner from the Madrid derby: Barcelona. The Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid match ended in a 0-0 draw, leaving both clubs 10 points behind Barcelona, which itself won 3-0 over Leganes in Madrid on Saturday. 

Real Madrid travel to Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano for the first time ever on Saturday for the 161st league version of the Madrid Derby. While the setting will be new, the stakes remain unchanged, although the pressure emanating in this weekend’s fixture will be one of desperation rather than one fueled by a sense of forthcoming glory.

And so it’s settled. On November 15, Peru claimed the final spot in the 32-team field for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, bringing us to the final event before the June 14 kick off at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow: the draw to determine the eight groups of four for the finals.