Mark Doyle

Will he or won't he? Lionel Messi has a massive decision to make and, just eight months before the start of the 2026 World Cup, we still don't know whether he'll lead Argentina's title defence. "At my age, it's only logical to think I might not," the 38-year-old told TyC Sports just last month. But, let's face it, there's never really anything logical about Messi's career.

Gary Lineker never thought we'd see another player like Lionel Messi - until Lamine Yamal came along. "Just watching him, he makes it look so easy to beat a player. He goes past them almost as if they're invisible, like they're not there," the ex-England international enthused on the 'Stick to Football' podcast the morning after Barcelona's thrilling 3-3 draw with Inter on April 30.

And then there was one. According to RAC1, Barcelona have withdrawn their support for the European Super League (ESL), leaving Real Madrid as the only remaining member of the original 'Dirty Dozen' still supporting the controversial project.

Are Bayern Munich the strongest side in Europe right now? They're certainly not far off it. The Germans maintained their flawless start to the 2025-26 season with a 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend. Unsurprisingly, Harry Kane was among the goals again, as the free-scoring striker maintained his record-breaking start to the campaign.

Lamine Yamal went out of his way to hype up his return to the Barcelona line-up for Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys. The 18-year-old posted a clip on his Instagram account from the movie 'The Devil's Advocate' in which Al Pacino's character, John Milton, discusses the effects of pressure: "Some people, you squeeze 'em, they focus; others fold. Can you summon your talent at will? Can you deliver on a deadline? Can you sleep at night?"

Jamie Carragher immediately expressed his concerns over Arne Slot's tactics after Liverpool had won their opening game of the new season against Bournemouth. So he was never going to hold back after watching the disturbingly ragged Reds slump to a second consecutive defeat in Tuesday's Champions League clash with Galatasaray.

Marcus Rashford may have enjoyed another encouraging evening but Barcelona were put firmly in their place by Paris Saint-Germain in their eagerly-awaited Champions League clash on Tuesday evening, with the titleholders coming from behind to claim a deserved 2-1 win at Montjuic.

Wednesday's Champions League clash between Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain should have immediately seen the top two players in the 2025 Ballon d'Or vote squaring off against one another. However, while Lamine Yamal has returned to full fitness just in time for the game at Montjuic, Ousmane Dembele will remain sidelined for at least another couple of weeks.

After seven wins in a row in all competitions, Liverpool have now lost two on the spin, with Arne Slot's side slumping to a dismal 1-0 defeat at Galatasaray - just three days after being upset by Crystal Palace.

Liverpool weren't the only European team to lose their 100 percent record this weekend. Over in Italy, Napoli slipped to second in the Serie A table after being beaten 2-1 by a Christian Pulisici-inspired AC Milan at San Siro.

A Spanish publication reported last week that Real Madrid want to sign Ryan Gravenberch, which would make sense, in fairness. Toni Kroos is still sorely missed at the Santiago Bernabeu after retiring after Euro 2024, as doubts persist over the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga to fill the void left behind by the genius German.

Arne Slot knew full well that the first question of his post-match press conference after Tuesday night's Carabao Cup win over Southampton would be about Hugo Ekitike - but he wasn't happy about it.

Jurgen Klopp's decision to step down as Liverpool boss rocked the world of football. The resurgent Reds were top of the Premier League and still in three cup competitions when the Kop idol announced on January 26, 2004 that he would leave Anfield at the end of the season.

Lamine Yamal won his second consecutive Kopa Trophy on Monday night, while at the same time finishing as runner up in the men's Ballon d'Or vote to Ousmane Dembele. This is not normal, of course. The kid is still only 18, which makes us think that we're witnessing the dawning of a new era of domination by a single player.

Alexander Isak's first goal for Liverpool should have been the story after Tuesday night's 2-1 win over Southampton at Anfield. Instead, it was Hugo Ekitike getting himself stupidly sent off after netting the winner.

Ousmane Dembele was presented with the Ballon d'Or for 2025 at a typically lavish ceremony in Paris on Monday night, capping a remarkable redemption at Paris Saint-Germain for a player regarded by Barcelona fans as one of the worst signings in the club's history.

The latest round of action across Europe's elite leagues saw Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Porto maintain their winning starts to the 2025-26 season. However, while everyone expects Bayern to run away with the Bundesliga, Barca are hot on the heels of Madrid in La Liga, while Porto are presently processing the news that the most famous manager in the club's history has just taken charge of their hated rivals Benfica.

Say what you will about the merits of the Ballon d'Or, but last year's ceremony was undeniably dramatic. The event organisers, France Football, have always insisted that "no player or club knows who has won the Ballon d'Or" before the victor is announced on stage - but Real Madrid refused to even turn up after learning hours in advance that Rodri had beaten Vinicius Jr to the men's prize.