LaLiga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract was still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical.

Messi's failure to show for his medical underlined the 33-year-old's determination to leave the club he has been with throughout his career.

Chelsea has some of the most-talented attackers in England, what with Sam Kerr, Erin Cuthbert, Ji So-Yun and Fran Kirby in the ranks. And yet it was a defender, Millie Bright, who ripped a long-range golazo to break the deadlock on the way to a 2-0 win over Manchester City in the Women's Community Shield on Saturday.

With all of the attention surrounding Lionel Messi's future, you may have missed that Irish fullback Matt Doherty is likely on his way to Tottenham after more than a decade with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with a fee reportedly in the range of $18-21 million.

Ordinarily, a transfer like this would not raise too many eyebrows, but it could have a massive impact on one Irish club. 

Lionel Messi's potential move to Manchester City could eventually bring the international superstar to New York City FC, ESPN reported Wednesday.

A long-term contract is reportedly in the works between the 33-year-old Argentinian forward and Man City, which, like NYCFC, is owned by the City Football Group. The deal includes a clause for Messi's move to the MLS club after three seasons in the Premier League, per the report.

Manchester City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko set aside some time on his wedding day to clarify comments he and his new bride Vlada Sedan made about manager Pep Guardiola in the wake of the club's Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyon.

Television reporter Sedan delivered a scathing assessment of Guardiola's tactics and posted an interview with Zinchenko to her YouTube channel after City crashed out in the quarter-finals with a 3-1 loss.

The video prompted an angry response from City supporters and Zinchenko took to social media to defend his comments.

On paper, Bayern Munich scored a secure 3-0 victory against Lyon in the Champions League semifinals Wednesday, but the scoreline does not reflect the true nature of the match.

While Bayern was the better side for periods of the game, Lyon found itself one-on-one with Manuel Neuer on multiple ocassions but was unable to finish. 

There where multiple times when you were left thinking, "How has Lyon not scored there?"

xG map for Lyon - Bayern

Liverpool will begin defending their Premier League title on Sept. 12 at Anfield, according to a fixture list for the new season, when they play newly promoted Leeds United, who return to England's top-flight for the first time in 16 years.

Our 2020/21 @PremierLeague fixture list