Pope Francis is, or rather was, well known as a football man and, in particular, as a committed supporter of the San Lorenzo club in his native Argentina, so it rather came as a shock when he recently confessed that he had never seen his fellow countryman Lionel Messi in action.

Ireland overthrows King James II today - over 300 years after his death; Kenny: ‘Government has nothing to hide’ on sale of Anglo assets; and Tess Holliday is redefining the meaning of fashion. These are some of the latest and most read news on irishexaminer.com this evening.

Capital One Cup semi-final second leg

Brazil star Neymar could not hold back the tears as he revealed he had come within a few inches of being paralysed.

The editorial in ‘Lance’, Brazil’s most important daily sports newspaper, was crystal clear.

Louis van Gaal has been named as the next manager of Manchester United.

Just two days on from the World Cup draw and Brazil returned to a shocking and vicious reality on Sunday night.

Departing goalkeeper Jose Reina has hit out at Liverpool after claiming the club decided to loan him to Napoli without telling him first and that he “deserved better”.

Tottenham have agreed a €20m deal to sign midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians, according to the Brazilian club.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech insists the Club World Cup is not an unwanted distraction for Chelsea.

Alex Ferguson has revealed Manchester United have hit a brick wall in their attempts to sign Robin van Persie from Arsenal.

The only predictable thing about Emelec’s late winner against Olimpia in the Copa Libertadores last week was that it was a Quinonez who scored it.

One of the great joys of South American competition is that nobody knows anything.

Changes to the offside law are needed to make it simpler to understand, a FIFA task force announced today.

Porto have signed Brazilian left-back Alex Sandro on a five-year contract from Santos, the Portuguese champions have announced.

Real Madrid target Neymar is happy at Santos at the moment but dreams of playing in the Champions League.

Three-time FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldo has confirmed his retirement from football.

Record-breaking Brazil striker Ronaldo is poised to announce his retirement from football.

William Gallas could be set to make a shock north London switch from Arsenal to Tottenham this weekend.

BRAZIL youngster Sandro has completed his move from Internacional to Tottenham after passing a medical.

Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios has played down reports he wants to move to a bigger club, insisting he is happy at White Hart Lane.

Argentina striker Carlos Tevez took a risk in signing for Manchester City after he was convinced by manager Mark Hughes’ ambitions for the club, according to the player’s agent Kia Joorabchian.

ALEX FERGUSON will look to the young and the experienced to power Manchester United forward — not just in this morning’s Club World Cup semi-final with Gamba Osaka, but for the remainder of the season as well.

Chelsea have ended their hunt for a new manager after confirming Portugal boss Luiz Felipe Scolari as Avram Grant’s successor.

The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) has pledged its full support behind Brazil’s candidature to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Carlos Tevez has claimed “Chelsea intend to take me” and admits to being flattered by the attention he has received from the Premiership champions.

LOADED with glamour teams, the Confederations Cup has few friends outside FIFA. The tournament, a warm up for next year’s World Cup in Germany, prevents weary players from taking a summer break.

Had someone told Hernan Crespo 18 months ago he was set to line up for AC Milan in a Champions League final he would have laughed them out of town.

River Plate have rejected an offer from Crystal Palace for midfielder Jairo Patino, but the player’s agent is confident negotiations will continue in June.

Boca Juniors overturned a one-goal first-leg deficit to clinch the Copa Sudamericana with a 2-1 aggregate win against Bolivian side Bolivar.

Chelsea have made an offer for Peru striker Jefferson Farfan, according to the player’s agent and a spokesman from his current side Alianza Lima.