Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award for an unprecedented fifth time as the Barcelona forward reclaimed the biggest individual accolade in world football at a lavish ceremony in Zurich last night, beating Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the three-time winner he has been runner-up behind for the last two years.

It was near midnight on Sunday when Robbie Keane went silently into the record books.

Sean St Ledger still hasn’t given up hope of an international recall...

Liverpool defender Joe Gomez received the seal of approval from Stoke’s Jon Walters last week and has impressed manager Brendan Rodgers since arriving in the summer.

Republic of Ireland defender Sean St Ledger has been released by MLS new boys Orlando City, reportedly for a “serious breach of club policy”.

On the day the LA Galaxy introduced new signing Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane stole the show with a hat-trick in a 4-0 MLS win over Toronto FC.

I’m in the away dressing room of the Saputo Stadium and it’s all pretty quiet, sombre. The current occupants, Orlando City SC, have just lost to Montreal Impact in a run-of-the-mill MLS game and the deafening silence says much.

Dual Cambridgeshire winner Bronze Angel heads a maximum field of 22 for the Betway Lincoln at Doncaster tomorrow.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009, and Marca’s editors are sure they are onto a winner.

One Direction singer Niall Horan has hit the landmark 20m mark on Twitter — with as many followers as the population of the entire continent of Australia.

Colombian World Cup star James Rodriguez joined Spanish giants Real Madrid from Monaco for a fee believed to be in the region of £63 million on Tuesday, making him the fourth most expensive signing in football transfer history.

Charles Miller and his wonderful moustache have become familiar sights during the World Cup, but the man who brought football to Brazil could unintentionally ensure the country has a vibrant rugby team at the next Olympic Games.

AC Milan and Kaka have parted ways by mutual consent, the Italian club announced on Monday.

Any preconceived ideas we had before the World Cup have been cast aside in an amazing tournament

Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is struggling to be fit for Portugal’s opening World Cup match due to tendinitis around his left kneecap, the national federation revealed today.

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed that playmaker Kaka is set to remain at the club next season.

For almost 50 years BBC’s Grandstand show defined Saturday afternoons in the UK and it came to do something similar here in Ireland for many of us once the signal for the British channels began to be picked up beyond the east coast.

Liverpool midfielders Phillipe Coutinho and Lucas Leiva, AC Milan playmaker Kaka, below, and Atletico Mineiro forward Ronaldinho were among the big names to miss out as Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari unveiled his 23-man World Cup squad yesterday.

AC Milan playmaker Kaka and Atletico Mineiro forward Ronaldinho were among the big names to miss out as Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari unveiled his 23-man World Cup squad today.

Atletico Madrid 4 AC Milan 1 (Atletico win 5-1 on agg)

Be that as it may, millennia of faith has already been observed so it seems likely we will continue to see a blurring of the lines between religion and sport.

Italian football is the continuation of politics by other means rather than war.

Celtic crashed out of Europe after a thumping 3-0 defeat by AC Milan in their Champions League Group H clash at Parkhead.

Celtic 0 AC Milan 3

AC Milan 2 Celtic 0

Neil Lennon admits he is struggling to find sympathy for injury-riven AC Milan ahead of their Champions League clash at the San Siro tonight.

James Forrest has been ruled out of Celtic’s Champions League game against AC Milan at the San Siro on Wednesday night.

Former Celtic defender John Kennedy admits he would try to unsettle Mario Balotelli if he was playing against the temperamental AC Milan striker tomorrow night.

Injured AC Milan forward Kaka has decided against collecting his wages until he returns to full fitness.

Real Madrid took centre stage on the final day of the summer transfer window as two Galacticos departed to make way for the most expensive player in the history of football.

AC Milan have reached an agreement to re-sign Brazil forward Kaka from Real Madrid.

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has given his seal of approval to new Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Real Madrid 2 Borussia Dortmund 0

Both Real Madrid and Barcelona warmed up for this week’s Champions League quarter-final second legs with thumping La Liga victories on Saturday, but the mood around each camp differed markedly.

Man United 1 Real Madrid 2

Alex Ferguson has included Shinji Kagawa and Danny Welbeck but not Nemanja Vidic in Manchester United’s starting line-up to face Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium tonight.

AC Milan are in talks to take Real Madrid midfielder Kaka back to the club in the current transfer window, vice-president Adriano Galliani has confirmed.

Details can make the difference, as managers always say.

Barcelona 2 Real Madrid 2

Real Madrid reduced the gap at the top of the Primera Division to eight points ahead of next week’s El Clasico as Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick led them to a 5-1 victory over Deportivo La Coruna last night.

AC Milan claim to have won the race to sign French starlet M‘Baye Niang, with stories on their official website suggesting the highly-rated 17-year-old is poised to join them ahead of Everton.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho does not mind which club midfielder Nuri Sahin joins on loan – as long as it is in the Premier League.