Despite being former midfield heroes for the clubs they now manage, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique and his Real Madrid counterpart Zinedine Zidane are afforded little credit for their achievements in management.

A charter plane carrying a Brazilian football team which crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday killing 76 people so far flew Lionel Messi and his Argentina national team two weeks ago, according to media reports.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique lamented what he described as the worst display of his time in charge as the Catalan giants escaped with a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday.

AFP Sports looks at what has gone wrong so far this season for the Spanish champions Barcelona.

Gerard Pique gives a scathing assessment of Barcelona's display after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad and casts doubt on his team's ability to retain the La Liga title unless their performances improve.

Lionel Messi's prodigious talent is matched by his startling humility, which he displayed again on Thursday by denying that Barcelona's fate is determined by his presence in the team.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez is keen to play the same kind of role Lionel Messi performs at Barcelona, the Chilean international said.

The dazzling Lionel Messi returned from illness to score yet another double to help Barcelona ease into the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 13th successive year with their 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday.

A goal scored with a scorpion kick in the Swedish league was included on the shortlist for FIFA's goal of the year award on Monday along with efforts from Lionel Messi and Neymar.

Lionel Messi looks set to return for Barcelona's Champions League trip to Celtic on Wednesday after overcoming a sickness bug

Spanish giants FC Barcelona sealed a massive shirt sponsorship deal Wednesday with Japanese online retailer Rakuten worth at least 55 million euros ($59 million) a year.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu predicts that Lionel Messi would not only extend his contract with the Catalan club but also end his playing days there too.

An outstanding performance from Gabriel Jesus helps Brazil to a 2-0 win over Peru and move the five times World Cup winners four points clear at the top of the South American qualifying group for Russia 2018.

Lionel Messi announced a press boycott to protest against a journalist who alleged team-mate Ezequiel Lavezzi had used marijuana at Argentina's training base.

Ecuador romp to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Venezuela to reignite their 2018 World Cup qualifying challenge as Paraguay's bid suffers a setback with a defeat to struggling Bolivia.

Lionel Messi scores a majestic free-kick and sets up two more goals as Argentina got their faltering 2018 World Cup qualification campaign back on track with a 3-0 win over Colombia.

Undaunted by sanctions and hard realities on the pitch, North Korea's lone football academy has set its sights high -- producing players better than Lionel Messi, and teams that can dominate the world.

The wife of Argentine Angel Di Maria blasted the her husband’s detractors in the wake of their 3-0 loss to Brazil in a World Cup qualifier.

Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza was unbowed after a 3-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Brazil and a fourth game without a win on Thursday..

Brazil dealt Argentina's hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup finals a serious blow on Thursday with a resounding 3-0 win.