World Cup winner Andrea Pirlo brought down the curtain on his glittering football career on Monday, signing off with a message on Twitter hours after coming on as a late substitute for Major League Soccer side New York City in ther 2-0 win over Columbus Crew. The 38-year-old suggested last month he would retire at the end of the season and leaves the game with two Champions League titles, six Serie A crowns, the 2006 World Cup he won with Italy, as well as a host of other trophies and honours accumulated in more than 20 years.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is pleased with the Premier League side s improvement and form over the past two months but will not make any premature comparison with his former clubs. Guardiola won 14 titles in four seasons at Barcelona and seven in three years at Bayern Munich but the Spaniard s debut season in England did not yield a trophy as City finished third in the league last campaign and lost in the FA Cup semi-final.

More than two years after U.S. prosecutors unveiled a sweeping corruption case that rocked FIFA, soccer s world governing body, three former officials linked to the organization are due to face trial on graft charges on Monday in a New York court. Selection of jurors is scheduled to begin before U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn. On trial Manuel Burga, former president of Peru s soccer federation; José Maria Marin, the former president of Brazil s soccer federation; and Juan Ángel Napout, formerly president of the South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL and of Paraguay s soccer federation.

Enppi continued their revival under coach Ihab Galal, playing out a 1-1 draw with leaders Ismaily in an exciting game. Galal s men are also unlucky not to have snatched all three points, having taken the lead and wasted some easy chances towards the end.

Alvaro Morata s second-half header secured Chelsea a 1-0 win over Manchester United in an entertaining Premier League clash on Sunday as Jose Mourinho s return to Stamford Bridge ended in defeat. Morata s brilliantly-taken header in the 55th minute was the difference on another frustrating trip to London for United, with six of their last seven away defeats coming in the capital.

Both Ahly and Wydad Casablanca s coaches are determined to win the second leg of the African Champions League final on Saturday in Morocco. "Ahly will fight away against Wydad. There is no option but to win the ninth African Champions League trophy," coach Hossam El-Badry told the club s official website on Thursday.

The company that manages Lionel Messi s image rights says the player has donated more than 70,000 euros ($81,000) to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders after winning a court case against a Spanish newspaper. The money was awarded to Messi for an article the La Razon newspaper published implying that the player was doping.

Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry has announced the squad for the second leg of the African Champions League final against Wydad Casablanca away in Morocco on Saturday. Despite being under rehabilitation after recovering from recent injuries, key midfielder Walid Soliman and defenders Rami Rabia and Mohamed Naguib were all called up for the big event.

Without a goal in the previous five games, Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku was quick to grab the ball when his team were awarded a penalty in the 78th minute of their Champions League game against Benfica. United were 1-0 up and had already missed one penalty, a soft effort from Anthony Martial saved by Benfica s 18-year-old keeper Mile Svilar.

Ahly have invited fans to attend Tuesday s training session to give the players a boost ahead of Saturday s much-anticipated second-leg of the African Champions League final against Wydad Casablanca away in Morocco. "I thank the board for their immediate approval of my request to allow the fans into training and for finishing all procedures quickly," Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry said on the club s official website.

Harry Kane took part in Tottenham training on Tuesday as he bids to prove his fitness ahead of the Champions League clash against Real Madrid. Kane missed Saturday s 1-0 defeat at Manchester United with a hamstring injury but showed no visible sign of discomfort during a light session.

Zamalek snapped a three-match winless run after crushing struggling side Wadi Degla 3-0 in their first match at Cairo Stadium in almost three years on Sunday. The White Knights, whose title credentials were called into question after two draws and an embarrassing 3-0 defeat by Smouha, failed to break down Degla in the first half but came out with all guns blazing in the second period.

Saudi Arabia has given the green light for all family members, including women, to attend sporting events at three stadiums from the start of 2018, the nation s General Sports Authority (GSA) announced at a press conference in Riyadh late on Sunday. The GSA said the stadiums would allow whole families to attend as spectators, thereby ending a blanket ban on women at sporting events.

Egypt s Ahly failed to take a first-leg advantage despite their territorial dominance, throwing away their lead to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Morocco s Wydad Casablanca in the African Champions League final on Saturday. An early sublime volley from Moemen Zakareya ensured Ahly made a perfect start to the match at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab Stadium, similar to the one they had en route to a memorable 6-2 thrashing of Tunisia s Etoile du Sahel in the second leg of the semi final.

La Liga champions Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 defeat in their first ever league visit to Catalan side Girona on Sunday, conceding two goals in quick succession and falling eight points behind leaders Barcelona. Spain midfielder Isco tapped in a rebounded shot from Cristiano Ronaldo to open the scoring in the 12th minute in Real Madrid s first visit to Catalonia this season amid the worst political crisis in Spain s 39 years of democracy.

Egypt s Ahly will miss midfielder Saleh Gomaa when they host Wydad Casablanca in the first leg of the African Champions League final on Saturday but welcome back Abdallah El-Said after the influential playmaker recovered from injury. Gomaa replaced El-Said in Ahly s starting line-up in the 6-2 thrashing of Tunisia s Etoile du Sahel in the second leg of the competition s semi-final last Sunday but was injured himself in the first half.

As the central government of Spain prepares to impose direct rule on Catalonia after the north-eastern region held an illegal referendum on independence, Real Madrid travel to Catalan outfit Girona on Sunday in a La Liga match laced with political undertones. Situated around 100-kilometres from Barcelona, Girona is fiercely pro-independence and the regional government leader, Carles Puigdemont, is former mayor of the city.

Zamalek coach Nebojsa Jovovic said on Tuesday he needs some time to lead the team to titles as they stutter in the early stages of the Egyptian Premier League. The Montenegrin has had little time to prepare Zamalek for the new season, having arrived less than two weeks before the league got underway.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has criticised the weight of the match ball used in the League Cup after his team failed to score in their fourth round match against Wolverhampton Wanderers and won 4-1 on penalties. Premier League leaders City have scored 32 goals in nine games so far, the most by any side, but failed to find the net against the Championship side as the score remained 0-0 after 120 minutes of active play.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) set Saturday as the date for the first leg of a mouthwatering Champions League final between Egypt s Ahly and Morocco s Wydad Casablanca. According to Ahly s official website, the match will be played on Saturday 28 October at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab stadium; one day earlier of the previously requested date by the Cairo giants.

Chelsea manager Antonio Conte will have the full support from his players to help the Italian avoid suffering the same fate as Jose Mourinho two years back, the Premier League champions goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said. Chelsea ended a three-match winless streak with a league win over Watford last weekend but the build-up to that game was clouded by speculation about Conte s future with media reports suggesting the players were unhappy with his training methods.