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BARCELONA (Reuters) - Barcelona’s players returned from the international break at the start of April confident of achieving an unprecedented second straight treble. Little more than a fortnight later, they have been knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid and seen their nine-point lead at the top of La Liga eliminated. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Valencia was Barca’s third in a row for the first time since 2003, when they finished sixth in the standings and empty handed....

Bale has started just two LaLiga games in 2019 and was limited to a second-half substitute appearance as Los Blancos slipped to a 3-0 Copa del Rey semi-final second-leg defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday. Solari’s side have the chance to avenge that defeat and close the nine-point gap to the league leaders when Ernesto Valverde’s side once again travel to the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Bale’s future at the club has been the subject of intense speculation in recent weeks, with the Wales international cutting an increasingly frustrated figure, but Solari is adamant that the forward – alongside other recent absentees Marcelo and Marco Asensio – will play an important role as the season draws to a close....

Before the poll was taken down, Barcelona and Argentina star Lionel Messi had received 48% of the votes while Liverpool’s Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah had received 31% of the votes. The next highest vote-getter was last year’s winner Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Juventus and Portugal) with 8%. In case you didn’t know… France Football had recently announced the final 30-man shortlist for the 2018 Ballon d’Or. The 30 names were announced five at a time and the final list did create a debate on those who were included and those who missed out....

Sergio Aguero (Argentina and Manchester City), Alisson Becker (Brazil and Liverpool), Gareth Bale (Wales and Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France and Real Madrid), Edinson Cavani (Uruguay and Paris Saint-Germain) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal and Juventus), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium and Manchester City), Roberto Firmino (Brazil and Liverpool), Thibaut Courtois (Belgium and Real Madrid), Diego Godin (Uruguay and Atletico Madrid) Antoine Griezmann (France and Atletico Madrid), Eden Hazard (Belgium and Chelsea), Isco (Spain and Real Madrid), Harry Kane (England and Tottenham), N’Golo Kante (France and Chelsea)...

For the first time since Brazil midfielder Kaka won in 2007, a man other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo has been crowned the best male footballer in the world. Indeed, Messi missed out on a top-three place for the first time since 2006. Both superstars remain somewhere close to the peak of their powers and may well find themselves back at the summit 12 months from now. Nevertheless, Modric breaking the Messi-Ronaldo streak means the Ballon d’Or now looks more of a possibility for other players shining at the elite level....

The 27-year-old was overlooked by Luigi Di Biagio despite scoring 14 goals in 19 starts in Ligue 1 this season, with youngsters Federico Chiesa and Patrick Cutrone preferred alongside Ciro Immobile and Lorenzo Insigne. Italy interim boss Di Biagio confirmed he would continue to monitor Balotelli’s form with a view to handing him a call-up this year for the first time since the 2014 World Cup finals. The former Liverpool forward admits he had been hoping to be given a chance this month, however....

MORE: Saturday’s best snapshots | Week 8 scores

The 26-year-old opener was suspended from international and state cricket for nine months after attempting to alter the ball in a Test against South Africa in March. Then-Australian captain Steve Smith and his deputy David Warner were exiled for a year with their suspensions due to run out in late March. “What a journey this has been over the last nine months,” Bancroft wrote on Instagram. “Grateful of where I am and the person I continue to grow to be....

However, something that might be less known about the publisher are its ties with Nintendo. Previously, Bandai Namco has worked with the Nintendo Switch creator on multiple occasions, most notably helping to create some incredibly popular Switch games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Kart 8. The two companies also worked together on a handful of other titles, and it seems they are willing to do so again, as recent job listings show Bandai Namco is hiring for help with a game contracted by Nintendo....

“I didn’t expect them to take this series so lightly,” Mushfiqur told reporters in Mirpur when asked about the Indian squad. Citing the BCCI’s stand to not invite Bangladesh for a home series, he said: “We have a chance to give a reply on the field. There is extra motivation. They haven’t invited us yet so if we do well in this series, it sends a message.” Even though the new Indian side is short on star value, they have capable players to win matches....

West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss and decided to bat first. Kieron Powell and Shai Hope gave the team a steady start adding 29 runs for the opening wicket. Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Powell for 10 runs. At the end of 10 overs, West Indies scored 31 for 1. The Bangladesh bowlers did not allow West Indies batsmen to score runs easily and picked wickets at regular intervals....

Banking, by and large, is a bore for the media. Want to turn off readers and viewers? Just mention risk-adjusted capital ratios. Crisis, on the other hand, is hot stuff. Reporters and editors who were slow to catch on to the savings and loan collapse of the late 1980s and the real-estate crash of the early ’90s are determined not to miss the Next Big One. But recent stories, fed by headline-seeking “experts,” have often been more alarming than illuminating....

Both sides go into their matches with seven wins from their first seven league games and the chance to make it eight wins from eight, something no side has ever done in the history of the Spanish league. Both will be optimistic they can set a new record start to the campaign, reports Xinhua. Fate has dictated that Barca can be the first side to set this new record given that Tata Martino’s side play their home game against Valladolid Saturday night, while Atletico’s match at home to Celta is at mid-day Sunday....

Digne started Les Bleus’ 3-2 defeat to Colombia last week and was an unused substitute for the 3-1 win in Russia on Tuesday. Following tests on Wednesday, the 24-year-old was diagnosed with a problem that will rule him out of both legs of Barca’s Champions League quarter-final against his former club Roma. Digne, who has made 19 appearances in all competitions for Ernesto Valverde’s LaLiga leaders this season, should be back in contention for the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla on April 21 if his recovery runs to schedule....

Ronaldo Araujo saved the blushes with a 90th-minute equalizer to cancel out Domingos Duarte’s early opener. The Portuguese opened the scoring just a minute and 28 seconds into the match, heading home from a Sergio Escudero cross. The Catalans played catch-up ever since, but with little success as they struggled to carve out clear opportunities despite dominating possession and laying more crosses. It was a similarly frustrating tale in the second-half too, as Ronald Koeman’s side just didn’t know how to break open a rigid Granada side....

The usual excitement of the final weeks of the campaign is nowhere to be seen at the Santiago Bernabeu this time around, with a fitful season set to peter out to a third-place LaLiga finish as Los Blancos’ reign as European champions comes to an end. Zidane is back at the helm and seemingly ready to lead an ambitious rebuild after the lack of a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo took a heavy toll upon the brief reigns of Julen Lopetegui and Santiago Solari....

Real Madrid forward Bale made his first appearance in a month in the 2-0 win over Azerbaijan on Saturday, a result that kept alive Wales’ hopes of qualifying automatically for next year’s tournament. Bale, who has been struggling with a calf injury, was replaced in the second half by Juventus midfielder Ramsey, who has been hampered by recent thigh trouble. Giggs expects to be able to have both players in the starting line-up for the first time in their qualifying campaign when they face Hungary in Cardiff, a match in which the winners will secure a place at the Euro 2020 finals....

Bale was an unused substitute as Madrid recorded a 2-1 win over Bayern in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. The Wales international has made just five appearances – three of those starts – in Europe’s premier club competition this season. But Zidane says Bale still has a role to play late in the season for Madrid, although there has been plenty of speculation over the 28-year-old’s future....