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Ronaldo added to his 2008, 2013 and 2014 awards after a stellar 2016 for club and country, winning the Champions League and Euro 2016 with Real Madrid and Portugal respectively. Messi, a five-time winner of the gong, was unable to add to his haul despite helping Barcelona retain their LaLiga title in 2015-16. Griezmann’s impressive performances with Atletico Madrid and, in particular, France helped him to make the podium, while Messi’s Barca colleagues Luis Suarez and Neymar were fourth and fifth respectively....

The Real Madrid star claims the title for the fifth time in his career, equalling the Barcelona man’s record. Messi took second in Thursday’s award reveal, organised by France Football, while his former team-mate at Barcelona took third. Gianluigi Buffon and Luka Modric complete the top five after another fine year for Juventus and Real Madrid respectively. Check out the top 30 candidates below and tell us if you agree with the rankings!...

A recent report suggested that the Elden Ring does not run at 60 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X in its frame rate mode. The performance is highly unstable, with the quality mode also missing a 30 FPS cap. While there are ways to bypass these issues, it looks like Elden Ring needs further optimization. The game’s PC version is also not without faults, as many users reported severe stuttering, and it currently has a mixed rating on Steam....

The Tigers have a reasonable squad in store for the upcoming BPL edition. But for their opening game, they won’t have the services of veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who’s currently taking part in the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in Pallekele. Soumya Sarkar and Mushfiqur Rahim, two of the stalwarts in the batting department, have to step up. Yasir Ali Chowdhury and Mahedi Hasan have loads of potential as well....

The Black Caps gained total control of the opening match in Hamilton after Kane Williamson’s double century of 200 not out allowed the hosts to post a mammoth 715-6 declared in their first innings. Having been bowled out for 234 batting first, the tourists faced a tough task attempting to delay the inevitable at Seddon Park, where they resumed on 174-4 early on day four. Sarkar and Mahmudullah built impressively on their overnight scores of 39 and 15 respectively, the former playing freely to reach 149 from just 171 deliveries, an uninhibited knock that included 21 fours and five sixes....

The Total Sports Marketing held the rights of the Asia Cup tournament. BCB vice-president and chief of its disciplinary committee A.J.M. Nasir said such a strong action was necessary to “protect the BCB’s image”. The action against Farouq was announced on Saturday at the end of the enquiry conducted by the BCB’s disciplinary committee. Farouq is brother-in-law of the Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam and younger brother of Shaheen Anam, the executive director of Manusher Jonno Foundation....

Hosts Bangladesh were on song in the ODI series, clean-sweeping a second-string Windies side over three matches. Riding on the performances of Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh made a triumphant return to the international scene. But they will need to be at their best once again in the Test format, in which their opponents West Indies have fared slightly better in recent years. Speaking of the Windies, although they are missing some key players, including captain Jason Holder, they still possess a talented side....

The post was shared on Reddit’s 39 million-strong r/funny forum by user Joe, who goes by u/Jahoe, on Tuesday with the caption “My bank told me off.” In the message, a Starling Bank employee told Joe to reconsider using certain words associated with Islamist-inspired terrorism when making payments to his friends. The message read: “Hi Joe, you have recently marked payments, ‘Taliban training,’ ‘Jihad fee’ and ‘ISIS training.’ While we appreciate that you are probably having a joke with your friends, we are obliged to investigate such matters which is time-consuming....

Auma Obama, who is the former president’s half-sister, made the announcement on Twitter on Wednesday morning. “Lost my beloved mother yesterday. I’m numb,” she wrote. Kezia Obama was the first wife of Obama’s father, Barack Obama Sr. He later married Obama’s mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. The 81-year-old was also mother to Malik Obama, Sadik Obama and Mustapha Abo. Kezia Obama was originally from Kenya but relocated to Berkshire in the U....

Critics recently pulled out the term “tonal inconsistency” – an old chestnut in the world of media criticism – in their reviews of Thor: Love and Thunder. Taika Waititi’s Thor sequel mixed dark storylines like Jane Foster dying of cancer and a god-slayer kidnapping children with ludicrous gags like screaming space goats and jealous Asgardian weaponry. But tonal inconsistency isn’t always a bad thing. Barbarian proves that conflicting tones don’t necessarily ruin a movie....

Messi returned to training on Tuesday and was included in the squad for the first-leg match at Camp Nou Stadium, although it was still unclear whether he had fully recovered from a right leg injury. “The most important thing is for the player to tell you that he is ready,” coach Ernesto Valverde said. “Regardless of what the tests show and what the doctors say, if the player doesn’t feel he is ready, you can’t let him play....

The Catalans enjoyed a massive share of possession but largely failed to make it count as Granada took the lead with less than two minutes on the clock. Barcelona were run ragged by the Andalusian press and were unable to create concrete chances in the first half. The second half brought about an astonishing change in approach from Ronald Koeman, with Luuk de Jong replacing Sergi Roberto. Barcelona resorted to a barrage of crosses in the final half-hour of the match and eventually came away with a solitary point....

The Dutchman said the decision was made to keep his players fresh for Wednesday night’s Copa del Rey semifinal against Sevilla. Barcelona started the game without Lionel Messi, Frenkie de Jong, and Pedri - all of whom came on as second-half substitutes. Barcelona were flat in the first half and went into the break trailing 1-0, as Borja Iglesias put Betis ahead at the Estadio Benito Villamarin. However, Messi equalized just two minutes after he came off the bench....

Pique has spent a large portion of the week travelling to Madrid due to the involvement of his company Kosmos in the revamped competition of tennis’ premier international team event. LaLiga leaders Barca make the trip to rock-bottom Leganes on Saturday and Valverde has been speaking with Pique about his extra-curricular activities. “I have talked with him about this issue and I see him as being focused,” head coach Valverde said....

Bale has struggled for form and fitness at Real Madrid this season, prompting suggestions he could leave the Santiago Bernabeu. The forward remains the undisputed main man for Wales, though, and would likely be very much in demand across Europe should he become available in the off-season. “He’s at a fantastic club, he’s won three Champions League [titles], so he’s happy where he is,” Giggs wrote in an article for Sky Sports....

Bale was withdrawn at half-time as Madrid lost 3-1 to Juventus in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final, Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic stoppage-time penalty securing progression for the holders. The Wales star has endured another injury-affected season, starting only 16 La Liga games, and appears to have been usurped by Isco in Zinedine Zidane’s preferred starting line-up. Bale’s early substitution against Juve prompted a fresh round of stories about his future, although the player’s agent Jonathan Barnett claims the speculation is being driven by the Spanish media....

“Thousands of tonnes of lead shot, discharged every year during training by Olympic shooters, pose a threat to birds and mammals and water resources,” said Vernon Thomas, professor emeritus at University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Thomas said the Winter Olympic biathlon now in Sochi Games is not the problem as lead shot is recovered and recycled from targets. The real problem stems from athletes training between the Olympic Games....