Quotes

Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi said that both life and soccer have forever been changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 is responsible for the deaths of 370,000 people worldwide as of Sunday afternoon. It has also wreaked havoc with the sports landscape for much of 2020.

LaLiga, Spain's top-flight soccer league, is set to resume on June 11, albeit without fans in the stands. The first match on the slate will feature the Seville derby between Real Betis and Sevilla.

Valencia has criticized Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini for taking charge of his side's Champions League match against the Spanish side in March despite suffering from symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

Gasperini told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport on Sunday that he felt ill on the day before the last-16 second leg match in Valencia on March 10, which was played without spectators as northern Italy was then the epicenter of the virus in Europe.

He also confirmed he has since tested positive from an antibodies test.

The adidas #hometeam campaign continued today with an exclusive interview with the G.O.A.T. Lionel Messi. Like the rest of the world, Messi’s life has been thrown upside down by the coronavirus with LaLiga suspended since March 12 and the Argentine’s prospective international summer — a Copa América on home soil — delayed until 2021. 

Broadcasters have not been getting "bang for their buck" from Australian soccer in recent years and creative solutions are urgently needed to revitalize the game, former Socceroos defender Craig Moore has told Reuters. 

Moore, who is spearheading the "Golden Generation" group pressing for change in Australian soccer, said COVID-19 had heaped more pressure on administrators already battling to reverse declines in ratings and crowds. 

Premier League clubs will return to training on Tuesday after agreeing to allow "small group" sessions to begin, with a possible return to normal 'contact' training next week. 

The league held a conference call for all 20 clubs on Monday where the move was given unanimous backing but there remains no firm date for the season to resume. Another meeting is scheduled for early next week when the league will decide on whether to move to the second phase which allows for training involving contact. 

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has warned that players will not be ready for competitive action until the end of June as the Premier League looks to restart the season next month. 

The league has been suspended since mid-March but its plans to resume received a boost when the government last week said it was "opening the door" for the sport to return. Another meeting is planned for Monday to discuss safety measures needed for "Project Restart" to happen and Bruce said players need at least six weeks to get back in shape.

UEFA has a plan to finish the 2019-20 season by August, including the Champions League and Europa League campaigns, the European soccer governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin has said. 

The majority of European league seasons were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but a few leagues have announced plans for a restart in the coming weeks. 

The French and Dutch top-flight campaigns have been cancelled but the German Bundesliga restarted on Saturday and Ceferin expects at least 80% of national leagues to finish their seasons. 

Of the four teams that’ve already booked their place in the Champions League quarterfinals, no side is as feared as Paris Saint-Germain. In the UCL, PSG’s remarkable front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Mauro Icardi have combined for 13 goals and six assists in eight games. 

According to midfielder Ander Herrera, having “two of the top five players in the world” in Neymar and Mbappé gives PSG every right to believe they can lift Old Big Ears in Istanbul.