Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
Whatever problems Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba faces off the field, he demonstrated on Wednesday he remains fully focused on the African Nations Cup and is leaving a dispute over his club future strictly to the lawyers.
Argentina's Lionel Messi, still only 25, was named the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth year running on Monday. 
Factbox on four-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi
CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande will face former AFC Champions League winners Urawa Reds from Japan and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors from South Korea in the Group Stage of the 2013 tournament following Thursday's draw in Kuala Lumpur.
Big-spending Paris St Germain, struggling to deliver domestically on a huge investment by Qatari owners, showed they mean business in the Champions League by winning Group A at Porto's expense on Tuesday.
Roberto Mancini predicts tough times ahead - but the Manchester City manager also sees a silver lining in his team's impending exit from the Champions League.
Alex Ferguson predicts a long, hard Premier League title race with champion Manchester City after his Manchester United team opened up a seven-point gap over rival Chelsea.
Rafael Benitez admitted his Chelsea side was in need of a confidence boost after successive scoreless draws in the new manager's opening two Premier games in charge.
Chinese national football team skipper Zheng Zhi hopes his nomination for the 2012 AFC Player of the Year could push forward the development of football in China.
Lionel Messi fired Barcelona into the last 16 of the Champions League with two goals in their 3-0 victory at Spartak Moscow on Tuesday but holders Chelsea are walking a tightrope after a crushing defeat by Juventus.
Juventus' hopes of challenging among Europe's 16 best soccer teams could be decided by its penultimate Group H clash against Champions League holder Chelsea.
Chinese national football team skipper Zheng Zhi has been nominated for the 2012 AFC Player of the Year award, competing for the top individual award of Asian footballer with the other four contenders.
Roberto Mancini believes Manchester City's 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa will count for nothing when it hosts Real Madrid in the Champions League.
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