Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at a "disrespectful" claim that his only remaining ambition is to win the Ballon d'Or more times than Lionel Messi.

Lionel Messi admitted winning the Copa America with Argentina might have been the determining factor in him claiming the men's Ballon d'Or prize for the seventh time after a turbulent year, as Spain's Alexia Putellas took the women's award.

Syria has hosted the first international basketball tournament on its soil in at least two decades, bringing an Asia region World Cup qualifying game to a packed stadium in the capital Damascus.

The game with Kazakhstan, which Syria lost 81-71, saw the national team play at home before fans for the first time since the civil war disrupted security and upended regular life in the country.

FIFA confirmed dates for the delayed 2021 Club World Cup on Monday, with the Feb. 3-12 tournament in the United Arab Emirates requiring Chelsea to postpone two Premier League games.

The schedule was announced hours before the tournament draw was being made in Zurich.

Dries Mertens scored twice as Napoli beat Lazio 4-0 on Sunday to take the outright lead of Serie A on the night it paid tribute to soccer great Diego Maradona.

As well as Mertens — who has taken over several of Maradona's records at Napoli — Piotr Zieliński and Fabián Ruiz also netted to help Napoli move three points clear of second-place AC Milan, which earlier lost 3-1 at home to Sassuolo.

Revered German coach Ralf Rangnick was hired Monday to lead Manchester United until the end of the season, an appointment that will shake up the playing style and management structure of the Premier League team in its bid to return to the top of the English game.

The 63-year-old Rangnick has left his role as head of sports and development at Russian club Lokomotiv Moscow to take charge of United, which has been managed by former player Michael Carrick since the firing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Nov. 21.

Napoli will pay tribute to Diego Maradona on Sunday when they host Lazio hoping to put two painful and costly consecutive defeats behind them.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says Ralf Rangnick's expected arrival at arch-rivals Manchester United is "not good news for other teams" due to his vast experience and ability to organize teams.

Spain is set to begin its title defense at the Davis Cup Finals without Rafael Nadal, and with all eyes on the teenager touted as his heir.

The 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz will be attracting attention when Spain starts on Friday against Ecuador. Spain is looking to triumph again two years after winning the inaugural edition of the revamped nations' competition.

Karim Benzema and the teams that employ him appear unfazed by his guilty verdict for having played a part in the sex tape blackmail plot against a former France teammate.

Hours after the conviction by a Versailles court on Wednesday, Benzema helped Real Madrid clinch a spot in the Champions League knockout phase for a 25th consecutive season by scoring in a 3-0 win at Sheriff in Moldavia.