Neymar, Memphis Depay and Thiago Silva are among the leading Brazilian footballers protesting against using artificial turf for league matches instead of natural grass.

They all campaigned online with the same message Tuesday highlighting their fear of increased injury risk for players on the artificial surfaces.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti is not buying Manchester City rival Pep Guardiola's suggestion that his own side has only a 1% chance of eliminating Real Madrid in the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday.

Madrid rallied late to win the first leg 3-2 last week in England to seize control ahead of its home match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Rising tennis star João Fonseca finished "an unbelievable week" with a straight sets victory over Francisco Cerúndolo in the Argentina Open final on Sunday to claim his first tour-level title.

The 18-year-old Brazilian, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals last December, beat his Argentine opponent 6-4, 7-6 (1) on clay.

Liverpool continued its charge toward the Premier League title on Sunday with a 2-1 win against Wolverhampton. For Manchester United, it just keeps getting worse after a 1-0 loss at Tottenham.

The fortunes of England's two most successful teams could hardly be more contrasting.

Neymar scored his first goal for Santos since returning to Brazil when he converted a penalty Sunday in a 3-1 win over Sao Paulo-based Água Santa.

Finding the net from the spot in the 14th minute of the Sao Paulo state championship match will provide the 33-year-old star some relief after a tough restart.

Real Madrid once again twisted the knife into Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to compound a troubled season for the English champions and leave them on the brink of an early Champions League exit.

Carlo Ancelotti defended Real Madrid's decision to boycott last year's Ballon d'Or awards ahead of his team's Champions League playoff against Manchester City.

Madrid did not attend October's gala ceremony after Vinicius Junior was beaten to soccer's most prestigious individual prize by City midfielder Rodri.

Marcelo, the former Real Madrid and Brazil left back, announced his retirement on Thursday at the age of 36.

In a video on X, Marcelo said: "My journey as a player ends here, but I still have so much to give to football. Thank you for everything."

Neymar took powerful shots from the edge of the box and ran above his own expectations in 52 minutes on the pitch for Santos on Wednesday in his first game for the Brazilian club since his return last week.

Then he took the opportunity to hit back at his former Al-Hilal coach, Jorge Jesus, who had cast doubts over Neymar's form to play.

Cristiano Ronaldo approaches his 40th birthday with the same confidence and self-esteem as he has always boasted throughout his successful career.

Ronaldo, the former Real Madrid star who now plays in Saudi Arabia, will turn 40 on Wednesday and apparently has no doubt about who should be considered the best football player ever.