Messi, Barca's all-time top scorer and appearance maker, technically ended his 21-year association with the club last month and is currently a free agent after his previous contract expired.
* Organisers are relieved and thrilled to be able to stage the 149th British Open this week after the 2020 event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said on Wednesday. The world's leading golfers are gathered at Royal St George's for the year's fourth major starting on Thursday.
* The Russian women's rugby sevens team are isolating for two days in Japan after the team's masseur tested positive for COVID-19, the RIA news agency reported on Wednesday, disrupting the squad's Olympics preparations. The team's general manager, Alexei Gramotnev, said the team will undergo daily tests for two days.
* The chairman of the UK parliament's committee for sports issues has asked the head of England's Football Association for an explanation of the chaotic scenes at Wembley stadium for Sunday's Euro 2020 final. Fans engaged in unruly behaviour outside the ground and later large groups without tickets breached security cordons, attacking staff and charged into the perimeter area of Wembley before the start of Sunday's game, which Italy won in a penalty shootout.
* Italian car maker Alfa Romeo and Swiss-based Sauber announced a multi-year extension of their Formula One partnership on Wednesday. The team has competed under the Alfa Romeo name for the last three seasons after the deal grew from an original title sponsorship of what was Sauber F1.
* England winger Jadon Sancho apologised for missing his penalty during the shootout against Italy in the European Championship final at Wembley but said he was not surprised by the online racist abuse that followed. Substitutes Marcus Rashford, Sancho and Bukayo Saka all missed spot kicks in the 3-2 shootout loss to Italy and the 21-year-old apologised for letting down the team and the fans, saying it was "by far the worst feeling" he had felt in his career.
* Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick's stunning long-range effort against Scotland in the Euro 2020 group stage has been voted the goal of the tournament, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Wednesday. At 45.45m, the Bayer Leverkusen striker's effort was officially the furthest recorded distance from which a goal was scored at the Euros.
* Tadej Pogacar controlled his rivals and extended his overall lead in the Tour de France as the final podium took shape in a gruelling 17th stage won by the defending champion on Wednesday. The Slovenian outsprinted Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard and Ecuador's Richard Carapaz at the top of the lung-busting Col du Portet (16km at 8.7%) for his first mountain-stage win in this year's Tour after being the first attacker in the final climb.
* British men's tennis number one Dan Evans said he will miss the Tokyo Olympics following a positive test for COVID-19 in another blow to Team GB after Johanna Konta also pulled out. Konta, the women's British number one, withdrew on Tuesday having tested positive for COVID-19, two weeks after she pulled out of Wimbledon when a member of her team also contracted the virus.
* The top three finishers in a new Sprint qualifying race that debuts at the British Grand Prix on Saturday (Jul 14) will be awarded old-style laurel wreaths in the absence of any podium celebrations. The 100km Sprint will set the grid for Sunday's grand prix at Silverstone and, although some points will be awarded to the top three, there will be no formal podium to avoid detracting from the main event.
* Bundesliga and second-tier Bundesliga 2 will permit five substitutions per match in the 2021-22 season while away fans will be allowed to attend games from matchday three on Aug. 27 , the German Football League said on Wednesday. The new Bundesliga season begins on Aug. 13 with defending champions Bayern Munich playing away at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
* The postponed Tokyo Olympic Games will create new "stars and legends" despite a one-year delay, fragmented preparations and the absence of fans in the stadiums, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday. Postponed last year due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Games get under way next week, with all spectators banned from the venues of the 33 sports.
* The refugee Olympic team due to compete at the Tokyo Games this month has delayed its arrival to Japan following a positive COVID-19 case by a team official in Qatar, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. Some 26 of the 29 refugees are in a training camp in Qatar and will now remain there along with 10 of the 11 officials.
* Former Liverpool and Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge will train with newly-promoted La Liga team Real Mallorca after being without a club for more than a year. The 31-year-old has been without a club since March 2020 when he terminated his contract with Turkey's Trabzonspor after being banned for four months by the English FA for breaching its betting rules.
