Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski have expressed concerns about the lack of rest players will get if plans for a biennial World Cup come to fruition.
FIFA's proposal to host the tournament every two years instead of four has largely been met with scepticism.
Both Paris Saint-Germain forward Mbappe and Bayern Munich striker Lewandowski are not in favour of the change, with the former suggesting that the quality of the spectacle would suffer if the health of players is not taken into account.
"We like to play but it's too much," Mbappe said in Dubai, where he was named men's player of the year at the Globe Soccer Awards. "If people want to see quality, we have to take a break.
"Playing the World Cup every two years would make this competition 'normal' and that shouldn't be the case. The World Cup, the Nations League... we love to play but it's too much.
"If people want to see quality, I think we have to take a break."
Lewandowski echoed the France international's sentiments, stating that the schedule is already congested even without the added burden of an increased number of World Cups.
"We have a lot of games in the year, very dense weeks," Lewandowski said at the same event. "If you want to give the fans something different, you need a break.
"We have to look into the future, if we want to play a World Cup every two years, the level will drop. It's impossible for the body and the mind to perform at the same level."
Lewis Hamilton is relaxing at the ski slopes and doing "fine" after losing out to Max Verstappen in the battle for the Formula One title, his brother Nicolas has said.
Seven-time champion Hamilton was denied a record-breaking eighth title when he was beaten in a controversial finish to the second-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 12.
Mercedes were furious with how race rules were applied in a safety-car situation and challenged the result, believing Hamilton was unfairly denied victory in the race and the championship when Dutchman Verstappen passed him on the last lap.
The crushing blow has led to speculation Hamilton could retire from motor racing, with the 36-year-old and his team left distraught by the outcome.
Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone last week cast doubt on whether Hamilton would return to the sport in 2022, when he is due to partner George Russell for Mercedes.
Since being denied another title, Hamilton has gone quiet on social media and stopped following the select few Instagram accounts that he previously watched.
But Nicolas Hamilton says his superstar brother is merely unwinding with family, saying on livestreaming service Twitch: "Lewis is fine. I think he's just having a bit of a social media break which I don't blame him for.
"Social media can be a very toxic place. But he's cool though. He's fine. Yeah, he's all right. He's watching the kids ski at the moment."
Hamilton also missed out in the F1 team principals' driver of the year vote, coming in second to champion Verstappen.
The result of a poll of team chiefs was revealed on the official F1 website on Monday, with Red Bull star Verstappen top of that particular podium too.
With principals appraising drivers based on the race system, where first place earns 25 points and 10th takes only one, Verstappen scored a total of 213 points, with Hamilton scoring 192 in second place.
Team principals' driver of the year result: 1. Max Verstappen 213, 2. Lewis Hamilton 192, 3. Lando Norris 110, 4. Carlos Sainz 85, 5. Charles Leclerc 70, 6. Fernando Alonso 69, 7. Pierre Gasly 64, 8. George Russell 44, 9. Valtteri Bottas 43, 10. Esteban Ocon 41.
Jayson Tatum has entered NBA health and safety protocols and will miss the Boston Celtics' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
Tatum joins eight fellow Celtics players on the list after 13 were sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols recently.
Players must wait 10 days or return two negative COVID-19 tests within 24 hours of each other before they are allowed to return to action.
Tatum contracted COVID-19 in January and was out of action for a short period before returning, when he explained he was suffering long-term effects of having the virus, requiring an inhaler for some time.
The forward leads the Celtics in scoring (25.6) and rebounds (8.6 – level with Robert Williams) per game and is also averaging 3.8 assists and 1.0 steals in a strong season for the 23-year-old.
His absence for the Timberwolves game was announced by the Celtics on their official Twitter page.
The Celtics are ninth in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-17 and have lost six of their last nine games ahead of their clash with the Timberwolves, who are ninth themselves in the Western Conference.
Lyon were expelled from the Coupe de France on Monday, paying the price for crowd trouble that caused their last-64 tie at Paris FC to be abandoned.
Paris FC were also banished from the competition and served with a five-game stadium closure, while Lyon's supporters have been banned from travelling to all domestic away games for the rest of the season.
The December 17 tie between the sides was called off at half-time as fans clashed at the Charlety stadium. Supporters appeared to be fighting in the stands and several flares were thrown before a number of fans made their way onto the pitch.
Lyon declared they would look to identify the individuals responsible and serve them with lifetime stadium bans, and the French Football Federation (FFF) has now handed down severe punishments to both clubs. The winner of the game had been due to play Nice in the next round.
An FFF disciplinary commission met on Monday and decided both teams should be ruled to have lost the match, imposing the stadium ban and a fine of €10,000 on Paris FC.
The FFF stated that Lyon fans would be banned from attending away games until the end of the 2021-22 campaign, in "a sanction that applies to all competitions organised by the FFF and the LFP [Ligue de Football Professionnel] in which the first team is involved".
Lyon have also received a suspended ban from next year's Coupe de France, which could be imposed in the event of supporters causing trouble again. On top of that, the Ligue 1 club were fined €52,000 and ordered to meet the costs of repairing seats damaged by their supporters at Charlety.
It was the second time a recent game involving Lyon has had to be ended prematurely, with their Ligue 1 encounter at home to Marseille on November 21 also abandoned after a spectator threw a bottle that struck Dimitri Payet inside the opening five minutes. That led to Lyon being docked a point as punishment.
Lyon have been usurped by Paris Saint-Germain as France's leading team in the past decade. Beginning in 2001-02, Lyon won seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles. They finished fourth last season and sit 13th this term, in a congested mid-table.
Paris FC, a club living in PSG's shadows, are third in Ligue 2.
Marcus Harris said "it's about trusting what I do" after going some way to silencing his doubters on day two of the third Ashes Test against England.
The opening batsman went into the contest at the MCG with a best effort of 23 from four innings, but top scored with 76 – the only Australian to make more than 40 in the first innings.
It proved a particularly good knock in the context of a day that saw Australia restricted to 267 having bowled England out for 185 on day one, before dominating the final hour to have the tourists 31-4 and still 51 runs in arrears.
Harris was thrilled to play his part on his home ground and prove a few people wrong in the process.
"It was good to spend a bit of time in the middle today. I had a bit of a battle in the first couple of Tests but it was good to be home and play on a familiar wicket," he told ABC Radio.
"There's a lot of media around but the support I've had from within and my close circle of people has been unbelievable. It's about trusting what I do."
James Anderson had starred with the ball for England, taking 4-33 to give the visitors an opportunity to get back into the game.
But Mitchell Starc (2-11) and Scott Boland (2-1) combined to have Zak Crawley (5), Dawid Malan (0), Haseeb Hameed (7) and nightwatchman Jack Leach (0) dismissed in a devastating final hour, much to the delight of the Melbourne crowd.
Harris added: "The way the wicket is, the amount of grass, there's always something in it for the bowlers.
"Jimmy Anderson bowled unbelievably, as did our bowlers in the end."
James Anderson rued England's disappointing final hour after the tourists had worked hard to fight their way back into the third Ashes Test against Australia on day two.
Having been bowled on for 185, England's star paceman Anderson led the way with 4-33 to restrict Australia to 267 all out and a first-innings lead of 82 at the MCG.
But a woeful last hour amid familiar failings with the bat saw England close on 31-4, still trailing by 51 runs as Australia moved ever closer to sealing the series.
"It's obviously a disappointing finish to the day, I thought we bowled well through the day to keep the pressure on Australia," England's all-time leading wicket taker Anderson told BT Sport.
"It wasn't easy to bowl them out for less than 300 on that wicket but it was a good effort to do so.
"It was a difficult 12 overs, good spell from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, they're world-class bowlers so you expect that. It was disappointing to lose four wickets in those 12 overs."
England looked set to enjoy their best day of a poor series so far until Starc (2-11) and home favourite Scott Boland (2-1) combined to have Zak Crawley (5), Dawid Malan (0), Haseeb Hameed (7) and nightwatchman Jack Leach (0) dismissed, much to the delight of the Melbourne crowd.
Anderson, though, insists there is plenty of unity within England's camp.
"It's been a frustrating tour so far full stop. We are working hard and trying to put things right and trying to put in better performances," he added.
"I thought we did that with the ball, we hit our areas with the ball but it was a frustrating end to the day.
"We are together as a group. We have a really good group of guys. We know how hard the batters are working and as bowlers we are doing the same.
"The cohesion is definitely there it's just frustrating we are not putting the two things together at the same time."
Australia took four late wickets amid a devastating spell with the ball to grab a stronghold on their way to sealing the Ashes after England had fought back on day two of the third Test at the MCG.
Mitchell Starc claimed the scalps of Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan in successive balls before Victorian debutant Scott Boland had Haseeb Hameed caught behind and bowled Jack Leach to leave the visitors reeling.
England were 31-4 at stumps, trailing by 51 runs as Australia, who lead the series 2-0, look to clinch the Ashes in Melbourne. Joe Root (12*) and Ben Stokes (2*) will resume at the crease on day three.
The visitors had rallied to keep the Boxing Day Test alive, having dismissed Australia for 267 led by veteran James Anderson with 4-33.
All this after drama forced the resumption of play to be delayed after a coronavirus scare within the England camp, before all the players were cleared for an 11am local start.
Australia had resumed at 61-1 after England were all out for 185 on the first day. Marcus Harris resumed at the crease and top scored with 76 on his home deck.
England had made good inroads into the Australia batting order at 110-4, dismissing number one Test batsman Marnus Labuschagne for 1 and vice-captain Steve Smith for 16 from Chris Wood (71-2) and Anderson respectively.
Harris was the only Australian to score more than 40, with Travis Head (27) getting a start before falling to Ollie Robinson (64-2), who had a hamstring scare but played on.
England appeared set for a nominal first-innings deficit before a late cameo from Starc (24*) and captain Pat Cummins (21) opened up an 82-run lead.
However, Australia turned the game in a stunning final 45 minutes with Cummins almost having Crawley caught behind for a duck when Alex Carey botched a chance, before the English opener went in the next over to Starc (11-2).
Starc trapped Malan lbw next ball despite a review, before Boland was introduced to the attack, having Hameed caught by Carey before clean bowling Leach two balls later.
Starc misses rare Boxing Day hat-trick
Starc almost claimed the first Boxing Day Test Ashes hat-trick since Shane Warne in 1994 when he dismissed Crawley and Malan in successive deliveries. England skipper Root survived a close call on the hat-trick ball which had the MCG crowd on their feet as it whizzed past the bat.
Local hero fires up crowd
Local debutant Boland only managed one wicket in the first innings but received great support from his home crowd during his brief batting innings before a double strike with his only over after being thrown the ball late in the day.
The Los Angeles Clippers have confirmed All-Star Paul George will be out of action for three to four weeks with an elbow the injury.
George suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will need to rest the injury prior to a re-evaluation in the next three to four weeks.
The Clippers, who made last season's Conference semi-finals, are 17-16 this season having been without Kawhi Leonard all campaign.
George hurt his elbow earlier this month before missing five games, but returned on December 20 against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Clippers lost 103-100 to the Denver Nuggets without George on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Clippers have confirmed All-Star Paul George will be out of action for three to four weeks with an elbow injury.
George suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will need to rest the injury prior to a re-evaluation in the next three to four weeks.
The Clippers, who made last season's Conference semi-finals, are 17-16 this season having been without two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard all campaign.
George hurt his elbow earlier this month before missing five games, but returned on December 20 against the San Antonio Spurs.
The Clippers lost 103-100 to the Denver Nuggets without George on Sunday.
The Philadelphia 76ers moved above .500 as Joel Embiid scored 36 points with 13 rebounds in a 117-96 win over the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
The 76ers center was the dominant player on court, but also involved in a spat with Montrezl Harrell, which saw the latter ejected after a second technical foul in the third quarter.
Embiid had good support from Tobias Harris (23 points, seven rebounds, three assists) and Seth Curry (11 points with three triples, five rebounds, nine assists).
The Wizards had held a six-point quarter-time lead but the 76ers responded with excellent second and third periods, totalling 67-41 to take control of the game.
Jokic double-double leads Nugs past Clippers
Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Clippers 103-100 in a thriller with the Serbian center finishing with 26 points, 22 rebounds and eight assists. Youngster Brandon Boston Jr, who had 18 points, missed a three-point attempt on the buzzer to force over-time. Jokic becomes the first player to record 25 or more points, 20 or more rebounds and five or more assists in back-to-back games since Charles Barkley in 1988.
Veteran Kevin Love scored 22 points making six-of-nine from beyond the arc, with nine rebounds from 18 minutes on court as the Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed the Toronto Raptors 144-99 to improve to 20-13. The 45-point win was the Cavs' largest margin since 1991, when they had a franchise-best 68-point win over the Miami Heat.
Zach LaVine scored 32 points including five three-pointers while DeMar DeRozan added 24 points as the Chicago Bulls got past the Indiana Pacers 113-105.
Morant still finding his feet
Ja Morant continues to adjust after returning from injury, shooting eight-of-18 from the field including zero-of-three from three-point range while having four turnovers in the Memphis Grizzlies' 127-102 win over the Sacramento Kings. Morant did finish with 18 points and nine assists.
Lonzo Ball joined the long list of Chicago Bulls players to enter the NBA's health and safety protocols ahead of Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers.
Ball will not face the Pacers and the guard faces at least 10 days out of action unless he records two negative COVID-19 tests.
The 24-year-old is the 13th man on the Bulls roster to enter the protocols this month.
Three of Chicago's matches have been postponed in December due to the squad being so severely depleted.
Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan have since been given the green light to return, while Ayo Dosunmu, Matt Thomas, Alize Johnson, Devon Dotson, Coby White and Javonte Green have also cleared protocols.
Tony Bradley, Alfonzo McKinnie, coach Billy Donovan and now Ball are absent.
England suffered a coronavirus scare ahead of day two of the third Ashes Test against Australia at the MCG.
The players and management were forced to remain at their hotel after a positive COVID-19 test was recorded within the team's family group.
Players and staff had to await the results of their own coronavirus tests before eventually being given the all-clear to head to the stadium.
England, who trail the series 2-0, were bowled out for 185 on day one after Australia won the toss and put the tourists in.
Australia will resume on 61-1 after James Anderson accounted for David Warner (38) before the close of play on day one.
Pat Cummins need only to avoid defeat in Melbourne to retain the Ashes after one-sided victories in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Stephen Curry hailed the Golden State Warriors' win against the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day as "huge" given the number of players missing.
Against a comparatively healthy Suns squad, the Warriors were without Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Damion Lee and Moses Moody (health and safety protocols), along with several assistant coaches, and Andre Iguodala (knee), Klay Thompson (Achilles/ACL) and James Wiseman (meniscus) still out with injury.
Curry was available but has previously struggled on Christmas, averaging just 13.1 points in his eight career games on the festive day. That ranked as his worst average points haul on any date he has played on more than twice.
However, the Warriors' star guard excelled against the Suns on Saturday, achieving a game-high 33 points in the 116-107 win.
Otto Porter Jr also impressed in a rare start for Golden State, with a late flurry helping to see his team home as 13 of his 19 points came in the fourth quarter, making several clutch shots.
Speaking after the game, Curry said: "It's nice to win on Christmas, nice to win on the road against the best record in the league, short-handed. All the other context of the situation, a huge win.
"Everybody stepped up. It was a great atmosphere. Just toughed it out at the end, and obviously, Otto took over down the stretch, so that was huge all the way around."
Steve Kerr's Warriors now move half a game ahead of the Suns, with a league-best 27-6 record.
Kerr was delighted with the showing from his depleted side, making special mention of how Curry rose to the occasion despite being one of their only star men available.
"Steph was amazing," he said. "Facing that defense with so much attention on him, missing three of our best shooters, for him to see that type of defense and find his way to 33 points - he was a plus-24 - so even when he was not making shots, he was still impacting the game just by pulling the defense over towards him.
"Steph was brilliant, so was Draymond [Green]. I thought [Kevon] Looney did a hell of a job, as well, so it was a great team win."
Antonio Rudiger could be on his way to Real Madrid at the end of the season.
With his Chelsea contract due to expire, Rudiger may have his choice of elite clubs.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel called for "a bit of patience" earlier this month, with the Premier League giants keen to retain the German defender.
TOP STORY – REAL STARS READY TO WELCOME RUDIGER
The Santiago Bernabeu increasingly looks the likely next destination for Rudiger, according to the Telegraph.
The newspaper says Madrid's players are expecting Rudiger to arrive in the close season and bolster Carlo Ancelotti's defence.
That would be a big blow to Chelsea, should the centre-back move on, given Rudiger has started more games this season (23) than any other Blues defender.
He has a decent tackle success rate of 66.67 per cent, has won 50 out of 68 aerial battles, and has weighed in with two goals from his position on the left side of a back three.
ROUND-UP
- Brazilian giants Corinthians have previously been said to fancy Edinson Cavani, whose Manchester United contract runs to the end of this campaign. If they cannot secure him, with Barcelona also said to be keen, UOL Esporte reports Corinthians could turn their focus to Cavani's Uruguayan compatriot Luis Suarez, now at Atletico Madrid.
- Bayern Munich could launch a shock move for Leeds United's Brazilian star Raphinha in January, reports TNT Sports. The Brazilian broadcaster says a €50million deal could be in the offing, with Raphinha reportedly targeted as a replacement for Kingsley Coman.
- In Serie A, fourth-placed Atalanta are said to be close to landing a long-term target. Sky Sport Italia reports they are poised to announce the signing of Sassuolo's Ivory Coast winger Jeremie Boga, who began his professional career at Chelsea.
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