Kansas City Royals star Salvador Perez has signed a record four-year contract extension, the MLB franchise announced.

Perez's new deal with the Royals is reportedly worth a franchise-record $82million, surpassing Alex Gordon's $72m contract in 2014.

The contract extension for the six-time All-Star catcher and World Series champion – one of the league's premier players in his position and a franchise favourite – will begin in the 2022 season.

It comes after Perez was named the American League (AL) Comeback Player of the Year in 2020, having missed the entire 2019 campaign due to Tommy John surgery.

Perez hit .333 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs over 37 games last season.

"I feel so happy and excited that I'm going to stay here for a long time, for four or five more years, and hopefully I can end my career here," said the 30-year-old, who has called Kansas City home since debuting for the Royals in 2011.

"I love the people here, I love the fans. I'm excited. I can't wait for the season to start and to see what happens."

Perez guided the Royals to their second World Series crown in 2015 and first in 30 years, winning the MVP as a result after Kansas City beat the New York Mets 4-1.

The Venezuelan hit .364 with two doubles and two RBIs in five games in the 2015 World Series.

Perez – a five-time Gold Glove Award winner and three-time Silver Slugger – has 138 career home runs as a catcher – third in the league among active players, only trailing Yadier Molina (158) and Matt Wieters (140).

He ranks seventh in Royals history in homers (152), ninth in extra-base hits (351), 10th in RBIs (535) and total bases (1,657) and tied for 10th in slugging percentage (.449).

"I don't ever want to retire from baseball," Perez said. "Never. I don't even think about that.

"I'm going to play, I told Dayton [Moore] the other day, until God comes down and tells me, 'Salvy, go home'. I love baseball. I believe in myself, and this isn't going to be the last one."

Blake Griffin showed he can still dunk in the NBA after capping his Brooklyn Nets debut with his first slam since 2019.

Not since December 2019 had Griffin dunked in the league – the six-time All-Star enduring a 25-game drought amid knee problems.

But Griffin ended the wait in his bow for the Nets in Sunday's 113-106 win over the Washington Wizards, scoring his first points on a dunk at the start of the fourth quarter.

"I knew once it happened, I know it would be a thing," Griffin said of his dunk, having finished with two points and two rebounds in 15 minutes as he works his way back to full fitness.

"It felt good to get that out of the way and move on."

Griffin joined James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the star-studded Nets after agreeing a contract buyout with the Detroit Pistons earlier in March.

The 32-year-old had last played on February 12 while he was still a member of the Pistons organisation.

Griffin played in 20 games for Detroit this season and averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Charlotte Hornets star and NBA Rookie of the Year favourite LaMelo Ball will spend an indefinite spell on the sidelines after fracturing his right wrist.

Ball is reportedly set to miss the remainder of his first season in the league following an MRI scan on Sunday, which revealed a fractured bone.

The 19-year-old rookie sensation will be further evaluated after hurting his wrist in Saturday's 125-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ball has taken the NBA by storm since being drafted by the Hornets with the third pick last year.

He has been averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.59 steals (seventh in the NBA) per game this season.

Among rookie leaders, Ball ranks first in assists and steals, second in scoring and is tied for second in rebounds.

Ball is the only player over the last 60 years to lead all rookies in total points, rebounds, assists and steals at the All-Star Break.

Last month, Ball joined Stephen Curry (2010) and Jason Kidd (1995) as the only rookies with seven-plus threes and 10-plus assists in a game and is the youngest to do so.

Ball also became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double in January.

Canadian teenager Leylah Fernandez celebrated her maiden WTA Tour title after winning the Monterrey Open in straight sets.

Fernandez broke through with a comfortable 6-1 6-4 victory over qualifier Viktorija Golubic on Sunday.

Featuring in her second WTA final after losing last year's Mexican Open in Acapulco, the 18-year-old Fernandez ensured she got her hands on the trophy this time.

Fernandez did not drop a set throughout the WTA International tournament, easing past her Swiss opponent in one-and-a-half hours.

Massimiliano Allegri did not rule out a Juventus return as the Italian head coach revealed his interest in working in the Premier League and LaLiga.

Doubts have emerged regarding rookie head coach Andrea Pirlo following Juve's shock 1-0 loss at home to Benevento in Serie A on Sunday.

Having already crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16, Juve's season hit a new low after they were upstaged by the lowly visitors.

The latest defeat left nine-time reigning Serie A champions Juve fourth in the standings and 10 points adrift of leaders Inter.

Allegri departed Juve at the end of the triumphant 2018-19 season, which saw him secure a fifth successive Scudetto in Turin.

Asked if he could potentially return to Juve in the future, Allegri – who has been linked with Premier League side Leeds United – told Sky Sport Italia: "It's impossible to tell, besides, Andrea Pirlo is there now and in my view he's doing well.

"I don't know what Juve are missing. They are in the Coppa Italia Final, won the Supercoppa, are fighting for the top four. The Champions League is a bit of a lottery, it can turn on a sixpence."

Allegri, who revealed he turned down LaLiga giants Real Madrid three years ago, added: "Right now I don't really know anything. 

"The charm of England and Spain are there, but I would also be happy to stay in Italy."

Roma and Napoli have also emerged as possible destinations for Allegri amid pressure on Paulo Fonseca and Gennaro Gattuso.

"Naples or Rome? I don't know anything yet," the 53-year-old said. "I haven't talked in a while, when I'm not coaching I don't watch many games because I'm bored."

Allegri coached Cristiano Ronaldo during his time at Juventus and he was asked about the five-time Ballon d'Or.

Ronaldo – linked with former clubs Madrid and Manchester United – surpassed Pele's record after scoring 770 career goals courtesy of his hat-trick against Cagliari on March 14.

The 36-year-old tops the Serie A's goalscoring charts with 23, ahead of Inter star Romelu Lukaku (19).

"Ronaldo too is human and can make mistakes, but there are few who can shake off a defender and run at the goal like him," Allegri added.

"Cristiano's strength is that he has this mind that is programmed to win. He won five Ballon d'Or trophies, the Champions League, so many titles, yet he is there giving himself new motivation every single day.

"It's also natural that those who play alongside him must understand the space that he leaves has to be filled by the other guy.

"Poor Mario Mandzukic, playing with Cristiano Ronaldo, he ran more in that year than his entire career… I love Mandzukic, he's a fantastic player."

Asked to compare Ronaldo and Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, Allegri said: "They are two very different players. I'd say one is greater, the other is better."

Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic insisted there is no rush over a new deal at San Siro after inspiring the Scudetto hopefuls in Serie A on Sunday.

Ibrahimovic was on target as Milan kept their title hopes alive with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory at Fiorentina.

The 39-year-old – who has rejuvenated Milan since returning in January 2020 – is out of contract at the end of the season and the evergreen forward is yet to extend his deal.

Asked about his future post-game in Florence, Ibrahimovic told Sky Sport Italia: "I want to see what I do on the pitch and prove that I deserve a renewal!

"It's all under control, we have a good rapport and we'll see what happens. There's no rush."

Ibrahimovic opened the scoring in the ninth minute before two unanswered goals from Erick Pulgar and Frank Ribery put Fiorentina 2-1 ahead six minutes into the second half.

Milan hit back through Brahim Diaz and Hakan Calhanoglu to move within six points of leaders and city rivals Inter, who have a game in hand.

Aged 39 years and 169 days, Ibrahimovic became the oldest player in Serie A history to score 15 goals in a single season.

Ibrahimovic is also the first Milan player to score 15-plus goals in his first 15 appearances in a single Serie A season in the three points per win era (since 1994-95), while he is the fifth foreigner to do so since 1994-95.

"No, let's not talk about my age! I feel like Benjamin Button, the more time goes on, the more I feel young," said Ibrahimovic, who has 17 goals across all competitions this season.

Milan returned to winning ways following their Europa League last-16 exit at the hands of Manchester United on Thursday, and Ibrahimovic – who is back in the Sweden national team after retiring in 2016 – added: "After a defeat and going out of the Europa League, now we have the Scudetto to fight for. A comeback like this was very important.

"We had spirit, mentality, we were 2-1 down, but we wanted to win at all costs. We showed the character of this team and we must continue like this.

"I am taking on my responsibility to help this team any way I can, on and off the field. The team reacted well, this is an intense period of the season and now some have a break. Some don't."

Kylian Mbappe made it clear he is a long way from the finished article after scoring his 100th goal in Ligue 1 as Paris Saint-Germain went top with a 4-2 win at Lyon.

Mbappe opened and rounded off the scoring for PSG as they took advantage of Lille's shock home defeat to Nimes to move to the summit on goal difference, Danilo Pereira and Angel Di Maria also on target for the defending champions.

Lyon salvaged some pride with goals from Islam Slimani and Maxwel Cornet, which came either side of an injury for Mbappe that forced an early exit.

It did not appear a serious blow to the France star, who has been selected for Les Bleus' World Cup qualifiers as the domestic season pauses for an international break, as Mbappe was pictured smiling in the dugout shortly after.

Mbappe has plenty of reason to smile, having become the youngest player to bring up a century of goals in Ligue 1, doing so with his second of the evening when he latched on to a superb pass from Marco Verratti and swept past Anthony Lopes.

He achieved the feat at the age of 22 years, three months and one day. Saint-Etienne's Herve Revelli had been the youngest to three figures, also reaching that landmark against Lyon in 1969 at 23 years and five months old.

But Mbappe was keen to emphasise the bigger picture, seeing the milestone as just another step in his journey while expressing his pleasure at atoning for a misplaced pass that allowed Randal Kolo Muani to equalise in PSG's 2-1 loss to Nantes in their previous league fixture.

"It was a good date to score my 100th goal," Mbappe told Canal Plus. "After my pass to Kolo Muani against Nantes, I had to react well.

"What am I thinking of when I score the 100th? About the win, because I know we won after that.

"And that's another step in my career, and it's part of history. One hundred goals, that's good, the road continues. I still have a lot of years ahead of me to perfect myself.

"We had a good game, we won and we took back first place. We will make sure not to leave it anymore.

"Did the Lille result have an impact on our performance? Yes, a bit. But we came here to win.

"We had checked that date in the calendar, we knew it was an important moment in the championship. We knew they often got us in trouble. But we came with convictions and we put personality into it."

Asked about the influence of Mauricio Pochettino, who took over from Thomas Tuchel in January, Mbappe replied: "We changed the system with him. Each coach came with his philosophy. He came up with another game plan. It's starting to show little by little."

Matt Jones eased to victory at The Honda Classic by five strokes for his first PGA Tour title in seven years.

Not since the 2014 Houston Open had Jones won on the PGA Tour, but the unheralded Australian golfer ended his agonising drought on Sunday.

Jones carded a final-round 68 to reach 12 under overall and tie the largest margin of victory at The Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The 40-year-old mixed five birdies with three bogeys as he claimed his second Tour title after taming PGA National, while booking a spot at next month's Masters.

"I've had some tough times between that and now," a tearful Jones said after finishing ahead of Brandon Hagy. "It's pretty emotional… seven years.

"I just worked hard, working out with my coach back in Australia and it's paid off.

"It was probably the calmest I've been at a golf tournament for four straight days. You can't get a tougher golf course to win on than this one, in these conditions.

"To be able to do that is something that I can build on for the rest of the year hopefully."

Hagy's runner-up finish capped a memorable week for the 30-year-old California native, who closed out the tournament with a four-under-par 66.

The American entered the field on Wednesday as second-to-last alternate when Kramer Hickok withdrew and then shot a career-low 62 on Friday.

Hagy secured his first top-two finish and second career top-10 performance in his 81st start on Tour.

Chase Seiffert (64), Brendan Steele (65), Denny McCarthy (67), Russell Henley (68) and C.T. Pan were tied for third, six shots adrift of Jones.

Defending champion Im Sung-jae posted a 70 in the final round to finish seven strokes off the pace.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was delighted to mark his 58th birthday with an "incredible" 6-1 LaLiga thrashing of Real Sociedad.

The Catalans closed back to within four points of league leaders Atletico Madrid on Sunday with arguably their finest performance under Koeman.

Two goals each from Sergino Dest and Lionel Messi – who made a record 768th appearance for the club – and further strikes from Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele secured an emphatic victory, Barca's ninth in a row in the top flight.

Koeman, who was thrilled to see the goals spread out among four players and not only come from his captain, was proud at the way Barca made life so uncomfortable for their hosts.

"Without a doubt, it's the best present they could have given me," said Koeman. "I'm also happy for Griezmann and [Jordi] Alba, who've had their birthdays, and who played a great game.

"Scoring six goals at Real Sociedad is incredible. They tried to press us but, when they saw they couldn't, they took a step back.

"The first goal made us very calm and the second was almost decisive. We gave a really good impression of ourselves. We pressed really well without the ball and we were very effective.

"There's a long way to go. It won't be decided yet. Atletico are strong, but you saw against Alaves that it's not easy to win a game. Real Madrid are also in the fight; we can't forget them.

"We leave with a great result and a demonstration that we're going to go for everything. It's important that it's not just Messi scoring the goals because that makes it more difficult to defend against us."

Barca head into the international break trailing Atletico by 10 points after Diego Simeone's side claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win over Deportivo Alaves.

The Blaugrana look the sharpest of the big three in Spain at present and Koeman thinks they have improved significantly in recent weeks.

"I can't say we're not going to lose any game from here until the rest of the season, but it's clear that we're on a good path. We're very strong mentally and physically," he said.

"We've had many difficulties since the start of the season. We've changed things; any team needs time to learn. We've had some ups and downs in LaLiga, with defensive mistakes and a lack of effectiveness. But it's obvious the team has moved on."

Diego Simeone paid tribute to Luis Suarez and Jan Oblak for their crucial roles in Atletico Madrid's slender 1-0 win over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.

Suarez opened the scoring just after half-time with a glancing header, the Uruguayan converting for the 500th time in his professional career.

For a moment it looked as though his goal would not be enough to secure victory, as Stefan Savic was penalised late on for catching Luis Rioja with a flailing elbow in the penalty area.

However, Oblak threw himself to his right to turn Joselu's spot-kick away and Atletico held on for an unconvincing triumph.

Simeone saluted the decisiveness of his two main men on the day and insisted the team's attitude has been exemplary in the wake of Champions League disappointment at the hands of Chelsea in midweek.

"As happens in great teams, there is always one that scores a lot of goals and another that saves a lot of goals, and a team that competes accordingly," he said.

"It usually happens a lot in big teams, having decisive players who give the team's overall work a boost."

He added: "Beyond the elimination in the Champions League the other day, the group's work has been extraordinary. There is always an intention, an availability, a commitment.

"In the first half we had control of the ball but we weren't incisive, we didn't create goal situations to break the deadlock. They closed us off very well.

"Each time the competition progresses, the matches will be tougher, more difficult, we are seeing it in all stadiums. The differences are minimal.

"In the second half we put into practice what we talked about. We accelerated, we had more people in the area to finish, and a great goal came.

"From then on it was the best moment of the game, until the 77th minute when we had three important occasions.

"The penalty – you try to stop it. I'm very happy for Jan. It [the penalty save] generates three very important points for the team."

The victory means Atletico stayed four points ahead of second-place Barcelona, who thrashed Real Sociedad 6-1.

Kylian Mbappe reached 100 Ligue 1 goals but suffered an injury as Paris Saint-Germain surged to the top of the table with a 4-2 win at fellow title challengers Lyon.

The defending champions went into the game knowing they could overhaul Lille at the summit with a victory following Les Dogues' shock 2-1 home loss to Nimes earlier on Sunday.

And they made no mistake in taking advantage of that slip-up, the instrumental Mbappe opening the scoring in the 15th minute and Danilo Pereira doubling the lead 17 minutes later.

Angel Di Maria, whose house was burgled during PSG's defeat to Nantes last week, made it 3-0 shortly after the restart before Mbappe brought up his hundred at the end of a rapid counter-attack.

Mbappe limped off in the second half and was replaced by the returning Neymar in between consolation goals from Islam Slimani and Maxwel Cornet, putting the France star's participation in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers in question.

PSG should have been ahead in the sixth minute following tremendous work down the left from Mbappe, who outpaced a pair of defenders and produced a pinpoint cross only to see Moise Kean shoot straight at Anthony Lopes.

Mbappe took it upon himself to do what Kean could not, beating Lopes by rifling through his legs at the near post after the Lyon goalkeeper could only parry Marco Verratti's shot.

Kean forced Lopes into action again with an effort from the edge of the box and Angel Di Maria blazed over after a perfectly weighted pass from Mbappe.

But the second that PSG's dominant start warranted arrived in superb fashion.

Lyon failed to clear a corner and Marquinhos met Presnel Kimpembe's chipped pass with a cushioned header down into the path of Danilo, who rattled a first-time effort into the bottom-left corner.

And the hosts were given a mountain to climb a minute and 45 seconds into the second half as Di Maria's inswinging free-kick found its way through a mass of bodies in the box and beyond a stricken Lopes.

Fewer than five minutes later Mbappe moved into three figures in typical fashion, racing on to Verratti's delicate ball over the top and dispatching in confident fashion.

Substitute Slimani reduced the arrears with a fierce strike from outside the area and, after Neymar took Mbappe's place in attack, Cornet capitalised on some slack PSG defending to make the finish more nervous than it had any right to be.

Sergino Dest scored his first goals for Barcelona on a landmark outing for Lionel Messi as the Catalans thrashed Real Sociedad 6-1 to move back to within four points of LaLiga leaders Atletico Madrid.

The United States international netted in each half after Antoine Griezmann had broken the deadlock against his former club on Sunday.

Messi marked a club-record 768th appearance in all competitions with Barca's fourth and sixth goals either side of a superb fifth from Ousmane Dembele, capping a resounding victory for Ronald Koeman's men on the road, with Ander Barrenetxea grabbing the hosts' consolation. 

Barca's most impressive league win of the season lifted them back into second place behind Atleti, who earlier beat Deportivo Alaves, and means they head into the international break on an eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions.

La Real posed an early threat on the break, Marc-Andre ter Stegen making a solid block to deny Alexander Isak, but they fell behind 37 minutes in courtesy of their former star.

Ousmane Dembele should have buried Jordi Alba's cross but, after Alex Remiro's save, Griezmann pounced to blast the ball home.

Barca doubled their lead two minutes before half-time, Dest producing a confident low finish after a clever turn and slide-rule pass from Messi, all after Ter Stegen had produced another fine stop following a loose goal kick.

Any hope of a Sociedad comeback was lost seven minutes into the second half, Alba surging into the box and crossing for Dest to prod in a surprise second goal.

There was less of a shock about the scorer of Barca's fourth, Messi lifting a composed finish over Remiro following a fine ball over the top from Sergio Busquets.

Dembele had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside but was not to be denied a second time, the France winger waltzing his way into the penalty area before drilling a low finish past Remiro.

The home side did at least get off the mark, substitute Barrenetxea powering an unstoppable effort beyond Ter Stegen from the edge of the box, but Messi completed the rout with a neat near-post finish after a fine move involving Alba and Riqui Puig.

What does it mean? LaLiga pauses as title race heats up

Barca have now won nine consecutive away games in LaLiga, the third best such streak in their history, while they are unbeaten in 10 league meetings with La Real.

More importantly, they have gone back into second in the table, two points above Real Madrid and four behind Atletico with 10 games remaining.

Imanol's men stay fifth, with a 10-point gap to the top four making their Champions League aspirations look a little forlorn.

Messi makes his mark on another momentous day

Dest may have been the unlikely goalscoring hero but Messi was again integral on the occasion of another career milestone.

His pass for the full-back's first goal was superb and his own finishes equally composed as he reached 23 in LaLiga for the season.

A Real concern

Sociedad had responded quite well to losing 4-0 at home to Manchester United a month ago, beating Alaves and Levante and drawing away against Real Madrid and the Red Devils, conceding just once in that run.

However, back-to-back league losses to Granada and Barca may well have put paid to their top-four aspirations and they will need to recharge during the break ahead of their Copa del Rey final. 

What's next?

Barca return from the international break at home to Real Valladolid on April 5. Sociedad, meanwhile, will now prepare for the rearranged 2020 Copa del Rey final with Athletic Bilbao.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insisted he had no regrets over his team selection after Manchester United lost 3-1 at Leicester City in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho scored twice either side of Youri Tielemans' solo strike as Brendan Rodgers' men booked a Wembley semi-final against Southampton.

Mason Greenwood equalised shortly before half-time in a rare moment of inspiration for United, as Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek combined to fine effect.

But the midfield duo were only fit to play for an hour, having recently returned to action, and Bruno Fernandes was unable to have a decisive impact from the bench.

Solskjaer felt such juggling was a necessity after a packed schedule in which his side overcame Milan in the Europa League on Thursday.

"I would have started the same team again. We felt [Pogba and Van de Beek] had more than 45 minutes in them," he said.

"They're important players for us, that's why we started them.

"We picked a team that we felt was going to win the game or give us a foundation to win the game.

"We knew players like Donny and Paul wouldn't last more than an hour."

Fernandes' 23 goals and 13 assists mean he leads the way in both categories for United this season.

However, among outfield players, only captain Harry Maguire (3,945) and fellow defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka (3,651) have played more minutes than the Portugal playmaker's 3,488 for the Red Devils across all competitions.

"Every team selection has reasons behind it. Bruno has played very, very much football," Solskjaer said.

"The boy is a human being. He has played a game every three or four days.

"It was a chance to start both Donny and Paul. The accumulation of games maybe caught up with us.

"With Bruno, I know he wants to play but sometimes you make decisions for the benefit of both the team and him."

While plenty of managers will be apprehensive about the forthcoming international break and what it might mean for their players at the business end of the season, Solskjaer believes it comes at a good time for certain members of his squad.

"I think the international break will give Paul and Donny chances to play, it'll give Anthony [Martial] a chance to go away," he said.

"They will get a change of scenery. You get energy from that. The boys have been at Carrington training ground now every day for a long, long time.

"The break comes at a good time and we'll be ready at Easter, don't worry about that."

Solskjaer added: "If and when we're successful, we have to handle [fixture congestion] and hit a higher level than we did today.

"That's what we're striving towards and, under these circumstances, which are unprecedented, I've been impressed by my boys.

"They've been excellent. The run we've been on has been excellent. Unfortunately we couldn't find our normal selves tonight and sometimes that happens."