With one championship ring and a tenacious veteran core, the Denver Nuggets are a daunting matchup for any opponent in the NBA.

They're clearly a particular nightmare for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, who are one game away from an early summer after Denver stretched its winning streak in this lopsided rivalry to a whopping 11 games.

Xavi Hernández says he walked back his decision to leave Barcelona this summer after his players convinced him "this is a winning team" even if this season will end without any trophies.

"Many people, including my players, have made me see that this is not over," Xavi said on Thursday at a news conference.

Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, who played in the past four World Cups, announced his retirement from international soccer on Thursday.

The 37-year-old Muslera played 133 matches for La Celeste, helping the team win the 2011 Copa America. He remains a player for Turkish club Galatasaray.

FIFA deepened its ties to Saudi Arabia by confirming a sponsorship on Thursday with the kingdom's state oil firm Aramco which made a profit of $121 billion last year.

The deal was expected and became inevitable once Saudi Arabia was all but sealed last October as the 2034 host of the men's World Cup.

There could be a surprising team from each of Europe's "big five" leagues when the new-look Champions League debuts next season.

Aston Villa, Bologna, Brest, Girona and Stuttgart are all, remarkably, on course to qualify for Europe's elite competition going into the final few rounds of their national league.

French President Emmanuel Macron showed off his sporting prowess again Wednesday, this time as Paris gears up to hold the Summer Olympics.

Macron, a well-known football fan, donned a jersey for a charity match alongside football legends and celebrity players at a club in Yvelines, west of Paris. The event, which raises money for a children's health charity chaired by first lady Brigitte Macron, featured a lineup including former World Cup winners Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps.

Coach Xavi Hernández will stay with Barcelona for another year after all, agreeing to finish his contract to 2025 in a reversal of his decision to quit at the end of the season, two people with knowledge of the agreement said Wednesday.

The two people spoke anonymously to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.

Paris Saint-Germain will have to wait at least a few more days to try to clinch the French league title.

Kylian Mbappé scored twice and provided an assist in a 4-1 win over Lorient on Wednesday, but there were no celebrations because second-place Monaco beat Lille 1-0 later in the evening.

Jurgen Klopp's hopes of a dream send-off were left in tatters after a 2-0 loss at Everton dealt a major blow to Liverpool's Premier League title bid on Wednesday.

Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at Goodison Park meant Klopp tasted a bitter defeat in his last Merseyside derby before standing down at the end of the season.

Ahead of a summer when three of the biggest jobs in world football are up for grabs, Unai Emery became the latest top coach to decide to stay put.