Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini on Tuesday ruled out a loan move involving Carlos Tevez as the Premier League leaders prepared to meet officials from AC Milan.

City chiefs are due to meet Milan officials on Thursday to discuss Tevez's future but the Serie A club has made it clear they only want to sign the Argentinian striker on loan.

NBA free agent guard Baron Davis took phone calls from the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers, but the offer he accepted on Monday came from the New York Knicks.

Davis, dropped by the Cleveland Cavaliers last week under a salary amnesty program in the new NBA collective bargaining agreement, signed with the Knicks for the veterans minimum salary of $1.4 million.

David Villa has only a slim chance of playing for Barcelona again this season and could also miss the 2012 European Championship after undergoing surgery on his broken leg on Monday.

One of the doctors who performed the operation said the 30-year-old Spain striker would be sidelined for four to five months.

AC Milan forward Antonio Cassano, who underwent a heart operation on November 4, could return to training in January, according to a surprising prediction by club owner Silvio Berlusconi on Sunday.

"The doctors aren't ruling out the possibility that Cassano could return to training at the end of January," Berlusconi told Sky Sport.

Lionel Messi scored twice and Barcelona beat Brazil's Santos 4-0 on Sunday to win its second Club World Cup in three years.

Messi, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas scored in the first half as the European champions won its 13th trophy under coach Pep Guardiola, solidifying its stature as the best club team in the world.

Veteran striker Raul has said he is eager to stay at Schalke 04 with his contract set to expire in 2012 and extension talks with the Royal Blues due to be held in the winter break.

The 34-year-old served a timely reminder of his finishing skills with a hat-trick in Schalke's 5-0 drubbing of Werder Bremen on Saturday before the German league began its traditional winter break.

Juventus returned to the top of Serie A following a 2-0 victory at home to Novara on Sunday, while Inter Milan's revival continued as they won 1-0 at Cesena to climb to fifth place.

Juve's win enabled them to leapfrog AC Milan, who had taken over at the top by beating Siena 2-0 on Saturday.

Real Madrid recovered from their El Clasico defeat to Barcelona to stun Sevilla 6-2 while Manchester City stayed top in England.

City remained two points in front of champions Manchester United after a 1-0 win at home to Arsenal thanks to a 53rd-minute winner from David Silva.

Bayern Munich overcame an early red card for star forward Franck Ribery to beat Cologne 3-0 on Friday and ensure it remains at least three points clear at the top of the Bundesliga before the four-week winter break.

Ribery was sent off in the 33rd minute, earning a second yellow card for grabbing at Henrique Sereno's face just half a minute after both were shown a yellow for clashing in the penalty area.

The Chicago Bulls opened the pre-season Friday with a 95-86 win over the Indiana Pacers behind 16 points each from MVP Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

The game was a rematch of last season's National Basketball Association first-round playoff series and one of four games on Friday that kicked off the post-lockout exhibition schedule.