Juventus on Thursday ruled key defender Giorgio Chiellini out of the Champions League final against Barcelona after suffering a muscle tear in training.

Chiellini had to leave training on Wednesday and scans on Thursday confirmed the bad news for the Italian champions.

Liverpool announced on Thursday that they have agreed to sign England midfielder James Milner from Premier League rivals Manchester City on a free transfer, subject to a medical examination.

The 29-year-old, capped 53 times by his country, will join Liverpool on July 1 after his City contract expires. Liverpool have not disclosed the length of his contract.

By Lionel Messi's exceptional standards 2014 was a year to forget. For the first time in six years he went trophyless at club level with Barcelona, whilst arguably his best ever chance to win a World Cup with Argentina came and went.

His listless performances particularly in the latter stages of the World Cup, despite being controversially named player of the tournament, led many to believe he could never return to the level that dazzled as he became the first man to win four consecutive World Player of the Year awards between 2008 and 2012.

English Premier League clubs generated record combined revenues of £3.26 billion ($5 billion, 4.4 billion euros) in 2013-14, according to a report published by business advisory firm Deloitte on Thursday.

The figure, fuelled by the start of a new television rights cycle, represented a rise of 29 percent on the 2012-13 season and saw the English top flight surpass Germany's Bundesliga as Europe's most profitable league.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray meet for the 27th time on Friday with a French Open final place at stake and with history on their shoulders.

World number one Djokovic ended the reign of nine-time champion Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals, handing the Spaniard just his second defeat in 72 matches at Roland Garros in a decade of extraordinary dominance.

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere has been charged with misconduct after leading the club's supporters in chants against Tottenham Hotspur during their FA Cup victory parade, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.

Wilshere, 23, took to the microphone and led fans in two crude chants about their arch rivals Spurs during Sunday's open-top bus parade in north London, a day after Arsenal's 4-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup final.

Top seed Serena Williams set up a semi-final clash with Timea Bacsinszky at the French Open after defeating Italian 17th seed Sara Errani 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Williams, who is looking for her third title at Roland Garros and 20th career Grand Slam crown, will face Bacsinszky after the Swiss 23rd seed beat unseeded Belgian Alison Van Uytvanck 6-4, 7-5 in the day's other quarter-final tie.

The reappearance of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semi-finals of the French Open has again raised hopes among home fans of finally seeing one of their own reach the men's final at Roland Garros.

Tsonga won through to his second French Open semi-final in three years by beating Japan's fifth seed Kei Nishikori in five sets on Tuesday, winning 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3 in a contest that lasted close to four hours on a packed Court Philippe Chatrier.

Interpol added six men with ties to FIFA to its most wanted list on Wednesday, issuing an international alert for two former FIFA officials and four executives on charges including racketeering and corruption.

Two of the men, former FIFA vice president Jack Warner of Trinidad and former executive committee member Nicolas Leoz of Paraguay, have been arrested in their home counties. Warner has since been released and Leoz is under house arrest. The Interpol "red notice" means they risk arrest anywhere they travel.

Rafael Benitez was overcome with emotion as he was presented as the new coach of Real Madrid on Wednesday.

The former Liverpool boss has signed a three-year deal to take charge of the club where he began his coaching career in the youth ranks during the early nineties.