Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde talked up the importance of having Lionel Messi in his side after the forward netted the winner in the 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid.

MSN linked up again Boxing Day, but only for a photo - as Neymar stoked the rumours surrounding his return to the Nou Camp by posing with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. 

Laura Prepon and Ben Foster were every inch the happy new parents as they stepped out with their baby girl Ella in New York City on Sunday.

Heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson won the long jump in an outdoor personal best of 6.81m to give herself three different options for the European Championships.

Rising heptathlon star Katarina Johnson-Thompson is relishing the prospect of a future showdown with Olympic champion and Great Britain team-mate Jessica Ennis-Hill.

LAURA WILLIAMSON: Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been left 'devastated' after she was forced to pull out of the Commonwealth Games with a left foot injury.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Phillips Idowu and Shara Proctor have withdrawn from the Great Britain team for the European Championships in Zurich.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson explains the pain of missing out on the European Championships and Commonwealth Games, but says best is yet to come.

At the age of 21, the Liverpudlian already achieved gold medals at junior championships, the World indoors and has a British long jump record. 

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has vowed to end her injury nightmare and make up for lost time next year after a niggling foot injury spoiled her summer.

British heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson is back in training after recovering from the freak foot injury which saw her miss this summer's Commonwealth Games.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson bounced back from last year’s injury frustrations with a British high jump record — but she then insisted that she should have gone even higher.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson claimed she will be fearless in her attempt to win a first senior multi-event title at the European Indoor Championships in Prague.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson can’t wait to compete at the European Indoor Championships in Prague. But for multi-eventers, packing your suitcase to go abroad can be a bit of an ordeal.

Few of the athletes competing at the European Indoor Championships will have had to factor in room for textbooks in their luggage but Morgan Lake is making sure her school grades don’t suffer.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson broke Jessica Ennis-Hill's British record, but fell agonisingly short of the world record as she claimed pentathlon gold at the European Indoor Championships.

European Indoor pentathlon gold medallist Katarina Johnson-Thompson will compete in the 200metres hurdles and long jump at the Great CityGames Manchester in May.

There are few British sportspeople who have legitimate claims to being the best in the world however Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill are in that category.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Jessica Ennis-Hill’s rivalry has all the ingredients to propel athletics into the spotlight in a similar manner to the Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett.

Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill has confirmed she will return to competition in London this July following her break from athletics to become a mother.

Jessica Ennis-Hill has revealed she faces her ‘biggest challenge ever’ as she attempts to juggle being a mother with winning gold at next year’s Rio Olympics.

If athletics wants Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson to become the Coe and Ovett of their day, one can only hope that a bit of good old competition spices things up.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson may not defend her heptathlon title at the prestigious Hypomeeting in Gotzis, Austria later this month because her coach is wary of people taking 'pot shots' at her.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson will have to wait a little longer for her hotly anticipated showdown with Jessica Ennis-Hill after she withdrew from the prestigious Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis, Austria.

MATT LAWTON: Katarina Johnson-Thompson seems slightly offended by the suggestion that she does not look as physically strong as other leading heptathletes... and then pulls a Popeye-like pose.

Wayne Rooney has teamed up with an array of leading stars across the world of sport, including Serena Williams and Kobe Bryant, to feature in a new advert showing off their formidable speed.

Jessica Ennis-Hill proved she is ready to defend her World Championship heptathlon title next month while Katarina Johnson-Thompson revealed the full extent of her injury woes.

Ahead of the IAAF World Championships in Beijing next week, Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been busily preparing at a training camp in Fukuoka, Japan.

The lead-up to this summer’s World Championships has been dominated by doping revelations, but starting on Saturday the athletes have a chance to lift their sport from the mire.

Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson will clash for the first time since 2012 when they compete in the World Championships in Beijing. Ennis-Hill aims to add at least 250 points to her best.

British Athletics would not be making public any medal targets for the World Championships in Beijing. Here Sportsmail looks at where they are likely to come from.

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: Jessica Ennis-Hill leads the heptathlon at the World Championships after the opening two events inside the Bird’s Nest stadium. 

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: Jessica Ennis-Hill and Katarina Johnson-Thompson go head-to-head on Sunday in a battle to be crowned heptathlon World Champion.

MARTHA KELNER IN BEIJING: Jessica Ennis-Hill being crowned world champion 13 months since giving birth and after an almighty battle back to fitness seems a mere formality.

Britain's Katarina Johnson-Thompson's World Championship medal hopes have gone up in smoke after she failed to record a distance in the long jump as Jessica Ennis-Hill stayed in front.

Greg Rutherford demanded critics lay off Katarina Johnson-Thompson after her long jump collapse cost her a heptathlon medal at the World Championships in Beijing.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson began her quest for redemption after her heptathlon 'walk of shame' by comfortably qualifying for the long jump final at the athletics World Championship.

MARTHA KELNER: Shara Proctor is expecting a carnival reception when she returns to Anguilla, the tiny Caribbean island where she grew up having to dodge cricket balls to pursue long jump.

With just 198 days to go until the Rio Oympics, Katarina Johnson-Thompson has gold in her sights after being revealed as the face of paint company Dulux's Colour of the Year for 2016.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson possesses so much talent that she finished the first day of the heptathlon in Gotzis in second, despite finishing dead last after an inexplicably poor shot put.

Johnson-Thompson believes she has the ability to beat Ennis-Hill and wants to fulfil her burgeoning potential with a gold medal in Rio next month.

Jessica Ennis-Hill is favourite to retain the title she won at London 2012 but she is expected to face stiff competition from compatriot Katarina Johnson-Thompson at the Rio Olympics.

In June 2012 Katarina Johnson-Thompson scored a huge lifetime best in the heptathlon at a low-key meeting in Kladno in the Czech Republic to unexpectedly qualify for the London Olympics.

Britain's golden girls Jessica Ennis-Hill (left) and Katarina Johnson-Thompson (right) yesterday began their battle for the women’s heptathlon title in Rio de Janeiro.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s rivalry with fellow British poster girl Jessica Ennis-Hill has been one of the big stories of the Games so far, but little has been heard about her father.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has not improved her heptathlon personal best since 2014. Senior figures in British Athletics would like her to part company with long-time coach Mike Holmes and leave Liverpool.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has been ruled out of the Indoor Grand Prix but is expected to be fit for the European Indoor Championships after suffering a minor hamstring strain.

The Scottish runner has been in fine form and she leads a team packed with medal prospects. Performance director Neil Black said he is 'pleased with the blend of the team' for the championships.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson admits to a struggle learning French but says a new life in Montpellier and mentoring from Jessica Ennis-Hill could translate into gold-winning performances.

She leads Olympic champion Nafissatou Thiam and Carolin Schafer, who sit three and six points back respectively going into the long jump, javelin and 800m.