G'day sports fans,

Classic quote: "I swam my brains out." — Mark Spitz, won seven gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Olympics.

🗞 In today's edition of Sport Journal:

🥇 Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games come to a close

🏉 Cup half full

😢 Messi's farewell

🥇 Olympics

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games come to a close

And with a final spectacular fireworks display the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games officially come to an end.

It's been a unique experience to say the least, but it'll be one Games that will be forever etched in history.

The good news is that it's only three years until we receive our next installment of the games in Paris 2024.

🌍 World Sport

Messi is ending his 21-year association with Barca, who cannot afford to honour the new contract they agreed with him because of La Liga's salary limit.

The record six-time Ballon d'Or winner, 34, is now a free agent.

"My family and I were convinced we were going to stay here, at home," he said during a news conference on Sunday.

"This is the end with this club and now a new story will begin," added the Argentina forward. "Yes, it's one of the most difficult moments for me.

"I don't want to leave this club - it's a club I love and this is a moment I didn't expect.

"When I get home I will still feel bad; it will be even worse. I'm not ready for this."

🔁 Paris Saint Germain looks to be the most likely destination for Messi,(PSG offered a formal 2-year deal), where he would team up with Neymar, who has already offered his No.10 jersey. Imagine a Neymar, Mbappe & Messi front three!

💰 Tottenham are prepared to consider selling England striker Harry Kane, 28, if Manchester Cityoffer £120m plus another £20m in add-ons. (Star Sunday)

🛡 Leicester City 1 Manchester City 0: Jack Grealish made his Manchester City debut from the bench but it was another substitute, Kelechi Iheanacho, who won the Community Shield for Leicester.

☔️ Virat Kohli: England vs India still a blockbuster despite final day wash-out draw: India were well placed to claim a first Test win at Trent Bridge, needing 157 more runs with nine wickets in hand before rain saw the final day abandoned.

👊🏻 Ciryl Gane became the first French fighter to capture a UFC world title when he won the interim heavyweight title at UFC 265 in Texas.

🏏 Records loom as 'crazy' series hits new scoring low: Australia's five-match series against Bangladesh on course to be the lowest-scoring ever.

Unless there's a significant scoring uptick in today's fifth and final match at the same venue, the series will be the first ever consisting of at least three games that have had an overall run rate of less than six an over.

The combined rate for the series currently stands at 5.93.

It's also on track to be the fewest runs ever scored in a five-match T20 series between two major nations. Bangladesh and Australia have struck 936 runs in the first four games and the lowest aggregate in five-game campaign is 1,594 between the South Africa and West Indies earlier this year. (Cricket)

🇦🇺 AFL

🤕 The Western Bulldogs are fearing a suspected ACL knee injury for spearhead Josh Bruce after the goalkicker went down in the dying seconds of Sunday's loss to Essendon.

Bruce had booted three goals against the Bombers, taking him to equal second in the Coleman Medal tally, before going to ground in the final moments of the loss after an awkward tackle attempt.

🙋🏻‍♂️ Essendon's Sam Draper will be in the All-Australian conversation next year (AFL)

🏆 If they make it as far as the finals, Greater Western Sydney can be a serious threat. Its victory over Geelong on Friday night, which came despite losing eight players to injury – and Brent Daniels mid-game to a hamstring issue – proved as much. (AFL)

✍🏼 Aliir might be the recruit of the year: Sydney's Tom Hickey has strong claims, as does Isaac Smith for his year at Geelong, but Aliir Aliir put forward another compelling case for being the best recruit of 2021 on Saturday night. (AFL) 

🏉 NRL

🇳🇿 Rugby league legend Ruan Sims has endorsed New Zealand as a "wonderful" location for the NRL grand final as the league's bosses work toward finding a venue amid the challenges of COVID-19.

Sydney's Stadium Australia, Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium and Melbourne's AAMI Park are the leading contenders for the showpiece event, set to be held on Sunday, October 3.

But New Zealand has emerged as an option in the wake of the Wallabies' clash with the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday night. (nine)

🏉 Rugby

🥃 The Wallabies are taking a glass half-full approach to their first-up Bledisloe Cup loss, eyeing a second chance to end their Eden Park hoodoo next weekend.

Australia were soundly beaten on Saturday night in Auckland, trailing by 25 points before three late tries eased the scoreline to 33-25.

Noah Lolesio was unrecognisable from his heroics against France last month, landing just two from seven shots at goal on a blustery evening.

Four lineout failures to start the match gifted the All Blacks possession, and missed tackles might have cost the young Wallabies dearly if Ian Foster's side were on point.

But one game into the three-game series, and the Rugby Championship yet to begin, Dave Rennie is instead focused on the positives.

"We should have done better, but it's a Bledisloe Cup series and we've put a stake in the ground," NZ coach Foster said, expressing disappointment with the way his side opened and finished the game. 

🦌 The British and Irish Lions lost an agonisingly close series decider to South Africa as Morne Steyn's late penalty sealed a 19-16 victory.

Steyn, 37, landed the kick that decided the 2009 series and proved little had changed as he put the Springboks ahead with two minutes left.

🐴 Racing

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