Former FIFA official Jerome Champagne formally announced on Monday that he will stand against incumbent Sepp Blatter in next year's election for president of the world soccer body.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi notched his 250th La Liga goal to move one off the all-time league scoring record as leaders Barcelona won 3-0 against Eibar on Saturday ahead of next weekend's Clasico with Real Madrid.
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Ligue 1 goal this season before missing a penalty as they beat En Avant Guingamp 3-0 to extend their lead to four points on Tuesday.
Barcelona suffered a first home defeat of the season when they lost 3-2 against Valencia after finishing with 10 men in La Liga on Saturday, leaving the door open for Madrid rivals Atletico and Real to move above them.
Lionel Messi marked his 300th La Liga appearance with a record-equalling hat-trick and an assist for Neymar as Barcelona stayed hard on the heels of leaders Real Madrid with a 5-0 romp at home to Levante on Sunday.
When Swedish champions Malmo take on mighty Real Madrid on Wednesday they do so knowing they would probably have to sell their entire squad just to be able to afford a single player from the bench of the Spanish giants.
La Liga champions Real Madrid beat Getafe 3-1 on Saturday with a goal from Gareth Bale and two strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo to go 12 points behind leaders Barcelona and warm up for next week's Champions League game at Paris St Germain.
The three teams with 100 percent records in this season's Champions League can secure their places in the knockout stage this week with two games to spare.
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Football news from Ligue 1, Bundesliga and La liga.
As the curtain comes down on 2014, here's a look at the five best performances over the last 12 months. And, guess what? Two Indian sportsmen figure in the list!
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
Anyone who has watched the Argentine in recent years knows he can do things with a football that seem to defy the laws of physics and he does not fit into the mould of a traditional striker.
Manchester United suffered a double blow on Thursday with Daley Blind ruled out for a 'long' spell due to a knee problem and Radamel Falcao receiving a "new injury" that will keep him out for at least two more weeks.
Toni Kroos netted his first for Real Madrid and was hailed as the best player on the pitch by his coach as the hosts tore apart Rayo Vallecano 5-1 in La Liga on Saturday to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
Key head-to-head battles in Saturday's "Clasico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium (1600 GMT)
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
A summary of the results of the major European football league matches on the weekend.
Lionel Messi netted the 400th goal of his storied career on Saturday as Barcelona trounced Granada 6-0 to maintain the pace at the top of La Liga.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.
As Manchester United prepare to embark on a new era following Louis van Gaal;s departure, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com offers a diagnosis of what went wrong with the most successful Premier League club after Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals when he struck for the second time in the 76th minute of Wednesday's Group F match at Ajax Amsterdam.