Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Victor Valdes is having another outstanding season for Barcelona and his continued absence from Spain's squad underlines the embarrassment of goalkeeping riches for the European champions. Valdes, who was called up once in August 2005 but did not play, has no chance of ousting Real Madrid's Iker Casillas as Spain's number one and if he makes Vicente del Bosque's World Cup squad will be third choice behind Liverpool's Pepe Reina.
Lionel Messi's brilliance sent holders Barcelona through to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.
American Haley Anderson claimed the first gold medal of the world swimming championships when she pipped Brazil's Poliana Okimoto to the line to win the women's open water 5km event on Saturday.
Real Madrid became La Liga champions for the first time since 2012 on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Malaga, denying arch-rivals Barcelona three consecutive league titles.
Real will ease the pain by retaining their Champions League title, their only hope of salvaging a disappointing season.
News that transpired on and off the football field.
Barcelona stand between Chelsea and a second successive appearance in an all-English Champions League final. Manchester United, who beat Chelsea on penalties in last year's final in Moscow, take a 1-0 advantage to Arsenal on Tuesday in the other semi-final.
French Open runner-up Robin Soderling ruined Eduardo Schwank's 24th-birthday celebrations when he thrashed the unseeded Argentine 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Friday.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his debut for Barcelona in the second half of their 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Wednesday.
Neymar's acrimonious split from Barcelona escalated on Thursday as the Paris St Germain forward announced plans to sue the La Liga club, two days after Barca revealed they were suing the Brazilian over breach of contract.
Barcelona and Inter Milan reached an agreement in principle to swap Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Barca forward Samuel Eto'o plus cash, the Primera Liga and European champions said on Friday.
The shouts of "No tinc por!" (I am not afraid) rang out across Barcelona's Plaa de Catalunya, repeated rhythmically by the thousands of people who had gathered at noon in the hot sun to pay respects to the dead and injured after Thursday's terrorist attack.
Tell us what you felt about the final. Who was your player of the final? Lionel Messi or Andres Iniesta? Or Carlos Puyol? Share your impressions.
Barcelona win Champions League beating Manchester United 2-0 at Rome.
Messi's first act as Barcelona captain was to tell the club's fans at a pre-season friendly in August against Boca Juniors that he and his teammates "will do everything possible so that beautiful and desired cup returns here to the Nou Camp".
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique led tributes to the late Johan Cruyff in a memorial organised by the club on Tuesday and vowed to "continue copying and improving his style of attacking football".
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be the happiest man alive once he has completed his move to Barcelona from Inter Milan, the Swedish striker said on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Dutch soccer great Johan Cruyff says he is "2-0 up in the first half" of his fight against lung cancer and confident of winning the battle. A former smoker who had heart surgery in 1991, the 68-year-old former Barcelona coach was diagnosed with cancer in October. "After several medical treatments I can say the results have been very positive, thanks to the excellent work of the doctors, the affection of the people and my positive mentality," triple Ballon d'Or winner Cruyff said in a statement. "Right now I have the feeling I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure I will end up winning." Considered one of football's all-time greats, Cruyff helped Ajax Amsterdam win three European Cups from 1971-73 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1971, 1973 and 1974. He joined Barcelona for a then-world record transfer fee of $2 million and it was the Catalan club that defined his coaching career as he helped them win their first La Liga title in 15 years in 1974.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
A Brazilian judge threw out a tax evasion case against Barcelona forward Neymar on Thursday because Brazil's inland revenue has yet to finish its own deliberations in the case.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona were gifted their 19th Primera Liga title without kicking a ball on Saturday when second-placed Real Madrid were beaten 3-2 at Villarreal. Robert Pires, Cani and Joan Capdevila scored for the hosts, delivering Barca's second piece of silverware in a week after the Catalans overcame Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the King's Cup final on Wednesday. Barca can make it a treble by defeating Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.
Inter Milan went 10 points clear in Serie A, while French champions Olympique Lyon were knocked off the top of the Ligue 1 table by Olympique Marseille.
Real hold a 2-1 lead after the first leg in Germany last week, however the Frenchman insists the job is nowhere near complete.
Barcelona's inconsistency over the season had cost them the La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique has said.
Barcelona opened up a four-point gap at the top of La Liga, maintaining their 100 percent start as they cruised to a 3-0 victory at Catalan rivals Girona on Saturday.
Three goals in a devastating nine-minute spell at the start of the second half saw Barcelona to a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Wednesday and the first of three possible titles.
World number one Rafael Nadal beat Russian third seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open on Saturday to stay on course for a fifth successive title at the Catalan event. In a repeat of last year's final, the Spanish top seed will play compatriot David Ferrer on Sunday after the fourth seed came back from a set down to defeat fifth-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez 2-6, 6-2, 7-6.
World number one Rafael Nadal began his campaign for a fifth successive Barcelona Open title with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 victory over Portuguese qualifier Frederico Gil on Wednesday.
The Primera Liga title will be decided by "El Clasico" between leaders Barcelona and second-placed Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in just under two weeks, according to Real midfielder Lassana Diarra.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Barcelona extended their near-perfect start to the season when Alexis Sanchez tapped in at the far post from Neymar's clever assist to secure a 1-0 win at home to city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Friday.
A dominant yet wasteful Real ravaged their rivals in the first half while spurning a string of clear chances at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Sergio Aguero scored a dramatic late winner as Atletico Madrid twice came from behind to stun visiting Barcelona 4-3 on Sunday, leaving the Catalans just four points clear at the top in Spain.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Real Madrid celebrated their league title triumph in style by crushing arch-rivals Barcelona 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Wednesday and helping deprive the Catalans of an automatic place in the Champions League. First-half goals from Raul and Arjen Robben, a classy strike from Gonzalo Higuain and a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty earned Bernd Schuster's side an emphatic win that delighted the home fans packed into the rain-soaked stadium.
La Liga leaders Barcelona earned a narrow 1-0 win over Real Valladolid to move seven points clear at the top, while Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home against Girona to fall to third behind Atletico Madrid.
