Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Russian side Rubin Kazan continued to frustrate Barcelona by holding the Spanish side to a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group D on Wednesday.
The dazzling Lionel Messi returned from illness to score yet another double to help Barcelona ease into the knockout stages of the Champions League for a 13th successive year with their 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday.
Goals from the prolific duo of Luis Suarez and Neymar earned Barcelona a tight 2-1 win at Las Palmas on Saturday to propel them nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona have agreed a transfer fee with Liverpool for Javier Mascherano and the Argentine midfielder is expected in Spain for a medical this weekend, the clubs said on Friday.
Ansu Fati is the second-youngest player to represent the Catalan giants in La Liga aged 16 years and 298 days.
Spain midfielder Pedro has no regrets over leaving Barcelona in search of more playing time, despite failing to nail down a regular starting berth in his debut season at Chelsea. Consigned to life on the fringes of the starting side at the Nou Camp, Pedro joined the Blues in August and scored seven goals in 29 Premier League appearances as he struggled to adapt to life in England. Chelsea mounted a dismal defence of their title this season, finishing 31 points behind winners Leicester City in 10th place, while serial champions Barcelona won their sixth La Liga title in eight years when they beat Granada 3-0 on Saturday.
The Brazilian is likely to make his first appearance of the season for the Ligue 1 leaders at home against Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.
Neymar is close to signing a three-year contract extension with Barcelona that will tie the Brazil captain to the La Liga champions until June 2021, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu announced on Thursday. The 24-year-old forward is a reported target of top European clubs and his current deal expires in June 2018. El Mundo Deportivo reported on Thursday that Manchester United were launching a "total offensive" to acquire Neymar.
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has agreed a new four-year contract with the Spanish champions until 2021, the club said a day after they reached the Champions League quarter-finals by thrashing Paris St Germain 6-1.
This time we're ready for Barca, says Man City's Nasri.
Top seed Rafa Nadal, who has won the tournament 10 times, also reached the last eight after dispatching compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-3 and claiming a record-extending 40th consecutive set on clay.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored with an acrobatic header on his La Liga debut to seal Barcelona's 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon as they opened their title defence in style on Monday.
Barcelona win Champions League beating Manchester United 2-0 at Rome.
Novak Djokovic's erratic form, Rafael Nadal's fitness woes and untimely injuries to top-ranked youngsters have set up an uncertain French Open men's tournament
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique played down talk of a rift with his squad after their surprise home defeat by Alaves and is hoping to put things right in their Champions League opener against Celtic on Tuesday.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said his only wish is to succeed with the Spanish champions and has dismissed the idea that he could be lured away to another club.
The Spanish champions were greeted by thousands of fans as they paraded through the city on an open-top bus to celebrate winning the Champions League.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.
Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
Cesc Fabregas has returned to training as the Barcelona midfielder continues his recovery from a knee injury, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.
Valverde's knowledge of Barca and his many years of experience of coaching in Spain saw him pip Argentine Jorge Sampaoli and Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue to the top job.
.jpg)
Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes is likely to be out of action until the end of the year after suffering a calf strain during Spain's surprise defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, the club said in a statement on their website.
Neymar scored a spectacular goal as Barcelona came from behind to beat Paris St Germain 3-1 in their UEFA Champions League match.
A summary of Wednesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Former Barcelona defender Alba to sign for Inter Miami
Fit-again striker Sunil Chhetri converted a penalty as the Indian football team wound up its Barcelona training tour on a winning note, beating Spanish third division side FC Santboia by a solitary goal in their fourth and final friendly game, High Performance Sports at the outskirts of Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Manchester United bolstered their squad with a flurry of transfer deadline day signings, Manchester City and Liverpool also splashed out while ambitious Brighton & Hove Albion sealed an audacious loan deal for Barcelona's Ansu Fati on Friday.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage on Thursday after losing 4-3 at home to Real Sociedad, while record 30-times winners Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Copa del Rey in a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.
Rafael Nadal extended his astonishing winning run on clay to 42 consecutive sets as he reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Slovakia's Martin Klizan on Friday. The defending champion will face David Goffin on Saturday after the Belgian beat Spaniard Roberto Bautista 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-2.
Barca, who had a rather disappointing season, managed to restore some pride with victory over last season's second division champions in what was the final match to be played at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Juventus climb to top of Serie A with win over Lecce
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
Cesc Fabregas has finally signed for Barcelona on a five-year deal.
Barcelona have the chance to secure top spot in Champions League Group C and prove they are not dependent on striker Lionel Messi to win matches when they visit Sporting on Wednesday. Barca's nine-match winning streak in the Spanish Primera Liga came to an end with a 1-1 draw at home to Getafe on Sunday, as Pep Guardiola's outfit struggled to open up their well-organised opponents.
FC Barceloana laid out a memorable tribute to veteran midfielder Xavi Hernandez on Wednesday.
Winning the treble last season has spurred Barcelona to try and win all six trophies up for grabs this year and replicate the feat they achieved in 2009, midfielder Andres Iniesta said on Monday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
