Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale could miss Wednesday's Champions League semi-final, first leg at home to Bayern Munich due to illness, Spanish media reported on Tuesday.
The last thing Real Madrid wanted was another Champions League semi-final clash against Bayern Munich and on Wednesday they will need to get the better of a familiar foe who very much appears to have their number.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was back on the training pitch on Thursday as he bids to rid himself of a hamstring injury before Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Bayern Munich.
Pep Guardiola is a 'proven winner' who will take Manchester City to a 'whole new level', the Premier League club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said.
Brazilian Douglas Costa was in fine form as Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 1-0 in a pre-season tournament.
Real Madrid top Forbes' most valuable soccer teams list, followed by their La Liga counterparts, FC Barcelona. Here is the list of the 10 most valuable soccer teams (in billions):
Pep Guardiola is well known to be a perfectionist and even Saturday's 6-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg has failed to fully satisfy the demanding Bayern Munich manager.
Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal is hoping as many Spain players as possible feature in the Champions League final on May 24 so the holders have less time to prepare for their June 13 World Cup Group B clash.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes it is too early to judge whether English sides are in decline in the Champions League despite three of the four Premier League sides losing the first leg of their last 16 ties.
Daniel Sturridge led Liverpool to a great win over Swansea while Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid to go top of the La Liga table, after shock defeats of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, with a 3-0 win over Elche at the weekend. Chelsea clung to top place in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Everton, while Bayern Munich opened a 19-point lead in the Bundesliga with their 14th successive league win while closest rivals Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund lost. Rediff.com brings you a glance of the footballers of the weekend.
Images from the Champions League Round of 16, first round matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Arsenal will be out to show they have learnt the lessons of last season's painful home defeat by Bayern Munich when the sides meet again in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in London on Wednesday.
After years of trying, South American coaches are finally gaining a foothold in European football and their growing influence will be heavily felt as the Champions League round of 16 gets under.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery is out of the Champions League last-16 first leg at Arsenal on February 19 after having an operation on burst blood vessels in his buttocks.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid maintained their perfect records in La Liga while Premier League club Arsenal dropped points but returned to the top of the table.
Images from the EPL matches played across England on Saturday.
Pique and Pedro put Barcelona on top of the La Liga on goal difference with a 3-0 win over Malaga and Atletico Madrid won 4-2 at Rayo Vallecano to stay hot on their heels. Check out the footballers who shone over the weekend.
Last season's Champions League runners-up Borussia Dortmund are eager to set the record straight against France's Olympique Marseille in their Group F clash on Tuesday after losing to them twice two years ago.
Bayern Munich fans celebrated long into the night after their team's 2-1 Champions League triumph over Dortmund at Wembley on Saturday ensured two defeats in the previous three finals were quickly forgotten.
Liverpool survived a first-half scare to reach the Champions League final with a 3-2 win at Villarreal on Tuesday that secured a 5-2 aggregate victory after the night had threatened to turn sour for Juergen Klopp's side.
When Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in the first all-German Champions League final on Saturday, it will not only be a clash of footballing cultures but also a showdown of two different coaching styles.
Lionel Messi has added another record against his already legendary name.
Chelsea winger Eden Hazard will miss Wednesday's Europa League final against Benfica with a hamstring strain while John Terry's ankle problem is still being assessed, interim manager Rafa Benitez said.
Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick for Real Madrid illuminated an opening night goals bonanza as the leading contenders began the Champions League group stage with a bang on Tuesday.
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino will make his Champions League debut when Ajax Amsterdam visit the Nou Camp on Wednesday with a run of patchy defensive performances and a lack of killer instinct in front of goal his main concerns.
Champions Bayern Munich lifted their 22nd Bundesliga trophy on Saturday after a comfortable 3-0 over Augsburg as they prepare for the all-German Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund in two weeks.
Nine-times winners Real Madrid will play Manchester United in the last 16 of the Champions League after the draw was made at UEFA's headquarters in Switzerland on Thursday.
Barcelona's Champions League humbling by Bayern Munich on Wednesday will not prompt wholesale changes to the squad and the 7-0 aggregate reverse would have been avoided had the team not been decimated by injury, coach Tito Vilanova said.
Brazil (Selecao) might be the most loved -- and most successful -- football team across the globe, but the Germans (Die Mannshaft), says Bikash Mohapatra, are easily the most consistent in the history of football.
Bayern Munich swatted aside Raja Casablanca 2-0 in a one-sided Club World Cup final on Saturday that did little to boost the credibility of a tournament which struggled to an anti-climax.
Germany's Champions League semi-finalists went on scoring sprees in the Bundesliga on Saturday with Borussia Dortmund blasting five first-half goals in a 6-1 win at Greuther Fuerth and champions Bayern Munich beating Nuremberg 4-0.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Bayern Munich set several Bundesliga records en route to Saturday's title success. Here are some of the records broken and some they can still improve in the remaining six games.
Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 on Saturday.
The Champions League tie between Bayern Munich and Juventus is the outstanding pairing of the round but there are glittering jewels -- and duels -- to savour everywhere in the quarter-finals of Europe's elite soccer competition this week.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola will see out his three-year contract with the German champions, who are hopeful of an extension beyond 2016, club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Thursday.
League leaders Bayern Munich demolished Hamburg SV 9-2 with four goals from striker Claudio Pizarro and two from Arjen Robben on Saturday to put one hand on the Bundesliga trophy with seven games to play.
The result also ensured an unhappy start for Hoffenheim's unorthodox five-man coaching team who replaced Alfred Schreuder after his sacking on Tuesday. The hosts remain seventh on 43 points as they chase a Europa League qualifying spot.
Four-times winners Bayern Munich will face resurgent Juventus in the pick of the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw made in Nyon on Friday, with favourites Barcelona paired with Paris St Germain.
Arsenal will end an eighth consecutive season without silverware after their Champions League exit by Bayern Munich on Wednesday, leaving manager Arsene Wenger to rue a home first-leg defeat after his side almost pulled off an improbable comeback.
