Xavi's agent has declined to comment on reports the Barcelona midfielder is set to leave the La Liga leaders at the end of the season and sign a lucrative contract with Qatari side Al Sadd.
Manchester City suffered from deja vu as Luis Suarez's double gave Barcelona a 2-1 first leg lead in a Champions League last 16 tie at the Etihad although Lionel Messi's late penalty miss left the door ajar on Tuesday.
Barcelona defender Martin Montoya is eyeing a move to the Premier League having decided to leave the Catalan club in the January transfer window, his agent said.
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
Lionel Messi's father Jorge has sought to play down comments his son made this week which suggested the four-time World Player of the Year could consider leaving Barcelona.
Luis Suarez grabbed a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagged two goals as Barcelona began their quest for a third straight La Liga title with a 6-2 rout of Real Betis on Saturday. Arda Turan, whose two goals against Sevilla helped Barca lift the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, gave them an early lead at the Nou Camp before Ruben Castro equalised in the 21st minute. Barca went back in front thanks to a trademark 37th-minute goal from Messi before Suarez, La Liga's top scorer last season, made it 3-1 before halftime.
Chelsea will pay 30 million euros ($33.54 million) for the player, three of which will be based on performance, the Spanish champions said on their website.
Spain forward Ansu Fati became the national team's youngest ever goalscorer as the 17-year-old inspired Luis Enrique's side to a resounding 4-0 win at home to Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday.
Neymar and Lionel Messi grabbed a goal each in the first half as Barcelona rolled over Roma 3-0 in the traditional Gamper Trophy pre-season match on Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is expecting an even greater impact from Luis Suarez this season with the cloud of disciplinary problems no longer hanging over the Uruguay striker.
Paris St Germain coach Unai Emery cursed his side for switching off in the final minutes of their 6-1 defeat at Barcelona which sent the French champions out of the Champions League before the quarter-finals for the first time in five years.
'I've been here 20 years and many times had the opportunity to leave. I don't have to convince you my preference has always been Arsenal'
Barcelona's new midfield playmaker Arda Turan has said it will be tough for him not being able to play until January due to a ban on the club on registering players.
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic embraced the art of winning ugly after they beat 10-man Real Betis 2-0 to move closer to retaining their La Liga title.
Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team's spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League.
Real Madrid warmed up for their crunch meeting against Barcelona by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 and coach Zinedine Zidane believes his team "can do great things" if they match the performance they produced against Unai Emery's side.
Barcelona are in the middle of an injury crisis as they head to Valencia for Saturday's La Liga game looking to keep up with pacemaking pair Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Without injured goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and right back Sergi Roberto for the last two games, Barca will also be missing defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique after both were hurt in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League. Pique sprained his right ankle while Alba injured his left hamstring and both are out until November.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
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.
A Chelsea deal for Barcelona forward Lionel Messi would be impossible under financial fair play rules, assistant coach Steve Holland said on Friday.
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.
Barcelona will be missing the lethal touch of Neymar in attack for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla.
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
Barcelona won the La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick in the season finale on Saturday.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
The result shook up League A Group 4, giving Ukraine an outside chance of finishing top of the group with two games remaining.
It is a scenario few could have foreseen after Real won a Liga and Champions League double last term and began this season so convincingly.
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
Real Madrid's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo made up for his otherwise quiet night by scoring the winner to beat Barcelona 2-1 win at the CampNou in Barcelona on Saturday.
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagged a brace as Barcelona thrashed bottom side Cordoba 8-0 on Saturday to move a step closer to their fifth La Liga title in seven years.
Pep Guardiola's formidable managerial skills will be put to the test again when his stuttering ManchesterCity side visit his former club Barcelona in a top-of-the-bill Champions League clash on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
With a fifth world player of the year award safely tucked away in the trophy cabinet, Lionel Messi can set his sights on one of the next milestones in his remarkable career: reaching 500 goals for club and country. The Barcelona and Argentina forward can add to his jaw-dropping tally of 479 in 609 official games -- 430 for Barca and 49 for his national team -- in Sunday's La Liga match at home to Athletic Bilbao. The 28-year-old from Rosario, who picked up the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, is looking close to his best following a two-month injury layoff late last year and netted a hat-trick when second-placed Barca crushed Granada 4-0 at the Nou Camp last weekend in their most recent outing in Spain's top flight.
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi scored twice to equal Raul's Champions League scoring record as Barcelona secured their place in the knockout stages by beating 10-man Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 on Wednesday.
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.
