He was unveiled at the Nou Camp after passing a medical and putting pen to paper on a four-year deal with the Primera Liga side.
Be it the jam-packed stadiums at the UEFA Champions League, the intense trans-Tasman rivalry in cricket, there are certain events that enthralls fans. Brendon McCullum blasting into history with the fastest Test hundred in his farewell Test; but that wasn't enough as Australia completed a 2-0 clean sweep of the Kiwis. Rohit Sharma, yet again showing why is considered to be a special talent in limited-overs cricket as India thrashed host Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener. In Champions League football, Lionel Messi's Barcelona proving too hot for old-rivals Arsenal. Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Germany's squad for the World Cup finals comprises the following 23 players.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
There were, however, no eye-catching major deals in the final 24 hours of transfer activity for European clubs which continues the trend of recent January windows.
Reigning Spanish champions Real Madrid has been valued at $3.3 billion by Forbes magazine, ending the $3.2 billion worth Manchester United's nine-year reign at the top of the magazine's annual list of the most valuable football teams in the world. Check out Forbes' 10 most valuable soccer clubs in the world.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ousmane Dembele's late strike rescued a 1-1 draw for champions Barcelona at Atletico Madrid but Sevilla moved top with a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. European champions Real Madrid were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Eibar.
Real, Barca topple United off perch to become top earning clubs
Sol Campbell is set to move to Turkish club Fenerbahce, English media reported on Monday
Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann is the first player ever to be sent off in a European Cup final.
Samir Nasri has warned his Manchester City team mates that failure to beat Sunderland in Sunday's Capital One Cup final could derail a season that currently has them in contention for four trophies.
Arsene Wenger gets another chance to finally beat his old nemesis and keep the Premier League title race alive for a little longer when Arsenal host leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
Cesc Fabregas's second season back at Barcelona will be an improvement on his first, coach Tito Vilanova predicted on Saturday following the former Arsenal captain's indifferent start to the 2012-13 campaign.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has failed to recover from a calf strain and will miss Tuesday's Champions League Group F match at APOEL Nicosia.
The 18-year-old trained with the team on Monday but has not been given the all-clear to play by club medical staff.
Barcelona beat AC Milan on a 1-0 aggregate, after the second leg semi-final ended goalless.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to build his team around midfielder Paul Pogba despite media speculation linking the French World Cup winner with a move away from Old Trafford.
The Barcelona striker wants an all-Spanish Champions League final against Villarreal in Paris on May 17.
Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil has come out all guns blazing after criticism of his displays by stating he is among the best number 10s in the world who can help lead his side to glory.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Thursday
The France international is widely expected to move to Liga champions Barcelona at the end of this campaign.
Real Madrid retained top spot on a list of the world's most valuable football teams for a fourth consecutive year.
The Dutch international blamed the decision on persistent injury problems.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
After a week of controversy caused mainly by FIFA president Sepp Blatter's comments about racism, UEFA will hope that action on the pitch dominates this week's Champions League headlines as the group stage reaches crunch time.
Southampton's 15 million pound ($19.19 million) purchase of Lazio centre back Wesley Hoedt brought the overall spend by England's 20 elite clubs to a record 1.184.9 billion pounds.
City hold a 2-1 lead after an impressive performance in Paris last week and Guardiola's men are within touching distance of their first Champions League final.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas denied on Sunday that he racially abused Sevilla's Malian striker Frederic Kanoute in Saturday's 0-0 La Liga draw at the Nou Camp and the pair later settled their differences by telephone.
Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal are all preparing for sudden-death Champions League games.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi produced moments of magic to earn victories for Real Madrid and Barcelona which kept Real 10 points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back to his irrepressible, boastful best on Sunday as he joked about the landmark 25,000th Premier League goal that signalled a change in his fortunes.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas sustained a hamstring injury during training on Saturday and will be out of action for around three weeks, the European champions said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas is set to miss a big chunk of Spain's preparations for Euro 2012 after being ruled out for seven to 10 days with a hamstring strain, the Spanish club said on Saturday.
