Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
Barcelona, who provide the backbone for World Cup favourites Spain and will be parading Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, are the team to beat at the Club World Cup that kicks off this week in Abu Dhabi.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were vying for top billing in La Liga on Saturday after leading their sides to victories.
France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.
Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored in the second half as Barcelona squeezed past bottom club Xerez 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of La Liga on Wednesday.
Real will play Japanese champions Kashima Antlers in Sunday's final in Yokohama, looking to become world champions for the second time in three years and earn a record 21st international title.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has taken a swipe at arch-rivals Real Madrid for their multi-million euro spending spree that has dominated the headlines and the transfer market ahead of the treble-winners.
Pele has unveiled an unusual line of diamonds using strands of the football legend's own hair, local media reported.
Zinedine Zidane has been reappointed as Real Madrid coach nine months after resigning, replacing Argentine Santiago Solari.
Midfielder Santi Cazorla gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute of the game, which was rescheduled due to Real's participation in last month's Club World Cup, by bending a wonderful shot into the bottom corner.
Ronaldinho, who had a disappointing Club World Cup this month, has been elected South American footballer of the year in the annual poll conducted by the Uruguayan daily El Pais.
Tottenham Hotspur will be without five key players for at least two weeks due to injury, but manager Mauricio Pochettino was in upbeat mood ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday.
Sukanya Verma looks at some memorable balloon moments of Bollywood.
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.
Portugal star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo's presence makes the team a potential target for terror attacks during Euro 2016, said coach Fernando Santos.
After scoring one of the goals of the tournament and upstaging Lionel Messi by leading his team to the top of their group, Croatia captain Luka Modric hopes to fulfil a dream that began when he watched his nation record a best ever World Cup showing.
Cristiano Ronaldo believes he changed the game by scoring 31 goals from midfield in the Premier League last season to win the European Golden Boot award.
AC Milan will find it hard to hold on to Kaka after Manchester City reportedly offered more than 100 million euros ($133 million) for the Brazil playmaker, the Italian club's owner Silvio Berlusconi said on Saturday.
France's Thierry Henry and Brazil's Ronaldinho were not included on the list of nominees for the 2008 Ballon d'Or award on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo says he is "still handsome" after his face was left covered in blood from being kicked in the face against Deportivo La Coruna last week and declared he wants to remain at Real Madrid despite reports that he is unhappy in Spain.
Cristiano Ronaldo signed off his stellar 2016 in style on Sunday, scoring a hat-trick to lift Real Madrid to Club World Cup glory and underline his status as the world's best player.
Cristiano Ronaldo's museum on Madeira has upsized to a larger home in anticipation of the Real Madrid star winning "future trophies", his cousin told AFP on Monday. The Portugal striker's self-financed shrine now occupies a prime seafront position in Funchal, the island's capital where "CR7" was born in 1985. The museum's new two-storey site "will be able to welcome Ronaldo's future trophies," his cousin and museum director Nuno Viveiros said. The treasure trove charting the success of Madeira's most famous son draws in 200,000 visitors a year. It boasts two waxworks of the former Manchester United forward whilst a 3.4-metre-high (11 feet) bronze statue he unveiled of himself in December 2014 has been moved to greet visitors at the entrance. In January the statue was the target of graffiti when it was tagged with the name and shirt number of arch-rival Lionel Messi, hours after the Barcelona superstar saw off Ronaldo to claim a fifth world player of the year award. Among the 160 trophies on display are Ronaldo's three Ballons d'Or.
The reigning Ballon d'or winner gave a perfect start to his side's new campaign by scoring twice in Madrid's comfortable 3-0 win over Cypriot visitors APOEL in the opening match.
Real Madrid striker, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed his girlfriend Irina Shayk has an obsession with his boxers.
Cristiano Ronaldo has received an offer to leave Real Madrid and join Italian champions Juventus, a source close to the player said.
Lionel Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat-trick as Barcelona kick-started their campaign with a 4-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven, although they had defender Samuel Umtiti sent off late in the second half on Tuesday.
Barcelona's star striker Lionel Messi has backed Atletico Madrid to seal this year's Champions League title, saying his team don't want to see Real Madrid claim the trophy.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
Brazilian Kaka helped AC Milan thrash Boca Juniors 4-2 to win the Club World Cup.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been named European Footballer of the Year by France Football magazine, Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon said on Friday.
Ukraine was ordered to play a game behind closed doors as part of a UEFA punishment for racist behavior at last month's European Championship qualifier against Spain.
Salah back in Liverpool squad but may not be risked at Genk, says Klopp
Perennial slow starters Mumbai Indians are on course for a trademark late-season charge into the Indian Premier League play-offs, thanks largely to some impressive performances by all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
Real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed his split with Russian model gal-pal Irina Shayk.
"It would be a big deal, increasing the team's appeal and also because it would bigger business for Juve, through merchandising," a Milan-based trader said.
India's One-day International cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is among Forbes magazine's 100 highest-paid athletes in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been involved in a new row with Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez, according to reports in the Spanish media. The reports claim that the Portuguese striker was left fuming and walked out of the room after he was asked by Benitez to undergo a biometric analysis in order to improve his free-kick scoring rate.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
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