Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld insists his run to the Champions League final with Atletico Madrid two years ago proves that underdogs can compete with Europe's elite and win the competition.
After setting a Spanish record 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is relishing the run-in to the end of the season with his side on course for a second successive La Liga, King's Cup and Champions League treble.
Lionel Messi was lauded by opposition supporters on Sunday after he scored an outstanding hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis, which put the Catalans 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with 10 games remaining.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Barca are now second on 66 points, two behind Real who have a game in hand as they chase a first title triumph since 2012.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Barcelona's 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday.
Lionel Messi became the first player to notch 300 La Liga goals as his double blast powered Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon that sent them six points clear at the top of the table on Wednesday.
Now, through the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), Messi has kept his promise and gifted his five-year-old fan, Murtaza Ahmadi, two autographed jerseys and a signed football, CNN reported.
Spanish Moto2 rider Luis Salom has died after crashing during a free practice session at the Catalunya Grand Prix, world championship organisers said on Friday. "Following an incident during today's Moto2 Free Practice 2 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, it is with great sadness that we have to report the passing of Luis Salom (SAG Team)," MotoGP said in a statement. Salom, 24, was taken to a hospital after the crash where he underwent surgery.
Real Madrid star striker Critiano Ronaldo has been reportedly informed that he will be crowned this year's Ballon d'or winner.
Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez took centre stage on Saturday in bailing their teams out with late strikes to silence their critics following slow starts to the season.
From sharing medals to defections to gestures on the medals podium to punching horses, the Tokyo Olympics had it all.
The Portuguese is reported to be demanding another new deal to bring his salary in line with Lionel Messi and Neymar, the top two earners in world soccer.
Six players from the Spain squad had money stolen from their hotel rooms in Recife while they played their Confederations Cup opener against Uruguay, Spanish media reported on Thursday.
Real Madrid are set be thrown out of the Spanish King's Cup after playing banned Russian winger Denis Cheryshev in their last-32 win over Cadiz on Wednesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warmup match against Israel, striker Gonzalo Higuain said on Tuesday, as political pressure grew ahead of Saturday's scheduled fixture in Jerusalem.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated his happiness at Tottenham Hotspur in some of his first public comments after he emerged as a leading candidate to replace Zinedine Zidane at Real Madrid.
The tennis star also opened the doors of his Rafael Nadal Academy to those who were affected by the storm.
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.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
'Cristiano scored 50 goals and you can't find someone today who scores that many. Some of us have to take a step forward and, while not scoring 50, what we need is two or three players who score 15, 20, or 10 goals and we don't have that.'
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.
Klopp said the youngster has regained match fitness to be considered for his senior debut.
Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune have appointed former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager, Chinese and British media reported on Saturday.
Nkwe replaces West Indian Ottis Gibson, the previous head coach, for the trip which starts in September and includes three Tests and three Twenty20 Internationals.
Several Premier League clubs have furloughed employees since the new coronavirus outbreak while others, such as West Ham United and Southampton, have said their players have accepted wage deferrals. While CA announced plans to furlough almost 80% of staff last week, putting them on 20 per cent pay until June 30 when it is hoped more will be known about how long government curbs to control the coronavirus will last.
Yaya Toure has been left out of Manchester City's Champions League squad by coach Pep Guardiola, further undermining the Ivorian's position at the club. Toure, a mainstay of the City midfield since joining from Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010, has failed to start any of the club's opening three Premier League matches. He has only played once this season, in the second leg of the Champions League playoff tie against Steaua Bucharest, when they already had a 5-0 lead from the first encounter.
'It's evident that we are in a hole, we aren't at our best at the moment nor our most effective.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona forward Neymar is reportedly looking forward to welcome Luis Suarez into his and Argentina captain Lionel Messi's star-studded strike partnership when the Uruguayan returns for his four-month ban this weekend.
Barcelona midfielder Xavi will announce on Thursday he is leaving the club he joined as an 11-year-old to sign a lucrative three-year deal with Qatari side Al Sadd, his agent told Reuters on Wednesday.
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the very best players from what has been an outstanding tournament.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is leaving the Spanish La Liga champions at the end of the season when his contract expires after three trophy-laden seasons at the club.
Mercedes team flies F1 car to terminally ill boy's home in UK
Max Verstappen believes he can thwart Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh Formula One title this season if Red Bull give him the tools to do the job. Hamilton, 35, is chasing several records this season including Michael Schumacher's 91 race wins and seven titles, and has won five of the last six championships with dominant Mercedes.
News that transpired on and off the football field.
The Messi Experience Park, which is being launched by the five times world player of the year in collaboration with Chinese broadcaster Phoenix Group and Spanish media company Mediapro, is set to open in 2019 in the Chinese capital.
