Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
United topple Real Madrid off its perch in Forbes' list, Barca are at No 2 spot
Saturday's FA Cup final gives Everton the chance to cap an impressive season with rare silverware while for Chelsea it offers little more than a minor consolation in another frustrating campaign. Chelsea will want a rousing send-off for manager Guus Hiddink but having lost so painfully to Barcelona in the Champions League semis and finishing third in the league, it will not be easy to motivate themselves.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
Gerard Pique has been caught on camera apparently telling Spain coach Vicente del Bosque that Barcelona team mate Cesc Fabregas is poised to leave the La Liga side.
Luis Enrique's new task is to rebuild a Spain team that ruled international football between 2008 and 2012 by winning successive European Championships and the 2010 World Cup but have been deeply disappointing at their last three international tournaments.
The last-16 knock-out round kicks-off this week with Chelsea visiting Paris on Tuesday; Zidane to coach Real Madrid as manager in his first match in Europe
Diego Costa's season is getting better and better. The Atletico striker found the net again and took the Madrid team atop the La Liga table.
New Manchester United boss David Moyes is planning to spend 80 million to make sure the Old Trafford giants hold on to their title.
Images from the football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defiantly wore a yellow ribbon on his suit in support of jailed pro-independence Catalan politicians during his side's 3-0 League Cup final victory over Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
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.
Barcelona equalled a club record of 12 consecutive league wins as Neymar and Lionel Messi were among the scorers in a 6-0 thrashing of struggling Getafe 6-0 at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
The trio make up the shortlist for the 2004 World Player of the Year award.\n
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.
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.
Rediff.com brings you a roundup of soccer matches played across Europe over the weekend.
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
Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona cemented their commanding positions at the top of their respective leagues with victories over the weekend.
There will be no back door into the Champions League for Tottenham Hotspur if rivals Arsenal win the final of Europe's elite club competition.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
France striker Thierry Henry has announced his retirement from international soccer, the BBC reported on Thursday.
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.
Rather like tennis's serial record breaker Roger Federer, Barcelona striker Lionel Messi cannot seem to finish a soccer match without ticking off another milestone.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Germany's squad for the World Cup finals comprises the following 23 players.
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.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sol Campbell is set to move to Turkish club Fenerbahce, English media reported on Monday
