'Robert is an incredible player and he won everything with us. We are incredibly grateful to him.'
Barcelona's bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Poland and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski hailed Barcelona coach Xavi as the main reason for his move to the La Liga club.
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
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Seydou Keita scored a stoppage-time equaliser as 10-man Barcelona drew 2-2 at Real Betis to wrap up Pep Guardiola's last La Liga campaign as coach of the club on Saturday.
Valencia lost ground in the battle with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for third place in La Liga when they conceded a late Aritz Aduriz equaliser in a bad-tempered 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Real, who have smashed the La Liga scoring record, clinched their 32nd league crown and their first in four years when Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo struck in a frenetic 3-0 win at 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
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Atletico Madrid's La Liga title challenge took a nosedive when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, leaving Real Madrid three points clear at the top.
Barcelona sacked coach Ronald Koeman after Wednesday's 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Rayo Vallecano, the Catalan club said on Wednesday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi hit his 400th career goal for the La Liga leaders.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
Barcelona bounced back from their painful Clasico loss in style as they cruised to a 3-0 home LaLiga win over Villarreal with a brace from Robert Lewandowski on Thursday.
A towering Diego Godin header secured Atletico Madrid a 1-1 draw against Barcelona and a first La Liga title for 18 years in a thrilling climax to the campaign on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.
The 35-year-old also paid tribute to Messi, who played for Real's arch-rivals Barcelona.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
Villarreal tightened their grip on fourth place in La Liga when Nigerian forward Ikechukwu Uche's last-gasp strike snatched a 1-0 win at fellow promoted side Elche on Monday.
Real Madrid's teenage Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes sent them top of La Liga as both scored in a 2-0 win over Osasuna on Wednesday.
In a big blow to Real Madrid's title hopes, Real Betis held them to a goalless draw in their La Liga encounter on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Barcelona will look to take a big step towards their first La Liga title in four years, when they take on Real Madrid this weekend.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Key head-to-head battles in Saturday's "Clasico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona at the Bernabeu stadium (1600 GMT)
Los Angeles Galaxy won their opening SuperLiga match 2-1 against Mexican side Pachuca on Tuesday despite missing the injured David Beckham.
Given a contract until 2024, the 41-year-old made a winning start on Saturday with a victory over Espanyol that put Barcelona sixth in LaLiga on 20 points after 13 matches.
Villarreal continued their impressive revival after a season in the second division when Jeremy Perbet and Jonathan Pereira struck in a 2-1 win at home to Espanyol in La Liga on Thursday.
Inaki and Nico Williams encounter contrasting fortunes at the World Cup.
Barcelona clinched a 1-0 away win at Atletico Madrid, while AS Roma held AC Milan to a 2-2 draw.
Lionel Messi scored twice as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a persistent Valencia side, who had Eliaquim Mangala sent off in the first half, to win 4-2 on Sunday and stay on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.
Chelsea reached the Champions League quarter-finals as a first-half goal from Raheem Sterling and a controversial penalty by Kai Havertz overturned a first-leg deficit.
La Liga leaders Barcelona won a tight and tense 'Clasico' 1-0 at Real Madrid on Saturday, beating their great rivals at their Bernabeu home for the second time in four days and moving a staggering 12 points clear of them in the standings.
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
A tenacious Barcelona frustrated Real Madrid to secure a 1-0 win over their bitter rivals in an ill-tempered Copa del Rey semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Leaders Real Madrid pulled three points clear of second-placed Celta Vigo when they held off the valiant 10-man Galicians to secure a nervy 3-1 victory in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash in La Liga.
David Moyes notched his maiden victory as coach of Real Sociedad as Carlos Vela scored a classy hat-trick in a morale-boosting 3-0 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Friday.
Alves joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2008 and made 391 appearances, becoming a regular under ex-managers Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova, Tata Martino and Luis Enrique before leaving for Juventus in 2016.
Champions Barcelona came through a gruelling La Liga test at a rainswept San Mames on Sunday, beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's first-half header.
An insatiable Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Espanyol 5-0 in a local derby on Saturday to make it three wins from three and take full advantage after Liga champions Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Levante.
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