Rediff.com takes a look at a few other players who shunned champion sides for mediocre clubs in the Premier League.
Manchester City progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League from Group F on Tuesday after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Olympique Lyonnais, a team Pep Guardiola hailed as one of the toughest he has ever faced.
Lionel Messi was at the top of his game as Barcelona earned a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to move up to third in La Liga.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
News of Van Gaal's impending departure from the club leaked out minutes after Saturday's 2-1 extra-time victory over Palace and, following relentless media speculation and a day of negotiations, it was confirmed by both sides on Monday evening.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
VfL Wolfsburg reached the Champions League last 16 and dealt a knockout blow to Manchester United with a 3-2 victory to claim top spot in Group B and condemn their opponents to the Europa League on Tuesday.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The 39-year-old appeared at Italy's Sanremo festival in March, where he sang a duet with Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and said he would like to try acting.
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his Madeira homecoming with an early strike but Sweden wrecked the party by hitting back from two down to win 3-2.
Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.
Serge Gnabry continued his impressive scoring run for Germany, netting in second-half stoppage time for his ninth goal in his 10th international, completing Germany's eighth consecutive win over Northern Ireland.
Images from Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
The Welsh, who reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, finished runners-up on 14 points from eight games, three behind Croatia who sealed their berth on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Slovakia.
The Netherlands failed to reach the European Championship for the first time since 1984 as they lost 3-2 at home to the 10-man Czech Republic in their final qualifier on Tuesday to miss out on Euro 2016.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Juventus raced into a 2-0 halftime lead after Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was sent off in the 25th minute. The visitors then had Pjanic dismissed and Napoli's Jose Callejon pulled one back before Insigne let the Turin side off the hook.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Images from football matches played across Europe.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The draw interrupted a run of four straight league wins for Zinedine Zidane's side and left them second on 67 points after 31 games, three behind leaders Atletico who thrashed Eibar 5-0 earlier in the day.
The victory saw the unfashionable Madrid club tighten their grip on the coveted fourth spot in the table by moving on to 58 points after 36 games, three points clear of nearest challengers Sevilla, who lost to Leganes on Friday.
A summary of Tuesday's Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
A round of Wednesday night's Champions League group stage matches.
A round-up of Wednesday's night's UEFA Chmpions League matches.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of all the international friendlies played on Tuesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
As Manchester United prepare to embark on a new era following Louis van Gaal;s departure, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com offers a diagnosis of what went wrong with the most successful Premier League club after Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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