Factbox on Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who became his country's all-time top goalscorer on Tuesday when he scored his 55th international goal.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
David Villa struck twice to lead Barcelona to a 5-0 rout of Real Madrid on Monday with a scintillating performance which put the champions two points clear of their arch-rivals at the top of the Spanish La Liga.
If there is one man who should know how to end Barcelona's four-match winning streak in the 'Clasico' it is Jose Mourinho.
Luis Suarez is starting to "feel like a footballer" once again after being allowed to train with new club Barcelona following his appeal against a FIFA ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup.
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.
Treble-chasing Barcelona are exactly where they want to be as they prepare for two matches this week that could make or break coach Luis Enrique's first season in charge.
Barcelona took another big stride towards a second-straight La Liga triumph when top scorer Lionel Messi struck twice in a 4-1 home win over relegation threatened Tenerife on Tuesday.
Champions Barcelona suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Hercules on Saturday when Nelson Valdez struck twice to give the tiny promoted club a shock La Liga victory at a stunned Nou Camp stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
Arsenal clawed back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Barcelona on Wednesday in a rip-roaring Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates.
Real Madrid climbed back above Barcelona to the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain both netted twice to seal a convincing 4-2 victory at city rivals Getafe on Thursday.
Lionel Messi's brilliance sent holders Barcelona through to the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-0 dismantling of VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday.
Real Madrid and Barcelona, the world's two richest clubs, have already played each other twice in five days in La Liga and the King's Cup, and now face off again over two legs for a place in the Champions League final.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed an 89th minute winner for Real Madrid as they came from behind to beat Osasuna 3-2 at home to stay hot on the heels of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday.
Lionel Messi scored twice to help Barcelona shake off the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit with a 4-1 victory at Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.
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.
IMAGES from Day 8 of the French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Barcelona's Bojan Krkic scored twice in a 4-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao that put his side three points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, facing multiple suspensions, struck twice to lift Paris St Germain to a crushing 4-0 victory over Bastia.
Colombia head to Copa semis after penalties win over Uruguay
Lionel Messi netted a superb hat-trick for Barcelona in their 4-2 away win at Real Zaragoza to keep them neck-and-neck with Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Rafael van der Vaart scored an injury-time winner as Real Madrid came back to beat Sevilla 3-2 and replace Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday, after the champions were held 2-2 in Almeria.
Barcelona restored their two-point lead at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi finished a slick move to fire the champions to a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Malaga on Saturday.
It's hard not to run into some wide-eyed fanatic telling us how mobile will change our lives.
Pep Guardiola is a 'proven winner' who will take Manchester City to a 'whole new level', the Premier League club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has said.
Pep Guardiola will take charge of Premier League Manchester City from July on a three-year contract. Keep reading to know more about Guardiola...
De Rossi, who turned 36 on Wednesday, led Roma for the final time in a 2-1 victory over Parma at the Stadio Olimpico in May and finished his stint in the Italian capital with 616 appearances in 18 years.
Real Madrid's faltering title defence continued as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday which saw them fall 16 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 3-0 to stay nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
David Villa netted twice to fire Valencia to a 4-1 win over 10-man Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday and lift Unai Emery's side to within three points of second-placed Real Madrid.
Higuain had a disappointing Copa America tournament in July, scoring two goals during the competition and missing his spot kick as Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were vying for top billing in La Liga on Saturday after leading their sides to victories.
Real Madrid's reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Five-times winners Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages despite a 1-0 win at Debrecen on Tuesday while Fiorentina and Arsenal qualified for the last 16.
Barcelona's Neymar scored twice and Luis Suarez was also on target as they reached their fourth King's Cup final in five years with a 3-1 win away to Villarreal on Wednesday that gave them a 6-2 aggregate victory.
The veteran admits Barca have defence problems, slams Dembele
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for 10-man Real Madrid in a 2-0 home win over Getafe on Saturday that eased the pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. Real have 22 points from nine games and are one point behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna, Gerard Pique scoring in his own net in the last minute.
