Diego Forlan, whose fine performances and five goals helped Uruguay finish fourth in the 2010 World Cup, announced his retirement.
Luis Suarez played a part in all three of Barcelona's goals in a scrappy 3-1 victory at Granada.
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino has poured cold water on a report that suggested captain Carles Puyol was considering retiring at the end of the season due to a string of injuries.
Troubled AC Milan were held to a goalless draw by AEK Athens
Fiorentina tore apart Italian rivals AS Roma to reach the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-0 win that left their opponents' season in tatters and under-fire coach Rudi Garcia tottering on the brink of the sack.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Uruguayan soccer player Diego Forlan on Monday denied evading taxes by hiding money in Swiss accounts with the British bank HSBC Holdings PLC.
Here, Reuters Sport highlights five reasons why last season's double winners have collapsed.
The Italians drew 2-2 in Greece against Egaleo, a result which sends Middlesbrough, Villarreal and Partizan Belgrade through as the three qualifiers from Group E.
The Spanish club have the possibility of a first domestic and European double when they face Villarreal in the UEFA Cup semi-final.
Former England captain Alan Shearer carries the hopes of an entire city when he leads Newcastle United in tonight's UEFA Cup semi-finals against Olympique Marseille.
Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging four goals, while Juventus and Bayern Munich preserved their leads and FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the competition.
Real fought back after a calamitous own goal from keeper Keylor Navas gave Betis the lead in the 25th minute, just after the Costa Rican escaped a possible red card. Cristiano Ronaldo pulled the hosts level in the 41st with a diving header.
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
Lionel Messi came to Barcelona's rescue for the second time in a week by snatching a late winner to give his side a barely deserved 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday which provisionally took the champions top of La Liga.
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is under pressure to break up his misfiring attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale when he takes the La Liga leaders to Alaves on Saturday.
Holders Sevilla maintained their Europa League challenge with a 1-0 win over Rijeka in a winner-takes-all clash on Thursday.
Real Madrid trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to one point when they recovered from conceding an early goal to secure a stirring 3-1 comeback win in the 'Clasico' on Saturday.
The Bavarians have now won the German league title a record 29 times.
Leicester City must wait at least one more day for their first-ever Premier League title after drawing 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia after Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Alaves, allowing Sevilla to go top of La Liga with a 2-1 home win over Celta Vigo on Sunday. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Gareth Bale made up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring twice to inspire Real Madrid to come from two goals down and win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. Real managed to edge to the top of the table despite Ronaldo missing his first league game of the season with a muscle strain although they also suffered another scare before their Champions League semi-final next week with a suspected injury to Karim Benzema. Real had found themselves two behind within 14 minutes as Adrian Embarba scored from close range in the seventh minute before Rayo's Venezuelan striker Miku pounced on more poor defending from the visitors. Bale started the revival, heading in from a 35th minute corner before Zinedine Zidane's side drew level six minutes after the break through substitute Lucas Vazquez. Welshman Bale then completed the comeback nine minutes from time, collecting a misplaced pass from a Rayo defender before powering the ball past goalkeeper Juan Carlos.
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Real Madrid warmed up for their crunch meeting against Barcelona by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 and coach Zinedine Zidane believes his team "can do great things" if they match the performance they produced against Unai Emery's side.
Real Madrid put their title defence back on track with a comfortable 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Sunday, despite missing several key players. Sociedad defender Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends and Borja Mayoral and Gareth Bale netted Madrid's other goals to help them equal the consecutive scoring record of 73 games set by Pele's Santos between 1961 and 1963.
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
A Romelu Lukaku hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Everton at Young Boys and a thrilling 3-3 draw between Celtic and Inter Milan.
PSV Eindhoven will miss striker Luuk de Jong when they entertain Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale answered his critics in emphatic style.
Valencia coach Gary Neville has asked the fans for patience after watching his side stumble to a 2-0 reverse at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday that left him still winless in Spain's top flight.
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