Lionel Messi's fifth-place finish in this year's Ballon d'Or vote was absurd, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said of the Spanish champions' Argentina forward on Tuesday.
Real Madrid failed in their attempt to sign France striker Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain on the final day of the transfer window as Cristiano Ronaldo completed his move from Juventus to Manchester United.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the 'decisive' Antoine Griezmann after his two goals helped down Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday and tried to convince the striker to resist the lure of Barcelona.
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 France international is widely expected to move to Liga champions Barcelona at the end of this campaign.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
Lionel Messi notched up his 35th league goal of the season as an understrength Barcelona strolled to a crushing 6-1 home win against Getafe that put them 12 points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Premier League leaders City said a statue will be erected outside the Etihad Stadium in the Argentine's honour, alongside those of his former team mates David Silva and Vincent Kompany.
Barcelona won their 26th King's Cup when two goals from Pedro and one from Lionel Messi gave them a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in coach Pep Guardiola's final match in charge on Friday.
'This is very special because of how much I suffered. My statistics show I've won five league titles in seven years.'
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa haunted Arsenal again by firing his side to a 1-0 win in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg to send the Spaniards into the final and deny Arsene Wenger a dream end to his long reign as Arsenal coach.
Lionel Messi became Barca's record appearance maker in the competition with 76 Copa matches.
Sergio Aguero was as good as his word on Sunday when he scored the stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers that sealed Manchester City's first title for 44 years.
A Champions League spot, two Europa League berths and two relegation places are to be claimed or avoided in what promises to be a nerve-wracking finale to the La Liga season on Sunday.
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
Rampant unbeaten leaders Barcelona ended the first half of the La Liga season with a record 55 of a possible 57 points when Lionel Messi scored one goal and had a hand in two more in a 3-1 win at Malaga on Sunday.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
Fernando Llorente netted a dramatic late winner for Athletic Bilbao to eliminate Sporting and Atletico Madrid comfortably held on to a first-leg lead to oust La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday and set up an all-Spanish Europa League final.
A downbeat Diego Simeone did not confirm whether he wanted to continue as Atletico Madrid coach on Saturday after suffering a second agonising Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid in three years.
A quickfire Arda Turan double, including an acrobatic bicycle kick, fired Atletico Madrid to a 3-1 home win over Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday and lifted the Europa League semi-finalists up to seventh.
Atletico Madrid have one foot in the final of the Europa League after a Radamel Falcao double fired the 2010 winners to a 4-2 semi-final first leg win at home to La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday.
Real Madrid defender Pepe is likely to be out of action for a month after suffering a thigh injury.
Heavyweights Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Lazio took big steps towards reaching the Europa League semi-finals after convincing home first-leg victories and RB Leipzig also stayed on course with a 1-0 win over Olympique de Marseille on Thursday.
Serie A champions Juventus continued their rebuilding when they signed forward Simone Zaza from Sassuolo for 18 million euros ($19.72 million), the Turin club said on their website (www.juventus.com) on Tuesday.
To replace Spanish Capdevila at John Abraham-owned NorthEast United
Barcelona pulled six points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi netted his seventh double of the campaign and set up Alex Song to open his account for the club in a 3-1 success at home to Real Zaragoza on Saturday.
Saul Niguez announced himself as one of Europe's most promising midfielders by scoring a stunning individual goal to edge Atletico Madrid a step closer to their second Champions League final in three years.
Atletico Madrid put last week's painful defeat by Real Madrid behind them with a 3-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday that included two goals in the space of a minute and allowed them to return to the top four in La Liga.
Athletic Bilbao's bid for a berth in next season's Europa League stuttered when they lost 2-1 at Espanyol on Monday.
Hazard's two seasons in Spain have been riddled with injuries that have prevented him from hitting top form.
Luis Enrique is set to leave a mixed legacy when he departs Barcelona but the coach can go out on a high by lifting a third consecutive King's Cup when his side meet Alaves in Saturday's final in Madrid.
Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League final on away goals on Tuesday after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, in which both sides missed a penalty, with the exhilarating tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned from the club on Tuesday ahead of a vote of no confidence that was due to be held next month after some 20,000 fans signed a petition demanding that he step down.
Diego Forlan is to leave La Liga club Atletico Madrid after four seasons and will join Serie A side Inter Milan, the Uruguay striker announced on Monday.
Colombia striker Radamel Falcao scored a hat-trick and helped Atletico Madrid to their first away win of the season, in a 4-0 victory at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo should be fit to play a part in Real Madrid's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Tottenham Hotspur, coach Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.
Trippier suspension temporarily halted by FIFA
In the dying minutes of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, a thunderstorm rolled in and drenched Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
