Spain

Manchester City take a 2-1 lead into their Champions League last 16 match against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Friday but manager Pep Guardiola needs no reminders of how quickly games can turn in Europe's elite competition.

In last year's quarterfinals City went out on away goals to Tottenham Hotspur after looking in command when 4-2 up in the second leg. The previous year, City were blitzed by three Liverpool goals inside 19 first-half minutes as they fell to a 5-1 aggregate defeat.

James Rodriguez looks set to end his time with Real Madrid but could be staying in the city as reports say he is set for a transfer to Atlético Madrid.

Atletico Madrid have reportedly agreed a fee of just €15m with rivals Real Madrid for James Rodriguez pic.twitter.com/fjU9UnP2bc

— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) August 5, 2020

Legendary keeper Iker Casillas, one of the greatest to ever play his position, officially announced his retirement on Tuesday. The former Real Madrid and Spain captain ends a career that spanned over two decades in which he captured the most prized trophies in the world. 

The Dallas Cowboys were ranked the world's most valuable sports team for a fifth consecutive year according to an annual list published by Forbes on Friday that was dominated by National Football League clubs.

The NFL's Cowboys, who unseated Spanish soccer club Real Madrid for top spot on the list in 2016, were valued at $5.5 billion, a 10 percent rise when compared to last year, Forbes said in a statement.

Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz has tested positive for COVID-19, the Spanish champions said on Tuesday, casting doubt on his participation in their Champions League tie at Manchester City next week.

Real said in a statement that tests were conducted on the squad on Monday and that though Diaz was in "perfect health," he would be self-isolating at home.

Spanish side Fuenlabrada's final match that was postponed after several players tested positive for COVID-19 has been officially suspended and will not take place, denying the second division side a shot at promotion, LaLiga said on Sunday.

Fuenlabrada, who was due to play Deportivo La Coruña last week, confirmed 12 more positive tests on Saturday, bringing the number of cases at the club to 28.

The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded this year for the first time in its 64-year history after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the football calendar, organizers France Football magazine said on Monday.

The prestigious award, voted for by journalists, is an annual prize given to the best male footballer in the world since 1956. The women's Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 2018.

Barcelona’s LaLiga title defense came to a sputtering end last Thursday following a 2-1 loss to Osasuna, a defeat that Lionel Messi called a microcosm of Barça’s “erratic and weak” 2019-20 team. That inconsistency was again highlighted in Sunday’s final league match of the season as the Blaugrana raced to a 3-0 halftime lead against Alavés en route to a 5-0 win. 

With the team trying to stay sharp ahead of its rescheduled Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Napoli on Aug. 8, Ernesto Valverde named a strong starting XI against 15th-place Alavés. 

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi has rarely been known for speaking out but he could not help himself when analysing what has been a disastrous season finale for Barcelona and did not hold back after Thursday's limp 2-1 LaLiga defeat at home by Osasuna.

Calling his side "weak," "inconsistent" and "very easy to score against," the club captain called for urgent changes after surrendering the league title to Real Madrid, saying it was no good to use their rivals' relentless form as an excuse.

"Messi explodes," ran the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

Add another one to Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane’s trophy cabinet — Los Blancos are the champions of Spain.

Karim Benzeman scored twice as Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 3-1 in the club’s penultimate LaLiga match on Thursday at the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium. The victory meant Barcelona could not catch its archrival regardless of what it accomplished the remainder of the season, awarding Real Madrid its 34th league title. All this despite a maddeningly perfect free kick from Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s shock 2-1 defeat to Osasuna.