La Liga

Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitić has called time on his international career with the 2018 World Cup runners-up, he said on Monday.

The former Barcelona player, 32, was an integral part of the Croatia side who reached the World Cup final in Russia before losing 4-2 to France.

Rakitić, who made 106 appearances and scored 15 goals for his country, discussed the decision with national captain Luka Modrić, coach Zlatko Dalić and Croatian Football Association president Davor Šuker.

Barcelona striker Luis Suárez has agreed a deal with the club to end his contract and settled on personal terms with Atlético Madrid, according to reports in Spain on Monday.

The Catalans' third top scorer of all time was told he was not wanted by new Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman and has been looking for a new club. Suárez, 33, who has one year to run on his Barcelona contract, agreed a deal with the club to cut it short, reports said.

Real Madrid had an underwhelming return to LaLiga as they could only draw 0-0 away to Real Sociedad on Sunday in the first game of their title defense.

The champions looked rusty and particularly toothless up front, barely creating any chances of note in either half as Karim Benzema found little support in Brazilian teenage forwards Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.

Former Barcelona coach Quique Setién and three of his assistants announced on Thursday they are suing the club for failing to fulfill the terms of their contracts after being sacked last month.

In a joint statement with assistants Eder Sarabia, Jon Pascua and Fran Soto released on his official Twitter account, Setién said he had only received written notice of the termination of his contract on Sept. 16, having been sacked on Aug. 17.

He said he had not received any compensation from the club a month after being sacked.

MADRID — Spanish soccer body LaLiga has rescheduled four matches in the top two divisions for the second week in a row and criticized the national federation (RFEF) over its ban on games on Mondays and Fridays.

A statement from LaLiga on Wednesday confirmed that Friday's game between Getafe and Osasuna had been moved to Saturday, with Real Betis vs. Real Valladolid being pushed forward from Monday to Sunday.

BARCELONA — Barcelona beat second division Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1 in a preseason friendly on Saturday, with Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele each making encouraging returns by scoring in Ronald Koeman's first game in charge.

Lionel Messi wore the captain's armband in his first match since he opted to abandon his plans to leave Barca, although Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal were left out of the squad as the club is still trying to offload both players.

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi looked back in his comfort zone during training with his Barcelona teammates on Wednesday in preparation for the new LaLiga season as he continued to move on from his aborted attempt to leave the club last month.

Barca's all-time top scorer was seen smiling as he and his fellow players worked through persistent rain at the club's Joan Gamper training complex under the orders of new coach Ronald Koeman.

With Lionel Messi's aborted bid to leave Barcelona still raw, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu may be counting his days after a campaign group announced they were racking up signatures in a bid to force a vote of no-confidence in him.

Barcelona forward Luis Suárez is due to sit a language test on Monday in a bid to obtain Italian citizenship that would enable him to move to Serie A champions Juventus, Italian and Uruguayan media said Sunday.

There have been widespread reports that Juventus are chasing the 33-year-old Uruguayan who, if the moves go through, would line up alongside defender Giorgio Chiellini, the Italy defender he famously bit in a World Cup match in 2014.