Spain

Whenever Zinedine Zidane decides he’d like to spend more time in Ibiza on his yacht and less time fielding questions about Gareth Bale’s short game, Real Madrid can rest easy with a “next man up” mentality given the early managerial success of legendary striker Raúl at the youth level.

On Tuesday, Raúl made history by becoming the second person to win the UEFA Youth League as both a player and manager after Real’s U-19 squad defeated Benfica in the 2019-20 final.  

BARCELONA — Captain Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wishes to leave the club immediately, a source confirmed on Tuesday, deepening the turmoil within the Catalan side less than two weeks after their humiliating 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich. But can anyone afford the Lionel Messi buyout clause?

The club source said Messi, who has spent his entire career at Barca, informed the club about his desire to leave by sending a burofax, a service used in Spain to urgently dispatch a document that requires proof to third parties.

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel says Lionel Messi would be welcome at the club if he ever decided to leave Barcelona but he does not expect the Argentine forward to do so.

Messi, who joined Barcelona aged 13, has scored a record 634 goals for the club in 730 games and is also their most decorated player with 33 trophies but the 33-year-old is into the final year of his contract at the club.

COLOGNE — Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui enjoyed sweet redemption after his side beat Inter Milan 3-2 in a thrilling Europa League final on Friday to hand the Spaniard a first major trophy.

A highly-rated coach in Spain's youth set-up, Lopetegui landed a first job in elite club coaching when he took over at Portuguese giants Porto in 2014 but was sacked 18 months later after failing to win a trophy.

Barcelona's teenage forward Ansu Fati and new Manchester City signing Ferran Torres were among six debutants in the Spain squad coach Luis Enrique unveiled on Thursday for next month's UEFA Nations League matches against Germany and Ukraine.

Fati, 17, who is Barça's youngest league goalscorer as well as the youngest player to ever to score in the Champions League, makes the leap into the senior team from the under-21 side after an outstanding breakthrough season with the Catalans.

BARCELONA — New Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman is expected to oversee a massive overhaul of the squad as he leads them into a new era after their weaknesses were exposed in the 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich, president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said.

Koeman, one of Barca's greatest ever players who was confirmed as the club's new coach on Wednesday, will oversee the transition alongside Ramon Planes, the new chief technical secretary after Eric Abidal left the club.

The La Liga season restarts Saturday, September 12, and Real Madrid will again be heavy favorites for the title. Los Blancos used a late surge to overtake rivals Barcelona and win the league by five points.

The final 2019-20 La Liga table pic.twitter.com/RBzufwDvDQ

— Goal (@goal) July 19, 2020

The transfer rumor mill has been swirling following Barcelona's embarrassing defeat to Bayern Munich on Friday, as many of the club's top players have been linked with moves away from the Catalan club.

Sevilla’s quest for a record-extending sixth Europa League crown continues after LaLiga’s fourth-place finisher defeated Manchester United 2-1 on Sunday. United took an early lead through Bruno Fernandes’ customary penalty, but Sevilla overturned the deficit with goals from the unlikely duo of Suso and Luuk de Jong.

Friday’s 8-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich will undoubtedly see heads roll at Barcelona, from dead man walking Quique Setién to the elderly cohort of Gerard Piqué, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Luis Suárez and Ivan Rakitić. 

But the biggest question mark remains the future of Lionel Messi, who dictates his own future following the most humiliating defeat in Barça history.