La Liga leaders Barcelona could have slipped down to third in the table by the time they kick-off against Malaga on Sunday.
The reigning champions have remained at the summit of the Spanish top flight since week one of the 2013-14 season, amassing 51 points from 20 fixtures so far.
However, Atletico Madrid have an identical record to Barcelona 16 wins, three draws and one defeat with the Catalans top on goal difference alone, while in-form Real Madrid sit just one point back after a run of nine wins from 10 league games.
Both Real and Atletico play before Barca in the latest round of fixtures with the former hosting Granada on Saturday and Diego Simeone s men visiting Rayo Vallecano earlier on Sunday.
However, Barca coach Gerardo Martino is sure to be confident o…
Adel Taarabt has signed a five-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica after reaching an agreement to terminate his QPR contract.
Enigmatic Moroccan playmaker Taarabt hardly featured for Rangers last season as they were relegated to the Championship.
And, after six years at Loftus Road, the 26-year-old has now moved on to Benfica on a free transfer.
QPR confirmed Taarabt s contract had been cancelled by mutual consent, with Benfica announcing his arrival on their Twitter account.
Taarabt signed for five seasons. Welcome! the club s tweet read.
Taarabt had not played regularly for QPR since the 2012-13 campaign, which also saw them relegated from the Premier League.
The former Tottenham man spent the first half of 2013-14 on loan…
New measures limiting fees paid to footballers agents and the amount of international loans clubs can be party to have been endorsed by FIFA s Football Stakeholders Committee.
It had been proposed that, under new regulations, agents would not be able to receive more than 10 per cent of the transfer fee when working for a selling club, while those acting on behalf of players will be entitled to up to three per cent of the player s remuneration .
Agents working with engaging clubs will also only be able to earn three per cent of the player s fee, while the measures shall limit multiple representation to avoid conflicts of interest in transfers as well.
The committee also approved the introduction of international loan limits for players aged 22 and over, with a max…
Aston Villa have signed Anwar El Ghazi on a season-long loan from Lille.
Capped twice by Netherlands, 23-year-old winger El Ghazi is a graduate of Ajax s feted youth system.
After breaking into the first team, he seemed set for stardom in Amsterdam before a fallout with then head coach Petr Bosz paved the way for his switch to Lille in January 2017.
El Ghazi scored five times in 39 Ligue 1 appearances, but was not part of Lille boss Christophe Galtier s plans for the current campaign.
First of all I would like to thank all of Lille’s fans for everything. You will forever remain in my heart and you never know what the future will bring. Right now I am really happy with this new challenge and I am looking forward to meeting all Aston Villa fans.
…
South Korea winger Park Ji-Sung and Argentine striker Carlos Tevez, who became close friends when they were Manchester United teammates, will be sworn enemies in a crunch World Cup clash on Thursday.
Both South Korea and Argentina won their opening games in South Africa and victory for either side in the Group B encounter will open the door to a last 16 place.
We have played together and I think it is great that we will play against each other, but this is not just a friendly, this is the greatest place to play football, said 29-year-old Park.
We are both adversaries for now and we will both be doing our best to win the game.
Park says he expects Tevez to have briefed the Argentina defence about his playing style, just as he has told the South Koreans…
Under-fire World Cup referee Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda was no stranger to controversy prior to his blunder in the World Cup last 16 match between Germany and England on Sunday.
Larrionda, who ruled along with his linesman that England midfielder Frank Lampard s shot had not gone over the line when it clearly had and which would have made the score 2-2 with Germany before half-time, was suspended in 2002 for six months by his national Football Association over irregularities .
That ruled the man known by some as Red Card Larrionda out of officiating at the 2002 World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.
The 42-year-old has also incurred the wrath of the United States side twice, most notably in the 2006 World Cup when, in a group match with eventual champions Ita…
If Mario Balotelli wants to play senior football this season then he must find another club, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has warned.
Balotelli along with Fabio Borini and Jose Enrique has been told he is surplus to requirements at Anfield and Rodgers has insisted he will not change his mind after the controversial Italian striker s poor first season in the Premier League.
The unwanted trio of players have been told to train with Liverpool s youth team, prompting Jose Enrique to claim last week that Rodgers has alienated them.
But Rodgers shifted the blame right back on the players on Sunday, arguing Liverpool will not stand in the way of a transfer.
He [Balotelli] clearly knows his situation and where he s at, Rodgers said.
There s nothing…
Brendan Rodgers has lavished praise on former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll, insisting his sale was not down to a lack of ability.
Liverpool visit Carroll s present employers West Ham on Sunday, with the table-toppers gunning for a ninth consecutive Premier League win to continue their assault on the title.
Carroll moved to Anfield from Newcastle United for a club-record fee of £35million in January 2011 when Kenny Dalglish was Liverpool manager, but was sent to Upton Park on loan when Rodgers took over before the 2012-13 season before then making his transfer permanent last June.
However, speaking ahead of the trip to Upton Park, Rodgers said there are few better target men than Carroll, adding that the 25-year-old was only sold because he did not suit the style of …
AC Milan striker Gonzalo Higuain feels like he was kicked out of Juventus after Cristiano Ronaldo s signing in July.
Higuain joined Juve for a reported €90million from Napoli in 2016 and scored 40 Serie A goals across his two seasons at the club, but his signing failed to be the catalyst for Champions League success some hoped it would be.
Juve turned their attentions to Ronaldo in pre-season and managed to lure the Ballon d Or holder away from Real Madrid, bolstering their already impressive arsenal.
But his signing ultimately meant Higuain was surplus to requirements, paving the way for the Argentina international to join Milan on loan in August in a deal which can be made permanent at the end of the season.
It was never Higuain s intention to leave J…
Jose Mourinho says having a rejuvenated Anthony Martial at Manchester United is like a new player arriving in his squad.
As has been the case for several first-team stars at Old Trafford this season, Martial s performances have drawn public criticism from Mourinho in recent weeks.
After the France international failed to make the bench for last weekend s win over Premier League leaders Chelsea, Mouinho said of Martial: He needs to give me things that I like.
The France international responded in style, scoring the opener in Sunday s 2-0 win at Burnley, before laying on an assist for captain Wayne Rooney and, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Marouane Fellaini and Luke Shaw have found of late, Martial s return to form would also draw praise from the manager.
He h…