Spain

BARCELONA — Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta announced his retirement on Tuesday after a glittering trophy-laden career spanning 24 years.

Iniesta, 40, was at the heart of the Spain and Barcelona midfield during a period of sustained success for both teams in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

"Please allow me to be a little emotional today," a tearful Iniesta, who most recently played for Emirates Club in the United Arab Emirates, told a press conference.

Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé has suffered a muscle injury, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday, casting doubt over the French international's participation in the weekend derby against Atletico Madrid.

Mbappé, signed from Paris St Germain this year, has been in fine form this season, scoring seven goals for Real in nine matches across all competitions.

The 25-year-old was substituted in the 80th minute of the 3-2 home win over Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga on Tuesday and gestured to his thigh while leaving the pitch.

Kylian Mbappé hamstring injury

Real Madrid survived a late scare as goals by Lucas Vazquez, Kylian Mbappé and Rodrygo gave them a 3-2 home win over Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga on Tuesday.

Carlos Benavidez and Kike Garcia scored in the 85th and 86th minutes for Alaves but Real held on to win a match they had mostly dominated.

Real doubled their lead in the 40th minute when Mbappé played a neat one-two with Jude Bellingham before cutting inside and slotting a tidy finish to the right of the goalkeeper.

Kylian Mbappé goal vs Alaves

The UEFA Champions League has confirmed the fixtures for the new "league phase" format for the 2024/25 season. The draw marks a significant change from the traditional group stage format, with a shift towards a league phase that includes 36 teams, an increase from the previous 32.

Spoiler: Paris Saint-Germain are not liking the new format.

Confirmed: New UEFA Champions League "league phase" draw fixtures

Pot 1 fixtures:

MADRID, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Díaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid on Sunday, earning the defending champions their first win of the LaLiga season.

Although Real dominated possession, they struggled to breach Valladolid's ultra-defensive approach until breaking the deadlock from a free kick in the 50th minute, with Valverde slotting in a thunderous strike from the edge of the box.

MADRID — Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham sustained a muscle injury during training, the Spanish club said on Friday, and will miss key games for club and country.

The 21-year-old England international, who was a key player last season when Real won the Champions League and LaLiga titles, will be sidelined for several weeks, according to club sources.

Jude Bellingham injury

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was critical of his team's lack of balance and bad defending in a 1-1 draw at Mallorca in their LaLiga season opener on Sunday.

Ancelotti said his players lacked focus after taking an early lead through Rodrygo in the 13th minute but allowing Mallorca to rescue a point with a Vedat Muriqi header after the break.

MADRID, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Jr. is open to an offer of more than one billion euros from Saudi Arabia, sources close to the player told Reuters on Monday.

Saudi Arabia to offer Vinicius Jr. $200 million salary

Vinicius, 24, was approached by Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) officials to inquire about his interest of moving to the Saudi Pro League (SPL) on a five-year contract worth around 200 million euros per season fixed, plus bonuses.