Spain

Gareth Bale will consider a return to the Premier League if his current club Real Madrid allow him to end his stint in Spain, the Wales international has said.

The 31-year-old was on the verge of leaving for Chinese club Jiangsu Suning last year before the deal fell through and he barely featured for Real in their run to the LaLiga title when the campaign resumed after the COVID-19 stoppage.

Despite winning four Champions League titles with Real, Bale has divided opinion in Spain because of a perceived lack of commitment and poor injury record.

In the wake of Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu spoke of “a disaster” that necessitated “some decisions” because “this isn’t the Barça that we believe in.”

Israeli international forward Shon Weissman has completed a move to LaLiga's Real Valladolid from Austria's Wolfsberger AC.

Weissman moves to Valladolid, the club majority-owned by Brazilian legend Ronaldo, on a contract until 2024. Manager Sergio Gonzalez's side was in need of a striker after the loan deals of forwards Enes Ünal and Sandro Ramirez expired. Weissman, 24, had moved to Austria from Israeli side Maccabi Haifa last summer. Valladolid broke its transfer record to sign Weissman on a $4.7 million deal as a result of his prolific lone season in Austria.

LaLiga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract was still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical.

Messi's failure to show for his medical underlined the 33-year-old's determination to leave the club he has been with throughout his career.

BARCELONA — Angry Barcelona fans chanted for the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu after captain Lionel Messi announced on Tuesday that he wished to leave the Catalan side.

"We love you, Messi stay, Messi stay!" and "Bartomeu resign!" chanted several hundred fans outside Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on Tuesday night.

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.