Spanish Clubs

Norwegian prodigy Martin Odegaard joined Real Madrid two years ago at the age of 16, and having failed so far to break into Madrid's first team, the 18-year-old midfielder is going on loan to Heerenveen in the Netherlands. 

After only two first-team appearances in two years, Odegaard will benefit from regular action against top division professionals.

The loan is reportedly for 18 months, and Odegaard will not be 20 years old yet at the end of it. There's room to grow here.

Odegaard joins a squad that sits fourth in the Eredivisie, in line for a Europa League place.

The rumor mill has been heating up as clubs start making moves this January. One big-time rumor that might make waves in the coming weeks, should it turn into reality, is Manchester City’s reported interest in Ivan Rakitic.

The Barcelona midfielder has been warming the bench for Luis Enrique’s side since early December, and a move to play under Pep Guardiola might prove alluring to the Croatian playmaker.

Still, how well would he fit into Guardiola’s team?

The FIFA FIFPro World XI, which doesn't matter but people pretend to care about anyway, was announced at the FIFA Awards Gala, which doesn't matter but people pretend to care about anyway, today.

It was, as it is every year, basically Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manuel Neuer.

Well, and Dani Alves, who played the first part of this year with Barcelona and the second part with Juventus. Here's the full squad:

Goalkeeper

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany)

Defenders

Dani Alves (Juventus/Brazil)

Barcelona dropped points to Villarreal on Sunday after a 1-1 draw, but they have Lionel Messi to thank for keeping their fading La Liga title hopes alive. With Villarreal leading 1-0 in the 90th minute, Messi stepped forward to deliver another fantastic free kick.

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Messi has scored on 12 direct free kicks for club and country, moving him into the upper echelon of dead ball specialists.

When the casual soccer fan is asked who he believes are the best coaches in the world right now, the answers are usually concentrated. Names like Pep Guardiola, Diego Simeone, Joachim Low, and Jose Mourinho are mentioned. Those names come to mind because they have the most national and international exposure. These coaches are all monumental in their own way, but if you look a little deeper you’ll find there are coaches at every level of soccer setting records and cementing their place in their clubs’ histories. In this context, let me introduce you to Marcelo Gallardo.

Real Madrid cruised to a 5-0 victory over Granada on Saturday, moving six points clear of Barcelona in the La Liga table. Goals from Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Casemiro and a brace from Isco condemned Granada to their tenth defeat of the season — they’re currently 19th in the table.

The Bernabeu crowd were treated to five goals within the hour, and Real Madrid made it 39 consecutive matches unbeaten, equalling the all time Spanish record.

The prematch festivities included a presentation of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth Ballon d’Or trophy. 

If the rumors are to be believed, Manchester United are in hot pursuit of Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann, and, judging by Paul Pogba’s interview with FIFA.com, United’s world-record signing could help lure him to Old Trafford.

Ray Hudson wasn't on this game for BeIN Sports, but he should have been, because WOW.

Sadly, this game probably won't count for anything because the second leg is at the Camp Nou and Barcelona are Barcelona. But it was fun, so it should be appreciated.

Athletic Bilbao opened the scoring, to the surprise of everyone.

When you’re undefeated in 38 consecutive matches, the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rings particularly true. Unfortunately for James Rodriguez, he’s not a beneficiary of Real Madrid's continuity. The Colombian captain has been limited to four La Liga starts this season, and his minutes across all competitions amount to not even eight full matches.