Midfield

A shy village boy who could not bear to leave his parents' bed, Andrés Iniesta may have seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of the best footballers of all time, but anyone who saw him play rarely had serious doubts. 

Iniesta, who turns 36 today, weaved his magic for Barcelona for 16 years and was one of the architects of the club's greatest era, playing a defining role as they won 32 trophies including nine Spanish titles and four Champions League crowns. 

The novel coronavirus has crippled the global economy and devastated lives and families but Atlético Madrid and Spain midfielder Saúl Ñíguez believes there is a way out if people show solidarity with each other. 

With football on hold during the health crisis, Saúl, 25, has launched Saldremos Juntos (“We'll get through this together”), a campaign to boost Spain's freelancers and small businesses whose livelihoods have been bludgeoned by the pause in activity. 

Former Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini has been discharged from a Chinese hospital after recovering from the coronavirus. Fellaini now plays in the Chinese Super League for Shandong Luneng and had tested positive three weeks before being discharged.

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has criticized his club for their recent treatment of him and for trying to force his departure last year. The Croatian has been at Barca since 2014 but has fallen out of contention this campaign due to the arrival of Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong and has only started 10 of Barca's 27 LaLiga matches. 

Paul Pogba's stint on the sidelines has made him more determined to succeed on his return from a layoff for a foot injury, the Manchester United midfielder has said. Pogba's injury restricted him to eight appearances so far this season, but he was primed to return before professional football in England was suspended because of the COVID-19 outbreak. 

One year ago, Italian midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli was playing for Cremonese in Serie B with a transfer market value of just under $2 million. Fast forward to the present day and Inter is reportedly ready to offer Fiorentina $44 million for the 23-year-old.

Despite Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Barcelona in El Clásico last weekend, everyone knew there’d be more twists to come in LaLiga, but nobody expected Real to hand control back to Barça just days later.