Spain

Real Madrid had an underwhelming return to LaLiga as they could only draw 0-0 away to Real Sociedad on Sunday in the first game of their title defense.

The champions looked rusty and particularly toothless up front, barely creating any chances of note in either half as Karim Benzema found little support in Brazilian teenage forwards Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.

MADRID — Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he did not say anything to Gareth Bale before he left to sign for Tottenham Hotspur but insisted he had no personal issue with the Wales forward and praised what he did for the Spanish club.

Bale travelled to London on Friday to finalise a return to Tottenham on loan after seven years at Real which witnessed a remarkable haul of trophies and goals but ended with the player barely featuring at the end of last season.

Former Barcelona coach Quique Setién and three of his assistants announced on Thursday they are suing the club for failing to fulfill the terms of their contracts after being sacked last month.

In a joint statement with assistants Eder Sarabia, Jon Pascua and Fran Soto released on his official Twitter account, Setién said he had only received written notice of the termination of his contract on Sept. 16, having been sacked on Aug. 17.

He said he had not received any compensation from the club a month after being sacked.

Preseason results don’t matter, especially so when you’re FC Barcelona playing against third- and second- division sides, but Barça has followed up Saturday’s 3-1 win over Gimnàstic with a 3-1 victory over Girona on Wednesday.

MADRID — Spanish soccer body LaLiga has rescheduled four matches in the top two divisions for the second week in a row and criticized the national federation (RFEF) over its ban on games on Mondays and Fridays.

A statement from LaLiga on Wednesday confirmed that Friday's game between Getafe and Osasuna had been moved to Saturday, with Real Betis vs. Real Valladolid being pushed forward from Monday to Sunday.

Tottenham Hotspur are in talks with Real Madrid to re-sign winger Gareth Bale, his agent said on Tuesday, as the Wales international looks to end his troubled spell at the Spanish club.

Bale made over 200 appearances for Premier League Spurs between 2007 and 2013, scoring 56 goals with 58 assists before his then world record move to Real for 100 million euros ($118.46 million).

BARCELONA — Barcelona beat second division Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1 in a preseason friendly on Saturday, with Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele each making encouraging returns by scoring in Ronald Koeman's first game in charge.

Lionel Messi wore the captain's armband in his first match since he opted to abandon his plans to leave Barca, although Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal were left out of the squad as the club is still trying to offload both players.

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi looked back in his comfort zone during training with his Barcelona teammates on Wednesday in preparation for the new LaLiga season as he continued to move on from his aborted attempt to leave the club last month.

Barca's all-time top scorer was seen smiling as he and his fellow players worked through persistent rain at the club's Joan Gamper training complex under the orders of new coach Ronald Koeman.

With Lionel Messi's aborted bid to leave Barcelona still raw, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu may be counting his days after a campaign group announced they were racking up signatures in a bid to force a vote of no-confidence in him.