Atlético Madrid celebrate La Liga title after draw at Barcelona

Atlético Madrid have done it. A year after they went to the Santiago Bernabéu and took the Copa del Rey from Real Madrid, they came here and took the league title from FC Barcelona. It is their first in 18 years. Next they travel to Lisbon to play their first European Cup final for 40 years. What Diego Simeone and his side have achieved is barely believable. Barcelona's supporters recognised the magnitude of what they had witnessed: when the final whistle went here, they immediately broke into applause.
Spain suffered a collective coronary as the season headed into the final minutes of the final day with a single moment sufficient to change the destiny of the title. Barcelona's goalkeeper, José Pinto, was even up for a corner that almost dropped his way. But in the end Diego Godín's header from a corner was enough to

Lionel Messi agrees new deal worth £16m a year with Barcelona

Barcelona have reached an agreement with Lionel Messi over an extension to his contract. The Argentina forward has been in negotiations for several weeks. However a statement on Barcelona's website on Friday confirmed that they have agreed terms.
"Barcelona has reached an agreement to adjust the terms in the contract binding Leo Messi to the club as a professional first team player," it read. "The revised and updated contract will be signed over the next few days."
No details of the contract were disclosed, but the deal follows lengthy negotiations during which it was reported that the 26-year-old wanted to surpass Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo as the best-paid player in the world.
According to the Barcelona-based newspaper Sport, the contract is worth a record €20m per season (£16.3m), plus further incentives,
while tying Messi to the club until 2019.
Securing Messi's future is a major piece of business for Barcelona as they shape up for a crucial summer. The club were hit with a one-year transfer ban for violations of the rules on signing minors earlier this year. That ban has been suspended on appeal and Barça need to make a series of moves in order to guard against the possibility that they are reinstated for both the winter transfer window and next summer.
The news was announced on the eve of Barça's title decider against La Liga leaders Atlético Madrid, who will travel to Camp Nou on Saturday. Barcelona need a win to take the title, with a draw enough for Atlético.
Messi has scored 28 goals in 30 league appearances to lead Barça's charge once again, and has 41 in all competitions this season. In all the Argentinian has scored 354 goals in 424 matches for Barca, the highest scorer in the club's history.
The new contract will see Messi move into a second decade with the club, having come through the ranks to make his debut during the 2004-05 season. He has gone on to win six league titles, three Champions League crowns, two Copa del Reys, two Club World Cups and two European Super Cups.

'Your fight is our strength' a fitting legacy to Tito Vilanova at Barcelona

On the eve of Tito Vilanova's first season in charge of Barcelona, he stood in the middle of the Camp Nou pitch with a microphone in hand. Tradition dictates that the new campaign is welcomed with the Gamper Trophy and the manager always has a message to deliver. This time, in August 2012, it carried a special emotive power. "I'm so happy that you're here with us," Vilanova turned to tell the French defender Eric Abidal. "Your fight is our strength."
Abidal had undergone a liver transplant in April of that year after suffering cancer and Vilanova knew something of what the Frenchman was going through: in November 2011 he had been diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland in the throat while assistant manager to Pep Guardiola. The following May it was formally announced that he had fully overcome the illness and he looked forward to a future as the manager of the club. His club. Abidal was

Manchester United set sights on Paris Saint-Germain's Edinson Cavani

Manchester United intend to plough ahead with their transfer business during the potentially long process of waiting for a new manager to start – almost three months in Louis van Gaal's case – and their extensive inquiries include exploring the possibility of whether Paris Saint-Germain might sell Edinson Cavani.
United confidently expect to close a deal of around £30m for Luke Shaw, offering the teenage Southampton full-back a lucrative financial package that could be

Gareth Bale goal: I don't think I've seen anything like it, says Xabi Alonso

Carlo Ancelotti hailed Gareth Bale after the Welshman's late goal sunk Barcelona and gave Real Madrid the Copa del Rey for the 19th time in their history.
The Welshman galloped towards goal with five minutes remaining and had to swerve off the pitch to beat the Barcelona defender Marc Bartra before sliding the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper José Manuel Pinto to secure a 2-1 win.
The goal came after Bartra had pulled Barcelona back into the game with a powerful header, which cancelled out Ángel di María's first-half opener. It was Bale's first match-winning goal since joining Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur last summer for a world-record fee.
"It was his most important goal, it was the most defining moment of the game," the manager Ancelotti said in the post-match press conference.
Xabi Alonso added: "The goal was incredible, I don't think I've seen anything like it. It looked like the ball was going out and he was under pressure, he ran off the pitch to keep it in, it was just amazing.
"Now we have the taste of victory. It was a really exciting game, with both sides playing at their best."

Lionel Messi hat-trick gives Barcelona victory over Real Madrid

With six minutes to go Lionel Messi struck a penalty high into the top corner of the Real Madrid net to complete a hat-trick and the scoring in an astonishing match that left the title race wide open once again. Just a solitary point now separates these two great rivals. Yet while the biggest game in Spain concluded with a new league leader, it was neither of them. Atlético Madrid are top.
All three contenders stand within a point of each other in a fascinating run-in that concludes with Barcelona-Atlético at the Camp Nou. Madrid's "other team" are top on head-to-head over Real, while Barcelona are a point behind the capital's clubs. The defending may not

Full-time: Real Madrid 3-4 Barcelona

It's all over! Barcelona have won!

more later...

UEFA Champions League Quarter Final

QF 4 Manchester United (ENG) Vs Bayern Munich (GER)

QF 3 Paris Saint German (FRA) Vs Chelsea (ENG)

QF 2 Real Madrid (ESP) Vs Borussia Dortmund (GER)

QF 1 Barcelona (ESP) Vs Atletico Madrid (ESP)

Here we go...


Real Madrid recap: An explosive force in this