June 2 (Reuters) - Spain's Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal has said the Ballon d'Or award won't be decided by performances on Thursday when he and France's Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele take part in the Nations League Final Four.
Spain and France meet in Stuttgart for a place in the final, with the winners facing either Germany or Portugal who play in the other semi-final on Wednesday.
Real Madrid have signed Trent Alexander-Arnold on a six-year deal, the LaLiga club said on Friday, paying Liverpool a fee to release the England defender from his contract a month early to allow him to join before the Club World Cup.
Alexander-Arnold, who joined Liverpool when he was six and made 354 appearances for the Premier League side since his senior debut in 2016, said earlier this month he would leave the club once his contract expired on June 30.
Luka Modric will leave Real Madrid after the Club World Cup, the Croatian midfielder said on Thursday as the club's most successful player and the 2018 Ballon d'Or winner prepares to end a trophy-laden stint in Spain.
Modric, who arrived at the club from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012, has played almost 600 games for Real and won nearly 30 trophies including a record six Champions League titles and four LaLiga trophies.
Barcelona secured their 28th LaLiga title on Thursday when they beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, securing an unassailable seven-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid with two games left to play.
Following a 4-3 loss at Barcelona on Sunday, Real needed to win their final three games and hope the leaders didn't earn more than one point in the same period to maintain any mathematical chances of claiming the title.
BARCELONA, May 11 (Reuters) - Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona overcame a two-goal deficit to secure a crucial 4-3 home victory against rivals Real Madrid in a pulsating Clasico on Sunday, edging them closer to the LaLiga title.
The victory extends Barcelona's lead at the top of the standings to seven points over second-placed Real Madrid and with three matches remaining, one more victory will clinch a 28th Spanish league title for the Catalans.
Inter Milan substitute Davide Frattesi struck an extra-time winner to send his side into the Champions League final following a barnstorming 4-3 victory over Barcelona on Tuesday after Francesco Acerbi had rescued them from the brink of elimination with a stunning equalizer deep in added time.
SEVILLE, Spain, April 27 (Reuters) - Real Madrid defender Antonio Rüdiger has apologized for his behavior in the 3-2 extra-time loss to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday when he was shown a straight red after he erupted in fury and threw an object at the referee.
The incident occurred when the official called a foul for a challenge by forward Kylian Mbappé on defender Eric García, denying Real a final chance to find an equalizer moments after Barcelona's Jules Kounde scored the winner in the 116th minute.
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, the referee for Saturday's Copa del Rey final between Real Madrid and Barcelona, was brought to tears on Friday, responding to a critical video published by Real's in-house TV channel (RMTV).
The video, released on Thursday, shows what RMTV says is a series of errors made by De Burgos throughout his career.
The release is the latest in a string of edits by RMTV, criticizing Spanish officials.
Copa del Rey referee crying
"If it's not a banger, don't count it" — Federico Valverde, probably.
Just days after a gut-wrenching Champions League quarterfinal exit at the hands of Arsenal, Real Madrid found redemption in dramatic fashion at the Santiago Bernabéu after Federico Valverde fired home a thunderous volley in the dying minutes to secure a hard-fought 1-0 victory over a resolute Athletic Bilbao side, reigniting hopes in the LaLiga title race.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona fought back from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in a rollercoaster encounter on Saturday, with a stoppage-time penalty by Raphinha extending their lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table to seven points.
With the score tied at 3-3 after Celta's Borja Iglesias netted a hat-trick, the game seemed to be heading for a draw when Dani Olmo won a penalty deep into added time and Raphinha stepped up to score and seal the three points.
Raphinha vs Celta Vigo