La Liga updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off in SpainLive scores | Tables | Fixtures | Men’s top 100 in 2024 Hello and welcome to live coverage of the weekend’s biggest fixture: Barcelona v Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou. It’s 1st v 2nd in La Liga, with Real Madrid breathing on the shoulders of both with increasing intensity. Not that anything can match the intensity of Atleti’s form: they’ve won 11 in a row in all competitions, including an incredible comeback from 3-1 down against Sevilla a fortnight ago. Barcelona have gone in the opposite direction. October’s orgy of goals has been followed by a really poor run of five points in six league games, which includes defeats at home to Las Palmas and Leganes. Maybe a game of this magnitude is what they need to get them going again. Continue reading...

The Manchester City midfielder becomes the sixth player to top our ranking of the world’s best 100 male footballersThe 100 best male footballers in the world 2024 One of the worst things about seeing Rodri in agony on the pitch against Arsenal in September – and the subsequent news that he had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament – was the he had criticised the workload being put on players in the buildup to the injury. It was as if he knew something bad was about to happen. In April, after an epic 3-3 draw at Real Madrid the Manchester City and Spain midfielder said: “I do need a rest.” He added: “Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yes.” Continue reading...

This year 197 judges took part and here is a chance to see how every single point has been awarded through the years Sometimes it feels as if it does not matter if you vote or not because your effort is not going to make a difference. Every now and then, however, there is a contest – whether that is the 2016 US election or the Guardian’s top 100 best male footballers in 2024 – where the result is so tight that a few people may very well have made a difference. The US election may be slightly more important all things considered but the fact is that this year there were only 68 points separating the top two in our annual countdown with Rodri receiving 7,495 points to Vinícius Júnior’s 7,427. Continue reading...

Rodri has beaten Vinícius Júnior and Erling Haaland to top our ranking of the most talented players in the world this calendar yearMeet the judges | The top 100 female players in the worldHaaland heads 2023 list | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 Continue reading...

Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher has given his verdict on the speculation surrounding Trent Alexander-Arnold and Real Madrid, including what he thinks the defender should do

Ruling finds Hugo Mallo touched woman’s chestHe ‘completely denies’ charges and has said he will appeal Celta Vigo’s former captain Hugo Mallo has been found guilty of the sexual assault of a woman who was working as the Espanyol mascot in the final moments before a game in La Liga. A judge in Barcelona fined him €6,000 (£5,100) with a further €1,000 with interest to be paid in compensation after ruling that Mallo put his hand inside the victim’s parakeet costume and touched her chest as she and another mascot waited at the end of the line of players shaking hands with opponents. He will also have to pay costs. Mallo, who was then with Celta and now plays in Greece for Aris, has announced he will appeal. Continue reading...