Real Madrid can open a nine-point lead over bitter rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga by winning Saturday's 'Clasico' at the Nou Camp.

Despite being former midfield heroes for the clubs they now manage, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique and his Real Madrid counterpart Zinedine Zidane are afforded little credit for their achievements in management.

Barcelona were held 1-1 by lowly Hercules in their King's Cup last 32 first-leg match on Wednesday while Mariano scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid romped to a 6-1 second-leg victory over third-tier Cultural Leonesa and a 13-2 aggregate triumph.

A plane that crashed in the mountains of Colombia, killing 71 people, including members of a Brazilian football team, may have run out of fuel, a Colombian military source told AFP.

Doctors treated traumatized survivors and an investigation was to get underway on Wednesday into an air crash that killed 71 people and wiped out Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team en route to a cup final in Colombia.

Gerard Pique gives a scathing assessment of Barcelona's display after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad and casts doubt on his team's ability to retain the La Liga title unless their performances improve.

For football great Diego Maradona, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was more than a friend and fellow Latin American legend, he was "a second father."

Lionel Messi's prodigious talent is matched by his startling humility, which he displayed again on Thursday by denying that Barcelona's fate is determined by his presence in the team.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez is keen to play the same kind of role Lionel Messi performs at Barcelona, the Chilean international said.

Lionel Messi looks set to return for Barcelona's Champions League trip to Celtic on Wednesday after overcoming a sickness bug

Spanish giants FC Barcelona sealed a massive shirt sponsorship deal Wednesday with Japanese online retailer Rakuten worth at least 55 million euros ($59 million) a year.

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu predicts that Lionel Messi would not only extend his contract with the Catalan club but also end his playing days there too.

An outstanding performance from Gabriel Jesus helps Brazil to a 2-0 win over Peru and move the five times World Cup winners four points clear at the top of the South American qualifying group for Russia 2018.

Lionel Messi announced a press boycott to protest against a journalist who alleged team-mate Ezequiel Lavezzi had used marijuana at Argentina's training base.

Ecuador romp to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Venezuela to reignite their 2018 World Cup qualifying challenge as Paraguay's bid suffers a setback with a defeat to struggling Bolivia.

Lionel Messi scores a majestic free-kick and sets up two more goals as Argentina got their faltering 2018 World Cup qualification campaign back on track with a 3-0 win over Colombia.

Undaunted by sanctions and hard realities on the pitch, North Korea's lone football academy has set its sights high -- producing players better than Lionel Messi, and teams that can dominate the world.

Argentine coach Edgardo Bauza was unbowed after a 3-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Brazil and a fourth game without a win on Thursday..

Brazil dealt Argentina's hopes of reaching the 2018 World Cup finals a serious blow on Thursday with a resounding 3-0 win.

European Golden Shoe winner Luis Suarez said negotiations to extend his contract with Barcelona until 2021 were running smoothly.