Barcelona travel to the Spanish capital to take on Real Madrid in El Clasico on Sunday, and for the first time in a long time, they do so with somewhat justified optimism.

As Bob Dylan said, the times, they are-a-changin’ .

That will perhaps be one of the many songs we will hear blaring out at Camp Nou after Barcelona signed a deal with music streaming giant Spotify for naming rights to the iconic stadium from next season.

This is a club that until 2006 thought it uncouth to even have a shirt sponsor, and when they eventually did, it was a philanthropic deal with UNICEF.

Eventually, the increasing need for vast sums of money in order to stay relevant at football s top table led to the Blaugrana signing a deal with Qatar Airways, though their financial sit…

Bayer Leverkusen hope versatile midfielder Stefan Reinartz can return for the start of next season after surgery on an Achilles injury.

The Germany international has not played for Leverkusen since March s UEFA Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, having suffered with constant injury woes over the past few months.

However, the 25-year-old has successfully undergone surgery in Switzerland to release a trapped nerve that was found to be the root of his problems.

Reinartz has featured 22 times in all competitions for Leverkusen this term and, while he will miss the final rounds of the Bundesliga, the club are hopeful he will be available for selection next season.

A club statement read: Stefan Reinartz underwent a successful operation on his damaged cal…

In search of an immediate boost on Saturday evening, Real Madrid put in a rampant performance as they cruised their way to a 3-0 romp against Girona.

Heading into the half-time interval with a deserved 2-0 lead as the red-hot Joselu and Aurelien Tchouameni bagged a quickfire brace midway through the first-half, Carlo Ancelotti’s side largely didn’t have to get out of second gear here.

Essentially wrapping up all three points as the remarkable Jude Bellingham bagged his sixth La Liga strike of the season on the 71st minute, Los Blancos certainly came roaring back following last weekend’s infamous 3-1 drumming at the hands of Atletico.

While Girona might have been smelling the chance to spring a famous upset here following a stunning start to the 2023/24 cam…

Erik ten Hag has credited Casemiro for raising the limits at Manchester United since his August arrival from Real Madrid.

Casemiro has forged a fruitful midfield partnership with Christian Eriksen since swapping the Santiago Bernabeu – where he won five Champions League titles – for Old Trafford.

With United just one point adrift of the Premier League s top four ahead of Saturday s trip to Wolves, Ten Hag believes the Brazil international s presence has had a huge impact on his team.

Asked about Madrid s decision to part company with Casemiro, Ten Hag said: I m happy they sold him, he s a magnificent player.

Our analysis was that we needed someone in the [number] six position. We had lot of discussions about it in this room, but we needed the right …

Avram Grant believes Antonio Conte arrived at Chelsea at the perfect time, while insisting Jose Mourinho is no genius.

Conte took over at Stamford Bridge ahead of this season and has helped the club to an eight-point lead atop the Premier League table.

The Italian is at the helm after a poor 2015-16 campaign for Chelsea, who parted ways with Mourinho during that season.

Grant, in charge at the club in 2007-08, said the timing was ideal for former Juventus coach Conte.

Conte came at the right time. The players were ready for the change and wanted the change, the Ghana boss said via The Guardian.

With a lot of respect to Jose, I didn t like that the media said he was the king of the world and a genius — he was not — and he s not so useless li…

Reconnecting with Johan Cruyff s Barcelona philosophies must be the number one priority for whoever the Catalan giants pick as a replacement for Luis Enrique, says Joan Laporta.

Barca are in the market for a new coach following Luis Enrique s decision to leave the club at the end of the season, with Jorge Sampaoli, Ernesto Valverde and Ronald Koeman heavily linked with the role.

Cruyff revolutionised Barca when the former player returned as manager, the Dutchman switching to a more positive, possession style game that has been maintained through the likes of Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova.

He was also instrumental in changing attitudes at the club s training ground La Masia which has gone on to produce world-class players like Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta…

Gary Cahill believes Chelsea s perfect start to the Premier League season proves they have learned lessons from last term.

The west London club have won both their opening two top-flight fixtures of the campaign, beating newly promoted duo Burnley and Leicester City.

Chelsea finished third in the Premier League last season despite taking maximum points from their four fixtures against the two teams who ended above them Manchester City and Liverpool.

Jose Mourinho s side were uncharacteristically wasteful in several so-called lesser games in 2013-14, with dropped points against teams from the lower reaches of the division costing them dear.

But Cahill feels that in beating Burnley 3-1 and Leicester 2-0 in the space of five days at the start of this term, C…

Jose Mourinho is gone but Manchester United still have pressing personnel problems to resolve over the coming months.

The next full-time manager is likely to work in concert with a sporting director and together they will be forced to determine whether to retain players whose contracts are set to expire in June.

Several more high-profile stars have been at the centre of persistent speculation and their futures are now up for debate as the Red Devils aim to exit the state of flux that has followed Alex Ferguson s retirement.

Here, we consider whether Mourinho s exit could halt a potential exodus.

176 Manchester United won 176 Premier League points since the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager; fewer than Manchester City (222), Tottenham Hotspur (202), …

Chris Smalling s future at Manchester united is in doubt

When Chris Smalling joined Manchester United from Fulham in 2010 for an undisclosed fee, he was highly rated, despite the fact he had played just the one full campaign in the top-flight with the Cottagers.

He was a promising young defender with so much potential. Smalling enjoyed a couple of decent seasons with United and broke into the England team.

However, it seems he has now fallen out-of-favour with United boss Jose Mourinho.

The Portuguese boss spent big on Eric Bailly last summer and this summer repeated the trick with the signing of Swedish international Victor Lindelof.

The centre-back is now slipping down the pecking order at United and looks set to leave Old Trafford this summer.…

England will face Slovakia as the Netherlands take on Romania in the last 16 at Euro 2024 after Hungary were eliminated on Wednesday.

Both the Three Lions and the Oranje had already qualified for the knockout stage following their respective third matches on Tuesday, but the identity of their opponents in the next round was still awaited.

And it had appeared likely two of Europe s heavyweights would meet in the round of 16, with the Netherlands third in their group and potentially paired with Group C winners England.

However, Georgia s shock win against Portugal altered the draw, sending Hungary home at the debutants expense.

Spain, the only team with a 100 per cent record, will face Georgia, while Portugal play Slovenia.

Instead of the Netherland…