Runaway leaders Barca, who earlier beat Osasuna 1-0, will have the chance to clinch their 27th LaLiga crown with a win in their next game at city rivals Espanyol on May 14. Barca moved to 82 points from 33 matches and extended their lead to 14 points over reigning champions Real Madrid, who have lost two of their last three league matches.
* Holders RB Leipzig crushed hosts Freiburg 5-1 courtesy of a goal and three assists from Spaniard Dani Olmo on Tuesday to reach the German Cup final for the third straight year. They will play either VfB Stuttgart or Eintracht Frankfurt, who meet on Wednesday, in the showpiece match.
* Lens striker Lois Openda's first-half header secured a 1-0 victory over hosts Toulouse on Tuesday to tighten their grip on third place in Ligue 1 and keep them on course for a first Champions League qualification in 21 years. Lens move to 69 points from 33 games, eight clear of AS Monaco for the last of the Champions League qualifying places and six behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain with five rounds of matches remaining.
* Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany has decided to leave the LaLiga team at the end of the season, a year before his contract officially runs out, the club said on Tuesday. Barca added that Alemany had agreed to complete the first team's transfer business in the close season despite formally arranging to leaving the club on July 1.
* Paris St Germain forward Lionel Messi will not have his contract renewed at the club following an unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia, French sports daily L'Equipe reported on Tuesday. Messi signed an optional third-season clause in his contract when he first arrived in 2021. Club officials have decided not to activate it, the report said.
* Cristiano Ronaldo became the world's highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr nearly doubled his annual playing salary while Paris St Germain duo Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe round off the top three, according to Forbes. Ronaldo, who joined the Saudi soccer club on a deal until 2025 after leaving Manchester United last year, earned US$136 million with Forbes saying his annual playing salary went up to an estimated US$75 million.
* Napoli are on the brink of claiming their first Serie A title in 33 years despite failing to win at home last weekend, and they may not even have to play to get their hands on the Scudetto this week and kick off a long-awaited party in Naples. The league leaders are 18 points ahead with only six games left to play, and they will be crowned champions if second-placed Lazio fail to beat Sassuolo at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday, a day before Napoli themselves play away at Udinese.
* Zhang Zhizhen made history at the Madrid Open as he stunned American Taylor Fritz on Tuesday to become the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final. The 26-year-old continued his dream run with a 3-6 7-6(5) 7-6(8) defeat of the eighth seed.
