TONI KROOS

Real Madrid starts the Spanish league season overflowing with confidence that it can retain the domestic title despite Barcelona spending big to add top talent to its team.

Karim Benzema was in a supporting role to Cristiano Ronaldo the last time he was in a Champions League final.

Real Madrid had little reason to hope it could pull off another comeback as the game entered the final minute with Manchester City on the brink of consecutive Champions League finals.

Manchester City just couldn’t shake off Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi leaves the pitch after the the Champions League quarterfinal soccer match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon, Portugal, Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. The Spanish league is about to see another top player leave one of its clubs, all within a four-year span. The league wasnt hugely affected financially after Neymar left Barcelona or Ronaldo left Real Madrid. The league still benefited from Messis presence after Ronaldo left, but now it wouldn't have that same star power anymore. Since Neymar left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, Spain gained few top-notch players.