Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's stumble to kick off the second half of the season with another win and enjoy its biggest lead so far at the top of the Spanish league.

After Madrid's 1-0 loss at Mallorca, Barcelona extended its 10-game winning streak in all competitions with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Sevilla on Sunday to open an eight-point lead over Madrid after 20 of 38 rounds.

Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn, sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić and team coach Julian Nagelsmann have all criticized injured captain Manuel Neuer for publicly expressing his disappointment with the club.

The dispute centers on Bayern's decision to fire goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalović on Jan. 23 due to what Salihamidžić said were "differences over the ways and means of working together".

Kylian Mbappé has been ruled out for three weeks with a left-thigh tear and will miss the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain's round-of-16 game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Mbappé sustained the injury in the first half of PSG's game at Montpellier on Wednesday and limped off the field. TV cameras also showed him rubbing the back of his left thigh as he walked to the dressing room.

Lionel Messi may be in doubt as to whether he'll be still playing for Argentina at the 2026 World Cup but he's sure about one thing: he wants Lionel Scaloni to stay on as head coach until then, regardless.

The 35-year-old Messi led Argentina to the title in Qatar last December and wasn't entirely sure if his fifth trip to the World Cup would be his last. The next edition will take place in Mexico, Canada and the United States when Messi is 39.

Last year, after a season without titles following the exit of Lionel Messi, Barcelona took the risky decision of selling off a part of its future earnings in exchange for quick cash it could turn into talented signings.

The group of newcomers who arrived at Camp Nou included two players — Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha — tasked with bringing back the punch to an attack that was lackluster following the departure Messi.

France defender Raphaël Varane announced his retirement from the national team on Thursday, the second major player to leave Les Bleus following the World Cup final defeat to Argentina.

The 29-year-old Varane made his debut 10 years ago and played 93 times. He was arguably the tournament's standout defender when France won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

João Cancelo might have been the missing piece in Bayern Munich's puzzle.

The Portuguese fullback, for so long a key player at Manchester City, looked a perfect fit on his Bayern debut, needing only 17 minutes to set up the opening goal in a 4-0 win over Mainz in the German Cup on Wednesday.

The dispiriting jeers turned to encouraging cheers, even though the result was still bad for AC Milan.

The fans' quick change in attitude wasn't exactly a surprise, however, with a derby against Inter Milan next on the Serie A schedule.

Bayern Munich bolstered its struggling team with the loan signing of Portugal left back João Cancelo from Manchester City on Tuesday, the last day of the transfer period.

The 28-year-old Cancelo joined "on an initial deal through to the end of the current season," Bayern said. The German club has the option to make the transfer permanent for a fee of 70 million euros ($76 million).

Vinícius Júnior had his share of chances to break the deadlock. More than once, the Brazil forward was in front of the opposition goal with only the 'keeper to beat.

But Vinicius and his teammates couldn't get the job done on Sunday as Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw at home by third-place Real Sociedad to lose ground to Barcelona at the top of the Spanish league.