FIFA 20 Team of the Season So Far Premier League Squad is now live and features Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann.

• Team issues joint statement before planned return to training
• La Liga: ‘Playing football safer than going to supermarket’

Eibar have become the first La Liga side to publicly express concerns about the planned return to training, and have called for “responsibility” from league officials.

Clubs in Spain’s top two division are due to start individual training this week after testing for Covid-19 with matches behind closed doors planned for June. But in a strongly worded joint statement, the Basque club have raised doubts about the plan.

Spanish League LaLiga President Javier Tebas has made it clear that cancelling the 2019/20 season is not an option and they are exploring various options and scenarios as the situation develops amid the ongoing outbreak of novel coronavirus. Spain's football industry is one of many-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and like any other sector, next steps will depend on the advice of health authorities. "Nulling and voiding the season is not an option on the table. But we are reviewing multiple scenarios, such as what happens if we play behind closed doors and what happens if we play with crowds and what happens if games aren't played," Tebas told reporters on videocall.

"We have to look at all possibilities, but we're not working towards a situation where we don't complete the season. "We're looking to ensure the best health conditions for players for when they resume training and we're looking to reduce the economic risk. "This is a health pandemic, but also an economic pandemic," he added.

The league President provided figures for each of these situations, outlining that the estimated total economic impact for not resuming the season would be 1bn euros. Completing the season behind closed doors would lead to losses of 300m euros and it would be 150m euros for resuming it with fans after this delay. On the likelihood of matches being resumed behind closed doors, Tebas said: "We will not have fans until the health authorities allow it. The decision does not depend on LaLiga or the clubs. We know it can affect future seasons so we are calculating the potential impact."

Tebas explained that LaLiga is considering all of the finer details that various scenarios could entail, such as whether or not matches can be held at the usual stadiums due to planned renovation works, the need to extend player contracts, pending fees due to clubs from past transfers, maintaining Financial Fair Play rules, payments from broadcasters and the knock-on effects for the 2020/21 season.

Tebas also mentioned that the last weekend of May is the first possible date for LaLiga to resume, with European competitions playing in July. A later option would be for LaLiga and European competitions to start on June 6 and play an alternating schedule. Finally, LaLiga and other domestic leagues could start on June 28 with European competitions starting again in August after the domestic leagues finish.

"We can't put an exact date on when we'll return as the Spanish government's health authorities have to set that," he said. "There are two options for organising the schedules, one with domestic leagues at the weekends and European matches midweek or another option is to work towards finishing the domestic leagues first." The league President also underlined that the football industry plays a major role in Spain's economy. It accounts for 1.37 percent of Spain's GDP and an estimated 185,000 jobs, meaning that any losses suffered could have a domino effect elsewhere.

"The most important aspect of this is that we protect our future," Tebas noted. "What we're working towards here is to save the future of football."

"By acting now, we can ensure that we have a sustainable model," he added."We will not forget the responsibilities we have to everyone."

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Consider yourself a big La Liga fan? Check out this list of expressions that no true La Liga lover should be unfamiliar with.

1. “Croqueta”
A ‘croqueta’ is a way of quickly shifting the ball between a player’s feet, especially when tempting a defender into making a challenge by first slowing down and then sprinting away. The signature move of former Barcelona captain and nine-time LaLiga winner Andres Iniesta, the word literally means ‘croquette,’ that famous staple of Spanish tapa bars and granny’s cooking.

2. “Sombrero”
In Spanish Sombrero is a hat, but in Spanish football it is where a player lifts the ball over his opponent’s head and controls it as it drops to the floor, leaving his rival confused and out of the play. A famous example would be Neymar’s goal for Barcelona against Villarreal in LaLiga in 2016, which was nominated for that year’s FIFA Puskas award.

3. “Chilena”
When a player pushes himself into the air with one foot, then acrobatically volleys it with the other, often lifting his boot well over head height. Similar to a ‘bicycle kick’ in English. Although a ‘Chilena’ literally refers to someone from Chile, its most famous exponent was Mexico international Hugo Sanchez. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have more recently scored screamers like this.

4. “Colgarse del larguero”
Literally meaning ‘hang from the goalposts,’ the expression is used when a team brings all their players back to defend inside their own penalty area. Similar to the English phrase ‘Park the bus,’ the tactic is often used by a team defending a narrow lead or facing a much more powerful opponent and used to criticise them by managers whose team cannot find a way through.

5. “Hacer la cama”
A team thought to not be making 100% effort in games can be said to be ‘making the bed’ for their coach, which means trying – consciously or not – to get their boss fired!

6. “Zamorana”
The patented signature move of legendary 1920s and 30s Spanish goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora was to fake catch a ball, then double his arm, flex his elbow and propel the ball far up the pitch with surprising power. Besides clearing danger from his own box, the ‘Zamorana’ often helped start counter-attacks and had a highly demoralising effect on shocked opposition strikers, too.

7. “Tirarse en la piscina”
To ‘throw yourself into the swimming pool’ is a nicely poetic Spanish way of saying a player dived, or threw himself to the ground without any contact from a defender, to deceive the referee into whistling for a foul. Sometimes also described as ‘simulación’ which is closer to the English ‘simulation.’

8. “Tener flor”
A player, or more often a coach, who ‘has a flower’ is thought to have good fortune, similar to being 'charmed’ in English. The expression is also often used by defeated opposition fans or pundits as a way to avoid praising tactical or technical excellence in an opposition team.

9. “Rabona”
When a player plants one foot in front of the ball, and then sweeps his other leg around behind to spectacularly strike the ball, you have a ‘Rabona.’ One-time Barcelona winger Ricardo Quaresma is an expert, while former Villarreal midfielder Pablo Fornals scored a superb rabona against Huesca in 2019.

10. “Pase de la Muerte”
The ‘pass of death’ has a specific meaning in Spanish football. It refers to a through ball which breaks an offside trap to leave a teammate clear in front of goal. Quite a few of Barça captain Lionel Messi’s 12 LaLiga assists this season have met this description. Deadly, and very hard to defend against.

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There’s many former LaLiga stars currently using the experience and skills picked during their time in Spanish football in managerial and coaching careers all around the world. The list is almost unrivalled: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Diego Simeone (Atletico de Madrid), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Rafa Benítez (Dalian Pro), Xavi Hernández (Al Sadd), Míchel (Pumas UNAM), ‘Guti’ (UD Almeria), Raúl González (Real Madrid Castilla), Van Nistelrooy (PSV U19), Unai Emery, Mauricio Pochettino, Quique Sánchez Flores, Laurent Blanc, Ernesto Valverde, Mark van Bommel, Aitor Karanka, Clarence Seedorf… but here are five more with very special stories.

1. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst – FC Barcelona to Feyenoord

All the lessons learned winning two LaLiga titles with FC Barcelona in the early 2000s as an attack-minded left back have definitely proved useful for Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s coaching career. The former Netherlands international became first team coach in summer 2015 at Feyenoord, the Rotterdam club where he started and finished his playing career. His first season brought the KNVB Cup trophy, while the following year he led the club to its first Eredivisie title in 18 years, a historic achievement. Last January he was announced as manager of Chinese club Guangzhou R&F.

2. Jonathan Woodgate - Real Madrid to Middlesbrough

Jonathan Woodgate’s spell at Real Madrid famously did not get off to a great start, with an own goal and red card on his LaLiga debut. However, when fit and available the classy defender made a valuable contribution to Los Blancos 2005/06 campaign, with the team keeping seven clean sheets in his eight other games. The following summer he joined hometown club Middlesbrough, where he also returned after hanging up his boots to begin his coaching career in 2017. Last summer, Woodgate was named first team manager at Boro, and he took December’s Championship Manager of the Month award.

3. Jordi Cruyff - Camp Nou to Ecuador

Son of Barcelona legend Johan Cruyff, Jordi made his LaLiga debut in September 1994 against R. Sporting. The winger or attacking midfielder scored 22 LaLiga goals across spells at FC Barcelona, RC Celta, RCD Espanyol and most successfully D. Alaves, where he helped the Basque club reach the 2001 UEFA Cup final only to lose 5-4 in agonizing fashion to Liverpool. Cruyff also represented Manchester United, Metallurg Donetsk and the Netherlands national team [nine senior caps] during his playing career. He has since worked in Malta, Cyprus, China and Israel, where he oversaw three consecutive league titles as sporting director at Maccabi Tel Aviv. In January 2020 he was appointed Ecuador senior international manager.

4. Diego Forlan - Pichichi to Peñarol
One of the very few players in history to have won LaLiga’s Pichichi top scorer prize with two different clubs, Diego Forlan clinched it at Villarreal CF in 2004/05 and Atletico de Madrid in 2008/09. A strike rate of 128 goals in 240 LaLiga games counts among the very best. A long playing career also brought goals scored in England, Italy, Brazil, Japan and Hong Kong, and appearing at three World Cups and a 2011 Copa America triumph during 112 caps for Uruguay’s senior team. In December 2019, Forlan returned to his former Uruguayan club Peñarol to start his managerial career.

5. Fabio Cannavaro – Santiago Bernabeu to China

2006 was quite a year for Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro, who won the World Cup in Germany, signed for Real Madrid and was then awarded the Ballon D’Or. Cannavaro won two LaLiga titles during his three years in the Spanish capital, where he continued a strong relationship with mentor Fabio Capello. His first managerial job was at Dubai club Al-Ahli, where he won UAE Pro League and UAE League Cup titles. He also won the China League One title with Tianjin Quanjian, guided Guangzhou Evergrande to the Chinese Superleague title last year, and even took charge of the China national team for a time in 2019.

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The Spanish football league is all set to resume in June and La Liga's India managing director Jose Antonio Cachaza has revealed that they will resort to maximum testing of players to allay any fears of them contracting COVID-19.

Spain is one of the worst hit countries with around two lakh COVID-19 cases till date.

Most La Liga teams have been allowed to return to training this week after the government eased lockdown restrictions. However, the fear of contracting the Coronavirus is widespread, said Cachaza, for which a four-phase de-escalation programme is being introduced to ensure all players are free of the infection.

"The current week is only for testing of the players and preparing the grounds," Cachaza said in an online media interaction from Spain.

Jose Antonio Cachaza

"Once players are fit to play, we will disinfect the venues. All matches will be played behind closed doors with a maximum of 250 people to avoid any unwanted situation," he added.

When asked what happens if a player tests positive once the season starts, Cachaza said: "That can always be the case. If you see the Bundesliga, they are about to start their season but still have positive cases. We will be ensuring testing at regular intervals as well to keep a check on players." Unlike the English Premier League and the Bundesliga, the La Liga is yet to finalise on a date to resume the season as Cachaza said they are awaiting authorisation from the Spanish government. "We are in constant talks with the government and as of now, we have authorisation to only start with training. Next week, the players will be allowed to train on their own, with a maximum of six players on the pitch. The following week [May 18 onwards], players will be permitted to train in small groups before a return to larger team sessions,"2020-05-08 Cachaza explained.

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Matchday four in La Liga saw Sevilla take Atletico Madrid's place at the top of La Liga, the former earning a hard-fought 1-0 win at Alaves while the latter succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad. 

Luis Suarez admits Barcelona have a 'tough year ahead of us' after a 2-0 defeat at Granada. Ramon Azeez and Alvaro Vadillo netted in either half as Granada moved top of La Liga.

The Spanish giants were defeated 2-0 away at Granada on Saturday night in La Liga through goals from Ramon Azeez and a penalty from Alvaro Vadillo and boss Ernesto Valverde feels responsible.

A short turnaround this week for La Liga, as we are treated to midweek fixtures starting up on Tuesday. It's been an unusual start to the season, with many of the top teams faltering.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Luis Suarez put last week's whistles behind him to give Barcelona their first away win of the season, and he was the first to turn and thank Marc Andre ter Stegen.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Goals from Antoine Griezmann, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez put Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table after a 3-0 victory at Eibar.

PETE JENSON: Youssef En-Nesyri gave Leganes a shock first half lead. Despite a lacklustre performance, Barcelona fought back to win with goals from Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal.

Lionel Messi eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo's record of 34 La Liga hat-tricks on a night when Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann were also on the scoresheet against Mallorca at the Nou Camp.

Barcelona will host Real Madrid this evening at Nou Camp. Follow LIVE ACTION right here as Barca look to have more La Liga wins than Los Blancos for the first time in El Clasico history.

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) across Europe now looks set to impact Spanish football, with La Liga on the verge of declaring fixtures to be played behind closed doors.

Lionel Messi has achieved some incredible things during his playing career. And on Sunday night, he reached another milestone when he bagged his 400th goal for Barcelona in La Liga.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: After 12 La Liga games there are just five points between the top 13 teams. The usual suspects are up there, but things just don't seem to be clicking at all. Sportsmail examines.

PETE JENSON IN SPAIN: Victory for either man will, not only condemn the other to a desperate attempt at catch-up between now and the end of the season, it could also mean the axe this summer.

May 9 (OPTA) - Results and fixtures for the La Liga on Sunday (start times are CET) Athletic Club v Sevilla postponed Barcelona ...

May 9 (OPTA) - Summaries for the La Liga on Sunday (start times are CET) Athletic Club postponed Sevilla ...

May 9 (OPTA) - Standings for the La Liga on Saturday P W D L F A Pts 1 Barcelona 27 18 4 5 63 31 58 2 ...

PETE JENSON: If La Liga had started when Diego Costa played his first league game this season, then Atletico Madrid would be top and heading for the title.

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid lock horns at the Bernabeu on Sunday afternoon with plenty of local pride at stake. Join ADAM SHERGOLD for all the action as it unfolds.

A second-half penalty from Kevin Gameiro was enough for Atletico Madrid to beat a tough Alaves side as Diego Simeone now turns his attention towards their second leg against Arsenal.

Ousmane Dembele came off the bench to rescue a point for Barcelona in their highly-anticipated showdown with Atletico Madrid. Relive all the action with Sportsmail's MAX WINTERS here.

The visitors battled on despite their numerical disadvantage and did excellently to frustrate Barca for so long. Oblak made nine saves before being beaten by Suarez's fine strike on 86 minutes.

Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata scored for the sixth game in a row to help his side to a 3-1 win at home to struggling Espanyol on Sunday, taking them up to third in La Liga.

It's slowly becoming the league that no team wants to win. With one point now separating first and fifth, Barca and Real Madrid are starting to nervously look over their shoulder ahead of this weekend's games.

PETE JENSON: Gareth Bale was whistled by Real Madrid supporters in his first game back since his Wales flag celebration and Zinedine Zidane admitted the situation was unsustainable.

PETE JENSON AT THE NOU CAMP: The last there was a 0-0 between Barcelona and Real Madrid in La Liga someone had launched a pig's head onto the pitch at Luis Figo back in 2002.

Eden Hazard, who signed from Chelsea in a staggering £150million deal earlier this summer, missed the first two games of the La Liga campaign with a thigh injury.

Real Madrid continue to lift silverware even in the absence of La Liga action, after star Marco Asensio was crowned the winner of a FIFA 20 tournament between a number of the division's stars.

La Liga president Javier Tebas responded with bemusement to news the French season will end with 10 rounds of matches still to be played.

Whilst Rakitic, who has been in and out of the starting XI this season, hopes the season can be concluded, he believes Barca should be awarded the title if play cannot continue this summer.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is intent on finishing the La Liga season, as he believes cancelling it and handing the title to Barcelona would be unfair. 

Barcelona returned to training after the La Liga champions allowed their stars to enter their facility to prepare for a potential restart to football in Spain. Lionel Messi and company took the fields at Joan Gamper training centre for individual sessions, for which the players arrived alone in kit and took to the three pitches without passing through the changing rooms. As well as doing their routines, they were also subjected to tests to see what effect two months of coronavirus quarantine has had on their bodies. "Finally we are getting back to normal. We hope to carry on and that soon we can get back to enjoying what we like to do most," Arturo Vidal told sports daily Marca. Sevilla, Villarreal, Osasuna and Leganes also returned to training, while Real Madrid -- who were two points behind league leaders Barca when play stopped in mid-March -- will likely start again on Monday should their players pass virus tests carried out on Wednesday. That would mark almost two months since ...

Spanish professional players beginning individual session with their squad members is the first move in lifting coronavirus lockdown measures.

La Liga is planning to carry out the tests next week, after which they would then be able to resume individual training within 48 hours

Lionel Messi is regarded as the greatest player ever to grace the game and La Liga took to Twitter to share a photo for proof.

La Liga president Javier Tebas said the return of football is a sign that society is progressing towards the new normal.

La Liga players are undergoing tests and working individually at training grounds this week as part of a plan to move gradually into groups, with the aim of resuming games behind closed doors in June.

Barcelona will test their players for coronavirus, with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also scheduled to carry out tests, as La Liga's clubs begin restricted training.

The testing is part of the La Liga's protocol to restart in the middle of June with all remaining matches are to be played behind closed doors.

Spain has suspended all sport in March as a precautionary measure against coronavirus pandemic.

Lionel Messi and company took the fields at Joan Gamper training centre for individual sessions.

Earlier this week, DFB announced that the Bundesliga will be back in action on May 16, making it the first of Europe's top five leagues to resume action during this pandemic period.

Here are the top stories of May 8, 2020.

Coronavirus pandemic: Leganes manager reveals date when La Liga will resume...