The Champions League and Europa League could be suspended as UEFA consider action to combat the spread of coronavirus after domestic football in Italy and Spain was shut.

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.

UEFA hope to complete the remaining 17 ties to be played in just over three weeks, with Manchester City and Chelsea set to return to action on August 7 and 8 respectively.

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has attempted to recreate his iconic Champions League final goal in his living room to raise money for the NHS during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Diego Costa has admitted that he had a massage with horse placenta and electroshocks as he attempted to be fit for the Champions League final in 2014.

Jose Mourinho has revealed how losing a Champions League semi-final to Bayern Munich with Real Madrid in 2012 left him crying in his car.

The Scot displayed both agility and stamina in defeating America's Tennys Sandgren, the world number 72, 6-3 6-7 6-1 in a gruelling battle that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.

Andy Murray was knocked out of the Zhuhai Championships at the last-16 stage after a three-set tussle with Australia's Alex De Minaur. Murray had been hoping to follow up his victory on Tuesday.

Wayne Rooney will be ordered to complete a full pre-season before he can play for Derby County in January. The England legend will join the East Midlands club as a player-coach in January.

Wayne Rooney has trained with Derby for the first time as he prepares to join the Championship strugglers on an 18-month contract.

TOM COLLOMOSSE AT PRIDE PARK: Wayne Rooney could not manage a goal on his return to English football but produced two moments of quality that showed he can still make an impact.

The actor, 38, looked enthralled as he watched Johanna Konta of Great Britain play against Karolina Pliskova of Czech Republic on Sunday.

The Good Place actress, 33, oozed style in a casually chic ensemble, consisting of an oversized black blazer and a pair of form-fitting cycling shorts.

Josh Brownhill scored a stoppage-time winner to win all three points for 10-man Bristol City against Charlton. Elsewhere, Derby overcame Wigan while Middlesbrough drew with Huddersfield.

Faustino Asprilla has backed Steve Bruce to stay on as Newcastle United boss after the club is taken over by a Saudi consortium, despite links to high profile managers. 

CHRIS FOY - WORLD OF RUGBY: The Champions Cup should be an elite tournament full of vibrant, high-class, cross-border competition, but it is feeling stale and flat and one-dimensional.

Shrewsbury's 38-year-old goalkeeper Joe Murphy gives Sportsmail the low-down on his team-mates who are hoping to defy the odds and somehow stop Jurgen Klopp's high-flying Liverpool side.

West Brom took advantage of another slip-up from Leeds to return to the top of the Championship, as Wigan won at Elland Road for the second time in as many seasons.

JANINE SELF AT THE HAWTHORNS: Sam Morsy's goal gave Wigan Athletic a shock win at Championship leaders West Brom to lift the Latics out of the relegation zone.

Championship leaders Leeds United believe it is 'vital' for the current season to be finished and are prepared to play behind closed doors to do so as they chase Premier League promotion.

The top six clubs in the Championship are prepared to launch a legal challenge against the Premier League if they are denied three promotion places.

Championship clubs are determined to resume playing and finish the season no matter what - even if it means completing the remaining fixtures behind closed doors.

Norwich face tough opposition at the Molineux on Sunday as the Black Country club are 8th in the table and thrashed Espanyol 4-0 in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Atletico Madrid full-back Kieran Trippier has come out in defence of his team's tactics in the valiant Champions League last-16 victory over holders Liverpool.

Aymeric Laporte insists he won't leave Manchester City even if their two-year ban from the Champions League ban is upheld. The defender is one of a host of City players who has been tipped to leave.

This season's Champions League final and Europa League final, due to be played in May, have been formally postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, UEFA said on Tuesday. 

Bergamo mayor Giorgio Gori has labelled Atalanta's Champions League clash with Valencia a 'biological bomb' as he believes it caused the coronavirus to spread in Italy and Spain.   

Raul Jimenez insists he is happy to stay at Wolves even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, with the west Midlands side currently five points adrift of the top four.

The latter stages of this season's Champions League and Europa League are set to be moved to July and August as the coronavirus pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the football calendar. 

Placing both the Champions League and Europa League on hold while domestic seasons are played out is one of the proposals being looked at by UEFA, Sportsmail understands.

UEFA have reportedly drawn up a calendar to try and get the Champions League finished in August, and are considering a mini four-team tournament to end it.

Former Chelsea midfielder Ramires has revealed the REAL reason John Terry wore his full kit at the 2012 Champions League final - and says it was the club's idea.

Llorente has gone to extreme lengths to commemorate his memorable performance at the famous stadium, and shared his hilarious choice of name with his Instagram followers.

UEFA has confirmed the Champions League final will be cancelled if the competition can't be concluded by August 3 and says one-legged play-offs are an option being discussed.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says playing behind closed doors is a better option than scrapping the season, but warned European competitions could be abandoned.

Those suffering from withdrawal symptoms at the lack of live football can rejoice at BT Sport's plans to replay the enthralling conclusion to last year's Champions League.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed how all-English Champions League ties were always the most pressurised matches he played in club football.

UEFA president said he would consider finishing the European competitions behind closed doors but will accept they might have to be cancelled if they were unable to resume by September.

UEFA have introduced the idea of squeezing the remaining Champions League and Europa League games into just three weeks in August, with clubs facing a frantic schedule.

Dietmar Hamann joined Liverpool in 1999 from Newcastle United for £8million. He went on to play a huge part in their 2001 treble winning side as well as their 2005 Champions League win.

The Liverpool keeper was made a scapegoat for the defeat following two high profile errors during the game which resulted in the Reds losing 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev.

The Spanish FA have proposed the clubs they wish to take part in European football next term should the Spanish top flight fail to be completed, but it is set to cause huge controversy.

After the final was set to be held on May 30 but was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic, UEFA have set out a new plan in order to finish the competition but need help from all European leagues.

SAMI MOKBEL: Arsenal players will get their losses back if they qualify for next season's Champions League - plus a £100,000 bonus. They have agreed to a 12.5 per cent pay cut.

If domestic leagues are not back until July or August then UEFA is considering playing the remainder of the two competitions in a condensed timeframe.

UEFA are reportedly set to present their plans for the Champions League with the tournament being played out from August 7-31 after clubs have completed their domestic campaigns.

Paul Scholes has admitted that he 'miskicked' the ball when he scored his memorable goal for Manchester United against Barcelona in a Champions League semi-final in 2008.

UEFA hope to complete the remaining 17 ties to be played in just over three weeks, with Manchester City and Chelsea set to return to action on August 7 and 8 respectively.

If the Premier League cannot be concluded due to the current suspension, it could offer Arsenal a major boost in terms of a return to Europe's top table, despite Mikel Arteta's side sitting ninth.

Faustino Asprilla has backed Steve Bruce to stay on as Newcastle United boss after the club is taken over by a Saudi consortium, despite links to high profile managers.