Real Madrid remain unhappy with LaLiga‘s refereeing, a club source has told ESPN, after a weekend which saw them have three goals disallowed.

Meanwhile, rivals Barcelona and Atlético Madrid both benefitted — according to Madrid — from controversial decisions involving VAR.

Madrid beat Mallorca 2-1 at the Bernabéu on Saturday, despite Kylian Mbappé having two goals ruled out for offside, and Arda Güler having an effort disallowed for handball.

Spain’s refereeing body, the CTA, revamped its structure this summer in an effort to improve officiating — after frequent criticism from Madrid throughout last season — including changing its president, and its head of VAR.

A high-ranking Madrid source told ESPN that the club’s disquiet continues, although there is hope that tensions may ease, and the club’s complaints diminish, as the campaign develops.

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Another club source was reluctant to discuss the decisions Madrid has been subjected to in the season so far.

Madrid are the team with the most goals disallowed by VAR among Europe’s top five leagues in the period which spans last season, and the beginning of this one.

In 41 Madrid league matches, there have been 19 VAR interventions, resulting in nine goals being disallowed.

In second place, Villarreal, Bournemouth, Rennes and Venezia have all had seven goals overturned.

In Madrid’s victory over Mallorca on Saturday, there was one incident in particular which concerned the club: the decision to disallow Güler’s goal in the 57th minute.

The strike was ruled out because the ball struck Güler’s hand before goalkeeper Leo Román made a save, and the Turkish midfielder then dispatched the rebound.

A Madrid source said the club believe the rules — which state a goal should be disallowed in these cases if the handball is “immediate” — were misapplied, as the keeper’s intervention came between the handball and the eventual finish.

Referee José María Sánchez Martínez disallowed two more Madrid goals in the match, one for a marginal offside.

Madrid were also angered by what they argue were “clear refereeing mistakes” which benefited Atlético and Barça in their matches with Alavés and Rayo Vallecano, respectively.

Atlético drew 1-1 at Alavés, but the result could have been worse, with Giuliano Simeone‘s goal wrongly given. The Argentinian forward was offside, with just one opposing player between him and the goal, earlier in the move which led to his seventh-minute finish.

In Barcelona’s 1-1 draw at Rayo, the VAR system was unavailable during the first half in Vallecas due to a technical issue.

The rules state that in those circumstances a game should continue, even if the VAR isn’t working, but a Madrid source described the situation as “scandalous” and believed the use of VAR would have ruled out Lamine Yamal‘s penalty, which made it 1-0 to Barcelona.

It’s been a wild few days in football — not in terms of rumbling transfer sagas, VAR-related controversies or eyebrow-raising results, but in terms of a surprising amount of new music being released by active players.

Monterrey defender Sergio Ramos has released a solo song entitled “Cibeles,” which appears to be a reference to the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid where Real famously celebrate all of their major trophies and titles, of which the 39-year-old veteran won many.

Mi historia, mi música. // My story, my music.

CIBELES 🎶 – August 31
19h CEST 🇪🇸
1PM ET 🇺🇸
12PM CT 🇲🇽 pic.twitter.com/9anCsHpdzt

— Sergio Ramos (@SergioRamos) August 30, 2025

Ramos also seems to ruminate on his emotional exit from the Bernabeu in 2021, crooning “There’s something I never told you: it still hurts, I never wanted to leave.” Apparently against his wishes, the centre-back left and signed for Paris Saint-Germain after amassing five LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues during his 16-year stint with Los Blancos.

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It’s also not the first time he has tried his hand at music, with Ramos also singing lead vocals on a song entitled “La Roja Baila” (“The Red Dance”), which became Spain‘s official single for Euro 2016.

Amazingly, Ramos hasn’t been the only active professional footballer to release new music this month with Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise beating his Spanish counterpart to the punch by several days.

Olise debuted a new track titled “Say Less” on social media along with a video that showed the former Crystal Palace star wearing a headscarf, goggles and posing with a bright orange BMX bike.

Of course, footballers dabbling in musical side projects is nothing new with many classic examples having cropped up over the years, from John Barnes’ rap interlude in New Order’s “World in Motion” to the timeless pop singles released by the likes of Ruud Gullit, Andy Cole plus Glenn Hoddle and Chris Waddle during the 1980s and 1990s.

There are also a raft of slightly more contemporary tracks, many of which have a notably similar rap-lite feel. Jese Rodriguez can be considered a modern day trail-blazer in that regard, with the ex-Real Madrid, PSG and Stoke City midfielder releasing his first material in 2014.

Ryan Babel took the unusual step of releasing his autobiography in the form of a rap album, with several songs causing a ripple of controversy within the Dutch football sphere for dissing his former teammates.

Memphis Depay is arguably one of the most prolific musical footballers with the Netherlands international regularly foisting new tracks and lavish promo videos on the general public. He even chose to celebrate Corinthians’ Brazilian title win in 2025 by recording bespoke rap track “Peita do Coringão” (“The Shirt of the Coringão”) for the occasion.

Alphonso Davies has tried his hand at rap and even announced his contract extension with Bayern Munich earlier this year with a track entitled “Munchen my Throne,” which doesn’t entirely work as pun but hey-ho.

Romelu Lukaku collaborated with Belgian vocalist TheColorGrey to create a song called “New Levels,” which charted the striker’s rise from childhood prodigy to international level battering ram.

After calling time on his playing career, Djibril Cisse was instantly able to focus his efforts on his true passion and has regularly DJ’ed all around the world ever since. The former Liverpool and Marseille striker regularly releases dance tracks.

Performing under the alias “Deuce”, Clint Dempsey was a prominent exponent of the rapping footballer during the mid-2000s and even saw his magnum opus, a song entitled “Dont’ Tread,” used on a Nike commercial for the 2006 World Cup.

However, when it comes to footballing rap gods, all others must bow before Erling Haaland. As unlikely as it may seem, the Manchester City colossus laid down the blueprint at the age of 16 when he performed as part of the “Flow Kingz” alongside his fellow Norway under-19 teammates.

Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in a pre-contract agreement for Crystal Palace‘s Marc Guéhi, while Galatasaray are monitoring Ademola Lookman and Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez doesn’t want to move to Turkey. Join us for the latest transfer news, rumors and gossip from around the globe.

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TOP STORIES

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TRENDING RUMORS

– Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in reaching a pre-contract agreement with Crystal Palace center back Marc Guéhi after his deadline day move to Liverpool collapsed, according to The Sun. The Reds had agreed a £35m deal with the Eagles but manager Oliver Glasner insisted that his captain shouldn’t leave, and Palace were eventually unable to find a replacement. With Guéhi’s contract ending in the summer, the 25-year-old will be able to reach a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs from Jan. 1.

– Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez doesn’t want to go to Turkey, after failing to get a move in the summer window, says The Daily Mail. Villa didn’t receive a bid from Manchester United, despite the 32-year-old agitating for a move to Old Trafford, and the Turkish window remains open until Sept. 12. Another option could be to head to Saudi Arabia before its window closes on Sept. 23, but the Argentina international is reportedly keen to continue competing at the highest level.

– Manchester City have authorized midfielder Ilkay Gündogan to fly to Istanbul on Tuesday to sign with Galatasaray, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. If everything goes to plan, the 34-year-old will sign a contract until June 2027. Gundogan hasn’t played a single minute in the Premier League this season, making the bench in two of City’s three games.

– While referencing that Galatasaray’s priority was signing a goalkeeper, which they have now done by bringing in Ugurcan Çakir, Rudy Galetti reports that the Turkish Super Lig side are tracking Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman. The 27-year-old had been strongly linked with a move away, with Internazionale and Bayern Munich among his potential clubs, but Gala are now ready to use Turkey’s later deadline to try to bring him in as they did with striker Victor Osimhen last year.

– Saudi Arabian club Neom and an unnamed Turkish side have asked for information on Al Hilal striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, as has been reported by Nicolo Schira. The 30-year-old isn’t in Simone Inzaghi’s plans and is ready to leave, with both the club and player now working to find a solution. This comes despite Mitrovic returning 68 goals and 15 assists in 79 matches for Al Hilal since signing for them in August 2023.

COMPLETED DEALS

– Manchester City have completed the signing of goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma from Paris Saint-Germain. The Italy international has moved to the Etihad Stadium in a deal worth €30m and signed a five-year contract. Read

– Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has completed a £12.1m move to Fenerbahce. Read

EXPERT TAKE

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OTHER RUMORS

– Liverpool’s Joe Gomez was blocked from joining AC Milan after their efforts to land Guéhi collapsed. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Tottenham forward Manor Solomon was set to join Crystal Palace on loan, before the club pulled out of the deal and he moved to Villarreal instead. (Sky Sports)

– Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White signed a new contract recently, but will still be a target for Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and Tottenham in January. (CaughtOffside)

– Raheem Sterling will stay at Chelsea for now, with other players’ futures prioritized before that of the winger. (Daily Mail)

– Fulham midfielder Harry Wilson saw a late move to Leeds United collapse. (Yorkshire Evening Post)

– As a result, Fulham’s move for 19-year-old Chelsea winger Tyrique George also fell through (Evening Standard)

– Athletic Club are closing on the return of defender Aymeric Laporte from Al Nassr, with all the documents through on time. (Fabrizio Romano)

– Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos has angered his club after pulling out of a transfer to Marseille. (Sport)

– Paris Saint-Germain defender Presnel Kimpembe is set to end his two-decade career in Paris to join a club in Qatar. (L’Equipe)

– Corinthians, Santos, Sao Paulo and clubs from Saudi Arabia and Turkey are interested in Boavista midfielder Miguel Reisinho. (Rudy Galetti)

– Hellas Verona are scheduling a medical for free agent midfielder Roberto Gagliardini with a deal advancing. (Nicolo Schira)

– Yahia Fofana will join Rizespor on a free transfer but Angers will get a percentage of the fee from the goalkeeper’s next move. (Fabrice Hawkins)