David Luiz’s apparently fractious relationship with Antonio Conte could trigger a winter move to Real Madrid for the Brazilian.

A slow start to the season from the back-to-back Champions League winner has increased the likelihood that Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane will enter the January transfer market, and The Telegraph’s Matt Law understands Chelsea’s Luiz is being sighted.

The centre-back is rumoured to have fallen out with Conte following both his reaction to being substituted in the 3-3 home draw with Roma in October, and his role in the 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture at the end of that month. Luiz was believed to have trained alone after that embarrassing loss, and was dropped for the subsequent visit from Manchester United after allegedly questioning Conte’s tactics, reports Law. He followed that expulsion by being an unused substitute against West Bromwich Albion and Liverpool, either side of playing the full 90 minutes at Azerbaijani minnow Qarabag.

Conte revealed Luiz will miss Wednesday’s match against Swansea City, and was vague about how long the 30-year-old will be out with a knee issue.

“I must be honest, in this moment it’s very difficult for me to answer how long David Luiz will be out,” Conte said. “It will be up to the doctor to assess the situation very well and then to take the best decision for the player.”

Conte expressed concerns over the depth of his squad before the season began, but his backline seems to be one of the better stocked areas in his lineup. Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, and youth-team products Jake Clarke-Salter and Dujon Sterling are all able to slot into Conte’s back-three if Luiz leaves for the Santiago Bernabeu.

Luiz was surprisingly brought back to Chelsea by Conte in 2016 for around £34 million, and was arguably one of the most important players in the Blues’ successful bid for last season’s Premier League title.

Disgruntled Bayern Munich supporters who travelled to Belgium for Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Anderlecht hurled fake money onto the pitch in protest of soaring ticket prices.

Bayern fans were charged €100 per stub for the away fixture, although the club reportedly eased the blow by covering 30 percent of the cost.

The match – which the Bavarian side won 2-1 thanks to goals from Robert Lewandowski and Corentin Tolisso – was suspended for a few minutes as officials picked up the fake bills.

The protest began last weekend at the Allianz Arena, where fans unfurled a banner of UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and an Anderlecht board member squeezing cash out of a Bayern supporter.

(Courtesy: @FinancialFairpl)

A similar demonstration took place in October 2015 at Emirates Stadium:

Lionel Messi’s protracted contract saga is over.

Barcelona’s spellbinding forward inked fresh terms until the end of the 2020-21 season on Saturday. The Argentinian’s release clause is set at €700 million.

The Blaugrana announced in July that Messi was set to sign a new deal in Catalonia in “the coming weeks,” but the 30-year-old didn’t adhere to that deadline, prompting speculation about his future. Manchester City, overseen by Messi’s old Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, was linked to dribbling wizard’s signature, with reports dating back to March 2016 stating the English outfit was “confident” of snapping up Messi if he decided to leave the Camp Nou.

But now, if Messi stays for the full duration of his deal, Barcelona has its talisman’s services until he nears his 34th birthday. His previous contract expired in the summer of 2018.

Messi joined Barcelona in 2000 as a 13-year-old from Newell’s Old Boys, one of the leading clubs from his native Rosario. He made his competitive debut against Espanyol at the age of 17, and has gone on to represent the Spanish giant for 14 seasons.

For the club, Messi has contributed to eight La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues, five Copa del Reys, and three Club World Cups. His total of 30 titles is tied with Andres Iniesta, 33, for the most in Barcelona’s history. He’s also collected a series of individual awards, including five Ballon d’Or gongs and four Golden Shoes, and often spars for those honours with Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

The records he’s claimed at Barcelona may go untroubled for the rest of the club’s existence. He’s the club’s and La Liga’s all-time top goalscorer, and is yet to show signs of decline after scoring 12 goals and assisting three times in the current league campaign.

Messi is still a passionate follower of Newell’s Old Boys, and assertions throughout his career suggest he’s considering spending the swansong of his career with his boyhood club.

“I would like to play at Newell’s, play in Primera, be able to be inside of that pitch where I went to see so many games. But I don’t know what will happen from here to a few years, where I’ll be, how I’ll be to return,” he said earlier in November. “I can’t say I’m going back and I’m going to play. I would love it and I always said it but I don’t know what will happen. I hope it can be like that and I can play at Newell’s, which is what I dreamed about since I was a kid.”

For the next few years, Barcelona is blessed with the services of “the best player in the history of football,” as described by club president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Messi will take the pitch under his new terms for the first time on Sunday, when the league leader travels to second-placed Valencia for a tantalising clash.