Here is the list of the world's 50 highest paid soccer players. Who is worth the money? Who isn't? Should Zlatan Ibrahimovic be getting paid more than his teammate Lionel Messi? Does Thierry Henry deserve to be in the top 20?

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £11.3million)
2 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona, £10.

Spanish national team

Barcelona and Real Madrid are the dominant teams in Spain and they proved it by being the two teams that monopolized nearly half of the spots of La Furia's 30-man roster. Barcelona ended up on top as seven of their players earned call ups. There were some surprises in Vicente Del Bosque's list, but for the most part the players that were expected to be on, were.

We have a winner for whingeing. According to Wesley Sneijder the Dutch would not have been beaten if it had not been for Howard Webb's overtime performance. His laundry list of complaints:

Playing ten men down with Johnny Heitinga expelled in extra time, Carles Puyol should have been red carded, and Andres Iniesta's offside goal.

FIFA.com has revealed the eleven players who earned a spot on the 2010 FIFA World Cup All Star team. The team was voted for by FIFA Club members, which consists of fans from around the world. To no one's surprise, Spain made up most of the starting eleven, with six players occupying spots.

La furia española o el club de los bajitos es la seleccion digna campeona del mundo, sus jugadores marcan diferencia, pero sucede algo curioso casi todos los futbolistas clave son del Barcelona y los anti Barca se tienen que comer sus palabras y reconocer la grandeza del equipo de Pep, solo vean esta caricatura.

La furia española o el club de los bajitos es la seleccion digna campeona del mundo, sus jugadores marcan diferencia, pero sucede algo curioso casi todos los futbolistas clave son del Barcelona y los anti Barca se tienen que comer sus palabras y reconocer la grandeza del equipo de Pep, solo vean esta caricatura.

There's something about Andres Iniesta's head that makes Gerard Pique continually want to grab it. Maybe it's the fact that Andres' height with respect to Gerard's makes him a convenient armrest; in any case, check this out.
And speaking of those two, they each had some interesting things to say in mid-vacation interviews they did, like Iniesta's comment on his infamous Sardinia swimsuit:
"It seems that a lot of people didn't like [my swimsuit].

>> Click Here To Watch Real Madrid Vs Barcelona Live Now <<

Real Madrid Vs Barcelona Live Streaming & Match Preview
Spanish La Liga – Real Madrid Vs Barcelona Live Online Click Here
Saturday, 10th April 2010
Kick Off : 20:00 GMT
Venue : Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid Spain

Spain's La Liga "El Clásico", the "match of the millenium" between Real Madrid and Barcelona will be played at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday, 10th April 2010, kick-off set for 20:00 GMT.

Real Madrid's Alvaro Arbeloa and his wife, Carlota Ruiz, took daughter Alba on a walk around Madrid's city centre just ahead of the weekend. For need-to-know tidbits, like Carlota wearing a fellow WAG's bag, be sure to continue keeping up with Kickette's weekend gossip 411. Image: Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty Images.

By Ollie Irish

Here's the second part of our picture review of the football year (Check out Part 1).

27 June: A Brazil fan needles a Lionel Messi voodoo doll during Argentina's World Cup Round of 16 match against Mexico. Argentina won that one but were soundly thrashed by Germany in the quarter-finals, dashing Diego Maradona's dream of glory.

Esta es la versión entera del nuevo anuncio mundialista: tres minutos y pico con Rooney, Ribery, Iniesta, Ronaldinho (que nada tiene que hacer ya en el mundial de Sudafrica), Cannavaro, Cesc Fabregas, Didier Drogba, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo y hasta Homero Simpson y si, un mexicano ¨el cursi¨ Gael Garcia Bernal como Cristiano Ronaldo.

After two unconvincing displays against Saudi Arabia and South Korea, Spain came good just at the right time. Poland were knocked for six as Spain recovered that lost razzmatazz that made them so untouchable two years ago in Euro 2008. Passes were crisp and found their man every time.

There are plenty of World Cup best XIs floating around. Mr. David Beckham did one just before the final, and we did two ourselves, split between semi-finalists and non-semi-finalists.

There's only one XI that goes in the history books though, and that's the FIFA one. The FIFA World Cup All-Star Team was decided by the votes of FIFA.

Xavi's pure brilliance in the midfield has been rewarded as the Spanish playmaker has been honored with the World Soccer Player of the Year for 2010. Xavi received 25.8% of the votes and edged out Lionel Messi for the award. Messi wasn't far behind however as he received 24.1% percent.

As for Barcelona, they were rated the third best team in the world.

Dirk Kuyt pointed the finger of blame for Holland's World Cup final defeat by Spain at English referee Howard Webb.
Webb brandished 14 yellow cards and one red - a record for a final - in a fiery encounter which saw Andres Iniesta's extra-time goal secure a 1-0 win for Spain.
The South Yorkshire official was booed by Dutch fans at the final whistle and Liverpool forward Kuyt said: "We are angry that we lost because we came so close.

Having worshipped at many altars in my time, I took the chance to visit one of the greatest churches of all two weeks ago; the Camp Nou.

There, I saw Barcelona play Villarreal in one of the most entertaining encounters I have ever witnessed, and it left me begging the question: Are Barcelona even playing the same sport as other teams?

Diego Milito, Ivan Cordoba, and Wesley Sneijder celebrate their passage to the Champions League final.

The sprinklers rose up from the pitch and sprayed the Inter Milan players and staff. The Barcelona anthem, "Cant del Barça," blared through the loudspeakers as the Culés did not know whether to clap off their Blaugrana heroes or vehemently whistle at the unwanted visitors from northern Italy.

There are many terrible things happening in the world today, Kickettes. Split ends. Broken heels. The cancellation of Ladies Night at our local bar. It's an endless tale of pain and suffering.

Yet, we are never victims of our own hot 'baller browsing guilt. There is no simpler pleasure than allowing ones eyes to roam unflinchingly across a fresh hunk of hot manflesh.

I've got an exam tomorrow so just a quick post. Moreover, I'm going to avoid writing an obituary for Cesc's Arsenal career because I'd be surprised to see him leave.
Nevertheless, it is important to negotiate a player-exchange deal if he is going to be sold. The biggest problem for Arsene last summer was that having sold Adebayor everybody knew he had money.

Nice touch from Spain's goalscorer Andres Iniesta today, who celebrated his 116th minute World Cup winning strike by whipping off his jersey to reveal a handwritten message on his vest type thingy. The message read: "Dani Jarque siempre con nostros" (Dani Jarque always with us) in reference to the Esanyol player who passed away at the age of 26 after a heart attack in the summer of 2009.

Spain is officially the eighth nation to win the World Cup and best of all, they become the first European nation to win the prestigious World Cup in the Southern hemisphere. Andres Iniesta was brilliant throughout the match admidst very tough tackling by the Netherlands. He immediately dedicated his goal and Spain's World Cup triumph to the late Dani Jarque who died from a heart attack in August last year.

spotted at FIFA.com

This has been a FIFA World Cup™ of firsts: the first on African soil, the first won by Spain and also the first to be assessed second-by-second using the Castrol Index. This innovative system has utilised advanced technology to objectively analyse and evaluate every single player movement, and tonight it crowned its very own FIFA World Cup king.

Squad Profiles are available for each of the twenty clubs currently playing football in the Spanish top flight. They are an overview of each club and specifically denote players to highly consider selecting for your side. Others have been ear-marked to watch out for as they may be new to La Liga or returning from injury.

Media out of Portugal including O Jogo have linked Barcelona with Porto midfielder João Moutinho.
Moutinho, the one-time captain at Sporting Lisbon, was a transfer signee of Porto this summer.
Media speculate that €20 million would be needed to acquire the 24-year-old
Portuguese international.

Patrick Vieira's comments on Thursday that the Premier League is going backwards wasn't just the withering criticism of a star on the slide.

It seems the legendary Arsenal captain has made good use of his time on the bench in Manchester by wryly observing the state of the competition and the failings of his contemporaries and has come to the conclusion that the league isn't as good as it was in his hey-day.

Patrick Vieira's comments on Thursday that the Premier League is going backwards wasn't just the withering criticism of a star on the slide.

It seems the legendary Arsenal captain has made good use of his time on the bench in Manchester by wryly observing the state of the competition and the failings of his contemporaries and has come to the conclusion that the league isn't as good as it was in his hey-day.

By Ollie Irish

FIFPro (the global footballers' union) and FIFA today announced the 55 players shortlisted for the FIFA-FIPro World XI 2010. Rather than choose the best 55 players, on form this year, it appears they have chosen the most famous players, the ones with the biggest names, the ones with the biggest marketing clout, the ones who play for the biggest clubs.

Barcelona based Sports Daily "Mundo Deportivo" has elaborated their own survey on which players are the favourites for this year FIFA Golden Ball Award 2010. According to the paper they have interviewed 75 World Football personalities; active players, international Coaches & retired prestigious players, to give an orientation of how things will go before FIFA announces officially the 3

Arsenal FC will host FC Barcelona at the Emirates Stadium on the 31st of March in the first leg of what promises to be one of the most interesting Champions League Quarter Final ties in recent years.

The Gunners and The Blaugrana are widely acknowledged at two of the modern stylists of the beautiful game.

The UEFA Champions League has entered its ‘big boys' stage. Apologies to Chelsea your team is too old to be playing with these ‘kids'.

John Terry blames German referee Markus Stark for ignoring penalty claims that saw Jose Mourinho and his Inter side leave Stamford Bridge with a bigger smug than they came with.

El Clasico: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona
This is the most important match of the season for Real Madrid and Manuel Pellegrini. When the newly elected president Florentino Perez started his second "Galactico" project he never imagined that the word "failure" would be linked to it.

Injured Spaniard fighting to be fit for the World Cup.

Win the Club Shirt Of Your Choice Simply by Speaking Your Mind!

Andres Iniesta has been a crucial part of Barcelona's fortunes for six seasons now and is a player who Vicente del Bosque now depends on to bridge midfield and attack.

By Chris Wright

Spain coach Vincente del Bosque has announced his provisional 30-man squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

There are a few surprise call-ups, notably for Barcelona starlet Pedro and Atletico Madrid's 19-year-old 'keeper David de Gea, who are both in with a chance of earning their first full international caps for La Furia Roja in South Africa this summer.

There are many terrible things happening in the world today, Kickettes. Split ends. Broken heels. The cancellation of Ladies Night at our local bar. It's an endless tale of pain and suffering.

Yet, we are never victims of our own hot 'baller browsing guilt. There is no simpler pleasure than allowing ones eyes to roam unflinchingly across a fresh hunk of hot manflesh.

Nike today unveils an action-packed film that brings together some of the world's greatest players to inspire football lovers and sports fans around the world. The epic three-minute "Write the Future" film takes people on a journey that dramatically captures that one moment when headlines are written from a single pass, or one strike can bring a nation eternal happiness, while bringing others to their knees.

Nike today released a new action packed commercial/movie that exemplifies their efforts to conquer the soccer market.

The much anticipated World Cup TV commercial from Nike has been released. It features a cast of soccer superstars including Wayne Rooney, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba, Fabio Cannavaro, Franck Ribery, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Patrice Evra, Gerard Pique, Ronaldinho, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Thiago Silva.

Before reporting to national team training camp, two of Spain's shining stars had a busy three day weekend. Iker Casillas took girlfriend, Sara Pastasauce, to meet his grandparents while Santi Cazorla fronted a AXE Men promo event.

Once the Spanish NT reunited, stroking Andres Iniesta's head felt especially good for Gerard Pique.

Having now seen every team perform twice at the 2010 World Cup it is difficult to determine just who is going to win the tournament. Argentina have been the most impressive side yet nobody would dare say they have been the most balanced. What is interesting to note, after the first couple of rounds, is the types of systems which are resulting in success.

World Cup

Paul the Octopus, who has a 100% record so far for the 2010 World Cup, has picked Spain to win the Final. (You can see the video below. Don't look into his eyes)

The Golden Ball nominees have been announced: Diego Forlan (URU), Asamoah Gyan (GHA), Andres Iniesta (ESP), Lionel Messi (ARG), Mesut Oezil (GER), Arjen Robben (NED), Bastian Schweinsteiger (GER), Wesley Sneijder (NED), David Villa (ESP), Xavi (ESP).