At a time when leading players have been departing the country in their droves, the French domestic game could do with a lift right now.

Watching the ailing champions, Montpellier, struggle to victory on Saturday at home to Sochaux, in front of swathes of empty seats and on a pitch utterly destroyed by the winter weather, was not the answer.

But at a time like this it is worth remembering that a very credible challenger to Paris Saint-Germain is set to emerge in the summer. To find them you need to go 350 kilometres east from Montpellier along the Mediterranean coast and down into Ligue 2. Yet

You again. Lionel Messi is back in our continental team of the week after scoring four goals against Osasuna. There's little to say about the Barcelona man except he's very, very good.

It takes something special to get a place up front, and Mauro Icardi of Sampdoria did just that when he found the net four times against Pescara.

And in a mircocosm of Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid career to date, he does something brilliant (scores a hat-trick against Getafe) and still gets overshadowed by Messi.

No Premier League representation this week, due to the break for the FA Cup fourth round.

Valbuena and Biyik

Marseille can go top of Ligue 1 this weekend but they must beat a Rennes side boosted by their Cup heroics in what promises to be an enthralling clash in France.

L’OM lie one point behind joint-leaders Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon, but Rennes are only two places behind in fifth as they look to qualify for Europe.

“Rennes are fighting us for European places, and they have just qualified for the Coupe de la Ligue final,” Marseille boss Elie Baup said.

“That kind of thing gives you confidence, and at home they are always strong. They will give us many problems.”

Rennes, who are six points behind

A change can be as good as a rest but in the Bundesliga it seems combining the two is even better - at least it is if last weekend's results are anything to go by.

One of the enduring charms of the German top flight is that the five-week winter break enables struggling teams to recharge their batteries in the sun and stop the rot. Take the examples of clubs who have changed their head coach since December:

Schalke 04

Schalke kicked off the New Year in style on Friday with a nine-goal thriller. New coach Jens Keller, replacing Huub Stevens, made a winning start as the Royal Blues edged

Real Madrid and rivals Barcelona proved that passion for Spanish football remains undimmed despite the country's financial crisis, cementing their place as the highest revenue earners in the world's most popular sport, business services group Deloitte.

Madrid, who won the Spanish league last May for the 32nd time, became the first club in any sport to generate more than 500 million euros in annual revenues, Deloitte said in its annual Football Money League for 2011-12.

The perennial Spanish rivals retain loyal domestic support, attracting crowds in excess of 80,000 despite Spain's recession

Four ladies sat perched on high chairs behind glass, smiling patiently, but without a customer between them. Prices were posted clearly on the window in front, the cheapest being 35 euros for 90 minutes up in the corner.

If anyone wandered close to the windows, they were immediately approached by shady figures from the darkness offering tickets at half the advertised price. Or even less. Two fans bagged VIP seats in a prime position, with food and drink thrown in for just 20 euros. Another only wanted to be with the hardcore action behind the goal.

Espanyol’s fine 40,500 capacity stadium on

At the presentation of Gigi Delneri in late October, Genoa president Enrico Preziosi expressed his opinion that "rationality doesn't belong" to supporters of the club. To give him his due, there was some justification for the statement. For instance, memories of how Genoa ultras had temporarily stopped a game with Siena last April and demanded that the players hand over their shirts because, being battered 4-0 at the time, they were apparently "unworthy" of them, were fresh in the mind.

Still, it's a wonder that those in the press room didn't laugh. Coming from Preziosi, this was particularly

Real Madrid's Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Valencia in La Liga (AFP)

Barcelona's slip-up in La Liga over the weekend has seen Real Madrid close the gap at the top of our European Power Rankings.

Barca slumped to a shock 3-2 defeat at Real Sociedad - their first loss in the Spanish league for 29 games - and as a result dropped a huge 74 points in our list of the continent's finest teams.

And while that was not enough for the Catalan side to be knocked off their lofty perch, Madrid were able to edge closer to the leaders by picking up 35 points following their 5-0 romp against Valencia.

That defeat for Valencia sees them lose 35 points, but Los Che manage to