Germany striker Thomas Mueller, defender Jerome Boateng and Spain's Javi Martinez have all extended their contracts with Bayern Munich until 2021, the club said on Friday.

The three-time defending German champions also extended midfield holder Xabi Alonso's deal until 2017.

Jose Mourinho's sacking by Chelsea was depicted as an early Christmas carve up on Friday as the British press reported he had been let go after a holiday lunch with players.

"Jose gets stuffed: Christmas lunch with team... then Mourinho's sacked after losing toxic dressing room," wrote the Daily Mirror.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has ruled out an immediate return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Jose Mourinho, despite holding "good memories" of the Portuguese national's spell in charge of Madrid.

Mourinho left Chelsea "by mutual consent" according to the English champions on Thursday, two years after returning to the Premier League from Madrid, where he won one La Liga title in three years in charge.

Cleveland superstar LeBron James scored 33 points to lead the short-handed Cavaliers to a 104-100 NBA victory over Oklahoma on Thursday that halted the Thunder's six-game winning streak.

James scored 33 points and handed out 11 assists, with his nine rebounds leaving him just one shy of his first triple-double of the season.

In search of the 10th manager of his 12-year tenure as Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich appears no nearer to his dream of owning a self-sustaining, crowd-pleasing football team.

Jose Mourinho, sacked on Thursday, came back to Chelsea in 2013 vowing to build a legacy, but he instead brought characteristic short-term success, followed by a staggeringly rapid collapse.

Rafael Benitez could take charge of Real Madrid for the final time should the Spanish giants fail to end an alarming slump to see off humble city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Madrid have lost three of their last five league games to slip five points behind leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid with Benitez rumored to be one more defeat away from the sack.

Claudio Ranieri is refusing to entertain the prospect of a Premier League title challenge from Leicester City even though his side travel to Everton on Saturday as surprise leaders.

Ranieri's side, who began the season among the favorites for relegation, have stunned the rest of the division with a superb run that has left them two points clear of second placed Arsenal.

Chelsea start life after Jose Mourinho with a vital showdown against Sunderland on Saturday as the crisis-torn Premier League champions look to climb away from the relegation zone.

Prior to his sacking on Thursday, Mourinho insisted that while the club was struggling near the bottom three, they were not in a relegation fight.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is already looking towards life after football as he unveiled plans to invest over €37 million ($40m) in hotels bearing his “CR7” moniker in his native Portugal, Madrid and New York.

"Many footballers finish their careers without knowing what they want to do. For me it's clear - I want to take care of my brands," Ronaldo told AFP on Thursday.

Atletico Madrid sealed their place in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a ninth consecutive win in all competitions thanks to Thomas Partey's solitary goal against Catalan minnows Reus on Thursday.

Ghanaian midfielder Thomas struck his first goal for the club eight minutes after half-time to complete a 3-1 aggregate win for an Atletico side without the rested Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann.