Last Thursday, 17-year-old Barcelona phenom Ansu Fati was handed his first Spain appearance as a second-half substitute during a 1-1 draw with Germany. On Sunday, Fati was given his second cap and first-ever start as Spain welcomed Ukraine to the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in Madrid.
If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, here’s the La Masia graduate’s opening 45 minutes.
Barcelona forward Luis Suárez is due to sit a language test on Monday in a bid to obtain Italian citizenship that would enable him to move to Serie A champions Juventus, Italian and Uruguayan media said Sunday.
There have been widespread reports that Juventus are chasing the 33-year-old Uruguayan who, if the moves go through, would line up alongside defender Giorgio Chiellini, the Italy defender he famously bit in a World Cup match in 2014.
BARCELONA — Barcelona fans breathed a sigh of relief on Friday, after Lionel Messi ended weeks of speculation by announcing he had decided, with reluctance, to stay at the club.
Messi, who made a shock announcement that he wanted to leave his lifelong club last month, said he would see out his contract until 2021 in order to avoid taking Barca to court.
After 10 days of whirlwind hysteria surrounding Lionel Messi’s potential departure from Barcelona, the Argentine maestro announced he’ll stick around with the only club he’s ever known as a professional, at least for a little while longer.
BARCELONA, Spain -- Lionel Messi ended speculation about his future at Barcelona by announcing on Friday that he would reluctantly stay for another season rather than tackle his career-long club in court.
A week after saying he wanted to leave the Liga side, and with a contract row still raging, the 33-year-old six-time player of the year gave the news Barca fans were hoping for.
In doing so, however, the Argentine forward took a big swipe at the club's hierarchy.
WORLD EXCLUSIVE
It was, without doubt, the most earthshattering sports moment of 2020. It didn’t happen on the pitch, but via an anachronistic piece of equipment long since forgotten. Lionel Messi informed Barcelona of his intention to leave the club via a fateful fax last week. The memo immediately became one of the most stunning faxes in sports history, but was it the most shocking of all time?
BARCELONA — Lionel Messi's father and agent met Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu on Wednesday to discuss the player's wish to leave the club but the talks ended in stalemate, Spanish media reported.
Earlier, Jorge Messi said it would be "difficult" for his son to remain with Barcelona, the only club he has ever played for professionally.
For so many at Barcelona, the 2019-20 season represented a step too far. In hindsight, changes should’ve certainly happened sooner, but you can’t begrudge footballers for desperately clinging to the Blaugrana shirt (and their lavish contracts), as your career is only on a downward trajectory after playing in front of 100,000 at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi will leave Barcelona at some point, that is a fact. When he leaves is still up for debate. What won’t be much of a debate is that Barcelona’s attack will suffer tremendously from the Argentine’s departure.
It’s a no-brainer that a team won’t score as often after the best attacking player leaves. The real question is how bad will it get? Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid gives a good idea of what could happen with Barcelona in terms of offense.