Preseason results don’t matter, especially so when you’re FC Barcelona playing against third- and second- division sides, but Barça has followed up Saturday’s 3-1 win over Gimnàstic with a 3-1 victory over Girona on Wednesday.
MADRID — Spanish soccer body LaLiga has rescheduled four matches in the top two divisions for the second week in a row and criticized the national federation (RFEF) over its ban on games on Mondays and Fridays.
A statement from LaLiga on Wednesday confirmed that Friday's game between Getafe and Osasuna had been moved to Saturday, with Real Betis vs. Real Valladolid being pushed forward from Monday to Sunday.
Tottenham Hotspur are in talks with Real Madrid to re-sign winger Gareth Bale, his agent said on Tuesday, as the Wales international looks to end his troubled spell at the Spanish club.
Bale made over 200 appearances for Premier League Spurs between 2007 and 2013, scoring 56 goals with 58 assists before his then world record move to Real for 100 million euros ($118.46 million).
BARCELONA — Barcelona beat second division Gimnastic de Tarragona 3-1 in a preseason friendly on Saturday, with Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele each making encouraging returns by scoring in Ronald Koeman's first game in charge.
Lionel Messi wore the captain's armband in his first match since he opted to abandon his plans to leave Barca, although Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal were left out of the squad as the club is still trying to offload both players.
BARCELONA — Lionel Messi looked back in his comfort zone during training with his Barcelona teammates on Wednesday in preparation for the new LaLiga season as he continued to move on from his aborted attempt to leave the club last month.
Barca's all-time top scorer was seen smiling as he and his fellow players worked through persistent rain at the club's Joan Gamper training complex under the orders of new coach Ronald Koeman.
With Lionel Messi's aborted bid to leave Barcelona still raw, club president Josep Maria Bartomeu may be counting his days after a campaign group announced they were racking up signatures in a bid to force a vote of no-confidence in him.
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.