Barcelona players will make an extra contribution on top of the 70% pay cut they have agreed to take during the enforced LaLiga break so that the club's other employees can earn their full salaries during the coronavirus crisis, captain Lionel Messi said.
The club's all-time top scorer was among many Barcelona players who released identical statements on social media on Monday to confirm the decision.
Los Angeles FC forward Carlos Vela said the Major League Soccer club prevented him from joining FC Barcelona in January.
The reigning MLS Most Valuable Player made the comments in an interview with GQ Mexico magazine that was published Friday.
Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium will be used as a makeshift storage facility as Spain faces an uphill battle against the coronavirus, the club announced on Thursday in conjunction with the country's Superior Sports Council.
Spain is second only to Italy in numbers of deaths due to the virus, with the toll passing 4,000 on Thursday. Over 56,000 people have so far tested positive for the coronavirus in the country. The lockdown in Spain is expected to be extended once the initial 15-day measure is completed this weekend.
Current contracts for players and coaches should be extended until the end of the delayed domestic soccer seasons, according to an internal FIFA document presented to its Coronavirus Working Group. The confidential document, seen by Reuters, also recommends allowing transfer windows to be changed in accordance with new season dates and urges clubs and players to work together to find solutions to salary payments during stoppages.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola have each donated $1.08 million towards the fight against coronavirus. Argentina international Messi’s donation will be split between Hospital Clinic in Barcelona and another medical center in his home country, according to a report in MARCA.
The Spanish soccer calendar has been postponed until further notice, LaLiga and the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) said in a joint statement on Monday. All organized soccer in Spain had been postponed for two weeks due to the spread of the coronavirus but was initially due to resume on April 3.
The statement said a joint commission between the two bodies had agreed to postpone all professional soccer competitions until the Spanish government considered they could start again "without creating any health risk.”
MADRID — Former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz has died aged 76, his son Lorenzo said on Saturday.
The former Real president was taken to hospital on Tuesday, with newspaper El Mundo saying he had been suffering from the novel coronavirus. His son said he had a respiratory disease.
Comunicado Oficial: fallecimiento de Lorenzo Sanz.#RealMadrid
Spain-based China international Wu Lei has confirmed he has tested positive for coronavirus but says he is on his way to making a full recovery.
The Chinese Football Association announced on Saturday that Wu, who plays for Espanyol in LaLiga, had contracted the coronavirus and the 28-year-old confirmed he is now self-isolating.
Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic is back home in Serbia while the soccer world remains on hiatus to combat the spread of coronavirus. The Serbian president, however, isn’t too happy with the 22-year-old.
Real Madrid has been on lock down since one of its basketball players, former Georgia Bulldog Trey Thompkins, tested positive for coronavirus. All players and staff were asked to self-isolate and LaLiga suspended play completely.
MADRID — LaLiga side Real Valladolid has formally rejected the Spanish league’s offer of coronavirus test kits for their players on ethical and medical grounds, the club said on Wednesday.
“La Liga offered them to us (the tests), but we have not taken them for medical and social reasons,” club spokesman David Espinar said in a statement. “No player has presented any symptoms and we believe that there are people out there who are much less well off than we are who need them far more than we do. It is those (people) who should have priority.”