A recent interview with Espanyol midfielder Esteban Granero by Spanish daily El Pais has revealed a hilarious and insightful anecdote involving a 15-year-old Lionel Messi and a clash between the youth teams of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The hype surrounding Barcelona midfielder Carles Alena has been slowly building for some time now. Alena joined La Masia as a 7-year-old, and it wasn’t long after that comparisons to Andres Iniesta began. Last season, Alena was pivotal in helping Barca B earn promotion to the Second Division A after appearing in 29 matches, scoring three goals and registering seven assists.
August was not a kind month to two of the world’s biggest clubs, Barcelona and Arsenal. There were shock departures, shock non-departures, cringe-worthy losses and unimpressive victories.
Barcelona and Arsenal went their separate ways after the 2005 Champions League final: Barcelona won and has been winning ever since, while Arsenal hasn’t sniffed a league title (let alone a Champions League semifinal) since. But the clubs are still two of the richest, most popular teams, each ranking in the top six in attendance for European clubs.
What a moment this was: Philippe Coutinho, plagued by a back injury that, according to Brazil national team doctor Michael Simoni, “was something emotional” and simply required “a pep talk” to resolve, turned out for Brazil after missing Liverpool’s opening five competitive fixtures and scored a goal 16 minutes after coming on! Warrior.
Warning: Game of Thrones spoilers below (and Jean Michael Seri transfer spoilers if you're somehow DVRing that)
Transfer season is nearing its grand finale and storylines are all over the place and no one knows what will happen but everyone is excited. Similarly, America's favorite fantasy dragon incest jamboree has reached the conclusion of its penultimate season, and storylines are just as all over the place as the summer transfer window. In fact, I have noticed some striking similarities between the two.
Confirmation bias — the human tendency to solely interact with information that confirms one’s preexisting beliefs while simultaneously firebombing any real sort of learning or personal growth — has long been a massive hinderance to humanity.
Mino Raiola, the footballing super agent with a clientele list including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Gianluigi Donnarumma, believes that Lionel Messi must leave Barcelona to show the world that he’s good at football.
Barcelona’s new transfer strategy has taken an odd twist. Unable to secure stars like Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele in a timely manner, Barca is looking to create more Lionel Messis. The Argentine star is up to the task. His wife is reportedly pregnant with the couple’s third child.
In a way, Barcelona was turning into the Robert E. Lee of world football — in desperate need of some good press. Barca fans finally got something to cheer about Friday with the announcement the club signed 20-year-old Ousmane Dembélé from Borussia Dortmund for $125 million plus add ons.