MADRID — Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has torn into the club over its handling of the Lionel Messi contract situation, which resulted in the forward attempting to leave in the close-season.
The first Clásico of the 2020-21 season comes thundering into our living rooms on Saturday as Lionel Messi — perhaps for the final time — welcomes Real Madrid to the Camp Nou at 10 a.m. ET on beIN SPORTS. So how about an El Clásico prediction before then?
Honestly, I’d rather not.
BARCELONA — Barcelona have formally begun the process to introduce a wage cut on players and staff, the La Liga club said on Wednesday, the latest move to mitigate the crippling effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on its finances.
Barca announced a record loss of 97 million euros ($114.89 million) earlier this month and a 14% fall in revenue from the previous year, but said it was braced for far bigger reductions this season.
BARCELONA — Lionel Messi became the first player to score in 16 consecutive Champions League seasons as he guided 10-man Barcelona to a 5-1 victory over Hungarian side Ferencvaros in their Group G opener at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
Messi netted from the penalty spot in the first half for his 116th career goal in the competition, before the lively Ansu Fati added a second.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman believes his side are not among the favorites to win this season’s Champions League with the Catalans having made a stuttering start to the new season.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's visit of Hungarians Ferencvaros in their Champions League Group G opener, Koeman played down media talk that the Catalans could be European champions.
“When you’re at Barcelona you always want to be there fighting for trophies, be it in LaLiga or Europe. We aren’t the favorites, but we can go far,” he told a news conference.
Manchester City will be in a position to sign Lionel Messi if the opportunity presents itself next season, the Premier League club's chief operating officer said.
City were the frontrunners to land Messi's services after the 33-year-old Argentine handed Barcelona an official notice in August of his desire to terminate his contract.