Catalonia

[catalonia]

Barca's PR mess after defeat, praise for Allegri as Juve win Serie A

Barca’s PR mess after defeat, praise for Allegri as Juve win Serie A

Alex Caparros/Getty Images

How about that for a boomerang? In the binary world of Spanish football, this was the sort of gaffe that does double damage. Right now, Barcelona should be sitting back and enjoying the fruits of a Double-winning campaign that saw them go undefeated in La Liga. Maybe send their old rival from the Bernabeu a few postcards ahead of Kiev, too, just to ratchet up the…

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[catalonia]

Atletico Madrid tells Barcelona 'enough is enough' over Antoine Griezmann pursuit

Atletico Madrid tells Barcelona ‘enough is enough’ over Antoine Griezmann pursuit

Cadena Cope claimed on Tuesday that Barça have already told Atletico of their plans to pay the €100 million fee which would allow them to bring the France forward to Camp Nou.

However, a high-ranking Barcelona source told ESPN FC they “can’t possibly believe that is true” at this moment in time.

The latest development comes just days after Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu and striker Luis…

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[catalonia]

Insiders talk Clasico: Camp Nou hoodoo, Messi, Ronaldo, pasillo, more

Insiders talk Clasico: Camp Nou hoodoo, Messi, Ronaldo, pasillo, more

CR7 vs. Leo Messi in the clasico

Sunday sees Barcelona and Real Madrid meet in El Clasico. With Barca having already clinched the Liga title and Madrid preparing for the Champions League final, there is little riding on the match itself.

However, it remains club football’s biggest game; we asked our writers to look at the topics and themes being discussed ahead of this latest showdown.

Unbeaten…

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[catalonia]

Barcelona called to reassure me over transfer - Arthur

Barcelona called to reassure me over transfer – Arthur

Arthur Melo says Barcelona have phoned to reassure him his move to Camp Nou is still on after reports claimed they may pull out of the deal.

Barca reached an agreement with Gremio earlier this year on an option to sign the Brazilian midfielder for an initial fee of €30 million in July.

While Barca must decide whether or not to finalise the deal this summer, Arthur is unlikely to join the club…

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[catalonia]

Jordi Cruyff: Barcelona sporting director role 'only rumours'

Jordi Cruyff: Barcelona sporting director role ‘only rumours’

Jordi Cruyff says the timing must be right if he is to return to Barcelona as the club’s sporting director in the future.

Diario Sport reported in April that Cruyff, the son of Barca legend Johan, has been lined up by the Catalan club to work alongside general manager Pep Segura.

Barca’s current sporting director is Robert Fernandez but he is out of contract in the summer and president Josep…

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[catalonia]

Barcelona's La Liga title roll of honour has Gerard Deulofeu feeling left out

Barcelona’s La Liga title roll of honour has Gerard Deulofeu feeling left out

Gerard Deulofeu

Barcelona prevailed 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday to capture the league crown with four games still remaining.

Deulofeu scored one goal and set up another in 10 league appearances for the Calatan giants before joining Premier League side Watford in January on loan until the end of the season.

Barca did not include his name, or the names of the players that left the club…

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[catalonia]

Barcelona's Andres Iniesta confirms plan to leave at end of season

Barcelona’s Andres Iniesta confirms plan to leave at end of season

Andres Iniesta applauds to the fans after exiting Barcelona’s Copa del Rey win against Sevilla. AP Images

“After 22 years here, I know what it means to be a player for the best team in the world. I know the responsibility I have as the captain and the responsibility to be honest with myself and the club by bringing my time at the club to an end this season.

“If I’d imagined my how my career would…

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[catalonia]

Barcelona want Umtiti to stay but not at any cost

Barcelona want Umtiti to stay but not at any cost

Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti Miquel Llop/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Manchester United are among the clubs reported to be prepared to pay the centre-back’s buyout fee.

Umtiti, 24, has remained relatively quiet over his future, refusing to answer a question about United in an appearance on French television last month.

However, he responded to the speculation which followed that interview by kissing…

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[catalonia]

Iniesta gets Ballon d'Or apology from France Football

Iniesta gets Ballon d’Or apology from France Football

France Football has said sorry to Andres Iniesta for never having awarded the Barcelona and Spain icon the Ballon d’Or during his career, and urged him to excel at this summer’s FIFA World Cup so he can claim the prize for 2018. Iniesta, 33, is widely expected to bid European football farewell at the end of the season and head to China after 16 wildly successful years at the top of the world game…

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[catalonia]

Arsenal's Arsene Wenger: I have a high opinion of Luis Enrique

Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger: I have a high opinion of Luis Enrique

Luis Enrique has been touted as one of the main candidates for Wenger’s job when he steps down this summer, in part because of his relationship with former Barcelona sporting director Raul Sanllehi, who joined Arsenal in February. Asked about Luis Enrique at his news conference on Thursday, Wenger said: “I have a high opinion of him. “I do not want to influence the job for the next manager, but…

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[catalonia]

Competition and 4 Absentees for El Clasico

The first El Clasico in the 2017-18 La Liga season takes place this Saturday as we travel to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium to take on rivals Real Madrid. Zinedine Zidane’s side already beat us in the Super Cup back in August but it is us who head into the weekend’s fixture with an 11-point lead in the league. However, Ernesto Valverde has a couple of absentees to deal with. They are as follows:…

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[catalonia]

Sports Betting is on the Rise

Sports Betting is on the Rise

In addition, the average sports bettor has the advantage of utilising their mobile device or tablet to access a betting website and make their bet. Most sites allow you to download their application to your device, making things easier when you’re not sitting at home in front of your computer. Simply setup your account, deposit some funds to get started, and you’re ready to go. One of those…

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[catalonia]

Will Barcelona win La Liga?

Will Barcelona win La Liga?

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images Ok, so the club is 8 points ahead of Real Madrid and 4 points ahead of its nearest rival Valencia. Barça has won 9 games and drawn 1 while Los Blancos have won 6, drawn 2 and lost 2. Should Barcelona be celebrating its 8 point advantage or taking things with a bit of caution? In my opinion, Barça should be doing the latter. I mean, how many times…

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[catalonia]

Neymar Jr to PSG looks like a done deal

Neymar Jr to PSG looks like a done deal

It appears that Neymar Jr will be a PSG player by Monday according to sources. The Brazilian who flew into Barcelona last night and joined up with his teammates this morning, only to say goodbye it appears.He didn’t hang around and neither trained with the first team. Neymar spent around an hour this morning speaking to colleagues when he arrived at 09:00 CET and was off by 10:00 CET.He was also…

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[jaywave]

Love between friends isn’t all games and giggles. It means I want to see the best in you, and I hope you have the outspoken audacity to see the best in me. Real friends speak with tears in their eyes, voice shaking, heart breaking, a quiet courage to say ‘You’re better than this.’

J.S. Park (via jspark3000)

[catalonia]

Messi runs amok against City who shot themselves in the foot

Messi runs amok against City who shot themselves in the foot

Leo Messi in action against Manchester City Pep Guardiola is probably still staring into his coffee after last night’s 4 nil rout by his ex club. Both managers were very cordial before the match with hugs in the tunnel before the teams came out. But there ended the niceties as Pep meant business with his Manchester City side. Barça wasn’t their usual self in my opinion and it was a 50-50 affair…

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[catalonia]

Piqué believes he will play in the MLS

Piqué believes he will play in the MLS

Gerard Piqué could play in the MLS one day 29 year old Barcelona player Gerard Piqué has been considering his football future and although things are going smoothly at the Catalan club, the player believes that he would like to play in the MLS one day. The American league is far more competitive now than before and still has the ability to attract top flight players who have reached the end of…

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