Tag: BARCELONA

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Barcelona lose La liga

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi says “things have to change” at the club as they lost their La Liga title on the night their 30-game unbeaten home run in the league came to an end.

Even a win would not have been enough for Barca, as Real Madrid beat Villarreal 2-1 to win the title.

Jose Arnaiz put Osasuna ahead before Messi levelled with a free-kick.

The visitors had Enric Gallego sent off for elbowing Clement Lenglet before Roberto Torres’ close-range winner.

Messi, who is La Liga’s top scorer on 23 goals with one game to go, said: “We didn’t expect to finish in this way, but it sums up the year for us.

“We are a weak team who can be beaten with enough intensity and enthusiasm.

“We have lost a lot of points which we shouldn’t have done. We have been very inconsistent.

“We need to be self-critical, starting with the players, but also across the entire club. We are Barcelona, and we are obliged to win every game.”

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Barcelona offer Coutinho to Arsenal & Newcastle

The Liga giants are eager to get the former Liverpool star off their books and may be willing to sanction a loan switch to a Premier League suitor

Barcelona have offered Philippe Coutinho to Arsenal and Newcastle in an ongoing bid to free up squad space and funds that will allow them to launch a raid on Inter for Lautaro Martinez, Goal has learned .

Barca snapped Coutinho up from Liverpool in the winter window of 2018 , but have seen little return on their investment.

A season-long stint at Bayern Munich has only served to raise further questions of the 28-year-old’s form and fitness .

Barcelona are now looking to put another deal in place, with the Liga giants aware that they cannot incorporate another sizeable salary into their plans for 2020-21.

There is acceptance on the part of the Blaugrana that they are going to struggle to find a European suitor willing to take on both Coutinho’s wage and a sizeable transfer fee.

With that in mind, they have started to seek out potential landing spots, and Arsenal and Newcastle have been sounded out, with both clubs having been heavily linked with the midfielder in the past.

No answer has been received from either club as yet, with the Gunners and Magpies continuing to mull over the terms of a deal and their respective standings for next season – on both sporting and financial fronts.

Efforts to bring in alternative options, such as Argentina international Lautaro , can only be made if money is saved and raised elsewhere.

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JOSEP BARTOMEU CONFIRMS XAVI WILL BE NEXT BARCA MANAGER

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has confirmed that Xavi will become manager of the club “sooner or later”.

Xavi enjoyed a glittering playing career at Camp Nou, making a club-record 767 appearances during his 24-year stay from La Masia to his 2015 exit.

The former Spain international has turned his hand to management since retiring last year, taking charge of Qatari side Al Sadd, where he finished his playing career.

Barcelona approached their former captain after sacking Ernesto Valverde in January, but instead appointed Quique Setien, whose own future has already come under scrutiny with Xavi again linked to the post.

“Xavi will be Barca’s coach, sooner or later. But right now we are not looking for a coach, we are with Quique,” Bartomeu told press men.

“Quique Setien will coach the team in the Champions League and these last two Liga games that are left. We have had a very atypical season, we will play in August and he will be the coach. If we overcome Napoli, we will be in Lisbon.

“Our will is to fulfil contracts and Setien has one. We went to Setien’s house to speak about the future, the plans for next season. He will probably be there and I am very interested to hear what he thinks.

“He has a lot of time for Riqui Puig and Ansu Fati. We have seen Pedri and Francisco Trincao in form, there is hope.”

Barcelona have a history of appointing former players as managers, with Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Johan Cruyff among the most notable.

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BARCELONA SUFFER GRIEZMANN INJURY BLOW EN ROUTE BATTLE FOR LA LIGA TITLE

Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann is set to miss his side’s final two La Liga games after picking up a thigh injury during Saturday’s 1-0 win over Real Valladolid.

Griezmann, 29, was brought off at half time after suffering a knock and the club released a statement on Sunday to confirm the forward will be out of action.

Barca did not confirm how long Griezmann will be unavailable but he is expected to miss the matches against Alaves and Osasuna.

The France international has endured a tough debut campaign since his €120 million transfer from Atletico Madrid.

Griezmann has scored 15 goals in all competitions but was left out of the starting lineup for a number of weeks under manager Quique Setien.

Griezmann’s brother and father criticised Setien on social media after the Barca boss refused to apologise for bringing Griezmann on in stoppage time against Atletico.

A source say the club have reassured Griezmann that he is part of their future plans after meeting with his camp this week.

According to the source, the meeting went “perfectly,” with both the club and the player’s camp expressing a desire for the relationship to continue.

Barca are one point behind league leaders Real Madrid who have a game in hand on their fierce rivals.

Barca face the prospect of playing German champions Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals if both sides make it through their round-of-16 ties.

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Barcelona keep slim hope for title

Barcelona kept alive their slim La Liga title hopes with an excellent victory at in-form Villarreal.

They took an early lead when Pau Torres turned in Jordi Alba’s cross but Gerard Moreno levelled for Villarreal.

Lionel Messi brilliantly won the ball in midfield before feeding Luis Suarez – who curled in from 20 yards – and the Barca captain then backheeled to Antoine Griezmann, who scored a magnificent chip.

Ansu Fati blasted in a late fourth.

Barca’s front three of Messi, Suarez and Griezmann clicked perfectly in one of their best performances in recent months.

Messi has now reached 19 La Liga assists this season, the most of any player since he reached that figure in 2010-11.

He was unlucky not to score as he had a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee for offside and hit the crossbar with a late free-kick.

Barca are four points behind Real Madrid with four games to go and need their old rivals to slip up at least twice to have a hope of retaining their title.

Villarreal had won five games and drawn the other since La Liga restarted following the coronavirus pandemic.

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Xavi agrees lucrative deal to take over as Barcelona boss

Former Barcelona midfielder Xavi has reportedly already agreed to become the Catalan outfit’s new head coach at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 40-year-old was linked with the post earlier this year when Ernesto Valverde was sacked, but Quique Setien ultimately arrived at Camp Nou.

Setien’s long-term future at the club is the subject of much speculation, though, with Barca currently playing catch-up to Real Madrid in the race for the La Liga title.

According to Mundo Deportivo, ‘a firm agreement’ is in place for Xavi to replace Setien this summer, with the legendary midfielder set to receive a £5.4m-a-year deal at Camp Nou.

The Spaniard left Camp Nou for Al Sadd in 2015 and has since become the Qatari side’s head coach.

However, it is understood that Xavi is heading back to Spain for the 2020-21 campaign, and the decision has allegedly been given the seal of approval by Lionel Messi.

Barca are currently second in La Liga, four points off leaders Real Madrid, who will have the chance to open up a seven-point advantage at the summit when they travel to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday afternoon.

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Barcelona frustrated at draw

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez lamented his side’s 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Saturday after the champions twice threw away the lead to hand more momentum to title rivals Real Madrid.

Suarez scored both of Barca’s goals but Celta forward Fedor Smolov and Iago Aspas each levelled for the struggling hosts. Aspas equalised with a free kick with two minutes remaining.

“I’m happy to have been able to help the team with my goals but overall I’m left with sensations of anger and frustration,” Suarez said.

“We feel as though we have dropped two points and there are many things we need to improve. We are giving away a lot of points away from home which we didn’t used to do in previous seasons.”

Barca were trailing Real in the standings due to their inferior head-to-head record but Zinedine Zidane’s side cemented their advantage and went two points clear at the top after defeating espanyol on sunday.

The Catalans were two points ahead when the season was halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but have won three of their five matches back, also drawing away to Sevilla last week.

Barca’s next match is a testing home fixture against third-placed Atletico Madrid, while Real have a slightly more comfortable run-in, with their hardest match looking like being an away game against Athletic Bilbao.

“We’re feeling very negative because we have lost two more points in the fight for the title,” Suarez added.

“We had our fate in our own hands but now we have to wait for Real Madrid to slip up here and there so overall we are feeling frustrated at giving away the two points today.

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GRIEZMANN SLAMMED AS IAGO ASPAS LATE FREE KICK DASHES BARCELONA TITLE HOPE.

Real Madrid are now the overwhelming favourites to win the 2019-20 La Liga title after Barcelona dropped points away at Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Luis Suarez scored twice for Barça, but Iago Aspas’s late free-kick earned a point for Celta.

Suarez opened the scoring in the 20th minute courtesy of a wonderful Lionel Messi assist before Fyodor Smolov equalised early in the second half.

Suarez then doubled his – and Barcelona’s – tally in the 67th minute.

However, Aspas had the final say when his free-kick found a way past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Ter Stegen is not getting the blame for Celta’s second goal, though.

Instead, Antoine Griezmann has been slammed by fans on social media for turning his back at the end of the wall.

As Aspas struck the ball with his left foot, Griezmann jumped and turned his back. The ball subsequently found a way into the bottom corner of the net.

Had Griezmann been braver, Barcelona may well have ended the game with their one-goal advantage intact.

Real Madrid can now move three points clear of their eternal rivals when they face Espanyol on Sunday.

“Our feelings are bad because of what happened today. We lost points, but the league is not over yet,” Suarez told reporters after the match.

“We hope that Real Madrid will drop points, both of us still have difficult games.

“I feel angry and upset about the draw.”

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JUVENTUS AGREE HUGE FEE FOR BARCELONA MIDFIELDER

Juventus have agreed a huge £72.5million fee with Barcelona to sign midfielder Arthur when the summer transfer window opens, according to reports.

Arthur arrived at the Nou Camp from Gremio in his native Brazil for £28m, and has gone on to make 70 appearances for the club across two seasons.

Despite the mammoth fee being agreed between the two sides, as reported by Sky Sports, it is understood the 23-year-old is desperate to stay and fight for his place in the midfield at Barcelona.

The Spanish club, though, are cash-strapped and understood to be keen to take the fee offered by Juve in the summer.

It has been written that Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri wants to build his team around the Brazilian next season, while the Italians have also offered him a huge wage increase.

If he accepts the move to Turin, Arthur will be on £4.5m a year and will line up in the midfield behind the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo.

For now, it is understood that Arthur will line up for Barcelona on Tuesday night in their huge clash against Athletic Bilbao.

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PITCH INVADER TO FACE CRIMINAL CHARGES

MALLORCA, SPAIN - JUNE 13: A member of the public is dragged away by security guards after invading the pitch during the La Liga match between RCD Mallorca and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Son Moix on June 13, 2020 in Mallorca, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

La Liga says it will take legal action after a pitch invader breached security to get a selfie with Barcelona’s Lionel Messi at a behind-closed-doors game.

The fan, wearing an Argentina shirt with Messi’s name and number, appeared on the pitch early in the second half of Saturday’s 4-0 win away to Mallorca.

He managed to pose for a picture within a couple of metres of Messi before being grabbed by security staff.

La Liga said it considers the incident “to represent a criminal act”.

In a statement the Spanish league said it made clear its “total condemnation” of the incident.

“This type of conduct puts the health of others at risk and risks damaging the integrity of the competition,” it added.

The fan claims he scaled a two-metre high fence to gain access to Mallorca’s stadium.

“I had planned this ever since I knew the match was happening. I wanted a photo with Messi and to meet him because he’s my idol,” the French Mallorca resident told radio station Cadena Cope.