La Liga
NEW BARCA COACH, WARNS PLAYERS, VOWS TO CLEAN UP CLUB’S IMAGE
New Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman warned that any players who lack commitment or professionalism will be shown the door as he vowed to lead the team back to glory after last week’s 8-2 humiliation in the Champions League by Bayern Munich.
“What we need to do is give a different image to what we gave against Bayern, that’s not the Barca we or the fans want to see,” Koeman said at his presentation on Wednesday (Aug 19) after signing a two-year deal with Barca.
“You have to be very happy wear the Barca shirt. You have to show that with commitment, professionalism, with everything you have inside. If we do that, the image will be totally different to what it was last week.”
Koeman left his role as Netherlands coach to take charge of Barca, who he helped win a first European Cup in 1992 during a golden six-year spell in Johan Cruyff’s so-called ‘Dream Team’.
The Dutchman said that Barca was his home, although he admitted it was not an easy time to return to the club, who are reeling from their first trophy-less campaign in 12 years.
“We’re going to work very hard to build a strong team but we’ll have to make changes because the image of the other day is not what we want. We’ll have to work hard to recover our prestige,” he said.
“It’s a big challenge and it won’t be easy because Barca always demands the best of you, which is the way it should be.
“Barca are still the biggest club in the world. Now we have to work hard to make sure Barca gets back to where they should be. There is enough quality in the team to demand the best results and to win trophies.”
Koeman did not reveal which players he would seek to move on from the club, although he made it clear he only wanted to work with those who were fully committed.
“I don’t want to mention names, we have to look in the club’s best interests and make the best squad possible to try and win games,” he said.
“There are players of a certain age who you can start to doubt, although a player who is 31, 32 or even 33 is not necessarily finished, it all depends on your hunger and whether you want to give everything for the club.
“I only want to work with players who want to be here, and if they are not happy here then they should say so. I only want people who are going to give everything for Barca.”
-REUTERS
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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