La Liga
TRANSFER SAGA: LIKE MESSI, GARETH BALE ALSO IN MESSY STATE
Jorge Messi, father and agent of Lionel Messi, appeared to concede his son could remain at Barcelona this season, according to footage broadcast by Spanish media yesterday.
Messi Sr seemingly replied “yes” when asked by a reporter if they had considered the possibility of staying at the club for another season and then leaving for free next year, in a video recorded by Spanish TV station Cuatro.
The images were captured as Jorge, who had arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday, pulled into a garage reportedly for another day of meetings with the family’s lawyers.
Six-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, who has been at the Nou Camp since he was 13, boycotted Barca’s first pre-season training session on Monday, having handed in a transfer request last week.
Jorge was followed throughout the city by reporters and TV crew on Wednesday, and told reporters it would be “difficult” for his son to stay at Barcelona.
According to local reports, club directors met Messi and his advisers for more than two hours on Wednesday, but neither party was willing to alter their viewpoint.
However, it appears the 33-year-old’s stance may be softened after Argentinian media TyC Sports yesterday said that he is now “90 per cent likely to stay” with the Catalan giants.
Barca insist their captain remains under contract until June 2021 and will depart only if his €700 million (S$1.1 billion) release clause is activated, a stance backed by La Liga.
While Messi, who has yet to comment publicly, is understood to be of the opinion he should be allowed to go for free this summer according to another clause in his contract which says he can do so, that deadline actually expired in June.
His lawyers are arguing that the date should be moved to last month as the campaign was extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Further negotiations are expected to be held between Barca and Messi’s entourage, which also includes his brother Rodrigo.
The Spanish transfer window had closed on Monday.
Manchester City have expressed an interest in signing Messi, although there have been no negotiations as the Premier League club will only take the next step when there is clarity on the contractual dispute.
While Barca are desperate to hold on to Messi, their greatest goal scorer (634), it is not the case with Gareth Bale at Real Madrid.
Real have been wanting to get rid of the Wales forward since the start of last term – except they want to recoup some of the £85 million fee that the La Liga champions forked out to land him from Spurs in 2013.
No club is willing to pay a transfer fee on top of matching his enormous wages – said to be £600,000 (S$1.08 million) a week before tax – which is why Bale remains stuck at the Santiago Bernabeu.
His proposed move to Chinese Super League outfit Jiangsu Suning collapsed last year for the same reason and with two years left on his deal, Bale yesterday blasted the club, saying “they (Real) make things very difficult”.
-AFP
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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