La Liga
COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS FORCE BARCELONA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POSTPONEMENT
Barcelona announced on Friday (Jan 15) that the club’s presidential elections have been postponed after a rise in coronavirus cases prompted heavy restrictions in the region.
The elections were set for January 24 but the Catalonian government told the club on Friday morning that exceptions to the rules would not be made to allow people to vote.
The delay means Barcelona will not have a new regime in charge for the last week of the January transfer window while Lionel Messi’s future is set to remain unresolved for a while longer.
Messi’s contract expires at the end of June, when he could leave the club for free, having failed in an attempt to secure an exit last summer.
A new date has not been set for the elections but the club said in a statement it would ask the Catalonian government to allow people to vote by post.
The statement read: “For its part, the club has understood the impossibility of holding elections on the scheduled date due to mobility restrictions decreed by the Catalan Government in the current context of pandemic, which is why the date of the elections must be delayed.
“In this sense, the club has asked the Catalan Government to evaluate the possibility of modifying the current sports legislation in order to enable voting by post on the new date of the elections, a request that the Government has undertaken to study.”
Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa are the three candidates who will stand, after each gained the required number of signatures from club members.
Laporta and Font are considered the two favourites to win.
Laporta was Barca president between 2003 and 2010, overseeing the appointment of Pep Guardiola as coach and his hugely successful first two years in charge.
Laporta also claims to enjoy a close relationship with Messi and insists the Argentinian can be persuaded to stay.
Font, meanwhile, has framed himself as the candidate for the future, although he has also been clear that Messi signing a new contract would be a priority.
Font has been keen to emphasise his close ties with Xavi Hernandez, the club’s former midfielder touted as a potential replacement for Ronald Koeman as coach.
Laporta, Font and Freixa are bidding to succeed Josep Maria Bartomeu, who brought his turbulent tenure as president to an end in October, following mounting pressure from fans and his public falling out with Messi.
After a dismal year on the pitch, Barca fans will hope a new president brings a fresh start but the winning candidate will be constrained by the club’s dire financial situation, caused by an enormous wage bill and worsened by the consequences of the pandemic.
Shortly before Bartomeu resigned in October, Barcelona had announced losses of €97 million (S$155.83 million) for the previous season, with debt more than doubling to €488 million.
The team are third in La Liga, seven points behind Atletico Madrid, who have two games in hand.
An interim board has been led by Carles Tusquets since October.
The three candidates will meet with Tusquets later on Friday when a new election schedule could be confirmed.
-AFP
A Spanish court on Wednesday handed Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti a one-year prison sentence for failing to pay tax on his image rights revenues in 2014 when the Italian was Real Madrid manager, according to a statement.
Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and between 2021 and 2025, was cleared of a similar charge in 2015, as the court could not prove he had stayed long enough in Spain to incur tax liabilities, the court added. He moved to London after Real Madrid sacked him in May 2015.
Under Spanish law, any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime rarely requires a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time.
The 66-year-old former Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Chelsea manager is the latest of several soccer celebrities to be investigated and convicted by the Spanish tax authority for alleged tax fraud.
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Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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