The writing has been on the wall for Javier Mascherano at Barcelona for some time, and now it's official: Barcelona announced Tuesday that Mascherano would be leaving the club, with a ceremony planned for Wednesday. Mascherano has been at Barcelona for seven and a half seasons and has made more than 300 appearances.
We already know that Lionel Messi's ball control is second to none.
Apparently the folks at Masterclass.com have hired him to teach Real Betis how it's done. During Barcelona's 5-0 thrashing of Betis on Sunday, Messi dribbled at one point past so many Real Betis players that the even the Betis fans started applauding. This must feel really, really good if you're a Betis player. We're just guessing.
Walking off the pitch today, face covered in blood after scoring Real Madrid’s sixth goal of the day, Cristiano Ronaldo borrowed his doctor’s phone to check out the damage.
When he was in his prime, there were few sights as fun to watch as Ronaldinho with a soccer ball at his feet. He combined dazzling skill with unpredictability and pure joy to form something that was basically the platonic ideal of what a footballer could be. He was flawed, sure, but even his flaws were fun.
Ronaldinho is officially retired now, and to commemorate the occasion La Liga posted a video showing some of Ronaldinho's highlights from his time in Spain. Good God, that man could play soccer.
Luis Suarez scored twice and Messi and Paulinho each added a goal as Barcelona overcame a 2-0 deficit to Real Sociedad early Sunday to maintain their unbeaten run in La Liga. On the day when Manchester City saw their quest for invincibility ended by Liverpool, it looked for a bit like Barcelona might follow suit.
Could this be the end of Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid coach? In just over two years, Zizou has won two Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one La Liga title and one Spanish Super Cup. But a home defeat to Villarreal on Saturday could spell the end of the end of Zidane’s tenure.
Real Betis defeated its city rival Sevilla 5-3 in La Liga on Saturday at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, a fantastic victory for the mid-table club over a team fighting for a Champions League place. When Real Betis players returned from the crosstown trip, they were greeted by hundreds of fans packing the streets to welcome home their heroes after triumph in the Seville Derby.
The scenes were a beautiful reminder of the link between club and fan. The two groups were in total sync with their celebrations.
According to the latest reports, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune and FC Barcelona have finally agreed to terms on the transfer of 33-year-old Argentinian defender Javier Mascherano, bringing a close to seven-and-a-half illustrious seasons at the Camp Nou.