With Barcelona desperate to sign Lionel Messi to a longterm deal (his current contract expires in the summer of 2018), the club have reacted quickly to negative statements concerning Messi by their head of sporting relations, Pere Gratacos, by removing him from his post.
On Friday, Gratacos said, “Messi would not be as good without Iniesta, Neymar and co. He’s the best, this is true.”
In a moving and heartfelt article for The Players’ Tribune entitled “Letter to My Younger Self”, Ronaldinho has recounted the remarkable stages of his globetrotting career; from the death of his father as an eight-year-old to the highs of representing the Brazilian national team and winning the Ballon d’Or with Barcelona.
Norwegian prodigy Martin Odegaard joined Real Madrid two years ago at the age of 16, and having failed so far to break into Madrid's first team, the 18-year-old midfielder is going on loan to Heerenveen in the Netherlands.
After only two first-team appearances in two years, Odegaard will benefit from regular action against top division professionals.
The loan is reportedly for 18 months, and Odegaard will not be 20 years old yet at the end of it. There's room to grow here.
Odegaard joins a squad that sits fourth in the Eredivisie, in line for a Europa League place.
Barcelona dropped points to Villarreal on Sunday after a 1-1 draw, but they have Lionel Messi to thank for keeping their fading La Liga title hopes alive. With Villarreal leading 1-0 in the 90th minute, Messi stepped forward to deliver another fantastic free kick.
Since the start of the 2015-16 season, Messi has scored on 12 direct free kicks for club and country, moving him into the upper echelon of dead ball specialists.
Real Madrid cruised to a 5-0 victory over Granada on Saturday, moving six points clear of Barcelona in the La Liga table. Goals from Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Casemiro and a brace from Isco condemned Granada to their tenth defeat of the season — they’re currently 19th in the table.
The Bernabeu crowd were treated to five goals within the hour, and Real Madrid made it 39 consecutive matches unbeaten, equalling the all time Spanish record.
The prematch festivities included a presentation of Cristiano Ronaldo’s fourth Ballon d’Or trophy.
Ray Hudson wasn't on this game for BeIN Sports, but he should have been, because WOW.
Sadly, this game probably won't count for anything because the second leg is at the Camp Nou and Barcelona are Barcelona. But it was fun, so it should be appreciated.
Athletic Bilbao opened the scoring, to the surprise of everyone.
When you’re undefeated in 38 consecutive matches, the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rings particularly true. Unfortunately for James Rodriguez, he’s not a beneficiary of Real Madrid's continuity. The Colombian captain has been limited to four La Liga starts this season, and his minutes across all competitions amount to not even eight full matches.
Just when you thought Valencia’s situation couldn’t get any worse, another manager leaves the club. Last Thursday, Cesare Prandelli surprised the Valencia board and fan base by resigning just three months after taking over the team.