Spanish Clubs

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi believes he is better off not thinking too much about the risk of being infected by the coronavirus as Spanish soccer clubs step up their return to activity, saying he looks forward to getting back to playing matches.

Messi and his Barcelona teammates have been back at the club's training ground conducting individual sessions since last week, following LaLiga's four-phase protocol for returning to activity since it was halted in March due to the pandemic.

Joan Laporta has said he will seek to bring former manager Pep Guardiola back to Barcelona if his bid to return as president of the LaLiga club in 2021 is successful, Spanish media reported. 

Laporta was Barcelona president from 2003 to 2010 and was at the helm when Guardiola was promoted from the youth team to manager of the senior team in 2008. 

A shy village boy who could not bear to leave his parents' bed, Andrés Iniesta may have seemed an unlikely candidate to become one of the best footballers of all time, but anyone who saw him play rarely had serious doubts. 

Iniesta, who turns 36 today, weaved his magic for Barcelona for 16 years and was one of the architects of the club's greatest era, playing a defining role as they won 32 trophies including nine Spanish titles and four Champions League crowns. 

Five players in Spain's top two divisions have tested positive for COVID-19 since clubs began testing players and staff members last week, organizing body LaLiga said in a statement on Sunday. 

LaLiga said the players would remain at their homes where they would continue individual training before being tested again "in the next few days" to determine whether they can return to their club's training ground. 

Former Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta celebrated the 11th anniversary of his famous Champions League semi-final strike against Chelsea by calling two children conceived after his tie-clinching goal.

Barcelona were two minutes from being eliminated from the Champions League in a tense second leg at Stamford Bridge on May 6, 2009, when Iniesta collected a pass from Lionel Messi and stroked the ball into the top corner from outside the box.

One of my most unpopular opinions is that PSG’s 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the first leg of their 2016-17 Champions League Round of 16 tie was more impressive than La Remontada. In the face of what happened at the Camp Nou, everyone forgets just how devastating PSG was three weeks prior at the Parc des Princes.