When Barcelona visit the San Mames on Saturday to take on Athletic Bilbao, we’ll all bear witness to a historic matchup featuring two of the three clubs that’ve never been relegated from the top division — the other being Real Madrid. The history between the two sides goes way back, but perhaps no individual performer has shone as brightly as Ronaldinho when the Blaugrana have locked horns with los Leones.
According to Spanish football federation president Juan Luis Larrea, La Liga will begin using Video Assistant Referee technology next season if all goes according to plan. Given La Liga’s refusal to use goal-line technology on the grounds of cost concerns, the proposed introduction of VAR in the Spanish top flight represents something of a shock.
Ever wanted to know what a locker room looks like after your favorite stars are done with it? Well, it’s a bit like learning how the sausage is made — probably something you’d rather not see. The Barcelona locker room was left a nauseating mess after the team’s 3-0 win over host Murcia in the Copa del Rey fourth-round match on Tuesday.
This is dumb, but in some ways Sergi Roberto is simply too good. He’s too intelligent, too tactically aware and too adaptable. The likes of Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique and Ernesto Valverde never complained, but it’s also made the 25-year-old something of an unknown quality outside of those who watch FC Barcelona play week in, week out.
“Your whole life, like a sandglass, will always be reversed and will ever run out again, — a long minute of time will elapse until all those conditions out of which you were evolved return in the wheel of the cosmic process. And then you will find every pain and every pleasure, every friend and every enemy, every hope and every error, every blade of grass and every ray of sunshine once more, and the whole fabric of things which make up your life.”
You know how Neymar left Barcelona for PSG? Well, apparently that move was in the works for a long time. As far back as Messi's wedding, if Xavi Hernandez is to be believed.
Here's what Xavi told the BBC World Service: