Barcelona

Louis van Gaal, formerly the most entertaining manager in world football, has retired. We are sad now.

Van Gaal had everything we look for in a manager who doesn't manage the club we personally root for, which is to say: antics.

This article explains basically every reason van Gaal will be missed so much, but it predates both van Gaal's famous sideline flop against Arsenal and the time he said his players needed to be more horny.

Luis Enrique opted to leave Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Ivan Rakitic and Gerard Pique out of the starting XI for Barcelona’s match against Las Palmas at the Camp Nou on Saturday, even though the side from the Canary Islands is eighth in La Liga.

But this is Barcelona, and they thrashed their opposition behind the primary strength of Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi. Suarez scored a brace and Messi added one of his own, bringing them both to 14 La Liga goals on the season as joint top-scorers.

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.”

Goals from Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi helped Barcelona overturn a 2-1 deficit and advance to the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey at the expense of Athletic Bilbao, 4-3 on aggregate.

Lionel Messi had given Barcelona hope after striking a gorgeous free kick in the opening leg at the San Mames, but Barcelona still had it all to do against a Bilbao side that showed absolutely no fear against the Spanish giants. 

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. 

The rumor mill has been heating up as clubs start making moves this January. One big-time rumor that might make waves in the coming weeks, should it turn into reality, is Manchester City’s reported interest in Ivan Rakitic.

The Barcelona midfielder has been warming the bench for Luis Enrique’s side since early December, and a move to play under Pep Guardiola might prove alluring to the Croatian playmaker.

Still, how well would he fit into Guardiola’s team?