Barcelona

BARCELONA — Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves can be released from jail on a $1.1 million bail while he appeals his rape conviction, after serving about a quarter of his four-and-a-half-year sentence, a Barcelona court ruled on Wednesday.

The conditions for Alves' release include relinquishing both his Brazilian and Spanish passports so he cannot leave Spain as well as an obligation to appear before the court on a weekly basis or whenever summoned.

The court also imposed a restraining order barring Alves from coming within 3,300 feet of the victim.

Soccer fans in the United States are getting spoiled this summer. Not only will the Copa América be hosted in the States, but some of the world’s biggest clubs have announced summer tours in the USA.

Top teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and AC Milan will all play games stateside this summer.

The friendlies will take place at the end of July and start of August meaning there won’t be any overlap with the Copa América or Euros. Both international tournaments conclude on July 14.

NYON — Defending champions Manchester City will play record winners Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals while Barcelona take on Paris Saint-Germain after the draw was held at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon on Friday.

Champions League draw quarterfinals

Semi-finals

BARCELONA — Brazilian footballer Dani Alves was convicted of raping a woman in the restroom of a Barcelona nightclub in 2022 and sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison on Thursday, which he will appeal.

The top court in Spain's Catalonia region also ordered Alves, who has been jailed on remand for over a year and repeatedly changed his story, to pay $163,000 to the victim.

Former France and Arsenal striker Thierry Henry has spoken of his mental health battles, saying he "must have been in depression" throughout his career.

The 46-year-old ended his glittering 20-year club career in 2014, which also included stints at Monaco, Juventus, Barcelona and New York Red Bulls.

He scored 228 goals for Arsenal during his two spells, winning two Premier League titles before moving to Camp Nou, where he won a pair of LaLiga crowns and the Champions League.

Barcelona women's captain and twice Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas will undergo knee surgery, her club said on Tuesday.

The Spain forward had to leave the national team training camp in Madrid last month because of a knee injury, which also kept her out of recent matches with Barcelona.

Alexia Putellas knee injury

Barcelona have announced that Alexia Putellas will undergo surgery on her left knee this Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/rh8rdn10cg

BARCELONA — High-flying Girona reclaimed top spot in LaLiga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2 away on Sunday, condemning Xavi Hernandez's side to their second league defeat of the season.

Artem Dovbyk and Miguel Gutierrez both scored for Girona in the first half, either side of Robert Lewandowski's equalizer, before Girona's Valery Fernandez and Cristhian Stuani added two more goals after the break with Ilkay Gundogan netting another for Barca.

Barcelona drew Rayo Vallecano 1-1 on Saturday and a moment from the game many fans are talking about was seeing Robert Lewandowski thrown to the ground.

The game was a feisty one that saw several hard tackles and a total of seven yellow cards given out between the two teams. There arguably should’ve been an eighth yellow or possibly a red card for Rayo Vallecano’s Florian Lejeune.

During the game Lejeune and Lewandowski clearly weren’t getting along. When the ball was away from the two players, Lejeune threw the Polish striker to the ground.