By: Casey Rhine
Ohhhh El Clásico, where to begin. One of soccer's most heated, yet most deeply cherished rivalries.Few of you readers get to experience El Clasico, in Barcelona, while it's happening. This was my mission on December 23rd and should be your mission on May 6th if you are not lucky enough to go to the game in the Camp Nou.
Following are the 32 teams that have qualified for the expanded 2025 Club World Cup to be held in the United States from June 15 to July 13.
Apart from the winners of each confederation's premier club competitions, teams also qualified based on their ranking that was calculated based on their performances over a four-year period.
UEFA (12 TEAMS)
Chelsea: 2020-21 Champions League winners
Real Madrid: 2021-22 and 2023-24 Champions League winners
Lionel Messi wants to return to Barcelona. The city, that is.
In an interview with FC Barcelona, the club’s all-time goalscorer and greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, joined the blaugrana’s for a quick chat, taking a listen and judging the three finalist songs of the club’s 125th anniversary.
Messi has officially listened to the three finalists of FC Barcelona's 125th Anniversary song! pic.twitter.com/nvCGJhms6N
MADRID, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick to help the LaLiga champions snap a two-game winless run in all competitions with a commanding 4-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday.
The Brazilian forward opened the scoring in the 34th minute after taking a Jude Bellingham pass in his stride to beat the offside trap and firing an unstoppable strike past goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.
¡Vinicius con el 1-0!
MADRID, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Soccer in Spain should have been completely suspended after the worst flash floods in decades swept the eastern region of Valencia last week, killing at least 215 people, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
All soccer matches scheduled to be played in the Valencian region this weekend have been postponed, the Spanish football federation (RFEF) said on Thursday due to the deadly floods which have killed at least 95 people.
Saturday's clash between Real Madrid and Valencia as well as Villarreal v Rayo Vallecano are among the games postponed.
Real Madrid vs Valencia postponed due to flooding
Barcelona took Real Madrid behind the woodshed on Saturday with an unbelievable 4-0 result at the Santiago Bernabéu. The biggest talking point was Kylian Mbappé’s wretched showing in his first El Clásico.
The Mbappé vs Barcelona performance was truly hard to believe. The Frenchman is one of the most talented players on the planet right now but looked like a lost youth soccer player on Saturday. Real Madrid’s new star man was caught offside EIGHT TIMES against Barcelona.
MADRID — Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday that he does not fear LaLiga leaders Barcelona but has the utmost respect for Hansi Flick's side, who they host on Saturday.
Barca lead the standings three points ahead of their rivals. While Ancelotti praised Barca's recent form, he highlighted the fact that Real are the defending champions and will not be intimidated.
"Fortunately, at the moment nobody keeps me awake at night," Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.
MADRID — Four people have been arrested and questioned in Spain on suspicion of conducting an online hate campaign encouraging fans to racially abuse Real Madrid star forward Vinicius Jr, police said on Thursday.
The men were detained on Oct. 14 and 15 then released as investigations continued into social media slogans which urged fans to wear face masks so they could insult the Black Brazil international without being identified, police added.
STOCKHOLM/PARIS — Allegations of rape against French footballer Kylian Mbappé are "totally false" and "a slanderous rumour", his representatives said, and his lawyer said he was beyond reproach, following media reports that Mbappé was the subject of an investigation over an incident in a Stockholm hotel on Oct. 10.
Mbappé rape rumors
Swedish prosecutors confirmed in a statement in response to the media coverage that a probe into an alleged rape at a hotel in central Stockholm had been opened, but they did not identify a suspect.