Spanish Clubs

Completing The “Balotelli Challenge” Is Now Going To Take Up Too Much Of Your Time

For clarification, the Balotelli Challenge does not refer to a competition in which you try to piss your coaches and teammates off with questionable behavior on and off the pitch. Nor does it mean trying a fancy finish when you’re clear on goal or wielding goal celebrations that are nearly obnoxious enough to get you punched in the mouth. Ah, enough I suppose. Mario Balotelli has been through the ringer these past few years.

Thibaut Courtois Hard-Balled Chelsea With Training No-Show

Thibaut Courtois hard-balled Chelsea on Monday with a preseason training absence. The 26-year-old Belgian goalkeeper has long been speculated to leave Chelsea for Real Madrid, and this stern message to new boss Maurizio Sarri might be the final trick.

Courtois just entered the final 12 months of his Chelsea contract, and with this no-show antic, his transfer might be imminent — to which club though?

Twitter didn’t take long to turn the whole ordeal into a circus of memes.

FIFA 19’s The Journey Has Alex Hunter Transferring To Real Madrid

At the age of 19, Alex Hunter’s career is already approaching that of the journeyman. Back in FIFA 17, you selected a Premier League club to start with, but you were then loaned to a Championship side before returning to the EPL.

In FIFA 18, you started with your parent club before being offloaded to the Los Angeles Galaxy because of Michael the conniving agent. After grinding in MLS, you then signed with either Atletico Madrid, PSG or Bayern Munich. 

Oh The Humanity! Cristiano Ronaldo Unfollows Real Madrid On Instagram

In a huge piece of investigative journalism, Madrid daily newspaper Marca reported the Cristiano Ronaldo Instagram account unfollowed Real Madrid on Friday. What a scoop!

More importantly, The18 can now confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be back with Real Madrid this season, instead moving to Juventus. Because we all know a breakup isn’t official until social media accounts are unfollowed. 

So, um, does any of this matter?

Ramos Red Cards: A Tale Of Heroic Villainy

Sergio Ramos Garcia harvested himself from a little, unknown seed playing for Sevilla to an unearthly spectacle at Real Madrid. He is the captain of both Spain’s national team and Los Blancos. He is the hero of some and the villain of many — he also holds an insane record of red cards.

Barcelona Set To Sign Arturo Vidal From Bayern For $35 Million

FC Barcelona and Arturo Vidal have agreed to personal terms on a $35 million transfer from Bayern Munich. Barcelona's been in a frantic search for an excellent midfielder after Paulinho was loaned to Guangzhou Evergrande. Vidal is rumored to be visiting Camp Nou for a signature-sealing meeting by the end of today.

Vinícius Júnior Already Looking Just Like CR7 At Real Madrid, Step-Overs, Flops And All

For better and for worse, Vinícius Júnior is already looking an awful lot like Cristiano Ronaldo, the man he’s ostensibly at Real Madrid to replace. From impressive Vinícius Júnior skill to enraging flops against Manchester United on Tuesday night, the 18-year-old Brazilian appears to have everything it takes to fill the giant void on Los Blancos’ left wing.

12 U.S.-Based Companies That Could Buy Naming Rights To Camp Nou

Since Barcelona unveiled its plans to renovate the Camp Nou (including expanding capacity from 99,354 to 105,000 and adding a roof to cover seats around the entirety of the stadium) back in 2016, the club has always maintained that a large portion of the cost (rumored to be around $700 million) would be footed by selling partial naming rights for the new ground. 

Lionel Messi Pulls Rare Decuple Sombrero On His Giant Mastiff

Two and a half years ago, Lionel Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo gifted hubby a Mastiff puppy. He was just a little guy then, and we all loved him dearly.  

Teammate Rips Pass In The General Direction Of Andres Iniesta; It Works

Andres Iniesta was never going to have a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-esque debut in the J1 League. The 34-year-old schemer is a much more subtle player and has never been one to stuff the stat line. Last Sunday, he made his debut for Vissel Kobe and played the final 31 minutes of his side’s 3-0 defeat.

After his break following a World Cup with Spain, the former Barcelona midfielder looked a little rusty — every pass just seemed a fraction too far for his teammates, perhaps an indication of the new level of play that he’ll need to adjust to.

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