Barcelona
Barcelona and Real Madrid targeting Bundesliga defender
Barcelona and Real Madrid are eyeing up a move for RB Leipzig centre-back Ibrahima Konate, reports Spanish outlet AS. Konate joined RB Leipzig from Sochaux in 2017. Since then, he has achieved reasonable success at the German side despite several injury troubles, reaching a Champions League semi-final last season. Konate in action for RB Leipzig His performances for Die Roten Bullen have attracted attention from several clubs across Europe, especially in the Premier League. Back in February, it was reported that three of the biggest English clubs were competing for his signature. The 21-year-old is now being linked with a move to La Liga, with AS reporting that Barcelona and Real Madrid are both in the hunt for his services. The article claims that Konate has a €45 million release clause. ...
WCQ: Tottenham’s Tanguy Ndombele returns to France squad
Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has been rewarded for his upturn in form with a recall to the France squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The 24-year-old hasn’t featured for Les Bleus since the summer of 2019 but now has the chance to add to his six international caps in matches against Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Other notable returnees include Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Lemar, who hasn’t featured since November 2019, while Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele, a member of their 2018 World Cup-winning squad, is back for the first time in two-and-a-half years. This represents Ndombele’s first international call up since his club-record €60 million (£54m/$68m) move from Lyon to Tottenham. The Frenchman arrived in north London with a reputation as an all-action midf...
Barcelona president’s ‘war-chest’ funded by MediaPro CEO
According to Spanish outlet Expansion, MediaPro CEO and co-founder Jaume Roures has helped newly-elected Barcelona President Joan Laporta complete the €125 million guarantee he needs to cover for the club’s presidency. 📰 | Jaume Roures, co-founder of MediaPro joins Eduard Romeu to complete the 125 million guarantee that Laporta had to cover for the presidency of Barça. [@expansioncom] pic.twitter.com/NbNPKzlokK — La Senyera (@LaSenyera) March 17, 2021 The obligatory deposit payment was made today, with the media mogul providing €30 million out of it. It allowed the Barcelona chief to be officially sworn into the position following his success at the polls earlier this month. Laporta and his executive board must first present a bank guarantee worth 15% of the club’s budget within 10...
Barcelona very interested in signing €25m Portuguese defender, but face Man City competition
Barcelona will compete with Manchester City in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon left-back Nuno Mendes this summer, AS reports. The Catalan giants are likely to part ways with Junior Firpo at the end of the season and they have lined up Mendes as the suitable replacement. At just 18, the Portuguese has made 34 appearances for the Lisbon giants and 25 of those have come during the ongoing campaign. He has a release clause worth €25 million in his contract and it is claimed that the Blaugrana could face competition from the Cityzens for his services. Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the young full-back and he is reportedly prepared to loan him back to Sporting for next season. Sportslens: The Blaugrana currently have Jordi Alba as the undisputed left-back with Firpo acting as his deput...
Lionel Messi shines on landmark occasion as Barcelona cruise to victory over Huesca
Barcelona comfortably saw off bottom of the table Huesca to crank up the pressure on Atletico Madrid in a tense title race. It was a perfect start for Lionel Messi, who was making his record-equalling 767th Barcelona appearance. The Argentine marked the occasion with a beautiful opener, touching the ball past the defender before curling a strike in off the crossbar. Both sides threatened to find the next goal. Pablo Maffeo saw his low strike saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen following a mazy solo run, while Jordi Alba struck the crossbar from Messi’s through ball. But it wasn’t long before the hosts doubled their lead in equally brilliant fashion. This time it was Antoine Griezmann, who hammered a 25-yard shot into the top corner. It was the Frenchman’s first goal in ten games in all competit...
Barcelona trio ruled out of La Liga clash with Huesca
Barcelona’s pursuit of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid continues on Monday as they welcome basement boys Huesca to Camp Nou. Ahead of the kick-off, Barca trail Diego Simeone’s side by six points but with a game in hand. Meanwhile, the newly-promoted visitors sit four points adrift of safety and are massive underdogs in this fixture. After a premature Champions League exit, the hosts can ill-afford to lose more ground on Atletico if they are to avoid another disappointing season. Barcelona Preview The Catalans have gone undefeated in 16 La Liga fixtures on the bounce (W13, D3) since suffering a 2-1 away defeat at Cadiz on Matchday 12 – the longest current unbeaten run in Europe’s top-five divisions. Ronald Koeman’s men have won ten of their previous 11 league matches (D1) by an aggregate sc...
Barcelona confident of signing £36m Premier League star, deal 95% done
Barcelona are confident of landing the signature of Georginio Wijnaldum from Liverpool when his contract expires in June, Football Insider reports. The Netherlands international has been with the Reds for the past four-and-a-half years, registering 225 appearances in all competitions. His current deal with the Reds expires in less than four months, but he remains a regular and has started 26 of the club’s 28 Premier League games this term. It was recently reported that Wijnaldum had been offered a contract by the Blaugrana, and it is now claimed that a deal is ‘95% done’. Jurgen Klopp’s side have been unsuccessful in renewing his contract, and he is looking forward to securing a ‘dream transfer’ to the Catalan giants. Sportslens view Wijnaldum has been a pivotal player for the Reds in the ...
PSG “immensely optimistic” of Lionel Messi signing
Paris Saint-Germain are growing increasingly confident of signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to Brazilian journalist Marcelo Bechler. The Argentine was at the heart of the biggest transfer saga of last summer following his shock transfer request away from the Camp Nou. However, after a long-running feud with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Messi stayed at the Catalan giants. Messi remained at Barcelona after last summer’s saga The election of Joan Laporta as Barcelona’s new president gave hope to the idea that the 33-year-old would stay beyond his current contract, which expires in the summer. The Spaniard promised to make keeping Messi one of his main priorities. However, it seems as if Laporta’s election may not be sufficient to keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winne...
Barcelona’s Three Goals: Messi contract, title race and selling Dembele, Coutinho and co
Barcelona’s exit in the second round of the Champions League was expected after a whopping first-leg defeat at Camp Nou to Paris Saint-Germain. Dreams of another Remontada belied the fact that they would be playing away from home, and that they didn’t have the players this time around to mount such a fantastic comeback (while PSG were arguably a better team this time around). And yet while there was hope, there was also a moratorium on criticising the players. As long as those players could do the impossible, they were either tacitly supported or openly praised. After last night though, the restraints were off and Barcelona fans vented their frustrations at players and the club’s transfer policy. Many fans wanted to see Antoine Griezmann, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele sold, with a ...
Messi misses penalty as PSG eliminate Barcelona from Champions League…again
Paris Saint-Germain reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League after seeing out an entertaining 1-1 draw at home to Barcelona, winning 5-2 on aggregate. It was a positive start from Ronald Koeman’s men. Ousmane Dembele had two good chances to open the scoring but converted neither, while Keylor Navas turned Sergino Dest’s effort onto the crossbar. On the half hour mark, PSG got the chance to take the lead on the night when VAR awarded a penalty for Clement Lenglet’s trip on Mauro Icardi. Kylian Mbappe stepped up and bagged his fourth of the tie. Dembele wasted another chance to get on the scoresheet after being played through by Antoine Griezmann, placing his strike straight at Navas. But it wasn’t long before Lionel Messi had his say. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner picked up the ...
Three La Masia graduates to join Ilaix Moriba and co in Barcelona first-team
Alex Collado, Alejandro Balde and Angel Alarcon are set to earn a promotion to the Barcelona first-team squad. Collado has been one of the standouts at Barcelona B for a few seasons and has been touted for the first team for a long time. He plays as an attacking midfielder, scoring 15 goals in the Segunda Division B. The 21-year-old has made two appearances for the first team, having been given his debut by Ernesto Valverde in May 2019. Collado in action in a friendly against Arsenal Balde is a Spanish teenager who predominantly plays as a left-back, although he has also been deployed on the wing. The 17-year-old is believed to be one of the most promising talents in the youth team. Alarcon is the youngest of the trio, aged just 16. He joined Barcelona from Espanyol in 2018 and has played ...
Premier League striker ‘would be happy’ to sign for Barcelona this summer
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero would be happy to sign for Barcelona on a free transfer this summer, Mundo Deportivo reports. The Argentine has been with the Cityzens for a decade and is their all-time top scorer with 256 goals from just 381 appearances in all competitions. However, he has been a lesser influence this term due to injuries and coronavirus and has been limited to only 11 appearances, where he has netted only two goals. The 32-year-old recently said that he is unsure where his future may lie when his contract with the Cityzens expires in June. It is now reported that Aguero’s agent has held talks with Joan Laporta, who was recently elected as the Blaugrana president for a second time. The Argentine is happy to join the Catalan giants with a pay-cut, but will want a sign...
