La Liga
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu resigns
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has resigned from his position along with the entire board. The 57-year-old has faced a lot of criticism in the recent months and the club’s members were actively trying to get him out with a vote of no confidence. The Spanish club crashed to a 3-1 defeat at home to Real Madrid recently. Barcelona regressed on the pitch under his leadership and his questionable managerial choices contributed to that. Furthermore, he failed to hold on to star players like Neymar. Star player Lionel Messi was frustrated with life under Bartomeu as well and the Argentine tried his best to leave the Spanish club earlier in the summer. It will be interesting to see if he decides to stay now that the 57-year-old is gone. President Josep Maria Bartomeu announces the resign...
Super Eagles star helps Villarreal extend unbeaten run vs Cadiz
Samuel Chukwueze was in action as Villarreal played out a 0-0 draw against Cadiz in Sunday’s La Liga game. The 21-year-old has featured consistently for Unai Emery’s men in the 2020-21 campaign and against Alvaro Cervera’s charges, the winger was handed his seventh league appearance. The Nigeria international gave a good account of himself during the time he spent on the pitch to help the Yellow Submarine extend their unbeaten run to five games across all competitions. The game started with both sides aiming to outwit each other but despite their efforts, they failed to find the back of the net. The best chance of the game fell to Alvaro Negredo in the seventh minute of the encounter and he hit the back of the net, but the strike was ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VA...
El Clasico Match Report: Real Madrid take toothless Barcelona to the cleaners
Real Madrid ran out 3-1 winners at the Camp Nou yesterday at the expense of Barcelona, going top of the La Liga and six points clear of their bitter rivals with the valuable victory. The defending champions opened the scoring through Uruguayan midfielder Federico Valverde five minutes into the game, but Barca quickly hit back, with Spanish international forward Ansu Fati drawing his side level three minutes later. The 17-year-old became the youngest goalscorer in El Clasico in the 21st century as a result. The hosts enjoyed the larger share of possession afterwards and should have taken the lead through Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho, but Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois thwarted the effort of the Argentine, while the Brazilian could only guide his header wide minutes into the second...
Ronald Koeman slams VAR after El Clasico defeat to Real Madrid
Barcelona manager Ronald Koeman was left frustrated at full time as his side slipped to a 3-1 El Clasico defeat at home to Real Madrid. Ansu Fati cancelled out Federico Valderde’s early goal at the Camp Nou but referee Juan Martinez Munuero’s decision to award a second half penalty turned the game on its head. The experienced official agreed with VAR and awarded a penalty in favour of Sergio Ramos after the Spanish international was pulled down by Clement Lenglet. However the home side were angered by the decision, as Ramos converted to make it 2-1, before substitute Luka Modric added a third goal late on. “We played well and created chances in the game. We did not deserve to lose and some of the referee’s decisions, I did not understand,” he told a post match interview with Marca. “The de...
El Clasico Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-up: Real Madrid
Real Madrid head into their 245th El Clasico clash with Barcelona on the back of two straight defeats. [embedded content] Zinedine Zidane’s side were handed a shocking 1-0 loss in the league by newly-promoted Cadiz at home last weekend, and they couldn’t bounce back in their next match, suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener on Wednesday. Another loss tomorrow at Camp Nou at the hands of their bitter rivals will be a bitter pill to swallow, and Zidane and his men will be pulling out all stops to ensure they leave the city of Barcelona with all three points. Madrid have won three La Liga games this term after kicking off their title defence with a draw, and they will fancy their chances against Lionel Messi and co in an empty Camp Nou. Barca...
Chelsea Visit Old Trafford and an El Clasico in Spain Highlight This Weekend’s Most Intriguing Fixtures
We have an exciting weekend ahead across the continent, with a heavyweight clash in England between Manchester United and Chelsea at Old Trafford. Over in Spain, it will be an El Clasico derby between Barcelona and Real Madrid, who both head into this fixture in poor domestic form. Arsenal and Leicester should create some excitement, with the Foxes visiting the Emirates on Sunday. In Serie A, unbeaten AC Milan welcome Roma to the San Siro. Lastly in Germany, current European and Bundesliga title-holders Bayern Munich host Eintracht Frankfurt, who have yet to lose this term. The Red Devils have got off to a slow start this season in the Premier League, currently sitting in 15th place with just two wins out of four. But, their recent form will give them some much-needed confidence heading in...
El Clasico Match Preview, Team News and Predicted Line-up: Barcelona
The 245th competitive El Clasico clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid will take place tomorrow at the Camp Nou. [embedded content] Both sides are currently tied on 96 victories apiece with 52 draws, and football fans across the globe will be tuning in to catch one of the most-watched games. Madrid left Barcelona with a point when they came visiting last term before beating the Catalans 2-0 at home in March to fire their title charge. Ronald Koeman’s side were handed a 1-0 loss at Getafe last weekend after starting the season with two wins and a draw, and they quickly bounced back with a 5-1 win over Hungarian minnows Ferencvaros in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. Madrid are a wounded animal heading into Saturday’s clash after suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Cadiz...
Kylian Mbappe could be heading to Real Madrid or Liverpool
Paris Saint-Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe has been linked with a move away from the club at the end of this season. According to Le Parisien, the player is not too keen on extending his stay with the French outfit and he could end up joining the likes of Real Madrid or Liverpool. The 21-year-old World Cup winner is already one of the best players in the world and he would be a sensational signing for any team. However, the finances involved could make the move complicated for clubs like Liverpool. The Premier League giants like to operate within their means and signing Mbappe would mean that the Reds would have to make a big sale. It seems quite unlikely that Liverpool will move for Mbappe unless one of their front three is sold. Ideally, Liverpool should look to keep Mane and Salah at th...
Real Madrid Suffer Shock Defeat To Shakhtar Donetsk
Real Madrid’s recent misery continued as they suffered a shock 2-3 home defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk in their opening Champions League group game. The Spanish champions were undone by a Shakhtar team that was missing 13 first-team players due to Covid-19. So What Went Wrong? Zidane shouldered full responsibility for an ultimately “bad night” where Madrid were found wanting. Shakhtar were impressive for the most part and on the 29th minute they broke the deadlock. The full back, Viktor Korniienko, bumbled his way into the box before laying it off to Tete who finished into the corner with aplomb. Real Madrid soon found themselves behind again four minutes later. Tete cut in from the right and fizzed a shot heading towards the corner. With Courtois only able to parry it back out, V...
Thibaut Courtois: Real Madrid are always favourites for the Champions League
Thibaut Courtois has insisted Real Madrid are “always the favourites” for the Champions League while expressing his confidence that the Blancos can conquer Europe again in 2020-21. Madrid have won the competition a record 13 times, six more than any other club, but an underwhelming start to the La Liga season has hardly served to inspire confidence they can claim a 14th title come May. Madrid are third in the early La Liga standings, one point behind early leaders Real Sociedad having slumped to a 1-0 home loss to newly-promoted Cadiz last time out. Zinedine Zidane’s side failed to reach the quarter-finals last season, losing in a two-legged last-16 tie to Manchester City with a five-month interval between the games due to the suspension of football amid the Covid-19 crisis. Drawn in Group...
Biggest Football Club Sponsorships in 2020
The global appeal of football makes it a hugely lucrative proposition for brands who are eager to showcase their goods and services. Financial services, sportswear, gambling, airlines and automotive are amongst a plethora of sectors that have some form of financial link-up with the sport. This has allowed clubs such as Real Madrid and Manchester United to become truly global brands that generate huge revenues on an annual basis. Read on as we look at some of the biggest clubs in the world and the money-spinning sponsorship agreements they currently benefit from. Real Madrid According to Forbes, La Liga giants Real Madrid are currently ranked as the most valuable football club in the world. Their total revenue for 2018/19 was more than £665 million, with over 40 percent of that figure gener...
Biggest Football Boot Sponsorships
Modern football is a hugely lucrative business, with the top players able to earn staggering amounts of money during their careers. With regards to overall earnings, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo continue to be the highest-paid football stars in the world. The pair have dominated the sport for more than a decade now and are extremely well rewarded for their on-field efforts. A significant proportion of their income comes from endorsements, with big brands eager to associate themselves with two of the greatest players of all-time. Read on as we take a look at how their biggest sponsorships compare with other money-spinning deals in the sport. Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain & Brazil Neymar is currently third on the list of highest-earning footballers behind Messi and Ronaldo, but he i...
