Leganes
Sevilla sign Oscar Rodriguez from Real Madrid
Real Madrid midfielder Oscar Rodriguez has joined Sevilla on a five-year contract, the clubs announced on Sunday. Oscar came through Madrid’s youth system but never made an appearance for the first team and has spent the past two years at Leganes, scoring 13 goals and making six assists. The Spaniard was one of Leganes’ key players last term, even as the club were relegated from the top flight. He has earned a particularly strong reputation as a free-kick taker, after scoring four goals last season from 16 attempts. Sevilla have paid Madrid around 15 million euros ($17.9 million) to sign Oscar, according to reports in the Spanish press. “The 22-year-old signs with the club for the next five seasons,” read a statement from Sevilla, who added he has a “powerful shot and an excellent set-piec...
Martin Braithwaite ‘likely’ to leave Barcelona
Martin Braithwaite is likely to leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to Mundo Deportivo. The 29-year-old striker joined Blaugrana from Leganes as an emergency signing in February after Barça had suffered long-term injuries to the likes of Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé. However, it now looks like the former-Middlesbrough man is set to leave Camp Nou. The report states that the club have had their use out of the Danish international and are now looking to receive a return on the reported €18m they paid for him. Braithwaite made just 11 appearances for Barça during the second half of the season, starting just four of those games. He was Leganes’ top goalscorer with six goals before his departure, and the club were relegated following the 2-2 draw with Real Madrid on Sund...
Sergio Ramos becomes LaLiga’s all-time top scoring defender
Sergio Ramos’ goal in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Real Sociedad means the Real Madrid captain has become the highest-scoring defender in all of LaLiga history. Ramos’ seventh goal of the current LaLiga Santander season saw him pass Barcelona legend Ronald Koeman and move to 68 career goals in the most demanding league tournament around. The Andalusian has also scored against all 20 current LaLiga teams and his total includes an impressive range of finishes, from towering headers to long-range pile-drivers, and more recently a dead-eye from the penalty spot. Such a talent for goal-getting has been a constant for the center-back, who often featured further up the field while he was developing through his teenage years at boyhood club Sevilla. His first LaLiga goal came in September 2004, in a 2-1 ...
La Liga clubs offer free 2020/21 season tickets to fans
Espanyol and Leganes fans, holding current season tickets, will be handed free passes for the entire 2020-2021 campaign to compensate for missing matches due to the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the two La Liga clubs said on Tuesday. The Spanish top-flight is set to resume in June after being provisionally suspended in March with 11 rounds of matches remaining but, as in Germany’s Bundesliga, fans cannot attend the games in order to prevent further spread of the virus. It is unclear when fans will be able to return to stadiums, with medical experts saying mass gatherings should be avoided until there is a vaccine, which is unlikely to be available until 2021. With the two teams struggling at the bottom of the standings, it is possible that one or both sides could be playing ...
La Liga congratulates Bundesliga ahead football league return
The Spanish La Liga has congratulated Germany’s Bundesliga for announcing its imminent return as Spain’s top-flight stepped up its own comeback preparations. The Bundesliga was given the green light to resume later this month when chancellor Angela Merkel made the announcement during a news conference on Wednesday. Strict testing and matchday procedures will be put in place by the German government, with football seemingly set to resume on May 15 having been paused in mid-March. LaLiga outlined its own plan for a staggered return to training on Monday, with teams set to begin individual work this week before gradually moving to group sessions, the ultimate aim being to re-commence the 2019-20 season in June. Spanish clubs began testing players for COVID-19 on Tuesday and LaLiga sees the Bu...
