News of barcelona

'Nothing surprises me anymore' – Messi laments Suárez departure

Yesterdat 12:24 Lionel Messi bid an emotional farewell on Friday to Luis Suárez, the day after the Uruguayan striker had said tearful goodbyes to Barcelona after the club sent him to Atlético Madrid.

MONEY IN SPORT

Messi joins exclusive club of sporting billionaires

15-09-2020 14:36 Argentine superstar's career earnings of over US$1 billion places the six-time Ballon d'Or winner in a group of mega-wealthy sports figures containing just Tiger Woods, Floyd Mayweather and his great rival on the pitch, Cristiano Ronaldo.

MESSI TRANSFER SAGA

Messi trains alone as Barça reintegration begins

07-09-2020 15:25 33-year-old trains alone in first session since Ronald Koeman was appointed coach and his first since he said on Friday he had been forced to stay at Barcelona.

BARÇA-MESSI SAGA

Rosario left deflated but still hopeful, as Messi says he'll stay put

06-09-2020 08:09 Rosario had dared to dream, but it was left disappointed after the city's most celebrated son Lionel Messi announced he was staying at Barcelona on Friday.

BARÇA-MESSI SAGA

Messi confirms he’s staying at Barcelona – but against his will

05-09-2020 09:53 Albiceleste star lashes out at Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu in interview, says he wants to leave Spanish giants, but won’t take them to court in order to do so.

Argentine superstar

Lionel Messi confirms in interview he will stay at Barcelona

04-09-2020 13:39 Messi confirms he will stay at Barcelona, insisting he could never go to court against "the club of his life" and letting rip at Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu.

MESSI TRANSFER SAGA

No agreement in meeting between Barcelona and Messi’s father

02-09-2020 23:56 Argentine's future no closer to being resolved, after initial meeting between player's father and club officials on Wednesday.

Argentine superstar

Barcelona wants face-to-face meeting to change Messi’s mind

01-09-2020 15:48 Talks with Messi’s father, who is also his agent, are expected this week in Barcelona, but the club also hopes to sit down with the player himself.

Argentine superstar

Messi skips required coronavirus testing with Barcelona

30-08-2020 08:42 In another strong sign that Lionel Messi’s time with Barcelona may be coming to an end, the player did not report for required coronavirus testing scheduled for the whole squad on Sunday.

END OF AN ERA?

Messi calls time at Barcelona – what happens next?

29-08-2020 10:25 Any club in the world would want Lionel Messi. But only a select few could make a financial deal work for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.

END OF AN ERA?

We need to talk about Lionel Messi

29-08-2020 10:20 Barcelona are entitled to seek a fair price for their prize asset, but they do not have the right to deny Lionel Messi the chance to seek his future elsewhere after such a long, glittering spell.

by Dan Edwards

RALLY IN ROSARIO

Newell’s Old Boys fans dream of an unlikely Messi homecoming

28-08-2020 00:17 Messi’s surprise decision to leave Barcelona has sparked unlikely dreams among the residents of Rosario that he may return to play to Argentina to play with Newell’s Old Boys.

MESSI OFF TO MANCHESTER?

Report claims Messi wants to move to Manchester City

26-08-2020 16:48 Local daily La Nación claims Argentine superstar has decided to move to English Premier League side Manchester City, where he would be reunited with former coach Pep Guardiola.

MESSI: END OF AN ERA

Top European clubs circle as Messi calls time at Barcelona

26-08-2020 09:14 Lawyers for Argentine star sends club a fax confirming Messi's desire to rescind his contract by triggering a release clause, sending shockwaves throughout the world of football.

ARGENTINE SUPERSTAR

From Ballon d'Or to abject humiliation: why Messi seeks pastures new

26-08-2020 09:08 Barcelona have insisted in the past they had plans for coping with Messi's retirement, whenever it came, but the truth is their number 10 is irreplaceable.

END OF AN ERA?

Goals, records, trophies: Messi's glittering career

26-08-2020 08:51 After announcing he wants to leave the Catalan club, here's a look at the career highlights of one of football's all-time greats.

Champions League Football

Messi’s silence raises more doubts about Barcelona future

21-08-2020 14:43 Barcelona lost 8-2 in the Champions League quarterfinals last week to Bayern Munich.

BARÇA IN CRISIS

Questions surround Messi’s future amid Barcelona chaos

18-08-2020 07:56 Barcelona fired coach Quique Setién on Monday, three days after the team’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, the first step in what it said would be “a wide-ranging restructuring" of the club.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SHOCK

'Rock bottom': Barca reeling after Champions League humiliation

15-08-2020 08:30 A night of utter misery in Lisbon for Barcelona, as the pandemic-enforced single-game reformatting of a knockout stage and Bayern Munich deliver an killer blow to the club's legendary stars.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SHOCK

'Hard to comprehend': Brutal Bayern hit eight past Barcelona

15-08-2020 08:25 A merciless Bayern Munich inflicted a humiliating, record defeat on Barcelona on Friday, recording a scarcely believable 8-2 victory in their Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Messi's toughest task as Barcelona face up to Bayern Munich

13-08-2020 00:46 Lionel Messi might never have been faced with a more daunting task at Barcelona than engineering a victory against Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday.

SPANISH FOOTBALL

Bartomeu has 'no doubt' Messi will stay at Barcelona

27-07-2020 15:54 "Messi has said many times that he wants to retire here and I have no doubt that he will re-sign," says club president.

SPANISH FOOTBALL

Messi blasts 'weak' team after Barcelona loses league title

17-07-2020 02:08 Messi blasted his team for being “weak” after Real Madrid wrested the league title away from Barcelona for the first time in three years on Thursday.

FOOTBALL TRANSFERS

Talks with Inter over Lautaro Martínez have 'stopped,' says Barça exec

13-07-2020 12:01 22-year-old ex-Racing forward, who has scored 17 goals in all competitions for Inter this season, has been heavily linked with a move to the Camp Nou. But Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu says talks over a potential move had been halted.

SPANISH FOOTBALL

Messi scores 700th career goal against Atlético Madrid

01-07-2020 08:31 Messi scores a penalty in the “Panenka” style, chipping it softly past goalie Jan Oblak. The goal was Messi’s 630th club goal to go with 70 for his Argentina. It was also his league-leading 22nd goal of the season.

SPANISH FOOTBALL

Messi caps Barcelona win over Mallorca on La Liga return

14-06-2020 09:57 Not even a streaker could ruin Lionel Messi's return to action with Barcelona, as La Liga kicked off again behind closed doors this weekend.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC

‘I chose to stay’ – Argentine med student details life on Spain’s Covid-19 frontline

30-05-2020 10:35 When the coronavirus pandemic hit, third-year med student Celeste Basaez, on residency in Barcelona, had a choice: head home or join her hospital’s fight on the frontlines against Covid-19.

by James Francis Whitehead

FOOTBALL & CORONAVIRUS

Messi looking forward eagerly to 'weird' La Liga restart

27-05-2020 16:37 Messi, who after a few weeks confined like the rest of Spain by the coronavirus pandemic, is training with Barca again ahead of a planned resumption of La Liga behind closed doors on the weekend on June 12.

Fight against virus

Barcelona to sell Camp Nou naming rights to raise money to fight virus

21-04-2020 14:23 Barcelona will sell the naming rights to its Camp Nou, Europe’s biggest stadium – which has never had a sponsor since it opened in 1957 – for one year in an effort to raise money for the fight against the coronavirus.

Coronavirus pandemic

Covid-19 keeps Dybala isolated, as sport copes with coronavirus

13-03-2020 12:12 Coronavirus shuts down all the sport activities until further notice. Professional football is not an exception.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Messi demands calm after chaotic two months for Barcelona

20-02-2020 13:37 Barcelona has been hit recently by a series of setbacks on the field and conflicts inside the club. And though Lionel Messi has had enough, he says he won't leave the club.

SPANISH FOOTBALL

Barça-bound Quique Setién set to lead the club he has long admired

14-01-2020 07:24 61-year-old Spaniard often tried to get his teams to mimic Barcelona's ball-possession and attacking-minded style – and now he will get to do it himself at the Catalan club for real.

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

Lautaro Martínez’s impressive form could cost Inter Milan

21-12-2019 13:09 Inter Milan might just lose out to Barcelona...again.

MESSI

Messi takes leadership in his stride to clinch a historic sixth Ballon d'Or

02-12-2019 18:34 The Argentina footballer, considered to be one the greatest players of all time, won his sixth Ballon d’Or on Monday, after a fantastic season with Barcelona.

FILM REVIEW

Review: New documentary shines fresh light on Maradona's mythic tale

30-09-2019 07:30 From a god to a devil – Asif Kapadia's absorbing and exhaustive new film shines new light on one of Argentina's most iconic figures: Diego Armando Maradona. It airs in Argentina on October 2 on DirecTV.

FIFA AWARDS

'The Best': Lionel Messi win FIFA men's player of the year award

23-09-2019 17:52 Barcelona star sees off Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk to win award; Marcelo Bielsa honoured with 'Fair Play' award for incident at Leeds.

LOCAL FOOTBALL

Ex-Boca star Juan Román Riquelme announces La Bombonera testimonial

20-09-2019 12:55 Former Boca Juniors and Argentina star will be honoured with a testimonial at La Bombonera in December, more than five years after midfielder's retirement.

FOOTBALL TRANSFERS

'I would be thrilled if Neymar came back,' says Barcelona's Messi

12-09-2019 08:41 Argentina captain would be "thrilled" if Neymar returned to the Catalan side but insisted they could still win trophies without the Brazilian.

FOOTBALL

Messi has option to leave Barcelona next summer

08-09-2019 08:13 Spanish newspaper El País reports that Argentine's current contract with Barcelona includes the option for the legendary star to unilaterally end his stay in the summer of 2020.

FOOTBALL

Problems mount for Messi as injury woes adds to ban

06-08-2019 10:00 Messi banned for three months after CONMEBOL 'corruption' outburst, as star's new season in Spain begins with a cloud hanging over it.