Royal News

Tag: Barcelona

  • Manchester City player Eric Garcia joins Barcelona

    Manchester City player Eric Garcia joins Barcelona

    Barcelona have completed the signing of Eric Garcia on a free transfer from Manchester City, the club announced on Tuesday.

    The 20-year-old has signed a contract until 2026.

    His buyout clause has been fixed at €400 million, with an official presentation planned for later in the day.

    Garcia joined hours after former City teammate Sergio Aguero made the same move.

    He first joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy in 2008 and came through the club’s youth system.

    However, he left for City in 2017, where he made 35 appearances for the first team under Pep Guardiola.

    Garcia only played 12 games this season, after informing City last summer that he will not renew his contract.

  • Barcelona offers Messi 10-year contract for half salary

    Barcelona offers Messi 10-year contract for half salary

    Barcelona have offered Lionel Messi a new 10-year contract on half of his current salary, according to Deportes Cuatro.

    The club’s president, Joan Laporta, is desperate to keep the 33-year-old whose deal runs out at the end of this season.

    Messi is believed to be attracting interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

    However, with Laporta back at the helm of the Spanish giants, the chances of Messi staying in Spain have increased significantly.

    But Messi will have to halve his current wages if he agrees and Barcelona are prepared to extend his terms by 10 years in a bid to cover his losses.

    That does not necessarily mean that the Argentine will stay at Barcelona, with the agreement also stating that the player wants a spell in the MLS after two years, when his time at the Nou Camp is done.

    Messi will be 35 at that time and still be under contract.

    This is when he plans to retire and return to Barcelona as a life-time member of the club, similar to the type of deal Andres Iniesta has.

  • Barcelona blow chance to go top after home loss to Granada

    Barcelona blow chance to go top after home loss to Granada

    FC Barcelona missed the chance to go top of La Liga with just five games left when they were stunned 2-1 by Granada at Camp Nou on Thursday night.

    Although Barca controlled most of the ball and had the majority of the chances, two defensive lapses did them in.

    They allowed Darwin Machis and Jorge Molina to overturn Leo Messi’s opener for the home side.

    But they remain third in the table, two points behind leaders Atletico Madrid.

    With a difficult visit to Valencia on Sunday, FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman made three changes to his starting 11.

    Samuel Umtiti, Ilaix Moriba and Sergi Roberto came in for Clement Lenglet, Pedri, and Sergino Dest.

    As expected, Barca controlled the ball, but they could not test Aaron in the Granada goal until the 20th minute.

    Three minutes later, Antoine Griezmann, who is in his best form of the season, set up Leo Messi to put Barca ahead.

    It was the French forward’s seventh assist of the season.

    Griezmann and Messi combined again shortly afterward, only for Messi to drag his shot wide and with Barca in the ascendency.

    Aaron did magnificently to deny Messi when he was able to deflect the ball just wide after a pass from Sergio Busquets.

    The second half began with Griezmann shooting just wide from the edge of the Granada penalty area.

    Shortly after, Sergi Roberto fired just over the bar after a flowing move involving Messi and Frenkie de Jong.

    The home side looked to be in complete control as they stroked the ball around.

    But they were caught flat-footed in the 63rd minute when Oscar Mingueza failed to cut out a through ball.

    It allowed Darwin Machis to race forward and beat Marc Andre Ter Stegen and level the scores.

    Koeman was sent off for his protests, but TV replays showed there was no offside in the move.

    Although his side again took control after Ousmane Dembele and Pedri came into the game, Jorge Molina again made Barca pay for more poor defending.

    This was when he nodded home Granada’s second goal in the 80th minute completely unmarked from five metres out.

  • Forbes ranks Barcelona #1 most valuable football clubs

    Forbes ranks Barcelona #1 most valuable football clubs

    Barcelona have topped the Forbes list of the world’s 20 most valuable soccer teams for the first time with £3.46billion worth.

    The Spanish giants pipped their arch-rivals Real Madrid (£3.45bn) into the top spot after five successive second-place finishes.

    According to Forbes, the two clubs recorded 2020 revenues of £576m and debt values at six percent.

    German giants, Bayern Munich (£3.07bn) move up one place to third from last year’s rankings while Manchester United moving to fourth with £3.06bn, according to Forbes’ latest figures.

    Liverpool are now worth £2.98bn, rising above Manchester City (£2.91bn) who announced £126m losses last week.

    See the Forbes list of the world’s 20 most valuable soccer teams.

  • Messi shines as impressive Barca win at Athletic Bilbao

    Messi shines as impressive Barca win at Athletic Bilbao


    Lionel Messi was at the top of his game as FC Barcelona earned a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to move up to third in La Liga.

    Athletic Bilbao got off to a dream start in their first match under new coach Marcelino when forward Inaki Williams latched on to a low through ball and raced towards goal.

    He beat one defender before firing low into the net in the third minute.

    Barca quickly responded, however, with a sensational team goal, Messi delivering a superb pass to pick out Frenkie de Jong by the byline.

    The Dutchman volleyed the ball back across the area for 18-year-old Pedri to head home.

    Messi and Pedri then combined beautifully to put Barca ahead.

    The youngster received a pass from the Argentine before returning it with a delightful backheel and Messi rolled the ball into the bottom corner in the 38th minute.

    Messi struck again in the 62nd minute to finish off another brilliant team move.

    He missed a couple of chances to complete his hat-trick, although Iker Muniain made for a tense finale by scoring for Athletic Bilbao in the 90th minute.

    Barca clung on to earn a first win in four matches away to Athletic Bilbao, having failed to score on their last three trips to San Mames.

    The win took Ronald Koeman’s side above Real Sociedad and into third in the standings on 31 points, seven points behind leaders Atletico Madrid who have two games in hand on the Catalans.

    “When you concede so early it’s normal to drop your heads but we showed a lot of self-belief to make sure that didn’t happen,” said Pedri.

    “We knew it was an important game. That’s how we approached it. We knew they’d look for Inaki with his speed but we overcame that and got three very important points.”

    Athletic Bilbao forward Williams said his side had played well but were powerless to stop Barca when Messi was on top form.

    “We played a good first half. We were the Athletic Bilbao we wanted to be, but we were up against the best player in the world and he swung the game in a different direction,” he said.

    “The goals they scored tonight were fantastic and there’s very little you can do to defend against performances like that.”