Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has accused successor Joan Laporta of badly managing the club s finances as the fallout surrounding Lionel Messi s departure continues.
Bartomeu, who stepped down as Barca chief in October 2020 after nearly seven years in the role, also questioned why Barca reached an out-of-court settlement with former player Neymar over money owed in an open letter to his successor.
Laporta pointed the blame at Barca s former board for leaving the club in such a bad financial mess that they were not able to fulfil an agreement with star player Messi over a new long-term deal.
However, commenting on Messi s high-profile exit for the first time, Bartomeu has insisted his planned economic measures would have helped Barcelona through …
Luis Suarez referenced fake news on Wednesday as his future remains undecided amid talk of a transfer to Juventus.
New Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has reportedly told Suarez he can leave the club, a move that did not aid close friend Lionel Messi s strained relationship with the Blaugrana.
Suarez has been linked with a host of potential suitors including Ajax and Inter Miami but is said to be nearing a switch to the Serie A champions.
But the Uruguay international posted a cryptic message on his Instagram story as he continued to train with Barca.
Captioning a picture of him laughing, alongside a grinning emoji, Suarez wrote: When fake news comes out
Suarez is third on the list of Barca s all-time top goalscorers, trailing only Messi and second…
Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has met with the representatives of Gregor Kobel to hold discussions about a potential transfer to Stamford Bridge for the Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper, according to German outlet Sport1.
Dortmund signed the 25-year-old shot-stopper from VfB Stuttgart in 2021 for a reported fee of €15million, and the Switzerland international signed a five-year contract back then, which means he ll have three years left on the deal when the ongoing season ends. With the club targeted for their best players for years now Jadon Sancho, Erling Haaland, and more recently Jude Bellingham, they will be reluctant to allow the trend to continue as they aim to challenge Bayern Munich at the top of German football on a more consistent basis.
The alleged meeting took pl…
Best odds: 4/5
Bookmaker:
The World Cup is nearly upon us for the countries involved, this weekend, club football will dance its last dance before the controversial tournament in Qatar begins. On Saturday, Liverpool will welcome Southampton to Anfield as part of what is officially round 16 of the Premier League campaign, though no team has actually played 15 matches yet due to a whole round being postponed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II back in September.
Liverpool
For Liverpool, each game now feels crucial if they are to regain some ground in the race. Though their quest for the title has practically failed already, top-four placement is certainly still within reach. But it won t be easy; the competition is fierce and there s no more room for error.
…
Liverpool cruised into the Europa League knock-out stages with a match to spare as a 4-0 victory over LASK confirmed their place as group winners.
Early goals from Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo were enhanced by a second-half Mohamed Salah penalty – his 199th goal for the club – and an added-time strike by Gakpo as Toulouse’s draw with Union Saint-Gilloise means a dreaded round-of-32 play-off was avoided.
That mere fact alone will have delighted manager Jurgen Klopp, whose pre-match press conference had been littered with references to the intense December period ahead, but a club-record 12 points in the group stage shows how dominant the tournament favourites have been.
Into the round of 16
— Liverpool FC (@LFC)
The Reds’ 100 percent home …
AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud is determined to roll back the years as he attempts to add another Champions League crown to his collection of honours.
The Frenchman, who will celebrate his 37th birthday in September, picked up a winner’s medal as an unused substitute in Chelsea’s 1-0 final victory over Premier League rivals Manchester City in 2021 and is refusing to allow age to diminish his hunger for future success.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of Wednesday evening’s eagerly-anticipated semi-final clash with neighbours Inter, Giroud said: “Today I’m more motivated than ever.
Fine-tuning before the big day
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Manchester City defender Kyle Walker was hurt by Mauricio Pochettino s reaction to his departure from Tottenham.
Walker swapped Spurs for City at the start of last season in a deal reportedly worth an initial £45million, going on to win the Premier League and EFL Cup in his first campaign under Pep Guardiola.
But the England international, 28, was saddened after Pochettino wrote in his book that he had disrespected his Spurs team-mates by asking to leave towards the end of the 2016-17 season, which ended in a second-place finish.
As well as disagreeing with Pochettino s account, Walker was also disappointed that his former manager s version of what he felt was a private conversation was made public, even though he remains grateful to the Spurs boss for helpi…
Barcelona boss Xavi hopes retaining the Spanish Super Cup can help his side get their season back on track.
LaLiga champions Barca face 2022-23 Copa del Rey runners-up Osasuna in the semi-final of the competition on Thursday evening in Riyadh.
The Catalan giants travelled to Saudi Arabia sitting third in the league, seven points adrift of both leaders Real Madrid and second-placed Girona.
Xavi: Hopefully we win this title and it helps us get back on track.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
Xavi, who guided Barca to a 3-1 win over fierce rivals Real in the final of last year’s Supercopa de Espana, told a press conference: “We want to find our game again and keep it going.
“We need to play a complete game against a solid side, who hav…
Market: Rochdale win
Odds: 8/11 @
Looking to potential climb to the top of the National League table on Tuesday night, Rochdale will welcome Maidenhead to the Spotland Stadium.
Starting with the hosts, left frustrated last season as they failed to book a play-off ticket, Rochdale have their sights firmly set on a top-seven finish this time around. Opening the 2024/25 campaign with a routine 3-0 romp away at Boston on August 10th, Jimmy McNulty’s men have continued to shine since getting things underway last month. Last seen over the weekend putting in another dominant performance as they secured a 2-0 victory against Aldershot, the Manchester-based outfit will be confident of laying down another early marker here. Signing off August with a stellar 3-0 win at h…
Best odds: 6/5
Bookmaker:
Portugal and Belgium face each other in the final round of the group stage in the ongoing UEFA Euro Under-21 tournament.
A draw could be enough for Belgium, currently second to Georgia, to secure passage into the quarterfinals, but they ll obviously want to go all the way and make sure by booking all three points. For Portugal, who sit bottom of the group behind third-place Netherlands, nothing but victory gives any hope, and even that won t guarantee anything.
Portugal
Despite never winning the European Under-21 Championship, Portugal has reached the final of the competition three times, with their most recent appearance being in 2021, where they lost to Germany.
In the current tournament, Portugal are obviously facing…