Barcelona

Barcelona breathed a sigh of relief as they secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Porto in the UEFA Champions League, a win that coach Xavi Hernandez described as "getting rid of ghosts" that have haunted the club in recent years. The Catalan giants have faced disappointment in the competition in the past two editions, failing to progress past the group stage. However, their triumph on the road against Porto puts them in a strong position as Group H leaders and marks a significant

Barcelona will begin the defence of its La Liga title away to Getafe on the weekend of August 12-13, while Real Madrid starts the new season with a trip to Athletic Bilbao. Atletico Madrid take on newly-promoted Granada in the opening round of fixtures for the 2023-24 season that will finish on May 26. The first Clasico is scheduled for October 29 and will be played at the Olympic stadium on Montjuic, which is serving as Barcelona’s temporary home while the Camp Nou

Karim Benzema struck a hat-trick as Real Madrid thrashed arch-rivals and league leaders Barcelona 4-0 to reach the Copa del Rey final in stunning fashion on Wednesday. Barca, bidding for a fourth successive Clasico victory this season, looked set for the final having edged a 1-0 win in the first leg of the semi-final in Madrid last month. But after dominating the early stages of the second leg they fell apart in unlikely fashion to lose 4-1 on aggregate with Benzema becoming the

Barcelona’s Gerard Pique announced his retirement on Thursday after a decorated career. “Saturday’s match (against Almeria) will be my last at the Camp Nou,” the 35-year-old posted on Twitter. The veteran defender bows out with three Champions League titles for his childhood club and the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve decided the moment has come to end this journey,” he said in a video clip of the star watching images of himself as

They may well have looked good for the first 50 minutes of the match, but ultimately Barcelona returned to Catalonia last night with another defeat from Bayern Munich questioning how things went wrong this time. There was optimism that Barcelona might be able to reverse the narrative on this occasion following their good form this season and in the first half they missed a number of clear openings to do so. The narrative coming out of Can Barca after the match was that

Raphinha scored his first Barcelona goal as the Catalans beat fellow LaLiga hotshots Sevilla 3-0 to move within two points of the top of the table. The former Leeds winger opened the scoring for Barcelona in the first half and Robert Lewandowski doubled the advantage before the break, with that goal being the Polish striker's fifth goal in four league games for his new club. Barcelona put the result beyond any reasonable doubt five minutes after half-time with former Manchester City defender Eric

Barcelona were shaken up by Eintracht Frankfurt but took a first step in their bid to reach the Europa League last four as a second-half goal by Ferran Torres salvaged a 1-1 comeback away draw in their quarter-final first leg on Thursday. Torres cancelled out Ansgar Knauff's first-half opener in a lively clash at the Waldstadion, which the hosts finished with 10 men having put the competition favourites on the back foot. In the other last eight ties, West Ham United battled to

Rangers stunned Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in the Europa League on Thursday while Barcelona had to come from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Napoli in their play-off first leg tie. Rangers stunned Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in the Europa League on Thursday while Barcelona had to come from behind to draw 1-1 at home to Napoli in their play-off first leg tie. In Dortmund, James Tavernier gave Rangers the lead with a 38th-minute penalty after a handball by Dan-Axel Zagadou from a corner.

MADRID: Atletico Madrid slid to a 1-0 loss at home to Levante on Wednesday as Diego Simeone's side blew the chance to climb back into the Champions League places in Spain. The reigning La Liga champions failed to register a single shot on target as bottom side Levante won for only the second time in 24 games this season courtesy of Gonzalo Melero's second-half goal. Atletico trail fourth-placed Barcelona on goal difference but have played a game more than the Catalans. It was

Real advanced to Sunday’s final against the winners of Thursday’s clash between holders Athletic Bilbao and LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. Federico Valverde finished off a stunning move in extra time to give Real Madrid a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Barcelona in an exhilarating Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Real advanced to Sunday’s final against the winners of Thursday’s clash between holders Athletic Bilbao and LaLiga champions Atletico Madrid in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. Vinicius Jr.

Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Spanish forward Ferran Torres from Premier League champions Manchester City for a fee of around 55 million euros ($62 million), multiple British media outlets reported. Both Sky Sports and the BBC reported Barca would pay City a further 10 million euros in add-ons for the 21-year-old Spanish international. The deal comes despite severe financial difficulties at the club. They had to let club great Lionel Messi leave in the summer due to "financial and structural obstacles"

Second-placed Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona on Tuesday, a result that helped Real Madrid to open a five-point lead at the top of LaLiga. Playing under heavy rain, a much-improved Barcelona desperately tried to score a second goal after Ronald Araujo drew them level with a header in the 45th minute but they were thwarted by an equally determined Sevilla, who were reduced to 10 men after Jules Kounde was shown a straight red card in the 64th. Sevilla

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez wants his team to be aggressive and fearless as they face second placed Sevilla in LaLiga on Tuesday, while also showing great respect and admiration for their rivals. "They are doing things very well," Xavi told a news conference on Monday. "You can look at Bayern (Munich), they are playing great, but I what I like about Sevilla is how they work, their coach (Julen Lopetegui) is one of the best, they also have Monchi (sports director). Sevilla should

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season. First-half goals from Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane put the Germans, who won all six matches to top Group E, firmly in the driving seat before Jamal Musiala tapped in the third just past the hour. Barcelona had advanced to at least the round of 16 every time

Xavi Hernandez, who took over as the new manager of FC Barcelona, revealed that his former teammate and friend Lionel Messi texted him and congratulated him after he became the club's new boss. Xavi Hernandez said Barcelona's players will have to play by his rules and raise their standards as the club's new coach laid down a firm message at his unveiling on Monday. Xavi was presented in front of almost 10,000 fans at Camp Nou before signing his contract on the pitch,

Barcelona striker Sergio Aguero will be out for at least three months while his treatment for a heart problem is assessed, the club said. Barcelona striker Sergio Aguero will be out for at least three months while his treatment for a heart problem is assessed, the club said on Monday. "Aguero has been subjected to a diagnostic and therapeutic process by Dr. Josep Brugada. He is unavailable for selection and during the next three months the effectiveness of treatment will be evaluated in

Xavi is currently coach of Al Sadd but prising him away from the Qatari club is not expected to be a problem, with the Spaniard eager to complete a sensational return. Barcelona are close to finalising Xavi Hernandez's long-anticipated return as coach, according to various reports in the Catalan press on Thursday, with B team coach Sergi Barjuan put in temporary charge following the sacking of Ronald Koeman. Barca president Joan Laporta was reportedly in talks with Xavi about the vacant position on

Uefa has ended its legal fight against Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid over their involvement in the proposed European Super League. The clubs were among the 12 "founding" members of the breakaway league, which later collapsed. The trio, who have refused to renounce the project, were being investigated for "a potential violation" of Uefa's legal framework. Uefa says it is now "as if the proceedings had never been opened". "The Uefa Appeals Body has declared today the proceedings null and void," a statement

Barcelona made it three games without a victory on Thursday as a goalless draw with Cadiz further weakened Ronald Koeman's position as coach. Barcelona made it three games without a victory on Thursday as a goalless draw with Cadiz further weakened Ronald Koeman's position as coach. Frenkie de Jong was sent off in the 65th minute at the Ramon de Carranza stadium but holding on for a draw will earn little credit for Koeman, who was also shown a red card in injury-time.

When Joan Laporta was elected Barcelona president in March, one of the first things he did was make it abundantly clear that Ronald Koeman did not figure in his long-term plans. Six months later, he suggested he was on the verge of extending the Dutch manager's contract for a further year. But six months and two weeks later, it now looks as if the only thing keeping Koeman in the job is the fact he would be due a huge pay-off. And that