LALIGA

12Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Gavi returns to Barcelona training after ACL tear

Barcelona midfielder Gavi returned to training on Thursday as he edges closer to a return to action after almost 10 months out with a serious knee injury. Gavi, 20, has not played since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while playing for Spain against Georgia in a qualifying match for the European Championship at the end of last year. BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 12: Pablo Martin 'Gavi' of FC Barcelona looks on prior to the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and AS Monaco at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on August 12, 2024 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images) A source has told Football Flame that no date has been fixed for a possible comeback at this stage, with the next steps dependent on how he responds to a gradual increase ...

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12Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Barcelona have the two most experienced teenagers in world football

La Masia is back on top, as Barcelona are easily producing the finest prospects in world football, assembling a star-studded lineup where the majority of the key players are homegrown talents. Gavi and Pedri have been anchoring the midfield for the past couple of seasons, Alejandro Balde was a massive breakout star at left back in 2022/23 when Barcelona last won LaLiga, and both Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi emerged as legitimately two of the best players in LaLiga in their respective positions. Yamal, in particular, was a revelation, dominating the competition at Euro 2024 as a key player for champions Spain. Both Yamal and Cubarsi are just 17 years old, so, in theory, Barcelona have two world-class players on their hands for the next 15 years. Cubarsi and Yamal are so good, i...

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11Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Bayern confident of keeping Arsenal and Man City target

Bayern Munich are confident Jamal Musiala will soon sign a new contract with the club. The German international has entered the final two years of his deal with the German giants and has recently been linked with a host of top European sides, including Manchester City and Arsenal. Born in Stuttgart, Musiala joined Bayern’s academy from Chelsea in 2020 after a year with Southampton, having moved to England at the age of seven. He has since established himself as one of Europe’s leading players, finishing second to Jude Bellingham for last year’s Kopa Trophy, which is presented to the best player in the world under the age of 21. Musiala also proved one of the stars of the Germany side at this summer’s Euro 2024 and shared the Golden Boot award alongside club teammate Harry Kane, Dani Ol...

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11Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Ferland Mendy, Jesus Vallejo available to play vs Real Sociedad

Real Madrid defenders Ferland Mendy and Jesus Vallejo are set to be available to feature in the game against Real Sociedad on Saturday, according to reports from all over Spain. There have been a lot of players in the last couple of weeks who’ve got injured, especially in defense where, for a while, Antonio Rudiger was the only central defender who was fit — even Castilla’s Jacobo Ramon is currently injured. Vallejo is back, though, and it will be good to have another centre-back in the squad list. However, it is a different conversation about whether Vallejo will actually get the nod, because we have seen Carlo Ancelotti go for Dani Carvajal as makeshift centre-backs in the past. In other news, Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eder Militao are back in training, but they trained...

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11Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Deco explains why Barca signed Dani Olmo and not Nico

Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed why the club decided to buy Dani Olmo rather than Nico Williams in the summer transfer window. The Catalans were linked with Williams all summer. Joan Laporta said the club could afford to sign the Athletic star, but Barca opted to splash out on Olmo instead. Here’s what Deco’s said in an interview with Barca One when asked about the transfers. “A high-level winger was needed. We have Raphinha, Ferran, the return of Ansu who was very good in pre-season but had a foot injury, we have Lamine ... We have players who can play as wingers like Fermín or Dani Olmo . “We were clear that to bring in a player he had to be of a very high level. But in the end, signing Dani Olmo gave you more options. It’s not that we haven’t spoken with clubs and play...

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10Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Real Madrid star in push for start vs Sociedad with injury-time winner on international stage

A member of the attacking ranks at La Liga giants Real Madrid on Monday night staked his latest claim for a starting berth in Carlo Ancelotti’s XI. As much came by way of his exploits on the international front. The player in question? Brahim Díaz. Versatile attacker Brahim was back in action with Morocco a short time ago. After being afforded a rest from the off in the country’s AFCON qualifying meeting with Lesotho, the 24-year-old was introduced to the fray during the 2nd-half, with the game on a knife-edge. And, when all was said and done, Brahim went on to prove himself match-winner once more. Picking up the ball on the edge of the Lesotho penalty area, the former AC Milan man left a pair of defenders for dead, before picking out the bottom corner with a pinpoint finish. This p...

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10Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Memphis Depay set to join Corinthians in Brazil on a 2-year deal

Corinthians published a picture Monday of Depay holding a club shirt and meeting with a club executive. The 30-year-old Depay, who played for the Netherlands at the European Championship in July, will be the first ever Dutch player to join the popular Brazilian club, which has more than 35 million supporters. Brazilian media reported that Depay has undertaken his medical tests and will arrive in Sao Paulo later this week. Depay started his career at PSV Eindhoven in 2011 and later had spells at Manchester United, Olympique Lyon and Barcelona before joining Atletico Madrid. The Dutch striker played 39 times for Atletico Madrid and scored only nine goals last season. Corinthians is fighting to avoid relegation in the Brazilian league, with 13 rounds remaining. It is also in the quarterf...

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9Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Flick does more La Masia homework over the international break

Barcelona may not have had a game this weekend due to the international break but that hasn’t stopped new boss Hansi Flick from taking in some action at the club. The German showed up to watch Barcelona’s Juvenil A play on Sunday, showing once again how interested he is in the club’s youngsters. Flick was in attendance in a win for the youngsters too. Juvenil A ran out 2-1 winners over Badalona. Juliano Belletti’s side, who have started the season well, took all three points thanks to goals from Brian Farinas and Mauro. Barcelona’s new boss has already spoken glowingly about the club’s famed La Masia academy and it’s been previously reported that one of the reasons he got the job was his excellent knowledge of the club’s young stars after studying them intensely. It’s certainly been ...

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7Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Ancelotti trusts 25-year-old Real Madrid defender amidst injury woes – report

The left-back position at Real Madrid appeared set to undergo a big change this summer with Alphonso Davies widely linked with a transfer.In the end, however, Real Madrid did not get the Canadian defender over the line as Bayern Munich refused to accept a lower fee for the youngster. Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia thus started the new season as Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred options in the department with the Frenchman taking the starting role. Both players, however, have seen regular minutes in tandem. Garcia earns Ancelotti’s favourWhile Mendy began the season as the manager’s preferred option at left-back, Garcia only had to wait until match day 2 to get his first start of the season. Benefitted by the Frenchman’s suspension, the 25-year-old played all 90 minutes against Real Valla...

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6Sep By Silver Emmanuel2 Comments

LALIGA

Injured Barcelona forward hopes to be back in time for clash against Girona

The objective of any FC Barcelona player should always be to play their best football for the team. Unfortunately, that becomes impossible to do if a player is constantly suffering from injuries and the inevitable repercussions. Even right now, many key Barcelona players continue to suffer because of this exact reason. As a consequence, even the collective team and club begins to suffer as well. La Blaugrana need their best players available, and if they cannot even be fit for selection their input for the team becomes absolutely nothing. Fortunately, however, some key players are now close to returning as well. One of the players whose return is expected sooner than others is Ansu Fati. The 21-year-old Barcelona forward, who still has ownership of the iconic number ‘10’ at the club,...

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4Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Pique gives his verdict on Hansi Flick’s Barcelona

Former Barcelona star Gerard Pique has offered his verdict on Hansi Flick’s team after a great start to the 2024-25 season. Barcelona remain perfect after enjoying four straight wins under their new boss, including an emphatic 7-0 thrashing of Valladolid last time out.Pique says the team is looking good and he thinks they can fight for silverware this season in a new interview with Mundo Deportivo. “At the moment things are going very well and they are playing well, the new players like Olmo the other day are already giving good performances, as are the youngsters, who have already shown a lot in the pre-season, but also in the first ones I think they have played a lot of games, they have participated a lot and I think they have put up a fight. I think that the team has enough le...

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3Sep By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

FC Barcelona star admits he considered leaving the club

FC Barcelona star Raphinha admitted to RAC1 that he considered leaving the club at one point of his two-year tenure in Catalonia. The Brazilian is the man of the hour with three goals and two assists thus far, which have helped Barca maintain a 100% record across four games in 2024/2025 under Hansi Flick. He appears to be a new player on Flick's watch, who is finally starting to live up to his reported $66 million (€60 million) price tag which Barca met to snatch him away from Leeds United in 2022. Things weren't always so rosy, however, and Raphinha admitted that he once considered calling it a day with the Blaugrana."Did I consider leaving? Yes," Raphinha confessed to RAC1. "The first six months were complicated for me and my family. After the World Cup I improved and I was able...

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3Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Real Madrid suffer triple injury blow to add to Bellingham woes

Things are going from bad to worse this season for Real Madrid, who were already reeling from an injury to their talisman, Jude Bellingham. The Englishman is expected to be out for another few weeks at least, and with La Liga rivals, Barcelona, already four points ahead of them after just three games, the last thing Carlo Ancelotti needed was more injury concerns to deal with. Ceballos, Mendy and Tchouameni all out alongside Bellingham for Real Madrid According to transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, all of Dani Ceballos, Ferland Mendy and Aurelien Tchouameni are injured, with perhaps the only saving grace being that for the next couple of weeks there’s an international break. In exactly two week’s time, Los Blancos play Stuttgart in the opening match of their defence of the Champ...

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3Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Nagelsmann confirms Ter Stegen is Germany’s new No. 1

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed that Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen will be the national team’s new No. 1. Ter Stegen will finally get his chance after Manuel Neuer announced his retirement in the wake of this summer’s European Championship. Nagelsmann says he has no doubts that Ter Stegen is the right man for the job.“Marc-André is the new number one. He has been a captain in Barcelona for several years and is the clear number one there,” he told reporters. “He’s the same with us. I don’t want to artificially heat up the competition behind him. Oliver Baumann played very well last season and also made a good impression during the European Championship. “Alexander Nübel also performed well in Stuttgart last year. The battle behind him is open, including...

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2Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Kylian Mbappe gets off the mark in LaLiga with brace

Kylian Mbappe opened his LaLiga account at the fourth time of asking with a brace to fire Real Madrid to a 2-0 home win over Real Betis. Mbappe had failed to score in Madrid's opening three league fixtures, which resulted in the champions dropping points at Mallorca and Las Palmas. It was a different story on Sunday, with a sumptuous Federico Valverde flick able to set up Mbappe to power home in the 67th minute. He then made it 2-0 eight minutes later from the penalty spot to clinch all three points at Santiago Bernabeu. Mbappe had failed to find the net in his first three LaLiga matches but netted on his first appearance for his new club in the UEFA Super Cup final. Vinicius Jr won the spot-kick but gave it to his to his team-mate, who made no mistake. Prior to the game, manager Ca...

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1Sep By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Raphinha hat-trick as Barcelona rout Valladolid 7-0

Brazil winger Raphinha scored a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed Real Valladolid 7-0 on Saturday to make it four wins from four in La Liga under new coach Hansi Flick. While bitter rivals Real Madrid have stumbled early following the much-trumpeted arrival of Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona are off to a flying start despite their continued financial difficulties. They are also missing Frenkie de Jong, Gavi and Ronald Araujo but have a maximum 12 points heading into the international break, leaving them seven clear of Madrid who face Real Betis today. “We’re growing as a team. I think it’s a very good start to the season,” said Barcelona captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen. “I’m proud of how things are going... hopefully we can continue like that in the next weeks.” Barcelona’s best start to a La Lig...

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31Aug By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Predicted Barcelona lineup against Real Valladolid: Olmo set for full debut; Fermin Lopez in for Bernal

Dani Olmo will make his first start for Barcelona against Real Valladolid, while Fermin Lopez will replace the injured Marc Bernal on Saturday.Barcelona will aim to continue the perfect start to the 2024/25 season when they welcome Real Valladolid to Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday evening. Hansi Flick has a new injury concern that is hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture.Marc Bernal sustained a long-term knee injury that will keep him on the sidelines for nearly 12 months. So, the young midfielder’s season has prematurely ended as he gets set for a long road to recovery. Bernal has joined Andreas Christensen, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, and Ansu Fati on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Flick discussed Bernal’s injury and the impact ...

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31Aug By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

La Liga: Real Madrid need clearer strategy, more clarity, says Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Thursday there was no excuse for his side's slow start to the La Liga season.Forward Vinicius Jr fired in a second-half penalty to cancel out Alberto Moleiro's early opener as the Spanish giants salvaged a nervy 1-1 draw. Ancelotti said he expected his team to play better together and blamed himself, saying that he needs to work harder and do a better job."It is clear that we are struggling to find the soundness of last season. But we must not look for excuses. The schedule is tight and we have to recover quickly as we have a game on Sunday," Ancelotti told a news conference. "I need to have a clearer strategy, to give the players more clarity in what I want. It's costing us more than we thought."After only one win in three matches to start...

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31Aug By Silver Emmanuel1 Comment

LALIGA

Official: Barcelona sign Ruben Lopez

La Liga giants Barcelona have on Friday added to the club’s midfield options, at youth level. This comes by way of the signing of Ruben Lopez, from Deportivo de la Coruña. López, for his part, is a 20-year-old midfielder, who has long been held in high regard at parent club Deportivo. The Spaniard possesses a host of impressive individual traits, allowing López to line out in a number of positions between midfield and attack. Amid their ongoing search for reinforcements to Barca Atlètic boss Albert Sánchez’s ranks, the brass at the Camp Nou, in turn, recently made contact with their counterparts in Galicia. And, as alluded to above, on Friday, the discussions between the two clubs have officially borne fruit. As per a statement across the website and social media platforms of Barca A...

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30Aug By Silver EmmanuelNo Comments

LALIGA

Dani Olmo reveals how Deco and Hansi Flick paved his path to Barcelona

It’s been a few days since Barcelona’s impressive 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano and the biggest talking point from the game after Marc Bernal’s unfortunate ACL injury was the incredible debut of Dani Olmo. The 26-year-old Spaniard came on in the second half for Ferran Torres and completely changed the game on its head. He scored the matchwinner for Barcelona but even otherwise, his general play was outstanding. If this is a sign of things to come, Barcelona fans will certainly be excited. Olmo had an excellent sync with the rest of his teammates and one would have thought that the 26-year-old has been playing at the club for years. Barcelona signed Olmo from RB Leipzig for around €60m. The ex-La Masia graduate returned to his boyhood club in what was a marquee transfer. Even after coming ...

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