Hey Gerard, it’s me, your old not friend Pepe. I know we don’t really talk much outside of insulting each other during El Clasicos, but I just wanted to ask: are you OK, man?
Tag: Barcelona
Lionel Messi certain to demand transfer after Barca lose 4-0 in Spanish Super Cup
Barcelona conceded four goals in the second consecutive match to lose the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup 4-0 to Athletic Bilbao. This result will all but seal Lionel Messi’s long-rumored transfer demand for a move to Chelsea and get Luis Enrique sacked as his trophy run looks set to end at paltry four in a row.
Barcelona overcome first MEGA CRISIS of the season to win UEFA Super Cup
Going into the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla, Barcelona showed all the makings of another apocalyptic crisis from which they will never recover. Neymar had to go into quarantine with mumps, Pedro was held out of the starting XI amidst his prolonged transfer saga with Manchester United, and the club hadn’t won a major trophy since the Champions League final last season.
Lionel Messi headbutts, throttles Roma player during friendly
Losing the World Cup final and Copa America final by narrow margins in consecutive years will take its toll on anyone, and Lionel Messi is no different. So in a friendly between Barcelona and Roma, Messi snapped and took his pent-up aggression out on defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
Eden Hazard scores incredible solo goal in Barcelona friendly
If this is what happens right after Jose Mourinho says one of his players is better than Ronaldo, he might want to do that more often.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and more as old timey footballers
What would today’s footballers look like if they played in past eras? The excellent Paladar Negro answers that question for a slow offseason day with some wonderful trading card style photoshoppery. The mustachioed Messi is the best of the bunch, followed closely by a disgruntled Cristiano…
What to do when you’ve been transfer banned, by FC Barcelona
In April 2014, Barcelona were given a 14-month transfer ban by FIFA for breaking rules related to the transfer of players under the age of 18. FIFA rejected their appeal in August of that year and in December, the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected another appeal. “Barcelona will not be allowed to sign any players in 2015,” said the BBC at the time.
This would be devastating news to any club, but Barcelona have found a way to cope in this bleak and treacherous time. The following is their guide to coping with a transfer ban for a full year.
All the reasons why Barcelona won the 2015 Champions League final
Barcelona completed a perfect end to the season by beating Juventus 3-1 in the Champions League final to win their second treble in six years and fourth European Cup in 10 years. For a club that has supposedly been in crisis every other week for the last three years, that’s quite impressive. But for a club with three of the best players in the world scoring goals by the bushel for them, it also makes complete sense.
Though that last fact might seem like enough to put Barca past Juve, there was actually much more to it. These are all the reasons why Barcelona won…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic climbed mountains instead of watching his former teammates win the Champions League
Zlatan Ibrahimovic famously said “A World Cup without me is nothing to watch” after Sweden lost their 2014 World Cup qualifying playoff to Portugal (he did later attend a World Cup match, though), and it seems he feels the same way about Champions League finals.
Zlatan, who has still never won the Champions League, spent one tumultuous season with Barcelona back in 2009/10. But as his former club prepared to face Juventus in the final, Zlatan posted photos of himself climbing mountains in Sweden to his Instagram account. Read more
Thomas Vermaelen gets a Champions League winner’s medal for playing one La Liga match this season
When we last left injury plagued defender Thomas Vermaelen, he was celebrating Barcelona’s La Liga title even though he hadn’t played a single minute for the club to that point. In the three weeks since then, a lot has happened though. He played 63 minutes in Barca’s meaningless final La Liga match of the season and for his considerable trouble, he got to celebrate their Copa Del Rey title and he collected a Champions League winner’s medal after watching his teammates beat Juventus 3-1.