A tribute in a Barcelona or Argentina shirt might not have felt right. No one expected a Newell’s one but it worked betterLionel Messi could feel the weight of Diego Maradona’s No 10 on his back. It was the final moment before kick-off in the 917th game of his career, the first without Diego, and Europe’s largest stadium stood virtually empty and entirely silent. At each end of the ground, maternity hospital on one side and cemetery on the other, a picture of Maradona was projected on the screens, in the directors’ box a man held a framed shirt, and on the pitch Barcelona’s and Osasuna’s players gathered around the centre circle where a floral offering was made, four days...
There are no winners after the Argentinian superstar was bluntly honest in saying he is only staying to avoid courtNo smile, no handshake and no reconciliation. Lionel Messi is staying at Barcelona but this was no happy ending. It is over, for now, yet there is no real closure and no one truly got what they wanted, maybe not even Josep Maria Bartomeu. A survivor clinging to power, he will no longer preside over the departure of the best player in the club’s history but nor will he evade responsibility for it. His victory, if that is what this was, is hollow one. Messi made sure of that.The prospect of his leaving after 20 years at Barcelona was sad and...
A possible Pep and Leo show at the Etihad is a mouthwatering prospect but a defensive rejig is more pressing for the club’s title ambitions than the addition of a strolling goalscoring geniusA fortnight ago, two key storylines emerged from Lisbon. There was the collapse of Barcelona and another premature Manchester City exit. From a narrative point of view, the reunion of Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola makes perfect sense, a fusion of two current storylines, the rekindling of one of football’s great romances. Related: The end of the affair: after Messi, Barcelona will never be the same | Sid Lowe Messi is not the solution to a glass jaw, just a finer grade of crystal Related: Messi to Manchester...
Barcelona should accept the Argentinian’s wishes and let him leave with Pep Guardiola the manager best placed to sign himSuddenly and unexpectedly there is the very real prospect Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player in the world now or ever, will be playing in the Premier League. There are a lot of hurdles still to overcome if it is to happen, including a legal battle between two sides who believe he should be allowed to leave Barcelona either for nothing or for €700m but it seems clear he wants a move and that in Pep Guardiola Manchester City have the manager best placed to sign him. Related: The end of the affair: after Messi, Barcelona will never be the same...
The resignation of six directors is the latest instalment in a soap opera in which boardroom squabbles have become the normThe resignation letter six Barcelona directors handed to a notary on Thursday night, deepening the club’s crisis, included a demand that the external investigation into what has become known as “Barçagate” be completed, with anyone responsible punished and any money repaid. The allegations, first reported by Cadena SER Radio, are that payments totalling €900,000 were made to the company I3 Venturesto run social media accounts and websites that attacked opposition figures, players past and present, and defended the reputation of the president Josep Maria Bartomeu.Barcelona, Bartomeu and I3 Ventures have strongly denied wrongdoing, with the president describing the allegations as...