La Liga Archives ⋆ Page 71 of 106 ⋆ LSU

Nov272019 by JBNo Comments

Real Madrid confirm severity of Eden Hazard injury

La Liga

Real Madrid have confirmed that Eden Hazard is suffering from a bruised leg after fears were sparked that the Belgian would be set for a spell on the sidelines. Hazard hobbled off the pitch in Los Blancos' 2-2 Champions League draw with Paris Saint-Germainon Tuesday, leading fans to wonder whether the forward would be out for a prolonged amount of time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Such worries have been dampened, however, with the injury confirmed to be an external bruise - although no time frame has been given for his recovery time. A statement released on Real Madrid's official website reads: "After the tests carried out today on our player Eden Hazard by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with an external bruise on his ri...

Oct312019 by JBNo Comments

Pique speaks on fight between Messi and Griezmann

La Liga

Gerard Pique insists Barcelona players Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann have a perfectly normal relationship. Earlier this month, new signing Griezmann conceded to finding it "difficult" to connect with Barcelona's superstar as neither of them are naturally big talkers. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); It had been rumoured Messi, who hoped for Neymar's return to the club, objected to the club's pursuit of the France international ahead of the Brazilian. Lionel Messi has since branded that a "lie" and said he has no issues with Antoine Griezmann, a claim now supported by Pique. The experienced defender told Spanish broadcaster Cadena SER both players are on "very good" terms. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); "Here, w...

Oct312019 by JBNo Comments

Pique reveals Barcelona players offered to delay salaries to re-sign Neymar

La Liga, Transfer Info

Barcelona were so keen to bring Neymar back from Paris Saint-Germain that the players were ready to accept delays to salary payments in order for the club to afford the Brazilian star. Barca spent the bulk of the summer window trying to lure Neymar back from PSG, two years after he left Camp Nou for a world record transfer fee of £200m. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But the two teams failed to reach an agreement before the transfer deadline. Barcelona, who had already signed Antoine Griezmann for £107m from Atletico and Frenkie de Jong for £65m, were constricted in their move for Neymar by UEFA's Financial Fair Play regulations. The rules, designed to prevent football's richest owners from compressing their rivals, oblige teams to be transparen...

Oct302019 by JBNo Comments

Messi overtakes Ronaldo goal scoring record in 118 fewer matches

La Liga, Seria A

Lionel Messi was simply on fire against Valladolid as he banged in two goals for Barcelona and also added two assists, and in doing so, surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo in a club goal scoring record. Messi has now scored 608 goals for Barcelona, while Ronaldo remains on 606, which means the Argentine now takes over in the all time club career goals tally with 119 matches lesser than the Portuguese forward. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); There was plenty of class on show from the exceptional Messi against Valladolid, as he also managed to score his fiftieth free-kick in a truly outstanding career for both club and country. The little maestro also scored his 100th goal in Barcelona colours under current manager Ernesto Valverde, who had nothing but admira...

Oct292019 by JBNo Comments

Eden Hazard reveals Chelsea exit was decided in 2018

Premier League, La Liga

Eden Hazard has revealed that he had already decided to quit Chelsea a year before he actually departed Stamford Bridge this summer window. After helping the Blues win the Europa League in May, the influential playmaker made a £150million transfer move to the Bernabeu just a few days later. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); But the move had been on the cards as early as the 2018 World Cup and he conceded he had also been convinced by Madrid and former Chelsea team-mate Thibaut Courtois about ending his stay at the club. Madrid president Florentino Perez and Luka Modric were also influential in his exit from Chelsea, where he arrived from Lille in 2012 and proved important in landing two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, the FA Cup and the Lea...

Oct292019 by JBNo Comments

When I saw Messi, I knew Barcelona would win everything – Guardiola

Trending, La Liga

Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has said that, as soon as he saw Lionel Messi play for the first time, he knew the team would ‘win everything’. The now-Manchester City head coach took charge of 247 matches at Barcelona, winning La Liga three times, the Copa del Rey twice and two Champions Leagues titles, among other silverware. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Under Guardiola's tutelage, Lionel Messi was deployed as a false-nine and began to produce some of the best numbers of his career. In his second campaign under Guardiola, the Argentine more than doubled his goal tally from the year before as he sped through the early stages of his trajectory towards becoming the greatest player in the history of Barcelona. "I had already been told by ...

Oct282019 by JBNo Comments

Ronaldo: Why my Lionel Messi rivalry made me a better player

Trending, La Liga, Seria A

Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo believes his "healthy rivalry" with Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi during his time in the Spanish League made him a better player. Both men have won the most coveted Ballon d'Or award five times and are considered to be two of the greatest footballers of all time. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Ronaldo spent nine years with Real Madrid before joining Juventus in 2018 and Lionel Messi recently acknowledged the duo spurred each other on in their quest for individual honours. The former Manchester United forward has echoed those views, telling France Football: "A lot of people said that we fed each other, that being together in Spain made us better. "That's certainly true. I felt his presence more in Madrid ...

Oct212019 by JBNo Comments

Jose Mourinho speculation bothers me – Zidane

La Liga, Transfer Info

Real Madrid managet Zinedine Zidane has admitted that talk of Jose Mourinho replacing him in the dugout at the the Bernabeu bothers him, but stated he has 'complete confidence' that his players can turn around their poor form. The Spanish giants have won just four of their last 10 games in all competitions, with Saturday's 1-0 loss against Mallorca heaping the pressure on Zidane. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Speculation that Mourinho could return to the Santiago Bernabeu has raged in recent days and was a hot topic during Madrid's news conference on Monday, just over 24 hours before a key Champions League game at Galatasaray. When told Sergio Ramos had just defended him in light of the Mourinho talk, Zinedine Zidane told reporters: "In football, ...

Oct172019 by JBNo Comments

Lionel Messi explains why Virgil van Dijk is so difficult to play against

La Liga, Premier League

Lionel Messi has explained why he found it hard to play against Virgil van Dijk during Barcelona’s Champions League semi-final games against Liverpool last campaign. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Jurgen Klopp’s team were given a huge mountain to climb after losing 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final but a 4-0 victory in the return leg at Anfield secured their place in the final. Messi scored a brace at Camp Nou but failed to make an impact in the second leg as Van Dijk and Liverpool’s defence stood firm against Barca’s attack. Van Dijk's dominant defensive displays helped Liverpool win the Champions League in June, while after that he led his national team Netherlands to the Nations League final in the summer. (adsbygoogle = window.a...

Oct162019 by JBNo Comments

Why Man Utd chose not to sign Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix

Premier League, La Liga

Manchester United discussed the possibility of signing Portuguese star Joao Felix numerous times but reportedly chose not to sign him because of concerns over his lack of physicality. The Portuguese attacker has quickly marked himself out as a star of the future, scoring 15 goals and laying on nine assists for Benfica last campaign before completing a move to Atletico Madrid. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); He didn’t come cheap though, with the Spanish club forced to pay his £113million release clause – making him the fifth most expensive transfer ever, and second most expensive teenager in world football. A host of European sides had been linked with Felix before he made the move to Madrid, including clubs like Bayern Munich, Atletico’s rivals Real...