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☆ Rodrygo double fires Real Madrid to Spanish Cup final win over Osasuna
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SEVILLA, Spain, May 6 (Reuters) - Rodrygo struck twice and Vinicius Jr dazzled as Real Madrid beat Osasuna 2-1 on Saturday to win their 20th Copa del Rey title and first since 2014. Brazilian Rodrygo scored the opener after two minutes but Carlo Ancelotti's side were pegged back when Lucas Torro equalised 13 minutes after the break. Real have lost two of the last three games and are virtually out of contention in LaLiga, sitting 14 points behind leaders Barcelona. "I'm very happy because I have just won the only title I didn't have with Real Madrid at only 22 years old. "We were talking this week about how long it has been since Real Madrid have not won this competition and I, personally, was missing it too.

☆ LaLiga loss shrinks as ticket revenues recover after pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LaLiga expects the current season to produce a net profit of just below 30 million euros, "still far from levels reached in the pre-COVID years", with revenues adding a little over 1%. COVID restrictions hit ticket sales and player transactions in 2020-21, leading to the Spanish league's first loss since 2012. Revenues reached almost 4.84 billion euros in 2021-22, landing just short of the record of nearly 5.07 billion in 2019-20. However, the amount of money spent on infrastructure jumped to 430 million euros, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. Last month, the club secured a financing deal worth 1.45 billion euros with 20 investors, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, after having renegotiated the initial terms.

☆ Barcelona director of football Alemany to leave at end of the season
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 2 (Reuters) - Barcelona director of football Mateu Alemany has decided to leave the LaLiga team at the end of the season, a year before his contract officially runs out, the club said on Tuesday. Barca added that Alemany had agreed to complete the first team's transfer business in the close season despite formally arranging to leaving the club on July 1. The 60-year-old will depart to begin a new unspecified professional project after two years in the job. Runaway LaLiga leaders Barcelona have 82 points from 33 matches and extended their lead over second-placed Real Madrid to 14 points on Tuesday with a 1-0 home win over Osasuna. Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; Editing by Ken FerrisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Benzema hits hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 29 (Reuters) - Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid recovered from a disappointing midweek loss at Girona by beating lowly Almeria 4-2 at home in LaLiga on Saturday. With six-games remaining, second-placed Real maintained their slim title hopes by moving up to 68 points, cutting Barcelona's lead to eight points. Benzema netted his third from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute after Lucas Vazquez was fouled inside the box. Real wasted several chances to extend their lead further with Rodrygo and Vinicius missing sitters from close-range and Benzema and Asensio hitting the post twice each. The referee initially awarded Real Madrid a penalty for a foul on Benzema inside the box, but reversed his decision after checking the VAR replay for an infringement in the build-up.

☆ Barcelona edge closer to title with 4-0 win over 10-man Betis
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, April 29 (Reuters) - Andreas Christensen, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha were on target as Barcelona thrashed 10-man Real Betis 4-0 on Saturday to tighten their grip on top spot and moved a step closer to their 27th LaLiga title. Christensen opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 14th minute with a point-blank header following a cross from Raphinha. The locals made the most of their advantage before the break, scoring twice within three minutes thanks to strikes by Lewandowski and Raphinha. "The last game was very tough, we needed to respond and winning by a large margin was important to have more confidence. With the win secured, 15-year-old winger Lamine Yamal became Barca's youngest ever debutant when he was brought off the bench by coach Xavi.

☆ Real Madrid's Modric a doubt for Copa del Rey final
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Semi Final - Second Leg - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - April 5, 2023 Real Madrid's Luka Modric during the match REUTERS/Albert GeaApril 28 (Reuters) - Real Madrid's Luka Modric has suffered a thigh injury, and the veteran midfielder could be a doubt for their Copa del Rey final against Osasuna on May 6, manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday. Modric, 37, played a little over an hour in Real's 4-2 defeat by Girona over the weekend before he was substituted. Real will be looking to win the Copa del Rey for the 20th time. "It's pending evolution and we don't know if he will be fit for the Copa match. They currently sit second in LaLiga, 11 points behind leaders Barcelona after 31 games and two points ahead of Atletico Madrid.

☆ Barcelona stunned by Rayo Vallecano in surprise 2-1 defeat
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, April 26 (Reuters) - Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday thanks to goals in each half from Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia. With seven games to play, Barca are top of the league on 76 points, 11 ahead second-placed Real Madrid, who were also stunned 4-2 at lowly Girona on Tuesday. Rayo Vallecano are ninth on 43 points, four adrift of the European qualification spots. Rayo halted Barca's seven game unbeaten streak in the league with a gutsy performance in front of their fans at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas. Camello missed another great chance in the 64th minute and Unai Lopez also wasted another opportunity to extend Rayo's lead a little later.

☆ Barcelona scrapes by Atlético Madrid 1-0 to remain in firm control of La Liga title race
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Patrick Sung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —FC Barcelona scraped by Atlético Madrid 1-0 at the Camp Nou to extend its lead at the top of La Liga over eternal rival Real Madrid to 11 points. Ferrán Torres’ goal in the 44th minute made the difference, ensuring Atlético continued its 17-year winless drought – with 8 draws and 15 losses – at the Camp Nou. Antoine Griezmann was Atlético's main offensive threat, but he was thwarted by the crossbar and Marc-André ter Stegen twice. Just when Barça’s domination of possession in the first half seemed to be fruitless, the first goal materialized near the stroke of half-time. The win means Barcelona remains in firm control in the La Liga title race with eight matches remaining and an 11-point lead ahead of Real Madrid.

☆ Barca edge closer to title with 1-0 win over Atletico
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BARCELONA, April 23 (Reuters) - Forward Ferran Torres struck late in the first half to give Barcelona a 1-0 home win over third-placed Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou on Sunday as they tightened their grip on top spot and moved one step closer to a 27th LaLiga title. With eight-games remaining, Barca moved to 76 points and extended their lead at the top of the standings to 11 points over rivals Real Madrid in second place. Atletico remain third on 60 points. Barcelona halted Atletico's 13-game unbeaten run thanks to a quick counter-attack in the 44th minute. Raphinha controlled a long ball down the right channel and crossed to Torres on the edge of the area and he calmly slotted the ball past goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

☆ Jankto to stop playing for Sparta Prague this season over health concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 20 (Reuters) - Czech Republic international Jakub Jankto, who received widespread support earlier this year after coming out as gay, has announced he will not play for Sparta Prague anymore this season due to concerns over his health. His announcement was met with support from Brazil's Neymar, the English Premier League, LaLiga and European soccer's governing body UEFA. The midfielder has played 16 games in all competitions for Sparta this term, having joined on loan from Spanish side Getafe. Sparta lead the Czech top flight with 61 points after 27 games, two points above second-placed Slavia Prague. The two Prague teams are due to meet in the Czech Cup final in May.

☆ A corruption scandal, accusations of favoritism and Franco’s regime: Real Madrid and Barcelona in war of words over Spain’s fascist past
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

More than eight weeks after the scandal emerged, FCB President Joan Laporta went out to bat for the Catalan club on Monday. General view of Estadio Santiago Bernabeu prior to the La Liga match between Real Madrid CF and Getafe CF on April 09, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. But Laporta finished by saying that Real Madrid is “a club considered the team of the regime,” a reference to the club’s reported historic ties with Franco during his fascist dictatorship. “We are talking about a club [Real] that has historically close ties to political, financial and sporting power,” Laporta said. In total, Real won 14 league titles to Barcelona’s eight under Franco, while the Blaugrana won nine Copas del Generalísimo to Real Madrid’s six.

☆ Getafe hold Barca to another goalless draw in LaLiga
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 16 (Reuters) - Leaders Barcelona were held to a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe managed to take a point in a hard-fought game on Sunday. In the second half, Barca striker Robert Lewandowski, LaLiga's top scorer this season with 17 goals, had a header blocked while Getafe keeper David Soria also denied Raphinha with a fine save. Getafe nearly stole all three points at the other end on a counter-attack in the 87th minute when the ball fell to Borja Mayoral but the striker's shot from distance flew just wide of the post. Barcelona next host Atletico Madrid next Sunday while 15th-placed Getafe, who sit four points above the relegation zone, are away at Mallorca. Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru Editing by Toby DavisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Real Madrid crash to Villarreal defeat as title chances fall further away
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 8 (Reuters) - Samu Chukwueze scored twice to inflict a further blow on Real Madrid's title hopes as they were beaten 3-2 by Villarreal at home in LaLiga on Saturday despite twice taking the lead. Real host Chelsea on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie. Vinicius Jr restored Real's lead two minutes into the second half with a simple finish in front of the Villarreal goal for his ninth league strike of the season. "It's a crazy goal," Chukwueze said. Villarreal, who climbed to fifth place in the battle for a Champions League spot, host relegation-threatened Valladolid next Saturday.

☆ Real will attack Barcelona with title on the line - Ancelotti
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BARCELONA, March 18 (Reuters) - Real Madrid will not hold back in El Clasico against Barcelona at Camp Nou on Sunday as they bid to close a nine-point gap their arch-rivals at the top of LaLiga. Without taking risks, we will go out on attack," Real manager Carlo Ancelotti told a news conference on Saturday. They suffered a little more than usual but won that game," Ancelotti said. Coach Xavi Hernandez expects his back line will be tested by Real but is confident of causing them problems. "I think Real Madrid will be more aggressive and attack more than usual because of the situation that they are facing, nine points behind us," Xavi told a news conference.

☆ Vinícius Jr. is being racially abused during LaLiga matches. Why is nobody being punished?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +17 min

It has been updated to reflect the persistent racist abuse that Vinicius Jr. was subjected to during Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat by Valencia on May 21, 2023. ‘Racist campaign against Vinícius’Incidents of players being racially abused by fans have tarred numerous LaLiga matches this season. On May 21, Vinícius was again subjected to racist abuse from the stands, this time during Real’s match against Valencia at the Mestalla stadium. Most cases of racist abuse which LaLiga has referred to local prosecutors have involved Vinícius. The local prosecutor in Mallorca said it is investigating a number of cases of racist abuse at matches.

Although Polish teams have struggled to make a mark in European competitions and the country's coefficient places them 27th in the UEFA standings, there has been steady improvement in the last five seasons. In terms of value, we have a competitive structure similar to the Premier League, even though we have no government sponsorship or oligarch investment," Mioduski said. "So now we are at a point where our clubs are well-managed and run with a talent pool where private investment, like private equity, can take the clubs and the league to the next level." Mioduski said they have reached a point where they would welcome external investment both in the league and its clubs. "The Polish league as a whole has been developing more slowly but in a much more competitive fashion, with teams... maximising their limited resources," he added.

☆ Atletico striker Morata calls for life bans for racist chants
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The first time a person does that in a stadium he should be banned for life," Morata told ESPN on Wednesday before Real host Atletico at the weekend. LaLiga filed three legal complaints for racist insults during matches, including two aimed at Vinicius, it said on Wednesday. The league has now filed eight complaints for racist chanting or insults against Vinicius. Three complaints have been dismissed and another three are still being processed, including one when a mannequin wearing Vinicius' No. 20 shirt was hung from a bridge outside Real's training ground before last month's derby against Atletico.

☆ Too late to sanction Barca over ex-refereeing official payments: LaLiga president
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 17 (Reuters) - LaLiga President Javier Tebas said it would be too late for the league to sanction Barcelona over payments made to a company owned by a high-ranking official of Spain's refereeing body, though it may be possible on a "criminal level". Spanish prosecutors said they are investigating around 1.4 million euros ($1.49 million) in payments made by Barcelona. The club have said they "hired the services of an external consultant" that supplied them with "technical reports related to professional refereeing". "It won't be possible for Barcelona to receive disciplinary sanctions," he said. "Five years have gone by and (the period to hand out) these types of sanctions expires after three years.

☆ Premier League clubs spend $1 bln for first time in January transfer window
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 1 (Reuters) - Premier League soccer clubs spent a record 815 million pounds ($1.00 billion) in the January transfer window, an analysis from Deloitte's Sports Business Group said on Wednesday. The London club, lying 10th in the league, paid a British record 106.8 million pounds for Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez from Benfica on Tuesday's transfer deadline day. Over the whole of the 2022-23 season they have spent 2.8 billion pounds on player transfers, beating the previous record of 1.9 billion pounds set in 2017-18. Relegation-threatened Bournemouth were the second largest spenders within the Premier League. "Premier League clubs have outspent those within the rest of Europe's 'big five' leagues by almost four to one in this transfer window...," said Tim Bridge, lead partner in Deloitte's Sports Business Group.

☆ Spanish police detain 23 for alleged soccer match-fixing in Spain, Andorra and Gibraltar
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Jan 31 (Reuters) - A group of 23 people, including soccer players, have been arrested as part of a probe into suspected match-fixing in non-professional Spanish, Andorran and Gibraltarian soccer leagues, Spanish police said on Tuesday. "A second layer of the scam comprised soccer players who took advantage of their position to organise the fixing in the teams under their influence," police said. No players were identified, but police said the ring targeted some 30 games in non-professional leagues such as Spain's third division and the local leagues of micro-state Andorra and British enclave Gibraltar. The investigation was carried out in 2021 and 2022 with the help of several organisations, including Spain's football federation RFEF, LaLiga, the Betting Market Global Investigation Service (SIGMA) and European governing body UEFA's Anti-Match-Fixing Unit. ($1 = 0.9246 euros)Reporting by Inti Landauro and Emma Pinedo; Editing by David Latona, Alexandra HudsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Talking points from European soccer
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jan 29 (Reuters) - Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues:PIOLI UNDER PRESSURE AS MILAN SET UNWANTED RECORDSIt has been a rough start to 2023 for Stefano Pioli and AC Milan, with only one win in seven games. Pioli’s side have let in four goals in consecutive league games for the first time in the club’s history and on Sunday conceded five goals at home for the first time since 1997. BARCELONA SURVIVE THREE-GAME STRETCH WITHOUT LEWANDOWSKIBarcelona are in form on top of the LaLiga standings and extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games, even without key striker Robert Lewandowski. Despite struggling up front without Lewandowski, who is still LaLiga's top scorer on 13 goals, Xavi Hernandez's side managed to keep their momentum and even extended their lead over bitter rivals Real Madrid to five points. Fuellkrug, who at 29 was a surprise addition to Germany's World Cup squad back in November, is currently top of the scorers list with 13 goals.

☆ Real Madrid frustrated in goalless draw against Real Sociedad
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Battling Real Sociedad survived a pounding at Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday when they held Real Madrid to a goalless draw in a frantic LaLiga match. Real Madrid recorded 20 goal attempts compared to only seven created by the visitors who held their turf heroically to go home to San Sebastian with a point thanks to a string of saves by goalkeeper Alex Remiro. Vinicius Jr wasted two chances from close range, one in each half, with Remiro denying both. Leaders Barcelona moved to 47 points in the standings after their 1-0 win at Girona on Saturday and are now five points ahead of second-placed Real Madrid. Real Sociedad are third on 39 points, having played one more game than the top two.

☆ Substitute Pedri earns Barcelona 1-0 win at Girona
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Fernando Kallas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GIRONA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Pedri celebrated his 100th match for Barcelona as he came off the bench and scored from close range in the second-half to give the LaLiga leaders a hard-fought 1-0 win at Girona on Saturday. With forwards Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres suspended and midfielder Pedri recovering from muscle discomfort, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez opted to rotate his side on a chilly afternoon at Montilivi. Despite having almost 70% of possession in the first half, Barcelona struggled to break the deadlock against Girona’s low block. Barcelona finished the match with only three shots on target, having made the most of their only clear opportunity. "I believe that in these games you have to win it in any way possible," Barcelona defender Jules Kounde told DAZN.

☆ Brazil's Dani Alves jailed on remand in Spain over sexual assault allegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Joan Faus | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BARCELONA, Jan 20 (Reuters) - A Spanish judge on Friday ordered that Brazil soccer player Dani Alves be jailed on remand without bail over an alleged sexual assault of a woman in a Barcelona nightclub, the regional court system said. Earlier on Friday, Alves appeared before a Barcelona judge after local police detained and questioned him. The alleged victim had filed a complaint earlier this month and the case remains open over a crime of sexual assault, Catalonia's court system said in a statement. Alves told Antena 3 TV earlier this month that he was at the club with other people but denied any such behaviour. Alves played for Barcelona from 2008-2016 and briefly returned to the LaLiga team for the 2021-22 season.

☆ Manchester City top Deloitte Money League for second straight year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Abu Dhabi-owned City generated total revenue of 731 million euros ($790.65 million), followed by Real Madrid (714 million euros) and Liverpool (702 million euros). City's rivals Manchester United generated 689 million euros and Paris St Germain made 654 million euros. City posted a Premier League record commercial revenue of 373 million euros in 2021-22, a growth of 65 million euros from the previous season. WOMEN'S FOOTBALLFor the first time, Deloitte's Football Money League also reported on revenues generated from the women's teams at Money League clubs, with sides reporting average revenues of 2.4 million euros in the 2021-22 season. Manchester United reported the second-highest revenue with 6 million euros, followed by City (5.1 million euros), PSG (3.6 million euros), Arsenal (2.2 million euros) and Spurs (2.1 million euros).

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