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In case you didn’t know… Coutinho left Liverpool for Barcelona in an initial €120 million deal to become the Catalan club’s record signing in January 2018. The Brazilian star, who was initially brought in to fill Andres Iniesta’s shoes in the Blaugrana midfield, has struggled to find form and failed to justify his hefty price tag. The 27-year-old, who has been largely seen as an expensive flop, has made 75 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 21 goals and providing 11 assists....

Thus, Verratti has put the rumours to bed as decisively as one can expect. Meanwhile, Barcelona’s deal to sign Arthur Melo from Gremio should resolve the midfield problem for the next season. While the Brazilian is not as accomplished as the PSG star, he definitely has the necessary skill-set to succeed. Marc-Andre ter Stegen wants Andres Iniesta to stay The club captain revealed after his side’s victory against Chelsea in the Champions League that he has an offer from China....

Ed Robertson: Flashing for us happens every four or five shows. It’s not like a Kid Rock show where every third or fourth girl is flashing. We see naked guys as often as we see naked girls. I consider that to be a poor ratio. I would say 1 to 10 would be a better ratio, but we’re running about even Steven. I think people flash us ironically. I’ve been at Kid Rock and Metallica shows and the flashing is very like, “I’m a stripper, and these are my t— and I know you want to see them....

Speaking after the Blues’ 3-0 win over Southampton on Sunday, in which both the Belgian and Barkley scored and assisted, Hazard said: “Real Madrid is the best club in the world. It is my dream since I was a kid. We will see.” Barkley, however, is desperate for the 27-year-old to pledge his future to Maurizio Sarri’s side and continue to light up Stamford Bridge for years to come....

Elissa Dunn shared the video on her TikTok account, @the.bada**.bartender, where it amassed nearly 400,000 views as fellow TikTok users watched her confront the woman. “I turned to see a lady scooping my dark cherries with her BARE hands,” read the text over the video. According to the New Mexico Restaurant Association, alcohol garnishes must be treated with the same care as any piece of food. “These garnishes are anything from fruit to a spice or herb, and because most of them are perishable food, they need to be treated as such to ensure the safety and satisfaction of the customer,” the organization said....

Xavi was chief playmaker in a Barca side that swept all before them, while remaining strongly rooted in Catalan ideals, coached by Pep Guardiola and captained by Carles Puyol, with the likes of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Victor Valdes providing more home-grown heroes. Luis Enrique’s reign continued Barca’s trophy glut, including a treble in the Asturian’s first campaign at Camp Nou, but he was often criticised for moving Barca away from the ideals that had been put in place by Guardiola - including the use of youth-team players....

The Blaugrana beat Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final on Wednesday, with Messi netting his 599th and 600th goals for the club after Luis Suarez had broken the deadlock in the opening period. While Suarez made a meaningful impact against his former team with his first Champions League goal in over a year, Coutinho was once again largely anonymous before being substituted on the hour mark when Liverpool were on top....

Thirteen people were killed and dozens injured as a van drove into pedestrians on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Authorities have warned that the death toll may rise. The players of Barcelona subsequently took the time, ahead of training, to commemorate those killed. Real Madrid, too, honoured the victims with a minute’s silence of their own. Both Lionel Messi and Neymar - the latter now of PSG but formerly of Barca - issued touching tributes to the victims on social media....

Barcelona are on the lookout for another exceptional ball-playing defender to partner Gerard Pique and have scouted multiple defenders including Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos and Athletic Bilbao’s Aymeric Laporte. Barcelona’s Sporting Director, Ariedo Braida, has scouted the 27-year-old multiple times this season already. The report that both Arsenal and Manchester United are heavily interested in signing the Borussia Dortmund man but if the Catalans come calling, he wouldn’t think twice about making the switch....

The midfielder has undergone knee surgery twice in 2017 after injuring the internal meniscus in his right knee against Granada in April. Rafinha returned to first-team training this month and Barcelona confirmed on Monday that the 24-year-old has been given the medical all-clear. While unlikely to start against Madrid in Saturday’s first LaLiga Clasico of the season, Rafinha could at least earn a place on the bench, with head coach Ernesto Valverde facing other injury concerns....

Barcelona relinquished a great opportunity to go top of the La Liga table and take charge in the title race by losing 2-1 to Granada last night. The Catalans have let go of a wonderful opportunity to cap off their good run since the turn of the year and find themselves languishing at third in the table, two points behind Atletico Madrid with five games to go. Meanwhile, the Barcelona board is preparing ahead of what is expected to be a hectic summer transfer window for the club....

Samper, 24, leaves Barca after never really living up to his early promise, having been highly rated when coming through their La Masia academy. A technically gifted midfielder, Samper was initially seen as the long-term successor to Sergio Busquets and was handed his senior debut in September 2014, appearing against APOEL in the Champions League. He had to wait until March 2016 for his LaLiga debut, and loan spells with Granada and Las Palmas followed....

Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu was once again quizzed on the future of his star man at a recent Barca Foundation event. Uncomfortable questions continue to be asked as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is yet to commit to an extension to a deal which is due to expire in 2018. Verratti can help Barca beat Madrid Allowing that agreement to run down is unthinkable for Barca, but both sides of the discussions have expressed a desire to prolong their association and Bartomeu maintains that terms will be agreed once Messi is ready....

Valverde has the Blaugrana’s full support, claims Abidal Barcelona may be at the summit of La Liga, level on points with arch-rivals Real Madrid, but the inconsistency of their performances and their style of play this season have raised questions over Valverde’s leadership at the club. The Spanish champions have been defeated thrice this term, including their 3-1 defeat to Levante; and have failed to establish easy victories against the likes of Slavia Prague in the Champions League....

Speaking on how it feels upon returning to training with the first-team, the Barcelona player began by saying that it has been a good experience so far and they as a group are looking forward to getting back to work in full flow. The Barcelona academy product also spoke about how the club’s fitness coaches have helped the players keep fit both physically and mentally by training at their respective homes....

Ernesto Valverde’s side beat Chelsea 3-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday to take their place in the last eight of the competition and the Bluagrana were paired with Roma in Friday’s quarter-final draw. In the Primera Division, the Blaugrana remain unbeaten with 72 points from their 28 games, having won 22 and drawn six so far to lead second-placed Atletico by eight points with 10 rounds left. Here, Goal takes a look at everything you need to know ahead of Saturday’s match against Athletic…...

Antoine Griezmann will accept offer from Barcelona, according to reports According to Spanish TV program Jugones, via Spanish media outlet AS, Barcelona target Antoine Griezmann will accept the offer from Barcelona to secure his move to the Catalan giants. Griezmann was heavily linked with the Catalan giants last year but the attacker decided to stay and renewed his contract, which saw Atletico Madrid raise his salary and the player’s buyout clause....

Los Leones trounced the European champions 5-1 in the supercup back in August to lift their first piece of silverware in 30 years, and now return to the scene of their historic moment, albiet, with both sides having undergone contrasting set of fortunes since then. Whilst the defending champions have gone on to reinstate themselves as the favourites again, Athletic Club haven’t been able to replicate their Supercopa form in the league campaign, sitting at a lowly 8th with only 8 victories from the first 19 games of the season....

Trailing 2-1 from the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, Ajax stunned the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu with a 4-1 masterclass to dump out the three-time defending champions. De Jong was one of several players to impress in the Spanish capital and his performance was timely ahead of a close-season move to Madrid’s fierce Clasico rivals Barcelona. But the Netherlands international was keen to stress the importance of the result to his current employers....