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The Catalans defeated Valencia in convincing fashion over the weekend. Pierre-Emerick Aubamayang scored a hat-trick and Frenkie De Jong also got on the scoresheet as Barcelona beat Jose Bordalas’ men 4-1. They will face Napoli in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout stage tie tonight. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 24 February 2022. Borussia Dortmund CEO says Erling Haaland’s future will be resolved soon Erling Haaland is currently the most sought-after striker in the world....

Later that day, Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli celebrated a different way -- touring the town shirtless, according to one Twitter user. Way to get after it, Mike.

Asked to bowl first, Baroda dismissed Karnataka for 112 before the hosts scored 223 runs, riding on Sonalki’s 69 and a 60-ball 51 by Hooda, to take a crucial lead over their rivals. In the second innings, Karnataka were 13 for 2, trailing Baroda by 98 runs at stumps. Krishnamurthy Siddharth and Karun Nair are batting on 11 and two, respectively at close. Left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt picked both the wickets....

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) disqualified former Kazakh boxer Serik Konakbayev because he failed to submit the required nomination forms from 20 federations by the September 23 deadline. Rakhimov is therefore the only candidate eligible for the election on November 3 and under the AIBA constitution he would be elected by acclaim. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said last week it was “freezing contacts” with AIBA. Without naming Rakhimov, it expressed concerns with the AIBA election process and has threatened to remove boxing from the Olympic Games....

“It would certainly be difficult,” Sanders told the Detroit News . “(Johnson has) given a lot to our organization and our team and he’s such a great player and one of those guys you just love having in your organization. Hey, it would be devastating, no question about it.” MORE: Every franchise’s best team | 15 events to attend better than Super Bowl Sanders retired shortly after his 31st birthday following 10 seasons with the Lions and rushing for 1,491 yards in the 1998 season....

The Catalans are set to face Girona in Miami on January 29 but the Spanish football federation (RFEF), Spain’s professional footballers’ association as well as FIFA president Gianni Infantino have voiced their concerns. “The FC Barcelona Board of Directors have agreed to withdraw their disposal to play their game against Girona FC in Miami, after noting a lack of consensus over this proposal,” a statement on their website read....

De Jong was brought in on loan from Sevilla at the start of the season, a move that was widely criticized by Barcelona fans. However, De Jong has been an important player for Blaugrana in recent months and has scored four goals in 15 appearances across competitions thus far. De Jong has found starts hard to come by as Xavi Hernandez has had multiple injury concerns to deal with recently....

Messi has occasionally worn the armband before when Andres Iniesta, who replaced Xavi as skipper in 2015, missed a game. The Argentine has also led his country, with only mixed results. With Iniesta moving to Japan, Messi takes the job full time starting in Tangiers after Sergi Roberto captained an inexperienced Barca squad during the club’s recent tour of the United States. Messi can eclipse Iniesta in another way in the Supercup, as both have won a club-record 32 trophies with Barca and victory on Sunday would break the tie....

In case you didn’t know… Barcelona felt the glaring absence of Messi as they suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao in their opening La Liga fixture on Friday. Veteran striker Aritz Aduriz’s late goal earned Athletic their first league win over the Catalan giants since 2013. The 38-year-old made an immediate impact off the bench and produced a spectacular overhead kick after meeting Ander Capa’s cross in the 89th minute....

Head coach Ernesto Valverde and midfielder Sergio Busquets were due to speak to the media at 1745 local time (1445 GMT) at Al-Ittihad Sport City. Barca, like Atletico, decided to hold training there because of concerns about the pitches at the Al Ahli complex. To confuse matters further, the team bus driver set off on Wednesday for the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium, where the two semi-finals are to be played, rather than the Al-Ittihad facilities....

Barcelona are currently in a mess both on and off the pitch and need a born leader to get them out of their misery. According to Joan Laporta, that person is none other than former manager Pep Guardiola. Pep Guardiola currently has two years remaining on his Manchester City contract and has won pretty much everything there is to win with the club apart from the Champions League. However, things haven’t been rosy for the Manchester City manager of late....

With continuing uncertainty over when the rebuilding of White Hart Lane will be finished, Tottenham is still playing its home matches at Wembley — England’s national stadium. Barcelona won the Champions League title at Wembley in 2011, beating Manchester United 3-1. Surprisingly it has triumphed in Europe just once since then — in 2015 — highlighting the failure of Lionel Messi and its host of other stars to fulfill their potential fully in the Champions League....

Luis Enrique on the brink after PSG thrashing Luis Enrique led Barca to a treble in his opening season and a domestic double last term. However, the 46-year-old is out of contract in the summer and is on the brink after Tuesday’s humiliating 4-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes. The former Spain midfielder has previously brushed talk of his renewal to one side and seems to be growing increasingly tired with life as Barca boss as he begins to receive greater criticism from fans and also the media, having to be separated from Catalan reporter Jordi Grau after a tense post-match interview on Tuesday....

#3 Real Madrid in pole position to sign Barcelona target Matthijs De Ligt If reports from the Don Balon are to be believed, Real Madrid have moved ahead of Barcelona to sign Dutch sensation Matthijs de Ligt. The Blaugrana have been chasing the 19-year-old for a long time, but it seems they could lose him to their arch-rivals in the summer. Ajax have demanded €90m for their skipper, but super agent Mino Raiola is willing to offer his client to Los Blancos for €80m....

Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho was the top target but the club ended up signing only Borussia Dortmund’s Ousmane Dembele. Further, Messi’s contract was set to expire next summer, implying he could negotiate with foreign clubs in January. However, the club can finally breathe comfortably with the superstar signing a new deal to keep him at the club till 2021. The club’s statement read: Messi spoke about finishing his dream of finishing his career at Barcelona and said:...

PSG met Neymar’s €222million release clause last month to secure the Brazilian’s services on a five-year contract, breaking up Barca’s fabled attacking trident that also included Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Barca 13/2 to win the Champions League Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho were both heavily linked with switches to Camp Nou to replace Neymar, the former eventually agreeing a move from Borussia Dortmund. Despite Dembele’s arrival, Mendieta feels the current campaign will be a tough challenge for the Blaugrana given the loss of Neymar, and says their squad does not have the same strength in depth as their fierce rivals from the capital....

In a letter addressed to Loudermilk dated Wednesday, the House panel said that some of those individuals on his tour attended former President Donald Trump’s rally at the Ellipse that preceded the riot. Afterward, these individuals joined the “unpermitted march” from the Ellipse to the Capitol building, the committee wrote. One of these individuals was heard threatening House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and several other Democratic lawmakers in footage obtained by the committee....

Shinji Kagawa eyes LaLiga move Shinji Kagawa has revealed that he is looking for a move to La Liga in the near future. The Borussia Dortmund wants to challenge himself in a new league and believes that Spain is the ideal place for him. “I am keen to solve the situation I am in now. It is probably important for me to change clubs, to put myself into a different place and to set myself a new challenge....

The La Liga giants have been experiencing financial complications that have left the club dealing with issues with regard to players’ wages. Busquets, 33, has already taken two wage cuts since the COVID pandemic but is not keen to do so once again. According to Marca, the Spanish midfielder wants to continue with his current salary until at least the end of next season. Busquets is a huge part of Xavi Hernandez’s side, pivotal in defensive midfield for the Blaugrana having made 50 appearances last season....

In case you didn’t know… With Lionel Messi now 32, the Blaugrana are well-aware of the duration of their time with their talisman and are taking steps to procure the best players to ease the transition when he decides to hang up his boots. The Argentine maestro has however, shown no signs of slowing down, having concluded a scintillating individual campaign that saw him lead the Catalan giants to another LaLiga title....