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It was 20 years ago that LaLiga, and the Spanish Federation, decided that a win merited more than two points and started awarding victors three points for each success as global football aimed to reward attacking endeavour and promote a more offensive-minded style of football. In this period, Barcelona have won ten of the twenty titles on offer, but their dominance is not so apparent on the cumulative 20-year League table, which goes to show just how many of those have been close rung affairs as you can see in an article I’d earlier done: Real Madrid vs Barcelona: Six times when La Liga’s leader lost the title on the last day...

Joseph Bartomeu resigned last week from his post as the Barcelona president after enough ’no confidence’ votes were collected. The elections dates have not been moved forward, with the voting to take place in January instead of March. Pere Riera has already announced that he is in the running to become the next president. He already has plans for the club, but they do not have Lionel Messi at its center....

Lautaro Martinez has been linked with a move to Barcelona for well over two months now. In an interview with DAZN, the Inter Milan executive claimed that Martinez has never wanted to leave the Italian club. Barcelona has been heavily linked with a transfer for Lautaro Martinez in the upcoming transfer window. The young striker has expressed his desire to join Barcelona and play alongside his fellow South American stars on a few occasions in the past....

After a turbulent season break that saw Lionel Messi threaten to leave the club before reversing his decision, Barcelona will be hoping to procure some positive results to counter the pressure that is mounting on the club. Villarreal started their new season off with a draw against newly promoted Huesca but they followed it up with a 2-1 win over SD Eibar. Villarreal have to navigate a tough set of fixtures as they have matches against Atletico Madrid and Valencia coming up right after....

Yet, they somehow contrived to reopen the wounds that many believed they’d sutured since another infamous night in Rome in 2018. Consequently, the Blaugrana’s season lost the head of steam it generated and Ernesto Valverde’s men also missed out on a potential Copa Del Rey triumph, courtesy a loss to Valencia in the title clash. Hence, as the 2019-20 season dawned, the Barcelona faithful hoped that the side would put aside the aberration at the end of last term and conjure a strong start to the current season, thereby ensuring that the positivity didn’t dwindle....

Two years ago Bayern destroyed Barcelona at the same stage, recording a 7-0 aggregate win on their way to winning the title. The 3-0 success they enjoyed in the Camp Nou remains the Blaugrana’s only home Champions League defeat in the last six years (33 matches), and while Barca will be to looking to avenge that humiliation, a familiar face at the helm of the Bundesliga champions is intent on compounding their misery....

The Blaugrana take on Mexican side Pumas UNAM at the Camp Nou on Sunday in the annual Joan Gamper Trophy, with the Liga MX squad making the overseas trip to face one of the world’s most famous clubs. It will be a final peek at how Xavi believes his best starting lineup is constructed, afforded a wealth of incredible attacking talent thanks to a prolific summer offseason for Barcelona. New signings Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Franck Kessie have all made a positive impact in the attacking third....

Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Zubizarretta revealed Barcelona’s intentions to sign Aguero in 2014, saying “We had some options. The first was not Suarez. He knows it. In winter we considered the signing of Aguero. That did not work out.” After Manchester City had thwarted the signing of Messi’s national teammate Aguero, Barcelona set their sights on Suarez, and the Uruguayan’s controversial World Cup altercation with Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini, which resulted in a four month ban, potentially threw a spanner in the works....

Aleksander Barkov set a franchise record with five assists, and defensemen MacKenzie Weegar and Mike Matheson each scored twice as the Panthers beat the Minnesota Wild 6-2 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak. The Panthers lost 4-3 in Boston on Thursday night when the Bruins scored twice in the final 37 seconds. “It was probably the toughest loss we ever had, 30 seconds away from a perfect 60-minute game against a really good team,” Barkov said....

The Tykes had only picked up four points in seven games prior to the match but new manager Valerien Ismael, who arrived last week, has steered them away from the bottom three for the time being. Watford recorded an almost embarrassing draw away to Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday. Wycombe had failed to pick up a point in their previous seven games. The 1-1 tie saw them miss the chance to break into the top two for the first time since their opening night fixture – the first game to be played in the 2020-21 Championship campaign....

The Hall announced Tuesday that Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz and Craig Biggio had been elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. They all received at least 75 percent of the votes needed for election. Bonds did not. MORE: Exclusive portraits | Pedro: I was clean | Smoltz reflects | Biggio’s thoughts | Not everything is the writers’ fault | Five most confusing ballots | Ballot breakdown...

Todibo had been due to join Barca on a free transfer in July, when his contract with Toulouse was set to expire. The 19-year-old, however, has since been sidelined by the French club, prompting Barcelona to seek an earlier transfer. AFP Sport understands a fee of around 2 million euros was agreed. A Barcelona statement read: “The signed agreement includes the immediate arrival of the French player, who will sign a contract with the Club for the next four and a half seasons, until the end of the 2022/23 campaign....

Voting took place on October 1 and resulted in clashes between protesters and riot police in the region, with Spain’s national government adamant that the referendum was unconstitutional and illegal. Barcelona 8/15 to win La Liga A total of 91.09 per cent of the turnout voted in favour of Catalan independence, but the European Commission has since come out in support of the Spanish national government, confirming the illegality of the vote....

The Turkish international has been one of the most important players for Brendan Rodgers’ side. He’s been a colossus in defence and has put in a string of great performances, including a memorable one in the FA Cup final against Chelsea. The centre of defence has been an area of great concern for Barcelona in the recent past. With Gerard Pique very much in the twilight years of his career and Clement Lenglet facing a massive dip in form, they have been linked with many centre-backs....

During one 15-minute period of the first half, such was Barca’s dominance that the Blaugrana had 72 percent of the possession. And that against a Pep Guardiola team. But even the Catalan coach himself always said that it is not having the ball that is important, but what you do with it. Unfortunately for Barca, Sergi Roberto gave it to City in a dangerous area and the home side equalized through Ilkay Gundogan....

Andres Iniesta will be at the centre of any celebrations, with the Spaniard expected to announce his Barca departure in the coming days. The Spaniard made an emotional exit from the victorious Copa del Rey final last weekend, bleary-eyed as he was substituted in the second half, and it will be a nostalgic occasion again when he hoists his final trophy with the club. “The love and respect that people have for me is something I feel deep inside,” Iniesta said....

But Umtiti feels the style of play Barcelona have now is better than the tiki-taka style introduced by Pep. As reported by DailyMail he spoke to France Football about the current Manchester Cty coach and his principles. “It was less passionate, I said to my friends, ‘I adore Barca but when they keep possession for 10 years, it’s boring’.” Umtiti is not the first player to criticize the style of play....

France star Griezmann appeared destined to join Ernesto Valverde’s side after announcing his intention to find a new club after five seasons at Atletico Madrid. The links went cold amid reported interest from Paris Saint-Germain until Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin reignited rumours of a done deal. Gil Marin, in an interview with Movistar, claimed to have known about Griezmann’s impending switch to Barca since March. Bartomeu disputed that account, telling Spanish broadcast RAC1: “There’s nothing to announce....

Barcelona, July 26 (IANS): FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has promised that his side would be “more competitive than ever”, despite having won the Champions League, Spanish League and Cup treble last season. “Last year was probably the best season in our history because we won everything,” Xinhua quoted Bartomeu as saying on Saturday. “This year we have tried to work with the same team but also bring in some players who can give us a bit more competition for places, like Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal....

The Brazilian attacker, widely regarded as one of the best players in world football, has been linked with a return to the club ever since his departure from the Nou Camp. He has been in incredible touch for PSG, helping them reach the final of the UEFA Champions League last year. With club captain Leo Messi’s future also up in the air as his contract is set to end in the coming summer, there is widespread speculation regarding his future, and Rousaud believes that Neymar could potentially return to the club instead....