Page 7 - Fc Barcelona

Dani Alves sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault

Soccer star Dani Alves was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman and sentenced to four years, six months in prison by a Barcelona court on Thursday. The ruling by the three-judge panel followed a three-day trial this month. Alves was summoned to the courthouse to receive the verdict and sentence. The victim's lawyer, Ester Garca, said this week that she and her client would not be present. The ruling considered it proven that the victim did not consent to sex and there was evidence, in addition to the defendant's testimony, that she had been raped. The court also imposed 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation for the victim and payment of costs by Alves. Once it concluded his sentence, the court ordered that Alves, aged 40, be monitored for five years and have no communication with or go near the victim. The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of Dec. 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub. Sta

Messi's first contract with Barca was signed on napkin, now up for auction

Lionel Messi's record-breaking career with Barcelona started with a contract written on a napkin. It's up for auction with a starting price of 300,000 pounds (USD 379,000). British auction house Bonhams is selling the napkin in an online auction from March 18-27 on behalf of Horacio Gaggioli, an agent from Messi's home country of Argentina who was part of the deal. The napkin, bearing the date December 14, 2000, bears the signatures of Gaggioli, another agent, Josep Maria Minguella and Barcelona's then-sporting director, Carles Rexach, who met at a tennis club in Barcelona. It outlines an agreement in principle to sign Messi and was intended to reassure his father, Jorge Messi, that the deal would go through. A more formal and detailed contract with the club followed soon after. "This is one of the most thrilling items I have ever handled. Yes, it's a paper napkin, but it's the famous napkin that was at the inception of Lionel Messi's career," Ian Ehling, the head of fine books and

Vincius' hat trick helps Real Madrid beat Barcelona, win Super Cup in Saudi

Vincius Jnior did his best Cristiano Ronaldo impression in Saudi Arabia, scoring a hat trick and leading Real Madrid to a 4-1 rout of Barcelona and the Spanish Super Cup trophy. Vincius scored his three goals in the first half as Madrid beat Barcelona to lift its first trophy of the season on Sunday. After his first goal, the Brazil forward imitated the trademark celebration of the former Madrid great, with Ronaldo reportedly at the Riyadh stadium. It was for Cris, because he is my idol and now he is playing here, said Vincius, who was named the best player of the final. I'm very happy with myself and with my team. It's not easy to play against Barcelona and to win 4-1 is tough. We played an almost perfect match. Rodrygo also scored for Madrid, which now has 13 Super Cup trophies, one less than the Catalan club. It was Madrid's second Super Cup triumph since the tournament was moved to Saudi Arabia four years ago. Robert Lewandowski scored Barcelona's goal to make it 2-1 in the firs

Real Madrid, Barcelona still alone in fight for Super League despite ruling

Real Madrid and Barcelona are struggling to find allies in their fight to revive the Super League project. The Spanish powerhouses were quick to claim victory and praise the decision by the European Union's top court on Thursday to rule against the attempt by UEFA and FIFA to block plans for the breakaway competition. But as the hours passed, there were no signs that they would get anybody else to join their crusade despite the favorable ruling. Madrid and Barcelona faced an uphill battle trying to convincing other clubs to get back on board, but they were not likely to give up anytime soon. Allow me to tell the European clubs that we are at the dawn of a new era that will allow us to work freely, on the basis of constructive dialogue, without threats, without acting against anything or anyone, and with the aim of innovating and modernizing football in order to continue sustaining the fans' passions, Madrid president Florentino Prez said in a statement. The Super League deal would

Champions League round of 16 draw: City play Copenhagen, Arsenal face Porto

Following a thrilling couple of months of group-stage action, the focus now shifts to the knockout rounds where 16 teams will fight it out to win the ultimate crown

Champions League: Lazio goalkeeper scores late to earn draw versus Atletico

Barcelona's Joo Flix, Manchester City's Julin lvarez and Paris Saint Germain's Kylian Mbapp all scored as their teams made winning starts in the Champions League. But the wildest celebrations of the night came in Rome, where Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel headed in the team's equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time to earn a 1-1 draw with Atltico Madrid. It was the last action of the game. As the group stage began without either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since 2002-03, a 16-year-old almost scored on his competition debut for Barcelona. Lamine Yamal struck the side netting, then saw an effort saved by Antwerp goalkeeper Jean Butez after coming on as a substitute in Barcelona's 5-0 win over the Belgian team. Celtic finished with nine players in a 2-0 loss at Feyenoord that stretched the Scottish champion's winless streak in the group stages to 11 games. Here's a closer look at Tuesday's games: CITY HAS TO COME FROM BEHIND Manchester City started its

Late goals from Pedri, Torres help Barcelona win at its temporary new home

Barcelona found a way to win late and guarantee a housewarming celebration at its temporary new home for the season. With late goals from Pedri and Ferran Torres, Barcelona beat Cadiz 2-0 in the first official match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where the team will play while the Camp Nou undergoes an extensive makeover. Pedri opened the scoring in the 82nd minute and Torres scored in stoppage time. Barcelona secured its first win of the season despite the absence of coach Xavi and forward Raphinha because of red cards in the 0-0 opening draw at Getafe last weekend. Xavi was handed a two-game suspension for excessively complaining to the referee and Raphinha was sent off for elbowing an opponent. Xavi watched from the stands at the Olympic stadium and said he was happy with the team's new home. I really liked how the fans supported the team the whole time. This is very positive for the club, he said. The crowd responded nicely. It was a good start and they will

Neymar to leave PSG! Could choose between Al Hilal and Barcelona: Reports

Neymar, who was omitted from the first squad training before the Ligue 1 opener of PSG against Lorient, has not returned to training unlike Kylian Mbappe

Amid Mbappe-Neymar uncertainty, PSG sign Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona

France forward Ousmane Dembl joined Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday after Barcelona agreed to a transfer deal worth 50.4 million euros (USD 55.2 million) for the explosive winger. Dembl's arrival to PSG on a five-year contract comes amid speculation that Neymar could be on his way out. The French powerhouse also faces uncertainty over the future of Kylian Mbapp. The 26-year-old Dembl, born in Vernon outside Paris, came up through the Rennais youth academy. He played the 2016-17 season with Borussia Dortmund before he moved to Spain. Dembl joined Barcelona in 2017 on a then club-record transfer from Dortmund that with variables was set to reach 147 million euros (then USD173 million) as the club sought a young talent after the unwanted exit of Neymar to PSG. After suffering serious injuries early in his stay at Barcelona, Dembl consolidated himself as one of its most irreplaceable players thanks to his speed and playmaking. He renewed his contract last summer and was set to stay at

La Liga 2023-24: Barcelona to miss Camp Nou advantage this season

Beyond courting and developing some of the world's top talent, Barcelona has also based its success on a strong home advantage thanks to Europe's largest soccer stadium. That will be different this season, when the team plays at a smaller, less accessible stadium while its 99,000-seat Camp Nou undergoes a complete facelift that won't be finished for at least three years. Barcelona will spend its time away from Camp Nou at the Llus Companys Olympic Stadium, which can hold 49,000 people. That will surely translate to a quieter, less intimidating atmosphere for rivals, as well as less revenue for a club still battling severe financial problems. Some 35,000 people turned out for Barcelona's first game at its temporary home on Tuesday, against Tottenham in a friendly that the club uses to present its team for the upcoming campaign. That's compared to the 83,000 who showed up at Camp Nou for the equivalent game on year ago. Coach Xavi Hernndez took the microphone to address the crowd tha

Confirmed! Barcelona to play in Champions League as Uefa suspends probe

The Union of European Football Associations confirmed Barcelona's place in the next UEFA Champions League on Thursday though said an investigation into more than USD 7 million paid to a refereeing official could be reopened if more evidence emerges. Barcelona's place in the Champions League group stage worth tens of millions of euros (dollars) earned by winning the Spanish league last season could have been at risk from the so-called "Caso Negreira" case. Court documents show Barcelona paid 7.3 million euros (USD 7.7 million) from 2001-18 to the company of Jos Mara Enrquez Negreira, the former vice president of Spanish soccer's refereeing committee. Prosecutors in Spain formally accused Barcelona of corruption in sports, fraudulent management and falsification of business documents. However, no clear allegations of any specific fixed games or referees who were influenced have emerged since UEFA opened its investigation in March. UEFA competition rules require teams to be removed

Pep Guardiola wins the treble again: Is he the greatest football manager?

By winning the UEFA Champions League final with Manchester City against Inter Milan on June 11, 2023, Pep Guardiola has become the first player to win the treble twice with two different teams

Messi scores and assists in PSG win, helps maintain a six-point lead

One week after being jeered by his own fans, Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up the other as Paris Saint-Germain won at a wasteful Nice 2-0 to maintain its six-point lead of the French league. Messi was booed by some PSG fans in last weekend's home defeat to Lyon, leading to increased speculation he could leave this summer. Argentina's World Cup-winning star clipped in a cross from left back Nuno Mendes in the 26th minute. Then Messi's corner from the left was headed home by veteran defender Sergio Ramos in the 76th. Nice was unbeaten in 14 matches overall before this game and went close to equalizing in the first half, but PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept out efforts from Nicolas Pp and striker Terem Moffi. Veteran defender Dante's shot came off the underside of the crossbar and appeared to cross the line in the 51st. But referee Jrmie Pignard was not alerted by goal-line technology that it crossed, even though video replays showed a goal should likely have been ...

Madrid tops Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou with Benzema hat trick

Barcelona entered the final "clasico" of the season with a chance of earning a fourth straight win against Real Madrid in the same season for the first time. But when it was all over, it had endured one of its worst ever home losses to its archrival. With another hat trick by Karim Benzema, Madrid overturned Barcelona's advantage in the Copa del Rey semifinals with a resounding 4-0 win at Camp Nou Stadium to reach the final for the first time in nearly a decade. Madrid hadn't beaten Barcelona by four goals at Camp Nou since a 5-1 win in 1963. Vincius Jnior also scored as Madrid advanced 4-1 on aggregate after having lost the first leg 1-0 at home. Benzema also had a hat trick in Madrid's 6-0 rout of Valladolid in the Spanish league on Sunday. "It's obvious that after Karim improved, the team improved as well," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "When he is at his best, everything is better for us. And (Luka) Modric and (Toni) Kroos also had great games. In these types of matches,

Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in first El Clasico of the season

Goals from Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde and Rodrygo ensured a dominating win for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday for the first El Clasico of the season

Real Madrid draws with Osasuna; Barca tops La Liga football standings

Real Madrid surrendered the leadership of La Liga to Barcelona after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna on Sunday evening

Hernandez, Sane lead Bayern to beat Barca by 2-0 in UEFA Champions League

Bayern Munich made it two wins from two in this season's UEFA Champions League after goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane, edging a wasteful Barcelona 2-0 in Group C

Real Madrid keeps up 100% start of 4-1 over Mallorca as Barca beats Cadiz

Real Madrid came back from a goal down and the loss of Karim Benzema through injury to win 4-1 at home to Real Mallorca and maintain their unbeaten record at the top of La Liga

Champions League: Hat-trick for Lewandowski as Barca beats Viktoria Plzen

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as FC Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable start to their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 win at home to Viktoria Plzen

Barcelona and Manchester City draw in friendly to help raise funds for ALS

Barcelona and Manchester City drew 3-3 in a friendly to raise money and awareness for the fight against ALS. More than 91,000 fans were at the Camp Nou for the match, with the proceeds going to help raise funds for research against ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable neurodegenerative disorder. The honorary kickoff was taken by Juan Carlos Unzu, the former Barcelona goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach who has the disease and helped promote the friendly. We want to continue living and enjoying life, he said before the match. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay scored for the hosts. Man City got goals from Julin lvarez, Cole Palmer and Riyad Mahrez deep into stoppage time. Man City defender Luke Mbete had to be substituted late in the game after a clash of heads with Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen. Mbete had to be immobilized and carried out on a stretcher.