La Liga
Signing Coutinho Will Make Neymar Stay In Barca
Man of the moment in the summer transfer market has asked FC Barcelona to sign on his age-long pal since their youth days in Brazil, Philippe Coutinho if they want him to stay in the club and ignore the world record transfer fee that Paris Saint Germain are ready to pay on him.
Already, FC Barcelona are tracking Coutinho who is certain to keep Neymar happy in the club.
According to British tabloid, Metro, Barca have had to make a host of promises to Neymar in order to keep him at the club’
Defender, Gerard Pique remarked on Sunday night that the Neymar has been successfully persuaded to stay.
The 25-year-old suddenly became embroiled in one of the summer’s most unexpected transfer sagas, with Paris Saint-Germain seemingly prepared to activate his €222m (£199m) release clause as manager Unai Emery spoke of a need to sign ‘one of the best players in the world’.
But according to various reports in Spain, Pique, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez spoke with the PSG target for several hours to convince him of his importance at Camp Nou, before Pique confirmed the U-turn with a simple message on Instagram: ‘He stays.’
Another publication, Sport, claims that Barca went on a major charm offensive, beginning with new boss Ernesto Valverde who underlined Neymar’s importance as a key player, before the rest of the dressing room got in on the act.
Messi and Suarez insisted that he is just as integral a part of the famed ‘MSN’ attack as they are, while Pique reminded him of what it means to play for Barcelona and the legendary status he can acquire if he continues with the club.
mActions speak louder than words, though, and Messi relinquished free-kick duties in their pre-season win over Juventus at the weekend to show Neymar that he can share the spotlight, with the Brazilian likely to take more set-pieces in the future.
Meanwhile, Mundo Deportivo reports that, while Barca will not offer Neymar a new deal after only signing an extension last year, they are prepared to convince him of his importance another way: by signing his favourite players.
One of the biggest draws for Neymar about joining PSG was the abundance of Brazilians already in the French capital, including his good friend Dani Alves and former Brazil skipper Thiago Silva.
As a result, Barca want to bolster their ranks with a few Brazilians of their own and will target two friends and compatriots of Neymar to keep him happy and settled in Catalonia: Former Tottenham flop Paulinho and, even more importantly, Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho.
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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