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AT LAST MESSI SIGNS BARCELONA NEW CONTRACT

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Lionel Messi has finally put Barcelona’s fans at ease with a new contract that will keep the star at the Spanish club for four more years.

According to Associated Press, Messi signed the new deal on Saturday to tie him to Barcelona through 2021, meaning the Argentina forward will be 34 by the time it expires.

“I’m happy to continue with the club, which is my home,” Messi said. “My dream was to finish my career at Barca and we are moving down that path.”

With his former contract set to run out next summer, Messi would have been free to listen to offers from other teams on Jan. 1. That approaching deadline had generated speculation that Messi could follow Neymar’s lead and leave.

Messi’s new deal includes a buyout clause of 700 million euros ($835 million). That massive figure is aimed at keeping away even the likes of French side Paris Saint-Germain, which secured Neymar in the summer by triggering his buyout clause with a record 222 million euros ($262 million) payout.

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Club president Josep Bartomeu said that Barcelona and Messi had already agreed to a new deal in June, but that following Neymar’s departure they revised it to more than double the buyout clause. It had originally been set at 300 million euros ($358 million).

Bartomeu said the new contract “is more in line with the current situation in the ever-changing world of football.”

The club did not reveal any more financial details of the contract, including Messi’s salary. According to El Mundo newspaper, Messi will receive 30 million euros ($35.8 million) per season along with a signing bonus of 50 million euros ($59.6 million).

Messi has been the heart and soul of Barcelona for more than a decade. A five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or for soccer’s best player, Messi has helped Barcelona win 30 titles since he arrived from Argentina at age 13. That haul includes four Champions League titles and eight Spanish league crowns.

Now in his 14th season, Messi is the club’s all-time leading scorer with 523 goals in 602 matches.

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He received his fourth Golden Shoe award on Friday for leading all of Europe’s leagues in scoring last season.

“The objective is to continue achieving things, fill the club’s trophy cases, and keep making history at Barca,” Messi said. “We’ve been lucky enough to have won a great many things and I hope there will be more in the future.”

 

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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La Liga

Raphinha lauds kid with the golden feet Yamal after Barca secure title

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 LaLiga - Espanyol v FC Barcelona - RCDE Stadium, Cornella de Llobregat, Spain - May 15, 2025 FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Albert Gea

Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.

Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.

The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.

“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.

“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”

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Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.

The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.

“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.

-Reuters

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Alonso poised to take over at Real Madrid

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Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund - BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany - May 11, 2025 Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso is seen before the match REUTERS/Thilo

Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.

Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.

Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.

Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.

Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.

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Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.

The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.

He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.

However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.

Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.

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Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.

An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.

-Reuters

Schmuelgen/File Photo

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Mission accomplished as Real Madrid reach cup final, Ancelotti says

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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.

Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.

“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.

“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”

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Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.

“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.

“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.

“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”

Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.

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Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.

-Reuters

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