La Liga
HOW FC BARCELONA BECAME FC MESSI
BY SIMON KUPER.
FC Barcelona have relied on a player for two highly successful decades but they took the idea too far.
The best footballer of probably any era has lived for almost his entire career in the unremarkable town of Castelldefels, outside Barcelona.
I’m writing a book about FC Barcelona, and when a local drove me past Lionel Messi’s home one afternoon, I realised: the essential underpinning of 15 years of routinely brilliant football is a boring life.
On a hill away from the local beaches, Messi has bought a neighbour’s house and constructed a compound complete with mini-football field.
Palm trees, bougainvillea and white walls provide privacy. It looks like a fairly standard millionaire’s home in Orange County.
His wife Antonella (whom he has known since childhood in Rosario, Argentina) helps him distance himself from football once work is done.
He says that raising three young sons, he feels “destroyed” by evening and goes to bed early.
On match days, the 33-year-old will shine in the Camp Nou, then commute 25 minutes home along the almost empty midnight highway, usually car-sharing with his neighbour and best friend Luis Suárez.
Three days later, he does it again. On Tuesday Messi wrote to Barça asking to be allowed to leave for free.
Since the 8-2 hammering by Bayern Munich on August 14, the club have imploded. It looks like the end of an era in which FC Barcelona morphed into FC Messi.
The trend in football in the past quarter century is for mobile, multimillionaire, near irreplaceable footballers to amass power.
They no longer accept authoritarian managers. But no club took player power further than Barcelona.
That’s because for years no club had better players. Messi and an exceptional Spanish generation won at least one trophy every season from 2009 through 2019.
Before Messi, Barça frequently existed in an eternal present where the next match was the next crisis. The Argentine became an umbrella for the organisation.
He made running Barça relatively easy. The morning after the first team beat Real Madrid, every club employee arrived at work relaxed and smiling.
Messi lived by the dictum that the best player was responsible for the result. When Barcelona weren’t playing well, he felt it was on him to change the match.
If he gave tactical instructions to a teammate, or addressed the team in the changing room before kick-off, his word was law even to the head coach — a post filled by low-profile Messi-compatible names since 2012.
Outsiders often mistake him for a meek and silent figure. Inside Barça, many people fear him. One former club president told me: “He doesn’t need to speak.
His body language is the strongest I’ve seen in my life. I’ve seen him with a look in the locker room that everyone knows whether he agrees or not with a suggestion.
And that’s it. He is much more clever than people think — or what he transmits.” “What does he want?” I asked. “He wants football,” replied the ex-president, meaning that Messi wanted Barça to play exactly the way he wanted them to.
Recommended Scoreboard Scoreboard: Should FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi part ways? Premium Messi didn’t particularly like having power.
He would have preferred that the club’s directors and coaches took care of everything — as long as they did what he wanted.
He has always irritably denied having a say over transfers and coaching appointments, and it’s true that he didn’t have a veto.
However, Barça considered his wishes in every big decision. Last summer he called for the return of the Brazilian Neymar, sold to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
Barcelona’s directors had no intention of bidding €200m for an injury-prone 27-year-old, but they spent two months more or less pretending to, so that they could eventually tell Messi,
“Sorry, we tried but we couldn’t get him.” Messi wasn’t impressed. He blames the board for fluffing the task of talent recruitment.
Barça have spent over €1bn on transfers since summer 2014, more than any other club, yet have ended up with an old team almost devoid of resale value.
That’s partly because Messi’s generation overstayed their welcome. Earning among the highest average salaries in all of team sports, among brilliant peers, in the most liveable spot in Europe, why would they leave?
They gradually lightened their training load, pressed less in games and still beat most opponents on talent and knowhow.
That’s how Barça came to line up against Bayern with six outfield players aged 31 and over.
Messi had been warning for months that the team weren’t good enough to win trophies. Asked about his future, he always said: “The most important thing is to have a winning project.”
Barcelona now look incapable of constructing a new one. They intend to clear out their oldies — Suárez, also 33, has been asked to leave — but they can’t afford to buy younger stars.
And their once world-beating youth academy, the Masia, has produced just one great player in a decade: Thiago Alcântara, who this month demolished Barcelona and won the Champions League with Bayern.
A 20-year marriage between player and club appears to be over. It contributed a fair bit to global happiness.
– FINANCIAL TIMES
FC Barcelona have implemented a tailored nutrition and recovery programme for teenage star Lamine Yamal to help him observe Ramadan without compromising his performance levels.
The 18-year-old winger will once again fast during the holy month, having successfully balanced his religious commitment with first-team football last season. However, with competitive fixtures scheduled during Ramadan, Barcelona’s medical staff are taking additional measures to ensure his energy levels, hydration and recovery remain optimal.
Yamal’s first match while fasting is scheduled for Sunday at 4:15 p.m. against Levante.
According to Spanish outlet AS, the approach is not unprecedented at the Catalan club. Barcelona previously developed similar plans for Muslim players, including Ousmane Dembélé, Franck Kessié and Ansu Fati.
The strategy focuses on adjusting meal timing and hydration cycles to align with fasting hours, allowing players to maintain peak fitness while respecting their faith.
Medical experts at the club have emphasised the importance of a balanced iftar meal — avoiding overly heavy or rich foods that could interfere with rest or slow post-match recovery. Hydration protocols are also being closely monitored, with Yamal encouraged to maximise fluid intake during non-fasting hours to compensate for the daytime abstinence.
Balancing Faith and Performance
Ramadan fasting can pose physical challenges for elite athletes, particularly in high-intensity sports that demand sustained concentration and explosive energy. Barcelona’s performance team is therefore closely tracking Yamal’s workload and recovery metrics throughout the month.
Last season, the teenager demonstrated he could maintain high performance standards while fasting, strengthening confidence within the club that he will manage the demands effectively again.
For Barcelona, the initiative reflects a dual commitment — respecting the player’s religious observance while safeguarding the physical condition of one of their most promising talents.
As the fixtures unfold, attention will turn to how the young winger adapts during this period, with supporters and analysts keen to see whether he can once again combine elite football with spiritual discipline.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- Summary
- Barcelona miss chance to regain LaLiga lead
- Girona’s Fran Beltran scores late winner
- Cubarsi calls for self-reflection after consecutive defeats
Barcelona were stunned by Girona, who roared back to win 2-1 at home in a breathless Catalan derby on Monday, as last season’s champions failed to return to the LaLiga summit, leaving Real Madrid top of the table.
Barcelona struck the woodwork twice in the first half, Raphinha hitting the post before Lamine Yamal fired a penalty against the same upright in added time after Dani Olmo was fouled inside the box.
Pau Cubarsi finally put the visitors ahead in the 59th minute, rising to head home Jules Kounde’s cross from a short corner, but Girona levelled three minutes later when Thomas Lemar converted from close range after Vladyslav Vanat’s cross was confused.
Fran Beltran sealed victory in the 87th minute, steering home from Joel Roca’s pass as the Montilivi stadium erupted.
Barcelona pushed for an equaliser but could not break through, even after Roca was sent off in added time for a reckless foul on Lamine Yamal.
Barca remain on 58 points, two behind Real Madrid, and have lost successive games in all competitions for the first time since October.
“We lacked a bit of everything. We need to be self-critical. We need to improve things and get our act together,” Cubarsi told DAZN.
“After my goal, they scored very quickly to equalise. We got them back into the game too quickly. We need to improve on those goals they score right after we take the lead. Keep your head down and improve.”
BARCA DOMINATE POSSESSION
Hansi Flick welcomed back Frenkie De Jong and Raphinha from injury after their absence in last week’s 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first-leg loss to Atletico Madrid, and Barca duly dominated possession early in the game.
Yet their finishing deserted them. Raphinha dragged wide after surging in from the left, while Yamal was denied from point-blank range by keeper Paulo Gazzaniga following a sharp counter down the right.
Girona were content to sit deep and spring forward, repeatedly testing Barcelona’s high defensive line with the pace of Bryan Gil as the former Tottenham Hotspur winger caused persistent problems for Jules Kounde down the left channel.
Gil’s surging runs carved out Girona’s best openings before the break. He twice set up Vanat, who was denied by an exceptional Joan Garcia, and the striker then squandered a gilt-edged chance in the 35th minute, slicing an effort from close range with no defender near him.
Yamal missed from the spot in added time before the break and the contest remained wide open after the interval, finally producing goals in quick succession.
Barcelona broke through in the 59th minute when Cubarsi rose highest from a short corner. Kounde delivered from the right and the defender twisted his neck to send a towering header into the top-right corner, beyond Gazzaniga’s desperate dive.
Their lead lasted barely three minutes, with Lemar equalising as Girona seized momentum, pushing Barcelona back, with Garcia producing two outstanding one-handed saves to keep out efforts from Vanat and Roca when both seemed destined for the bottom corner.
But the keeper was powerless in the 87th minute. Claudio Echeverri drifted across the edge of the box before giving the ball back inside to Roca who squared it to substitute Beltran, who took a touch, lifted his head and slotted into the bottom-left corner to ignite a sold-out crowd.
Girona, who had been on a three-match winless run and hovering near the relegation places, climbed to 12th on 29 points, while Barcelona were left to rue missed chances and a defeat that could yet loom large in the title race.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Lamine Yamal missed a penalty as Barcelona spurned the chance to return to the top of La Liga, falling to defeat in a fiery Catalan derby against Girona.
Hansi Flick’s side now trails arch rivals Real Madrid by two points in the title race after substitute Fran Beltran struck in the 86th minute at Estadio Montilivi to snatch all three points and ease relegation fears for the home side.
The visitors thought defender Jules Kounde had been fouled in the build-up to the winner, but after a brief video assistant referee (VAR) check, the goal was given.
The hosts were reduced to 10 men midway through stoppage time, with substitute Joel Roca bringing down Lamine Yamal with a lunging challenge.
Yet Barcelona were unable to force an equaliser as they succumbed to just a third league defeat against their regional rivals.
The result marks a second loss in succession for Barcelona, who suffered a 4-0 hammering by Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday.
It was a fiercely fought contest from the off as the hosts took the game to the league leaders, forcing keeper Joan Garcia into a save inside the first minute.
By contrast, Barcelona were lethargic, spurning several gilt-edged chances to take the lead. Lamine Yamal was the main culprit, twice missing from close range before crashing a penalty off the base of the upright in first-half stoppage time.
In the end, two defenders combined to break the deadlock in the 59th minute. Centre-back Pau Cubarsi looped a header into the top corner from right-back Kounde’s cross for his first league goal in Barcelona colours.
The visitors’ joy was short-lived, though, as Girona hit back two minutes later when midfielder Thomas Lemar tapped home Vladyslav Vanat’s centre for his second goal in as many games.
The hosts scored again 10 minutes later as Garcia failed to claim Viktor Tsygankov’s speculative header, though the goalkeeper was awarded a foul for a shove from Roca on the goalline.
The victory ends a three-game winless run for Girona, who move up to 12th, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Barcelona’s league winning run ends at three games, and they face a possible five-point gap at the summit come their next fixture – Real Madrid head to Osasuna on Saturday (17:30 GMT), before Barca host Levante on Sunday (15:15).
-BBC
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- WAFCON6 days ago
BREAKING: CAF Postpones WAFCON 2026
- DIPLOMACY2 days ago
Trump calls on Australia to give asylum to Iranian women’s soccer players
- World Cup2 days ago
Iraq coach calls for delay to World Cup playoff amid travel shutdown
- DIPLOMACY2 days ago
Morocco Backs Gulf Security, Condemns Iranian Attacks Against Brotherly Arab States
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Breaking! Former Super Eagles Coach Adegboye Onigbinde Dies Four Days After Clocking 88
- OBITUARY1 week ago
Nigerian Sports Journalism Mourns Oyeniyi Oyeleke and Tonex Chukwu
- OBITUARY1 day ago
Nigeria’s Sports Community Mourns Adegboye Onigbinde, A Life Devoted to Football
- World Cup2 days ago
1990 World Cup Winner Riedle Backs Spain, France, Brazil for 2026 Glory