FOOTBALL UPDATE

Barcelona heads into the Copa del Rey match against Leganes in a delicate situation after losing points in a loss against Valencia.  The heavy defeat to Valencia and the doubts generated by the victories over Granada and Ibiza have set off alarm bells in Barcelona.  The duel against Leganés in the Copa del Rey comes at a delicate time for Quique Setién and his charges, at a time when he needs to get back to their game and get a comfortable win. For that reason, as 'AS' reports, it is expected that the Cantabrian technician, after the fright of the previous round, puts out his strongest starting XI yet, with captain Lionel Messi leading the charge.  The Argentinean star did not even make the squad against Ibiza, but is now expected to lead the Catalan team in the Round of 16. It would be the star's debut in this year's Copa del Rey competition and his first match since last season's final against Valencia, which ended in a 2-1 defeat.  In addition to th...

Barcelona have defended payments made to a charity run by Lionel Messi and insist they did not act as part of the player’s salary.  The Catalan giants made the payments to Lionel Messi’s foundation between 2010 and 2013 with German media outlet Der Spiegel alleging they had seen club documents which may have acted as a salary. The report claimed that a 2016 audit saw the club pay the foundation and Messi’s father Jorge millions, while the player’s advisers gave the authorities €12m in unpaid taxes despite insisting they were not part of his salary. “All of the money the club wired to Lionel Messi's foundation was for charitable purposes,” ESPN quote a Barcelona representative as saying. “The interpretations that (Der Spiegel), other media or other people can make about these donations does not change this position at all. There will be no further comment on the issue.” ESPN clarify the €12m was given by the club to Messi as a loan which would not need to be repaid, whil...

Luis Suarez helped Barcelona overcome a two-goal deficit to claim a 4-2 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday night in their first league win at Anoeta since 2007. The hosts raced out to a 2-0 lead through Willian Jose and Juanmi, but a late first-half goal from Paulinho swung the momentum in Barcelona's favour, and Suarez would complete the comeback with a pair of second-half strikes before Lionel Messi topped it off with a late free kick. With the victory Barcelona remain nine points up on second-place Atletico Madrid in the table, and a whopping 19 points in front of rivals Real Madrid. Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde made one change of note, as Andres Iniesta was rested and replaced in midfield by Andre Gomes.The Anoeta ghosts that routinely spook the Catalonians decided to make an early appearance, manifesting themselves in Willian Jose's 11th minute opener. Xabi Prieto curled in a cross from the right and Willian Jose, who scored the Real Sociedad goal in last seas...

Barcelona's quest for a fourth consecutive Copa del Rey title began with a finely poised round of 16 tie at Balaidos.  The 1-1 result in the first legmeant there was all to play for at the Camp Nou, but a lightning start from the hosts, with Messi the architect, soon ended Celta's hopes. A favourable result at home meant Celta had their work cut out to cause an upset, but Lionel Messi had other plans. The Argentine looked lively from the off, eager to get involved and testing Sergio Alvarez with a low strike early on. The danger signs were there, and he made no mistake when given a second chance, sweeping a half volley into the bottom corner after picking up a pocket of space on the edge of the box. Barcelona were ahead, and they doubled their lead just two minutes later. Jordi Alba provided the assist again and Messi finished with aplomb into the bottom corner. The Catalans were sublime to watch in a manner only ...

Barcelona fans had reason to sleep easy when Lionel Messi finally put pen to paper on a new contract in November, it appears that there is a caveat to consider. Given the volatile political situation in Catalonia, it is being reported that the Argentine has planned an exit route if all goes pear shaped for the Blaugrana.Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo's front page for Friday reveals that Messi would only remain at the club if it were part of either the Spanish, French, English or German league system.Naturally, remaining in LaLiga would be the realistic option for Barcelona given the legal and practical issues in integrating to a distant competition. However the agreement also allows Messi to renege on his 700 million euro release clause should that not happen, and depart for free.Barcelona are said to believe this to be a given and consider it a gesture of commitment by Messi, who became the world's highest paid player when renewing following protracted negotiations. ...