La Liga

Real Madrid finished the league season with a 0-0 draw at home to Real Betis. Already crowned champions of La Liga, the result was not important.What was, however, was the farewell to Toni Kroos, the legendary midfielder who has spent 10…

Real Madrid bid farewell to Toni Kroos with an emotional tribute to the legendary midfielder in a 0-0 draw with Real Betis at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday night.Carlo Ancelotti paid his counterpart Manuel Pellegrini the full respect…

If you’re the rare sort of person who can still form a semi-coherent thought during the second half of a Champions League knockout match, maybe you’ve noticed an odd pattern in Real Madrid’s run to the final.In the first leg of the…

Xavi woke up on Friday morning to rather unpleasant news.While reading local Barcelona media, he came across a report that stated his club had already agreed personal terms with Hansi Flick to replace him. It added that the German…

It is warm and sunny when The Athletic meets Ona Batlle, the right-back for Barcelona and Spain’s all-conquering women’s sides.This is the kind of climate she was used to when she grew up on the Maresme coast 20km (12 miles) north of…

Returning to Barcelona as the head coach was a long-time dream for Xavi, but the former Barca playmaker’s turbulent and at times farcical final few months in the job have been a nightmare for both him and the Spanish club.Xavi leaves…

Barcelona’s perpetual saga has a new chapter.A month after Xavi announced he would be staying at the club for a further year — having previously declared in January that he would leave his post this summer — it now looks likely that he…

First, Xavi said he was leaving.In the fallout of a 5-3 home defeat by Villarreal on January 27, he described the Barcelona manager’s role as a “cruel job” that “wears you down”, adding: “At some point, you realise there’s no point in…

FIFA wants football’s law-making body the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to press on with trials of what would be the biggest change to the offside rule in over 30 years.Championed by former Arsenal manager Arsene…

Toni Kroos’ musical taste famously leans more towards Robbie Williams than Frank Sinatra, but the Germany and Real Madrid midfielder’s tremendous career is best summed up by one of the American crooner’s best-known classics.Whether…