Barcelona don’t have rivals for De Ligt’s signature at the moment - report

Bayern Munich and Juventus have pulled out of the bidding for the moment

FC Barcelona are in a very strong position to sign Matthijs de Ligt from Ajax. In fact, at the moment, they have no competition for his signature, according to Diario SPORT.

Bayern Munich were the biggest competitions for him, but they have recently cooled their interest, according to the report. Juventus were also said to have been one of the rivals to sign De Ligt, but they too, have fallen out of the running, it says.

SPORT says Barça are keen on making the signing official. De Ligt’s transfer fee would be a bit less than that paid for Frenkie de Jong, although their salaries are said to be similar.

However, a last-minute offensive on Juventus’s part has not been ruled out. It is speculated that De Ligt is awaiting some last-minute proposals before deciding to sign with the blaugrana.

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Messi’s goal “taken away” in Golden Shoe race by MARCA - but the Madrid daily has promised to review it

MARCA has not awarded the opening goal in the 2-0 win over Espanyol to Messi

Diario MARCA has promised to “review” the opening goal in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Espanyol after initially awarding it as an own goal rather than as a Lionel Messi goal.

The Madrid-based daily is in charge of the Pichichi Trophy (La Liga’s top scorer award) and for reporting the tally in La Liga for players to be considered for the European Golden Shoe.

The incident occurred in the 71st minute, when Messi chipped a shot at goal from a very close free kick. Víctor Sánchez was on the line and touched the ball with his head, but failed to clear the ball. According to FIFA’s rules, deflected shots are awarded as own-goals only if the original shot was going to be off-target. Messi’s shot was certainly going to be on target.

Messi is likely to win the Pichichi with or without this goal. With 30 goals by MARCA’s count, Messi is still comfortably ahead of Luis Suárez in second, who has 18.

But the Golden Shoe is another matter. As it stands, Messi is ahead of Kylian Mbappé by just 4 goals across all European leagues.

The Golden Shoe is awarded by European Sports Media, a Netherlands-based association of 14 European sports papers. Each country is responsible for giving the tally for their respective leagues, meaning MARCA has control over Spanish league players’ goal tallies.

ESM has said they will respect MARCA’s count but that they normally go by the referee’s report. The referee awarded the first goal to Messi, as did every other paper that’s a part of ESM, and almost every website and app you can think of.

MARCA says this is not the first time they are reviewing a controversial decision on who to give credit to for scoring.

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Riqui Puig wants to stay at Barcelona and not go out on loan

The midfielder is happy with life at the Camp Nou

Riqui Puig says he’s not interested in leaving Barcelona on loan amid speculation he is one of several stars who could be sent to Ajax for a temporary spell.

Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars has confirmed reports that Barcelona want to discuss loaning players, but Puig says he’s happy with his current role at Barcelona.

“I have not raised it or raised it from the club. I’m very good here, it’s my club, I have my family, I’m at home,” he said.

“If they give me a choice I want to stay, because I’m from Barça since I was a child and my intention is to succeed here.

“This is the best club in the world and I am very happy. As a child I’ve always wanted to play here, I’m very satisfied.

“I am a Barça B player, I train with the first team, accepting my role and very happy.”

Source | Mundo Deportivo

Puig is one of the club’s brightest young talents, and it will be interesting to see where he spends next season.

The midfielder could be promoted to the first-team squad or may be loaned out to get valuable playing time.

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FC Barcelona News: 1 April 2019

Messi still ahead in race for Golden Shoe | FC Barcelona

Lionel Messi continues to lead the race for the Golden Shoe, given to Europe’s top goalscorer. The Barcelona captain tops the standings with 30 league goals, ahead of Kylian Mbappe, Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella, AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piątek and Sergio Aguero.

Barça’s move for Luka Jovic is starting to become more complicated | Sport

Barcelona’s move for striker Luka Jovic is reportedly “dead” at the moment because his club, Eintracht Frankfurt, are asking for too much money. The Spanish champions were willing to spend €60m but his price has gone up after interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

Gil Manzano will take charge of Barcelona-Atletico clash | Marca

Referee Gil Manzano has been appointed referee for Barcelona’s La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Victory for Ernesto Valverde’s would all but seal the league title with seven games left to play.

Rodrigo Moreno is still on Barça’s wish list this summer | Sport

Valencia striker Rodrigo Moreno is still a target for Barcelona this summer. Ernesto Valverde is said to be a “huge fan” of the Spain international, and the club are “keeping tabs” on his current situation at Mestalla.

Inter linked to Barcelona midfielder Arturo Vidal | Football Espana

Inter Milan are being linked with a summer move for Arturo Vidal if they are unable to tempt Ivan Rakitic to the San Siro. The Chilean midfielder would be a cheaper alternative and is valued at €25m-30m, according to a report in Italian newspaper Tuttosport.

As Bayern’s interest cools, Barça have a free run at signing De Ligt | Sport

Bayern Munich have cooled their interest in Ajax defender Matthjis de Ligt, giving Barcelona a free run at the defender. The German champions are targeting his team-mate Hakim Ziyech instead, leaving just Barca and Juventus to battle it out for De Ligt.

Abidal held talks with player over signing for Barcelona | Sport Witness

Eric Abidal has already serious talks with Antoine Griezmann about signing for Barcelona, according to Mundo Deportivo. The Frenchman fancies playing at the Camp Nou next season and is said to be a “serious candidate” even though president Josep Maria Bartomeu knows he would not be a popular signing after last summer’s snub.

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The Pope pours cold water on Messi being God

But he says it is a joy to watch him play

Well if you’re in the camp that believes Lionel Messi is God on earth, avert your eyes. The Pope just came out to pour cold water on Messi being a god on the pitch.

“You can’t say it and I don’t believe it. I think people say ‘he is God’ just as they say ‘I adore you.’ You have to adore only God. It’s expressions that people use. This is a god with the ball on the pitch. It’s a popular way that people have of expressing themselves. Of course it is a joy [to watch Messi play]. But he is not God.”

Pope Francis | Source

I think what the Pope is getting at is the casual way people refer to something in sports as God. Which for a religious guy like the Pope, would be a problem. This was still a pretty funny quote to wake up too. The fact that someone spent their time with the Pope asking about how people refer to a football player is amazing.

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Overmars confirms Barca want to loan players to Ajax

The club want to talk temporary deals

Ajax sporting director Marc Overmars has confirmed recent speculation that Barcelona are interesting in sending players on loan to the Dutch side.

Reports have claimed players such as Juan Miranda, Oriol Busquets, Jean-Clair Todibo and Riqui Puig have been asked about joining Ajax in order to gain valuable playing time.

Overmars says Barca do want to talk loans and explained the type of players that could be involved.

“We know that we are on good terms with Barcelona. Barcelona wants to talk to us to see if they can loan players,” he said.

“Of course we are not going to get too many players from Barcelona. We are not a branch of that club.

“We already have talents in our own youth academy. These would be slightly older players, or players who just broke through. But: the plans have not been developed that far.”

Source | NOS

Ajax are expected to lose some key members of their team in the summer. Frenkie de Jong has already signed for Barcelona, while Matthijs de Ligt is still being linked with a move to the Camp Nou.

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