Football highlights

La Masia is not what it used to be, that much we already know. The 2010 era at Barcelona, where the club had - according to Ballon d'Or voting - the world's top three footballers in Lionel Messi , Xavi and Andres Iniesta, was always going to be tricky to replicate. Yet nobody expected it to be as bad as it has been for the Catalan giants. With such a strong philosophy rooted in the development of youth prospects, nurturing them from a tender age to one day appear for the first team, the results have been poor in recent years. Andres Iniesta (left), Lionel Messi (centre) and Xavi (right) Former manager Louis van Gaal once dreamed of winning the Champions League at Barça with 11 homegrown players, and the media made a mockery of him. Yet in 2009, La Blaugrana lifted the trophy with eight of them. In 2012, Barca travelled to Valencia to take on Levante in a  La Liga  clash. Originally starting the match with  Dani Alves  at right back, the Brazilian was forced off with ...

Atletico Madrid have entered the race to sign Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik, and the Spanish giants have even made contact with the Polish star's representatives over a possible summer swoop. Milik's current contract in Naples expires in June 2021, and with no renewal seemingly on the horizon, the pressure is on I Partenopei to cash in on the 26-year-old before he walks away for nothing. SSC Napoli v US Lecce - Serie A And with this deadline in mind, the Italian side are willing to listen to offers for Milik this summer - but only at the right price. Serie A champions Juventus have long been linked with a move for the forward, but according to  Gianluca Di Marzio , Atleti have now joined the queue to land the Napoli star. Los Colchoneros  are looking to rejuvenate their front line for next season, and Diego Simeone has put his faith in Milik to end their goalscoring troubles. It is believed that Atleti officials have been in contact with the striker's entourage, hoping to ...

Ivan Rakitic scored his first goal of the season seven minutes after coming on as a substitute to help Barcelona beat Athletic Club 1-0 on Tuesday evening. Much of the pre-match build-up surrounded Lionel Messi - as it usually does - with the Argentina international sitting on 699 career goals before kick off. Lionel Messi remains on 699 career goals However, it was Croatia international Rakitic who broke the deadlock in the 71st minute when he collected Messi's clever reverse and smashed in beyond Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon. Barcelona dominated possession throughout and Messi came close to his 700th goal on a number of occasions. The 32-year-old lifted one over from range just before half time and later curled wide from 20 yards. The victory takes Barça three points clear of  Real Madrid  at the top of La Liga, though Los Blancos can reclaim top spot with a win of their own against Mallorca on Wednesday. Arthur has been linked with Juventus Quique Setien included Arthur i...

Real Madrid held on for a hugely important 2-1 victory at high-flying Real Sociedad that sees them now top La Liga on head-to-head record over rivals Barcelona. After an uneventful opening half hour, Karim Benzema saw his left-footed shot saved by Álex Remiro from close range. There were few chances created before half time, apart from a Vinícius effort which was saved comfortably. Los Blancos started the second half with an attacking focus and soon won a penalty through Diego Llorente's foul on Vinícius. Up stepped Ramos, who calmly slotted the ball past Remiro to put his team in front. Real Madrid C.F.  ✔ @realmadriden FT: @ RealSociedadEN 1-2 @ realmadriden Merino 83'; @ SergioRamos 50' (p), @ Benzema 70' # Emirates | # RMLiga 8,579 2:25 AM - Jun 22, 2020 Twitter Ads info and privacy 1,621 people are talking about this After the centre-back was forced off with injury, the hosts grew into the game and saw substitute Adnan Januzaj's strike ruled out for offs...