At a time when some events are banning phones to ensure the audience is properly engaged in the experience, the perceived success of the new Champions League format was instead captured by the image of Aston Villa and Club Brugge players huddled around various devices anxiously checking the scores in Barcelona and Zagreb to see…
Mop-haired and dressed in jeans and a black-and-white striped sweater, 16-year-old Martin Odegaard looked like a student walking the streets of Madrid. But this was no ordinary teenager. Ten years ago today, Odegaard was in the Spanish capital to be presented as Real Madrid’s new £3.5million ($4.3m at the current exchange rate) signing, the club…
The evening of August 28, 2022 and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is at home in Barcelona, playing video games and waiting for news as talks continue about a potential transfer to Chelsea. Aubameyang is relaxed — content to stay in Spain or help ease Barcelona’s financial worries by returning to England, where he flourished for Arsenal before…
Earlier in the season, Frank Lampard spent some time with Rodri at Manchester City, breaking down the Ballon d’Or winner’s game as part of a “midfield masterclass” that he was filming. “I did about a 50-second run of him against Aston Villa where he was scanning through the pitch,” former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard…
Real Madrid‘s Kylian Mbappe is back in action after recovering from a thigh injury. He’s set to join the team in Doha for the Intercontinental Cup final.Mbappe sustained a left thigh injury during Real Madrid’s 3-2 Champions League victory against Atalanta. This caused him to miss the 3-3 draw with Rayo Vallecano.The 25-year-old forward is…
It is a piece of skill Lamine Yamal is making an art form — and yet another reason the 17-year-old is one of the most exciting players in world football. The Barcelona forward has used the ‘trivela’ — an outside-of-the-boot shot or pass — to provide three of his nine assists in La Liga this…
Florian Wirtz is a jewel of German football and was central to Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten domestic double last season, winning the Bundesliga’s player of the year award. Alongside Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala, he has become the great hope of Julian Nagelsmann’s national team, too, and will be fundamental to Germany’s challenge at the 2026 World…
Friday, November 29, 2024, marks the 125-year anniversary of the formation of FC Barcelona. To mark the occasion, The Athletic is running a series of pieces, celebrating the people and the moments who have helped make the club what it is today. We have told you about the story of Joan Gamper, the man who…
Liverpool ran roughshod over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving Carlos Ancelotti’s side — particularly Kylian Mbappe — hurt. At the club, the fans and the media agreed that, with Vinicius Junior absent through injury, this was Mbappe’s day to prove his worth to his new club after a mixed start to…