5:29 PM ET Barcelona squeaked by a courageous Cornella side, 2-0, to reach the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday. The Blaugrana looked in danger of being the second of La Liga’s giants to be eliminated at this stage after Real Madrid fell to tiny Alcoyano on Wednesday, but goals from
Barcelona
9:08 PM ET When Lionel Messi‘s moment came it was, of course, spectacular. Stage? The Spanish Supercopa final. State of play? Defeat or victory balanced infinitely delicately. Classic Messi territory. For 753 Barcelona matches, sufficient to make him the greatest player in history, this has always very specifically been Messi territory. From his first Liga
10:18 AM ET Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is still struggling with the injury that saw him taken off in the second half of Saturday’s win against Granada. Messi, 33, was unable to train with his teammates on Wednesday and is considered a major doubt for the Spanish Supercopa semifinal against Real Sociedad. – Stream FC
4:41 AM ET The transfer window opened in early January, and speculation is heating up about potential deals. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here. TOP STORY: Barcelona interested in Aguero Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is on the radar of Barcelona when he becomes a free agent next summer,
12:02 PM ET It was a big weekend for soccer again. Erling Haaland‘s heroics gave Borussia Dortmund a significant win over RB Leipzig to keep the Bundesliga race interesting, Barcelona and Juventus kept their winning streaks going (though both teams still have some glaring issues), and Milan’s form in Serie A continued even as Zlatan
1:59 PM ET Barcelona’s women’s team celebrated playing a competitive game at Camp Nou for the first-ever time by beating Espanyol 5-0 on Wednesday. In the first women’s game played at Barca’s 100,000-seater stadium in 50 years, Lluis Cortes’ side steamrolled their city rivals to make it 11 wins from 11 games in the league
4:59 AM ET January shapes up as an absolutely colossal month for Barcelona given that: Their greatest-ever player is suddenly free to commit to a rival club for no fee, and they could kiss goodbye to three trophy chances (Supercup, Copa and League) by the time February dawns. Plus, please don’t forget there are Camp
3:04 PM ET Barcelona were held to a disappointing draw with Eibar in La Liga on Tuesday as Lionel Messi watched from the stands at the Camp Nou. – Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) Ronald Koeman’s side went into the game without the services of Messi, who was granted an extended holiday
6:20 AM ET Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Lionel Messi will miss Barcelona‘s La Liga game against Eibar on Tuesday after being after being given extra time off at Christmas by the club. Messi, 33, returned to Argentina last week after Barca’s 3-0 win against Real Valladolid and has been granted permission to remain in his
7:00 AM ET Multiple Contributors “In Barcelona, on Dec. 14, 2000, in the presence of [Josep Maria] Minguella and Horacio [Gaggioli], Carles Rexach, FC Barcelona’s sporting director, hereby agrees, under his responsibility and regardless of any dissenting opinions, to sign the player Lionel Messi provided that we keep to the amounts agreed upon.” The above
8:46 PM ET Exactly 4,632 days had passed since the first time Cristiano Ronaldo turned up at the Camp Nou and found that there was an impish little Barca-coloured magician in the opposition ranks. A fly in his ointment. That was Manchester United en route to winning the Champions League in 2008 — the first
4:55 PM ET Cadiz pulled off a shock 2-1 win over Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday night, piling on to the mounting troubles for the Blaugrana in their domestic campaign this season. Lionel Messi returned to Ronald Koeman’s starting XI after sitting out the midweek Champions League win over Ferencvaros. – Ratings: Coutinho subbed
6:00 AM ET This is a column mostly about Barcelona‘s little marvel, Pedri — Pedro Gonzalez Lopez, as he was christened — but it will contain comparisons with Leo (Lionel Andres) Messi, so we had might as well start with the great man himself. When Messi scored that brilliant goal against Osasuna on Sunday, it
6:04 AM ET Arsenal are close to completing a loan deal for Real Madrid midfielder Martin Odegaard, sources have told ESPN. The club face stiff competition from several clubs including Real Sociedad and Sevilla but are confident of winning the race after agreeing to Madrid’s terms which included no option to buy the 22-year-old at
7:12 AM ET FIFA are unhappy about reports of a breakaway league. Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images World football’s governing body FIFA has said players who feature in any breakaway European Super League would be banned from playing in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Sources told ESPN in October that any breakaway tournament, which would effectively replace
10:00 AM ET Video game developer Epic Games is bringing a major soccer collaboration to its wildly popular free-to-play Battle Royale game Fortnite, allowing fans to play wearing the kits of clubs from across the globe and to “emote” using Pele’s iconic goal celebration. Fortnite will launch the “Kickoff Set” on Jan. 23, featuring uniforms
6:59 PM ET Danny Lewis The transfer window opened in early January, and speculation is heating up about potential deals. Check out the latest gossip below, and see all official deals here. Odegaard pushes for loan move Martin Odegaard is pushing for a loan move away from Real Madrid, according to Spanish outlet AS. –
9:44 AM ET The “Assist King” has left the building as Mesut Ozil heads to boyhood club Fenerbahce after agreeing to terminate his Arsenal contract with six months remaining. It wasn’t supposed to be this way; in fact, Arsenal fans once hoped he’d stay forever. Ozil’s £42.4 million arrival from Real Madrid in September 2013
8:05 AM ET Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Lionel Messi has been handed a two-match ban after being sent off for the first-ever time in his senior Barcelona career in the Spanish Supercopa final on Sunday. Messi, 33, was shown a red card in the final minute of extra-time after swinging his arm at Athletic Bilbao‘s
12:54 PM ET It was another massive weekend in soccer with a string of big results changing the narratives (and the title races) across Europe. In the Premier League, Liverpool and Man United battled to a 0-0 draw that might leave them both on the outside looking in when it comes to the title, while