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FC Barcelona v León FC: Party atmosphere for Camp Nou debut

August 18, 2014 06:57 PM | Pau Campaña

La Festa del Gamper will climax with the presentation of the squad and the match against Mexican side Club León on Monday evening (20.30 CET). The game gives the fans a chance to see the FC Barcelona's new summer signings. Bravo, Masip, Ter Stegen, Mathieu, Vermaelen, Rafinha, Rakitic and  Luis Suárez, who will be making his first appearance in a Barça shirt after re-joining the squad for training last Friday. Five of those new players -Bravo, Masip, Mathieu, Rakitic and Luis Suárez-, could make their Camp Nou debuts as Barça players against Leon, whilst the injured Ter Stegen and Vermaelen will have to wait. Rafinha played for the first team at the stadium when he was still a Barça B player.

Luis Suárez to join Barça training on Friday after the CAS nuance the FIFA sanction

August 14, 2014 08:32 PM | ACN

Luis Suárez will be able to train with FC Barcelona after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) nuanced the sanction imposed by FIFA. After the Uruguayan bit another player in the last World Cup, FIFA sanctioned Suárez with a severe 4-month ban from participating in any activity related to football, including training and press conferences. In addition, he was banned from playing 9 official matches with Uruguay's national team. Following CAS's verdict, Luis Suárez will be presented as a new Barça player in front of supporters on Monday, the day of the Joan Gamper Trophy.

Belgian centre-back Thomas Vermaelen signs with FC Barcelona till 2019

August 10, 2014 03:50 PM

Thomas Vermaelen is officially a Barça player after signing a five year deal at the Club on Sunday morning. Vermaelen was accompanied at the signing by the Catalan club President Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sporting Vice-Oresident Jordi Mestre. The Belgian defender passed his medical on Saturday and was presented on the Camp Nou pitch on Sunday  morning, with a press conference. Speaking at his presentation, Vermaelen explained: "I feel ready to play here - I think I can offer a lot to this club". "It's up to me to show what I can do here", he added. The cost of the deal with Arsenal is €10 million, with a further €5 million in performance bonuses and €3.8 million if the team win the Champions League. The Belgian defender’s buyout clause is set at €80 million.

SSC Napoli v FC Barcelona: First defeat of preseason (1-0)

August 7, 2014 11:00 AM | Anna Segura

Despite the result, Wednesday’s match was a great test for Luis Enrique’s side against Napoli in Geneva. Claudio Bravo made his Barça debut against the club that finished third in Serie A last year, and although the Italians took the win thanks to the only goal of the night, the Catalans played strong and confident football despite the absence of some of their biggest stars, such as Messi, Neymar and Xavi. Despite posing very little threat in the friendly in Geneva, Napoli edged it thanks to a Dzemaili strike after 80 minutes.

Napoli v FC Barcelona: toughest test yet

August 6, 2014 04:11 PM | Roger Bogunyà

Napoli and Barça feature in one of the pre-season’s most attractive friendlies this Wednesday evening in Geneva (8PM CET). Luis Enrique’s side are in the middle of their pre- season preparations and after Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Nice, they fly to Helsinki on Saturday, just 72 hours after facing the Italians, for their third friendly in a week.Adriano, Xavi, Mathieu and Patric all miss the Geneva trip to play against Napoli as do Messi, Neymar, Mascherano and Alves.

OGC Nice v FC Barcelona: A hard worked draw (1-1)

August 3, 2014 11:42 AM | Jordi Clos

FC Barcelona drew away to Olympique Nice in their second preseason friendly on Saturday evening. They travelled there straight from Birmingham, where the Catalan team undertook a 6-day training stay. There were plenty of signs that things are coming together for FC Barcelona in Nice's wonderful Allianz Riviera. Xavi pulled level with a second half penalty after Nice had taken the lead, also from the spot. Barça players were always in control and could easily have gone on to win the game, had there been a little more luck on their side.

FC Barcelona posts a record income of 530 million euros for the 2013/14 season

July 29, 2014 03:13 PM

FC Barcelona's Economic Vice President, Javier Faus, has given a press conference on Tuesday to review the 2013/14 finances, revealing that the Catalan club has made its second highest profit ever of €41 million a figure previously only topped by the 49 million euros in the 2011/12 season. Furthermore, Barça posted a record income of €530 million. Faus also explained that in the four seasons since 2010/11, when the new Board came into power, the club has an accumulated profit of €113 million. In addition, The 2013/14 season also witnessed a reduction in the net debt by 44 million euros, meaning that since the new Board took over, this figure has decreased by 143 million, and as of June 30 of this year now stands at 287 million euros, while four years ago it was 431 million.

Defender Jérémy Mathieu joins FC Barcelona for €20 million

July 23, 2014 05:49 PM | ACN

FC Barcelona and València CF have reached agreement for the transfer of the French player, Jérémy Mathieu. The French defender will sign a contract with FC Barcelona for the next four seasons, plus an optional season more. The cost of the transfer is €20 million and the buyout clause will be €50 million. Mathieu, born in 1983, is a physically imposing defender who can play in various positions at the back. Until recently, he was considered a natural left-back, but of late he has tended to feature more regularly in the centre of defence.

Bojan Krkic quits FC Barcelona and will play for Stoke City

July 23, 2014 05:33 PM

The FC Barcelona forward will join the Premier League's Stoke City side this summer. After spending nearly his entire footballing life at FC Barcelona, Bojan Krkic says goodbye to his club. The Catalan forward, who was always one step ahead of his age in terms of skill and quality, leaves FC Barcelona with the distinction of being the all-time highest scorer in the Barça youth system. His tally from all his years at La Masia exceeds the 400-goal mark. He also performed well when he shared the senior side dressing room with some of the best forwards on the planet. First he vied for a starting spot with Eto’o, and then with Ibrahimovic and Leo Messi. During his four seasons on FC Barcelona's first team (2007-2011), he scored a total of 26 goals. He was then loaned out to Roma, Milan and Ajax.

Recreativo Huelva v FC Barcelona: Barça's winning start of the 2014/15 pre-season (0-1)

July 20, 2014 10:16 AM

Luis Enrique led Barça to a win in Huelva thanks to a Joan Roman goal. All FC Barcelona's 23 players got to play, and the visitors dominated from start to finish. The Colombino Trophy match between Recreativo Huelva and Barça will always be remembered for being Luis Enrique’s debut as first team manager. Goalkeeper Ter Stegen got to make his debut, and although he didn’t have much to do, on the few occasions when he was called upon, he did well. There were only three first team players in the starting eleven (Masip, Montoya and Sergi Roberto), with the other eightall coming from the reserves. Luis Enrique fielded a completely different eleven in the second half, four of which were first team players - Ter Stegen, Bartra, Afellay and Deulofeu

FC Barcelona and Nike unveil new away kit for season 2014-15

July 16, 2014 01:59 PM

Barça's away kit for the 2014/2015 season has been unveiled this Wednesday, which is almost entirely bright crimson, a mix of red, orange and pink. The kit will be available starting on July 16 on nike.com/fcb and in stores on July 17. The bright crimson kit is fresh and unexpected to represent the desire of youth to stand out from the crowd, states the Catalan club. The shirt sports a crew neck collar and is entirely bright crimson except for the deep cuffs, which represent the Blaugrana with red on the front and blue on the back. On the back of the collar inside the neck is the Catalan flag the Senyera between FC Barcelona’s red and blue home colours, and this detail is repeated on the back of the collar, but with ‘Barca’ in blue and the club’s unique club font below it.

FC Barcelona 2014/15 begins with medical and fitness tests

July 14, 2014 09:32 PM

Barça's first team have started the preseason with a series of examinations of their physical condition. Eleven first team players (Ter Stegen, Masip, Montoya, Bartra, Adriano, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, Deulofeu, Afellay, Tello and Bojan) were joined by thirteen from the reserves (Patric, Ie, Bagnack, Diagne, Grimaldo, Samper, Halilovic, Munir, Sandro, Dani Nieto, Joan Roman, Dongou and Adama). . After initial analyses, they were then staggered into different groups for biomechanical tests, electrocardiograms, echographies, effort tests and densitometry examinations. On Saturday, Huelva will be the stage for the first preseason friendly for Barça 2014/15.

Agreement for Claudio Bravo to join FC Barcelona

June 25, 2014 06:52 PM | ACN

FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad have reached an agreement for the transfer of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. The player will sign a contract with FC Barcelona for the next four seasons. The new keeper came through the Colo-Colo youth system, making his first team debut in the First Division, at 19 years old, in 2002. He played for the Chilean team until 2006, when he signed for the Basque outfit. In San Sebastian he has become a natural leader after eight seasons: he is the second non-national with most matches played, and became the third goalkeeper in the history of the club playing most matches in a Real Sociedad shirt.

Agreement for Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic to join FC Barcelona

June 16, 2014 09:39 PM

FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC have reached an agreement for the transfer of Ivan Rakitic. The Croatian midfielder will sign a contract with FC Barcelona for the next five seasons. Both clubs have also agreed for Barça B player Denis Suárez to be loaned to the Andalusian club for the next two seasons. 26-year-old Ivan Rakitic arrives at the Camp Nou after impressing for three seasons with Sevilla. He has done nothing but improve in his time at the Sánchez Pizjuán, becoming the team’s main central playmaker and captain, leading them to the Europa League title in the 2013/14 season. Rakitic is also one of the stars of the Croatian national team that is currently in Brazil playing at the World Cup.