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The Spokesperson for FC Barcelona’s Board of Directors, Toni Freixa, emphasised that there will be a predicted surplus of 36 million euros after taxes for this season. Freixa explained that the additional income had come from sponsorship deals, as well as the transfer of Thiago Alcántara to Bayern Munich. That’s the first time in FC Barcelona history that the budget has been over 500 million, while operating income for last season was 491 million euros, €21 million more than originally budgeted.

An injury time winner from Alexis streched Barça's winning run in the league to 12 games and kept them top of the table. Alves and Messi put Barça ahead, before Seville pulled it back in the last 15 minutes. Neymar put in his best performance in a Barça shirt so far, constantly taunting the Seville defence and setting up Messi's goal. Gerardo Martino gave Cristian Tello his first start of the season, partnering Messi and Neymar in attack, whilst  Xavi returned to midfield alongside Iniesta and Sergio, who had recovered from the injury that kept him out of the international games.

Barça are looking to make it 12 points out of 12 in the Spanish League against Sevilla at the Camp Nou (0 pm CET) after the international two-week break. Sergio Busquets has been declared fit and Xavi and Alexis return, but Pedro is being rested, after a fortnight in which eleven of the first team have been away on international duty. However none of them have come back with injuries and there are high hopes for the league leaders against a Sevilla team that so far only have two points in their account.

The civil society platform that organised the colossal ‘Catalan Way towards independence’ demanded a self-determination referendum to be held in 2014 and not at a later stage. The festive demonstration was a great success, gathering more participants than last year’s 1.5 million strong rally, which was also organised on Catalonia’s National Day. Most of the Catalan Government Ministers took part in the human chain, but neither the President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, nor the Chairperson of the Catalan Parliament took part. However, they did both gave their personal support to the peaceful demonstration. Many folkloric performances and festive celebrations were carried out throughout the non-interrupted human chain. 500,000 citizens held hands in the city of Barcelona alone, and a total of 1.6 million Catalans participated in the rally, according to the Catalan Police.

On Wednesday, the 400 kilometre ‘Catalan Way’ human chain, which calls for an independent Catalonia, passes through FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium and into its stands. The Vice President of the sports club, Carles Vilarrubí, stated that Barça “always has its doors open to FC Barcelona fans and Catalans who want to express themselves”. He stated this following the flower offering that took place at the statue of Rafael Casanova during Catalonia’s National Day. Along with Vilarrubí, Barça’s delegation was headed by first team coach, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, defender Gerard Piqué as well as other first team players, technical staff and players from other sections.

CNA offers a selection of pictures from the flower offering to Rafael Casanova’s monument and the institutional ceremony at the Park de la Ciutadella. The first event took place at 9am near Barcelona’s Urquinaona Square. It is the most traditional celebration, with institutions, political parties, civil society organisations and even sports clubs bringing flowers to the statue of the leader of Barcelona’s resistance on the 11^th September 1714. The second event started minutes after 12pm at the Ciutadella Park, where the Catalan Parliament is located. It is the main institutional ceremony of Catalonia’s National Day, formed by symbolic artistic performances and the raising of the Catalan flag. This year, the ceremony honoured the 20^th century poet Salvador Espriu, the Medieval author Bernat Metge and the Catalan flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya.

According to data released on Tuesday by the Spanish Airports and Air Navigation Authority (AENA), the number of passengers travelling through Barcelona’s El Prat Airport has exceeded Madrid-Barajas for the first time during the month of August. While Barcelona Airport received a total of 3.9 million passengers during August – representing an increase of 0.8% on the same month of 2012 – Madrid Airport had 3.8 million passengers – a reduction of 11.7%. El Prat also had an growth in the amount of passengers flying in transoceanic flights by 9.5%, which represents 331,578 passengers.

Barcelona has unveiled a new museum located in the Born neighbourhood, next to the Gothic quarter, which explores how life was in the city during the early 18^th century, and will exhibit 8,000 objects. The Born Cultural Centre shows the neighbourhood’s ruins dating from 1714, when residents were forced to destroy their own homes and leave without any compensation after Barcelona’s military defeat. Next to the area, the largest urban military citadel in Europe was built, being part of the fierce repression that the Bourbon troops inflicted on Catalan citizens. From that moment onwards, Catalonia lost its self-government institutions, its own laws and freedoms, and Catalan language was banned and persecuted with the aim to homogenise the recently-formed Spain.

Barça made it three wins on the run to ensure the maximum nine points at the start of the season with a hard fought win in Valencia. Messi’s first half trick, together with another match saving performance from Valdés and the team’s defensive stability in the second half were key to the win. Messi had set up the game with three first half goals, before Valencia pulled two back just before the break and then put the pressure on Barça in the second half, as Martino’s side were forced to show their defensive skills.

From the 1st of September a new parking payment system will be introduced in Barcelona that allows customers to pay via their mobile devices. The Councillor responsible for Economy, Enterprise and Employment, Sònia Recasens, stated that it illustrates Barcelona’s “commitment to being a Smart City”. According to Recasens, the function of the application, called ApparkB, is to make it more convenient, cheaper and quicker for the public to park their vehicles. The service is completely free, and lets users to pay for the exact time they are parked. It will be available on Android and iPhone devices.

A report issued by the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism reveal how Catalonia has received €7.68 billion from foreign tourist expenditure between January and July of this year. The figure represents an increase of 9.8% on 2012, and also means that Catalonia received 23.9% of Spain’s total foreign tourist spending, higher than any other area. Meanwhile, each tourist spent an average of €878 during their visit – 4.4% higher than last year’s figures. The average daily expenditure also increased by 1.2% on last year to €123. The Canary Islands received the second highest amount of foreign tourist expenditure with €6.24 billion, while The Balearic Islands were third with €5.67 billion.

During the 1960s a form of music emerged in the Raval district of Barcelona that combined the passion of the flamenco rumba with the speed and rhythm of the mambo and of rock. It became known as the Catalan rumba and was created by Peret and his peers. The documentary is called ‘Cuchibiri cuchibiri’ and will be directed by filmmaker Carles Prats. It will reveal the origins and evolution of the Catalan rumba through the life of Peret who is considered a founder of the genre and a key figure within the gypsy community of Catalonia. Prats noted how Peret is an “important figure” and is the Catalan rumba’s equivalent of “Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley”.

A superb effort from Adriano gave Barça their second win of the Spanish League so far thanks to a superb Adriano goal just before half time. Valdés proved key to holding onto the win in the second half. The win was Barça’s seventh on the trot at Malaga’s La Rosaleda stadium. Neymar came on just past the hour mark for Pedro and after a fine individual run, the Brazilian tested Caballero with a well struck free kick. FC Barcelona is holding two league wins from two so far ahead of Wednesday night’s Spanish Super Cup second leg against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou.

Tests have revealed that the FC Barcelona’s Argentinian player has bruised the femoral biceps tendon in his left thigh at the Spanish Super Cup’s first leg. Leo Messi was substituted at half-time in Wednesday evening’s match at Atlético Madrid as a precautionary measure after he complained of pain after taking a nasty knock. It is not clear yet whether he will be fit enough to feature in this weekend's Spanish League game away to Malaga. The FC Barcelona Medical Services have announced that they will be monitoring the player’s progress this week before deciding whether he will be fit to play on Sunday.

Tata Martino's men come away with a one-all draw from the Vicente Calderón stadium in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Just as Martino predicted in the pre-match press conference, the tie between FC Barcelona and Atlético Madrid will be decided at the Barça’s Camp Nou. The home team, who took the lead after 12 minutes thanks to a superb strike from Villa, took control of the game early on but loosened their grip as minutes ticked off the clock. Without Messi, who was brought off at the break due to thigh issues, but with Neymar, who was subbed in on 58 minutes, and Cesc, who came on for the Argentinean, Barça regained a little of its incisiveness. Neymar scored, his first official goal in the FC Barcelona strip.