Barcelona announce injury blow ahead of Real Betis clash
Barcelona announce injury blow ahead of Real Betis clash
La Liga giants Barcelona have on Saturday confirmed a fresh injury setback in the club's first-team ranks.
This comes amid confirmation of the reasoning behind Iñigo Martínez's absence from Hansi Flick's latest matchday squad.
Advertisement
Barcelona are of course primed to return to action later today, in a La Liga meeting with Real Betis in Catalunya's capital.
As is customary, the Blaugrana's matchday squad was in turn unveiled online a short time ago.
And as much featured noteworthy inclusions and exclusions alike, with Andreas Christensen stepping back into the fold having not taken to the pitch since all the way back in August, but the aforementioned Iñigo surprisingly dropping out.
And as alluded to above, hours out from the action being kicked into gear at Montjuïc, an explanation for the latter has been forthcoming.
As per a statement across Barcelona's website and social media platforms:
Advertisement
'The first team player I.Martinez has a minor gluteal injury in his left leg and is not available for this fixture.'
Conor Laird – GSFN
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Barcelona reject Ligue 1 giants' opening offer for out-of-favour academy product
Ansu Fati is topping the list of Barcelona players who are considered expendable and may leave this summer. Various reports have claimed that Barcelona are even in advanced talks with AS Monaco surrounding the attacker's potential exit. Advertisement Fati, for his part, appears to be ready to leave Catalonia after struggling to earn a name for himself in the first team last season. Barcelona reject Monaco's first bid However, a recent report from MARCA has offered an update, suggesting that Fati's exit deal has hit a major snag. As per the report, Barcelona have already rejected Monaco's initial offer for the attacking outcast, deeming it insufficient. It appears the French outfit had no intention of buying Fati and only wanted a loan, with the Blaugrana covering the major part of the player's salary. The Catalans were not happy with the offer as Fati's salary is already too high, and they don't want a player leaving on loan while paying for the majority of their salaries. Barcelona want to get rid of Ansu Fati by the end of the month (Photo by) Advertisement While it remains to be seen whether Monaco follow up with a second offer for the Spaniard, the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, will try to move the option forward. Barcelona have made their desire clear: they want a loan deal for Fati with an option to buy at the end of the season. Everything appeared to be on track for the deal to go through but this development has cast doubts about the operation. The coming weeks, therefore, could prove to be crucial as Barcelona wait for Monaco's second offer while constantly finding new suitors for the attacking outcast. Fati's sale, after all, could be integral to Barcelona's transfer operations this summer, as the club have already promised UEFA to cut costs and bring in more revenue.
New York Times
8 hours ago
- New York Times
Burnley owners ALK Capital in talks over buying Espanyol stake
Burnley's owners are in talks over buying a stake in Spanish top flight club Espanyol. If a deal can be reached, Espanyol would be the second club linked to ALK Capital, the investment vehicle run by Burnley's owner Alan Pace. A source with knowledge of the situation, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, confirmed that ALK had been exploring investment opportunities at clubs in Europe for some time. Advertisement ALK already have a 'strategic partnership' with Scottish side Dundee, while they explored an investment in Belgian club Kortrijk when former Belgium international Vincent Kompany was head coach. Espanyol are currently owned by the Chinese company Rastar Group, which specialises in toy car production, and have been on the market since their relegation from La Liga two years ago. They immediately returned to the top-flight via the play-offs and finished 14th last season — avoiding the drop after beating Real Valladolid on the final day of the campaign. A deal would see Burnley become the latest Premier League side to pursue a multi-club model, and invest in Spain. Manchester City's owners, City Football Group, bought Spanish club Girona in 2017, while V Sports, the owners of Aston Villa, own a stake in third tier side Real Union. Brentford's holding company Best Intentions Analytics, run by the west London club owner Matthew Benham, bought third-tier Spanish side Merida AD in April this year. Pace has links to Barcelona, having completed an MBA in the Spanish city, according to his LinkedIn profile. ALK completed a takeover of Burnley in a £170million ($231m at current rates) deal via a leveraged buyout in December 2020. JJ Watt, the former NFL star, became a minority investor in the Lancashire club in May 2023. They were relegated from the Premier League under Kompany in 2023-24 but returned to the top flight at the first time of asking after finishing runners-up to Leeds United in the Championship last season, level on 100 points. By The Athletic's La Liga correspondent Dermott Corrigan Since its foundation in 1900, Barcelona-based Espanyol was controlled by local businessmen, until China's Rastar Group bought over 56 per cent of the shares in January 2016. The following August Rastar Group — whose main business back in China is making toy cars and video games — increased that stake to almost 100 per cent. Advertisement Rastar's majority shareholder Chen Yansheng is Espanyol's club president. Including the president's son Chen Chuanghuang, all its other board members are Chinese, except legendary former player Rafa Maranon. In November 2024 the club announced a new share issue which will take Rastar's total investment since 2016 to an estimated €163m. Yet, poor decisions in football and business have hurt. For the current campaign La Liga set Espanyol's (nominal) salary limit at €8.8m, due to the club having made losses in each of the last four seasons, even while selling key players such as Cesar Montes and Sergi Darder. During Chen's presidency, they have bounced between Primera and Segunda — they were promoted back to La Liga for 2024-25, then needed a final day victory to stay up on the final day of the season. President Chen spoke via TV link at the club's most recent AGM last December, admitting that the club's current strategic plan involved 'adapting to its current realities'. CEO, Mao Ye Wu also spoke of an intention of 'sustainable growth' into the future. The ownership has often been criticised by fans groups and the remaining few minority shareholders. However Chen has regularly denied any intention to sell and said at the AGM that 'our commitment remains as strong as ever'.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Barcelona identify two left-back transfer targets
The board at La Liga giants Barcelona have earmarked a pair of leading options, in their search for potential left-back reinforcements with a view to next season. That's according to Diario Sport, who point towards Alejandro Grimaldo and Caio Henrique as the players in question. Advertisement The situation at left-back in Hansi Flick's Barcelona squad has of course emerged as a major talking point in the media over recent days. This comes after widespread confirmation was forthcoming that Gerard Martín has made his way onto the transfer radar of Premier League sides Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers. And though the Camp Nou brass are not actively seeking a sale, they will not stand in the way of the Spaniard, should he opt for an exit. With as much in mind, Deco has kicked into gear a search for fresh blood at left-back with a view to next season. And according to Sport, the names of two players have been circled in red by the Blaugrana: Bayer Leverkusen star Alejandro Grimaldo, and Caio Henrique of AS Monaco: Advertisement 'Barça value the signing of Grimaldo as an immediate performance addition and a profile that can offer different things in attack. Another option that Deco is considering is Monaco full-back Caio Henrique.' The latter, it is understood, would set Barcelona back an affordable sum in the region of €15 million. Conor Laird – GSFN
