Latest news with #Catalonia
Reuters
9 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Flick convinced Raphinha to stay at Barcelona
May 30 (Reuters) - Barcelona winger Raphinha said he had considered leaving the club but decided to stay after a call with coach Hansi Flick, who gave him a fresh opportunity to prove himself. Raphinha initially struggled under previous coach Xavi Hernandez, saying the Spaniard and his staff did not show much trust in his abilities. He became a regular starter under Flick, compared to just 17 starts in LaLiga during the 2023–24 season. The 28-year-old Brazilian was instrumental in Barcelona's LaLiga title run, contributing 34 goals and 25 assists. However, Raphinha said he had not even thought about reaching those numbers before the campaign began. "Honestly, I didn't expect it. The personal goals I had were below these numbers... It has been the best season of my life," Raphinha told Spanish daily SPORT in a interview published on Friday. Raphinha conceded that neither he nor those around him saw him continuing at Barcelona before Flick arrived and persuaded him to stay. "I didn't think it was just me, a lot of people wanted me to leave here. Many fans, maybe the board was not happy with what I was doing, many people. I am a person who thinks that if you are not welcome in a place, it is better not to be in it," he said. "There is no point in banging your head against the wall. I know the way I dedicate myself to my profession and I knew that when the coach changed I had a new opportunity to show my potential and my way of working. "The coach had called me and told me that he was counting on me. That call was very important because it changed my way of thinking. The only person who could stop me was him and he did." Last week, Raphinha signed a contract renewal that will keep him at the club until 30 June 2028. He is set to play in Brazil's World Cup qualifiers, facing Ecuador away on June 5 and Paraguay at home on June 10.
CNA
9 hours ago
- Business
- CNA
Flick convinced Raphinha to stay at Barcelona
Barcelona winger Raphinha said he had considered leaving the club but decided to stay after a call with coach Hansi Flick, who gave him a fresh opportunity to prove himself. Raphinha initially struggled under previous coach Xavi Hernandez, saying the Spaniard and his staff did not show much trust in his abilities. He became a regular starter under Flick, compared to just 17 starts in LaLiga during the 2023–24 season. The 28-year-old Brazilian was instrumental in Barcelona's LaLiga title run, contributing 34 goals and 25 assists. However, Raphinha said he had not even thought about reaching those numbers before the campaign began. "Honestly, I didn't expect it. The personal goals I had were below these numbers... It has been the best season of my life," Raphinha told Spanish daily SPORT in a interview published on Friday. Raphinha conceded that neither he nor those around him saw him continuing at Barcelona before Flick arrived and persuaded him to stay. "I didn't think it was just me, a lot of people wanted me to leave here. Many fans, maybe the board was not happy with what I was doing, many people. I am a person who thinks that if you are not welcome in a place, it is better not to be in it," he said. "There is no point in banging your head against the wall. I know the way I dedicate myself to my profession and I knew that when the coach changed I had a new opportunity to show my potential and my way of working. "The coach had called me and told me that he was counting on me. That call was very important because it changed my way of thinking. The only person who could stop me was him and he did." Last week, Raphinha signed a contract renewal that will keep him at the club until 30 June 2028. He is set to play in Brazil's World Cup qualifiers, facing Ecuador away on June 5 and Paraguay at home on June 10.
The Independent
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Independent
Oscar Piastri says relationship with Lando Norris unaffected by title battle
Oscar Piastri has claimed his relationship with Lando Norris will not spiral out of control as the McLaren drivers duel to become champion of the world. Following his much-needed victory last time out in Monaco, Norris heads into Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix just three points adrift of his Australian team-mate. McLaren have taken six victories from the eight rounds so far, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen – the only driver outside of the British team to win this season – claiming this week that he no longer feels he is in the title fight. 'Of course it is an interesting dynamic, but my relationship with Lando at the track, and away from the track, is very similar to how it has been, and, if anything, we get along better now than we ever have,' Piastri told the PA news agency. 'The way we work together to give ourselves the best chance of success is still as strong as ever, and that has been a strength from the moment we have been team-mates. 'We get along very well. That hasn't changed. I don't expect it to change. But obviously we are both trying to win a world championship and only one of us can do it.' Piastri and Norris are in their third campaign as team-mates but their first as direct competitors for the title. McLaren have declared both are free to fight – a noble philosophy but one that rarely ends well. Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's friendship soured across three seasons as title rivals when Mercedes dominated the sport. Here at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya in 2016, Hamilton and Rosberg took each other out on the first lap – one of multiple flashpoints which led to Toto Wolff threatening both men with race bans. However, Piastri, who at 24 is a year younger than Norris, continued: 'We are both very different people (to Hamilton and Rosberg). 'If you look at Nico, he was towards the end of his career. Maybe there are certain emotions that take over and there is more at stake? 'For both Lando and I, we still have plenty of years left in Formula One. We want the chance to win the title every year, not just this season. It is a pretty good problem for the team to be in, and we have already put in a lot of preparation to contain any problems that might have already arisen.' Piastri, in just his third season in F1, compared to Norris' seventh, has four victories to his team-mate's two this year, and has been the more consistent performer despite starting the year as a 9/1 title outsider. Questions have been raised about Norris' championship-winning mentality – although the British driver went some way to answering those critics in Monte Carlo a week ago. 'Lando knows himself much better than I do, but speaking for me, being mentally strong and mentally resilient is a certainly a strength of mine,' added Piastri. 'There is a lot of work that goes into that. It doesn't happen by magic. What you see is what you get with me. But I still feel emotions, right? I am not immune to that. 'I feel pressure, I feel nerves. It is not like nothing is going on. But it is about how you channel that and getting in the right state. 'As a driver, you have to believe that you are the best. You have to go into every race thinking you are the best driver on track. And that has to be the mindset when you fight for the world championship, too. 'Would I be disappointed if I didn't win the title? Yes. It would hurt, as it would for anyone. But I am still young and I hope I get this opportunity more than once. I don't think it would be a failure, that is harsh, but that doesn't mean I don't want to win it.'
Forbes
12 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
FC Barcelona Shockingly Puts Captain Up For Sale
FC Barcelona President Joan Laporta has effectively put its captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen up for sale according to RAC1, which cited anonymous sources. The German missed most of 2024/2025 thanks to a serious ACL rupture suffered away at Villarreal in September, which resulted in the Catalans bringing Wojciech Szczesny out of retirement as back up. Inaki Pena soon became Hansi Flick's number one choice, but disciplinary and punctuality problems at the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia at the turn of 2025 resulted in 'Tek' taking over the reins and playing a key part in Barca's eventual domestic treble win. Ter Stegen returned as that campaign drew to a close, but the future of the goalkeeping department isn't clear. Barca looks to be closing in on Espanyol's Joan Garcia who became a breakout star last term in La Liga, while Szczesny looks set to extend his one year contract. With Pena also still on the books, that's at least four men for one position without mentioning American prospect Diego Kochen. While there have been rumors that Garcia would be bought and then loaned out to another Spanish club such as Valencia, which doesn't make much sense, RAC1 reports that President Laporta told the board on Thursday night that they trust in the Espanyol 'keeper's 'yes' and 'want to get rid of the German goalkeeper' i.e. Ter Stegen. If true, this is a major plot twist at Can Barca, with Ter Stegen an 'untouchable' for a decade since winning the Champions League against Juventus in the capital of his homeland Berlin back in 2015. Basically, it is Laporta allegedly saying in public for the first time that if Garcia comes, Ter Stegen must go. This will be music to the ears of a certain corner of Barcelona fans that have been behind a 'TerStegenOut' campaign on X, formerly known as Twitter, which has made a point of using such a hashtag as often as possible. With a contract until 2028, however, Ter Stegen is under no obligation to move on and could anger some even more by refusing to leave. By offloading Ter Stegen, FC Barcelona would free up money to go after Marcus Rashford and also have the much-needed space it needs to stay on the right side of Financial Fair Play by getting his salary off the payroll.
Forbes
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
FC Barcelona's Raphinha In Exit Admission, Explains Real Madrid Goal
Arguably his team's greatest player in 2024/2025, Raphinha pointed out that FC Barcelona wanted to ... More sell him a year ago and also explained his recent goal celebration against Newcastle United during an interview with SPORT. Arguably his team's greatest player in 2024/2025, Raphinha pointed out that FC Barcelona wanted to sell him a year ago and also explained his recent goal celebration against Real Madrid during an interview with SPORT. Signed from Leeds United in 2022, the Brazilian had trouble adapting in his first couple of seasons but worked hard and improved vastly under Hansi Flick while becoming Barca's leader who racks up goals (34) and assists (25) for fun. To the Catalan newspaper, though, Raphinha reminded us that some Barca leaders, board members and fans wanted him out of the club just a year ago, during a period of time when he was often linked with a transfer to Newcastle United or Saudi Arabia. 'It wasn't just me who thought it; a lot of people wanted me to leave,' Raphinha said. 'A lot of fans, maybe the board wasn't happy with what I was doing, a lot of people.' 'I'm someone who thinks that if you're not welcome somewhere, it's better not to be there. There's no point in banging your head against the wall. I'm clear about things. 'If they didn't want me here, I'm leaving. I have personal goals; I want to play. Maybe before the season started, I thought I wouldn't play, but I know myself. I know how I take care of myself, how I dedicate myself to my profession, and I know that when the manager changed, I had a new opportunity to show my potential and my way of working. This made me think about staying,' Raphinha further explained. The number 11 also explained his celebration against Real Madrid, in a recent 4-3 win in El Clasico at Montjuic which effectively handed Barca the La Liga crown, where he pointed to his wrist. Previously, the former head of Real Madrid's medical services Niko Mihic made serious accusations in the media about the bandages that the likes of Lamine Yamal and Raphinha wore on their hands. 'It could be that they are designing strategy games, playing a lot of table football and tendonitis... in the same way that it could be that they have not bribed Negreira. I don't know what's happening, but what I want to say is that any doctor knows that, if you want to have easier venous access, it's in the hands and wrists,' said the Croatian, hinting at doping. 'It was dedicated to all the nonsense that has been said about it from Madrid. There have been a lot of lies,' Raphinha explained. Off the back of his best season, Raphinha is undoubtedly a Ballon d'Or candidate. Furthermore, FC Barcelona could effectively have three candidates on the France Football podium later this year in the 28-year-old, Lamine Yamal, and Pedri.
