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Sports/
BARCELONA
Daily Newswatch FRIDAY, AUGUST 8, 2014
Messi couldn’t convince me – Higuain
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apoli striker, Gonzalo Higuain, has Š ”‡,ƒ ~ †{Š†~ {ƒ~ discussed a potential move to FC Barcelona with star man, Lionel Messi while the two were together at the World Cup with Argentina, but he has reassured Napoli fans that a move was never formally on the cards. The duo helped guide Argentina all the way to †{ƒ~ |ˆ} ~ €‰~ …„Š}‹~ ‚ƒfore they were beaten 1-0 by Germany, thanks to a Šˆ‡|~ |ÂƒĂ˜Âƒ~•|Š}~‡„~ÂƒÂˇÂ†ÂˆÂŠÂ time, and halfway throughout the tournament, it was revealed that Messi had asked Higuain to join him in Spain with Barca. According to numerous reports, Messi was desperate for his counterpart to complete a move back to La Liga, and he had even told Barca to make a formal bid to Napoli for his services, despite the striker ÂŽ|ˆ”Š}}¨~‰}Š¨‡„•~ÂŽ|ˆ~…ƒˆzƒ rivals Real Madrid.
Despite Messi wanting the transfer to take place, Higuain revealed that nothing was ever formally on the cards, and even the winger persuading him to join him was never enough for him to make the move back to Spain. Quoted in The Daily Mail, he said: “Did I want to go to Barcelona? I always told the truth and that is that I wanted to think only of the World Cup and then I would return to Napoli. “So I kept quiet and I had nothing to fear, because there was nothing to comment about. “Messi said certain things and I can only be ™Š,ƒˆƒ ~‚¨~†{ÂƒÂ”ÂŁ~ ~‚ƒ}‡ƒÂ?ƒ~ that every player would love to play alongside a great champion like him, but that does not mean that I ever wanted to leave.â€? Higuain then joked: “But if Messi came to Napoli, that would be great.â€?
Barcelona make Vermaelen offer
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panish giants, Barcelona, have followed up reported interest in Arsenal defender, Thomas Vermaelen with what is believed to be a £10million bid for the player, according to Sky Sports. It had been thought that rivals Manchester United were in pole position to make a move for the Belgian – who has fallen out of favour at the Emirates Stadium largely thanks to the blossoming partnership of Per Mertesaker and Laurent Koscielny, but it is Barcelona who have made their move. The 28-year-old is entering the last year of his
contract and manager Arsene Wenger refused to rule out a move away for the centre back after stating he could not •€ŠˆŠ„†ƒƒ~†{ƒ~‰}Š¨ƒˆ~…ˆq†~ team football, having started just seven league games last term. Both United and Barcelona are looking to strengthen defensive op†‡|„q~ŠŽ†ƒˆ~ÂĽÂƒÂ¨~…•€ˆƒq~}ƒŽ†~ from the clubs – Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have left United while Carlos Puyol retired from football at the end of last season. And with speculation increasing over Vermaelen’s future, it is the Catalan giants that have made †{ƒ~…ˆq†~”|Â?ÂƒÂŁ
No ‘bite clause’ in Suarez contract —Bartomeu
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arcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, claims there is no clause in Luis Suarez’s contract which forbids him from biting players. Suarez was bought for â‚Ź88 million shortly after Uru•€Š¨Éq~ ÂƒÂˇÂ‡Â†~ Žˆ|”~ †{ƒ~ |ˆ} ~ Cup this summer following a three-and-a-half-year spell with Liverpool, but he is unlikely to play until late October due to a four-month ban he was given by Fifa for biting Giorgio Chiellini. The incident was the third time that the forward has been caught biting an opponent but the club chief has faith that Suarez can put his tendency to bite players behind him at Camp Nou. “We didn’t rethink our decision and we told Luis that after the bite. He knows that he did wrong,â€? Bartomeu told CNN. “He apologised. That’s very important for us. That means he knows that he did not do things properly. “There’s going to be a way of managing Luis Suarez, because at Liverpool he was a perfect player. Liverpool fans can tell it, our supporters can tell it. “‘What if he bit someone again?’ is a question that a lot
of people ask us. We cannot talk about something that could not happen. We don’t know. “What we know is that we accept this responsibility and he also wants this responsibility. There is no biting clause. Although, ‡Ž~ †{ƒ~ z}Š€qƒ~  ‡ ~ ÂƒÂˇÂ‡q†~ ƒ~ wouldn’t say it, but it  |ƒqム~ÂƒÂˇÂ‡q†£¤ Bartomeu also revealed Barca spoke with the player about a deal before this
summer’s tournament in Brazil and says Suarez turned down more lucra†‡Â?ƒ~|8ƒˆq~‡„~ŽŠÂ?|€ˆ~|ÂŽ~ÂŹ|‡„ing the Spanish giants. ‘ Šˆzƒ}|„Š~ ”Š ƒ~ …ˆq†~ contact with the player before the World Cup. I told him he was at the right age Š„ ~ ÂƒÂˇÂ‰ÂƒÂˆÂ‡ÂƒÂ„zƒ~ †|~ Â†ÂŠÂĽÂƒ~ †{ƒ~ plunge,â€? he added. “We knew many years ago that Suarez loves our club, that he loves the city. “As such, everything was
Xavi regrets not playing with Scholes
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Šˆzƒ}|„Š~ ”‡ …ƒ} ƒˆ‹~ Xavi, has revealed that the only regret he’s had in his 16-year career is that he never got to play with Manchester United legend,
Paul Scholes. After announcing his retirement from international football having won a World Cup and two European Championships with Spain,
Neymar returns to training
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eymar has returned to training with Barcelona following his back injury. The 22-year-old forward fractured a vertebra in a collision with Juan Zuniga during Brazil’s |ˆ} ~ €‰~ ž€Šˆ†ƒˆÂ…„Š}~ against Colombia last month. Neymar, nominated for the Golden Ball despite ”‡qq‡„•~ †{ƒ‡ˆ~ qƒ”‡Â…„Š}~ obliteration by Germany and the disappointing †{‡ˆ Â‰}Šzƒ~‰}Š¨Â|8~ ƒŽƒŠ†~ by Netherlands, successfully passed a medical on his return to Catalonia on Tuesday.
perfect to accept Luis Suarez. We knew he had bet†ƒˆ~|8ƒˆq‹~‚€†~ Â€ÂŠÂˆÂƒÂś~ ƒz‡ ed to come to Barcelona.â€? Bartomeu then went on to describe Lionel Messi as invaluable to Barca due to †{ƒ~ÂƒÂˇÂŠÂ”Â‰}ƒ~{ƒ~qĠq~†|~|†{ƒˆ~ young players at La Masia. “Messi represents more than goals and trophies. He represents the spirit of a young player who arrives at La Masia and grows at our club,â€? he said.
A statement on the Barcelona website read: “The four World Cup semi…„Š}‡q†q~ ƒ|~ ƒqq‡‹~ Š�‡ƒˆ~ Mascherano, Dani Alves
and Neymar all trained with their colleagues on Tuesday. “They returned to the club for their medical tests Š„ ~Š}}~‰Šqqƒ ~ ‡†{~™¨‡„•~ colours, and are now set for three weeks of intense training in the build-up to †{ƒ~q†Šˆ†~|ÂŽ~|1z‡Š}~”Š†z{ƒq~ in three weeks’ time.â€? Neymar scored 15 goals in 41 appearances ‡„~{‡q~…ˆq†~qƒŠq|„~Š†~ Š”‰~ Nou, after signing from boyhood club Santos for â‚Ź87.2 million last summer. Barcelona host Elche in their opening La Liga game, which takes place on August 24.
ŠÂ?‡~ {Šq~ z|„…ˆ”ƒ ~ {ƒ~ ‡}}~ remain with Barcelona, whom he has helped to seven La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues. Spain’s most-capped |€†…ƒ} ~ ‰}Š¨ƒˆ~ |ÂŽ~ Š}}~ †‡”ƒ~ with 133 appearances to his name, Xavi, 34, has admitted he dreamed of lining up alongside Scholes in mid…ƒ} ~Š†~z}€‚~}ƒÂ?ƒ}~|„ƒ~ Š¨£ “When I think about all I have won with Spain and Barcelona and all the great players I have played with - it is impossible for me to have any regrets,â€? said Xavi. “Maybe one small regret is that I never got to play with Paul Scholes - but I was never going to leave Barcelona and he was never going to leave Manchester United.â€? Scholes’ United side were beaten in both the 2009 and 2011 Champions League …„Š}q~ ‚¨~ ŠÂ?‡Éq~ Šˆzƒ}|„Š£~ In the Wembley encounter three years ago, Xavi’s teammate, Andres Iniesta was quick to swap shirts with z{|}ƒq~ Š†~ †{ƒ~ …„Š}~ {‡q†}ƒ~ and later revealed he had hung it on the wall at his house. Xavi has spoken before of his admiration for Scholes. In 2011, he said Scholes, who retired from England duty at the age of 29, would have been valued more if he was Spanish. “In the last 15 to 20 years, †{ƒ~ ‚ƒq†~ zƒ„†ˆŠ}~ ”‡ …ƒ} ƒˆ~ that I have seen - the most complete - is Scholes.â€?