Sports
Barcelona president Bartomeu resigns, all board members step down
By Fola Raheem
Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has resigned, amid criticism and a looming vote of no confidence.
The entire board members have also stepped down from their posts, goal.com reports.
Bartomeu’s decision came after several months of criticism in the wake of Barcelona’s 8-2 Champions League elimination by Bayern Munich, as well as Lionel Messi’s shock request to leave the club shortly after.
Although the club was able to keep hold on Messi, with the longtime Barca star staying to avoid having to take the club to court, Bartomeu’s position has been under scrutiny for months.
The president had been due to officially end his tenure next year, with elections called for March, but the club’s members called for a vote of no confidence in an effort to get Bartomeu out immediately.
A total of 20,687 votes were gathered for the motion against Bartomeu, passing the threshold of 16,250 signatures required for the vote to go ahead.
The Barca board repeatedly tried to postpone the vote but, on Monday, local authorities rejected the club’s push to delay the proceedings.
As a result, the vote was set to go ahead in the coming weeks, but will no longer be necessary as Bartomeu and the board have stepped down.
Bartomeu originally joined Barca during Joan Laporta’s presidency and ascended to that role himself in January 2014.
He replaced Sandro Rosell, becoming the 40th President of Barcelona as he signed on to complete the rest of Rosell’s tenure following his resignation.
During his time in charge, Barca won La Liga four times as well as the 2014-15 Champions League, but his time in charge will largely be defined by the club’s failings in his final seasons.
Having struggled to find value in the transfer market since Neymar’s departure to join Paris Saint-Germain, Barca finished the 2019-20 season trophyless.
Their 8-2 loss to Bayern only furthered unrest, with Messi’s request to leave proving the final straw for the president.
Messi told Goal in September that Bartomeu “did not keep his word”, with former Barca star Luis Suarez saying that he believes Messi will stay at Barca if a new board arrives.
Bartomeu said on Monday that he believed that Messi could lead Barca to titles this season, admitting that he could not let the Argentine leave for the good of the club.
And now, it is Bartomeu that is leaving, as he ends his time in charge of Barca after nearly seven years.
Barcelona are set to face Juventus on Wednesday in the Champions League.
Sports
Court orders Juventus to pay Ronaldo £8.3m
Court orders Juventus to pay Ronaldo £8.3m
Juventus have been ordered to pay Cristiano Ronaldo £8.3m in owed wages by an Italian court.
Ronaldo, 39, agreed to defer wages when football in Italy was halted by the Covid pandemic in the 2020-21 season.
The Portuguese had claimed he was owed more than £17m by his former club.
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The Court of Arbitration said the club should pay what the player would have received after tax and other deductions.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus between 2018 and 2021, helping them win two Serie A titles.
He left for his second spell with Manchester United and after 16 months at Old Trafford joined Saudi club Al-Nassr.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner – awarded to the world’s best player – was ranked by American business magazine Forbes as the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with earnings of £109m.
Court orders Juventus to pay Ronaldo £8.3m
Sports
Arsenal need support, love, after Champions League exit – Arteta
Arsenal need support, love, after Champions League exit – Arteta
Mikel Arteta says he has to show his Arsenal side “support and love” after Bayern Munich knocked them out of the Champions League.
Joshua Kimmich’s second-half header in Germany gave Bayern a 1-0 win on the night, and a 3-2 aggregate victory in their quarter-final.
It was a second successive defeat for Arsenal, who lost control of the Premier League title race last Sunday as Aston Villa beat them 2-0.
“I wish I had the right words to say to the players to make them feel better. What I am going to do – and all the coaching staff too – is to be close to the players.” Arteta said.
“I feel so grateful to be the coach and to work with them every single day.”
Arsenal were chasing a first Champions League semi-final spot since 2009, with Arteta accepting his team were inexperienced at this stage of the competition.
This was their first quarter-final appearance since 2010.
“We haven’t played this competition for seven years and we haven’t been in this stage for 14 years,” he said. “There’s a reason for it.
“We want to do everything fast-forward, super-quick, in one season. I think we have the capacity and the quality to be in the semi-final because the margins are very small.
“Those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don’t have yet. We have to learn it.
“When you look historically, it took other clubs seven, eight or 10 years to do it. Today, that’s not going to make us feel better that’s for sure.”
The Gunners, who need City to drop points if they are to win the league for the first time since 2003-04, return to Premier League action at Wolves on Saturday.
“What I need to do is stand right next to them and give them support and our love and we have to pick it up because on Saturday we have a big, big game,” said Arteta.
“We are still playing for the Premier League. The Premier League is there and we really want it. We have to show now that we are capable of turning this around.”
Sports
It’s massive win, says Bellingham as Real Madrid knock out Man City from UCL
It’s massive win, says Bellingham as Real Madrid knock out Man City from UCL
Manchester City are out of the Champions League following a penalty shoot-out defeat they suffered Wednesday night in the hands of Real Madrid in an epic encounter at the Etihad Stadium.
After a 1-1 draw on the night that left the teams tied 4-4 on aggregate, Antonio Rudiger scored the winning spot-kick after Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic had their attempts saved to see the 14-time winners progress 4-3 in the shoot-out.
Rodrygo had given Carlo Ancelotti’s side the advantage on the night and in the tie with an early goal on the counter-attack but Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute equaliser took the game into extra-time, in which neither heavyweight could deliver the knockout blow.
It was a back-to-the-wall effort by Madrid and Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions were applauded from the pitch even in defeat.
But their hopes of an unprecedented second successive treble are over. It is Madrid who face Bayern Munich in the last four.
Bellingham: This was beautiful
“It’s a relief because you put so much into the game,” said Bellingham, speaking to TNT Sports.
“To win the game was a massive reward.
“It is incredible. Moments like this are magic and it just comes down to mentality.”
Man City 1-1 Real Madrid (Agg 4-4, Madrid win 4-3 on pens)
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