The Barcelona Courier
Squad21 Aug 2028
Eric García damages knee ligaments — 25 days out
The words a physio says slowly. 25 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Player ratings21 Aug 2028
Lamine Yamal, 21, steals the show — 8.50
Marked 8.50 at 21, in a side that makes no allowances for age. He did not need any, and he looked the least nervous man on the pitch.
The dugout21 Aug 2028
Dominik Livaković says Barcelona went back on their word
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Market21 Aug 2028
Raphinha wants European nights
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Market21 Aug 2028
Barcelona say no — this time
The offer from Athletic Bilbao for Dominik Livaković was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Squad21 Aug 2028
Words exchanged at Barcelona
Raphinha and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match19 Aug 2028
Nobody wants to play Barcelona right now
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
Boardroom21 Aug 2028
5 academy graduates step up at Barcelona
Senior shirt numbers handed to boys the coaches have known since they were twelve. Most will not make it and all of them have already done the hard part.
The terraces21 Aug 2028
The crowd has taken to Lamine Yamal
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
In brief
- Match Barcelona see off Valladolid
- Market Javier Rodríguez steps up from the Barcelona academy
- Market One of our own: Izei Hernández joins the Barcelona first team