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La Liga News
Adios Iniesta
Forget General Franco. Forget King Felipe the Sixth. Forget, if you will, the Pope. Only one man has ever truly united Spain - Andres Iniesta. Don Andres.
From Galicia to Andalusia, Castille to Catalunya they've stood up to applaud him everytime he steps on to a football field, ever since the magic of 2010, but that ends now. The great man has played his last match as a Barcelona player, and considering that he's already said he can't bear to play /compete against them... his last match in Spain.
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He's won a frankly ridiculous 9 Liga titles, 4 Champions League crowns, 6 Copas Del Rey, and 3 FIFA Club World Cups with the Blaugrana. But - and I know how inane this sounds - his career with them was more than mere silverware.
It was about the reason behind the whole of Spain uniting to show him appreciation. It was about the respect he engendered in his peers. It was about his relationship with the ball It was about love.
P.S. Fittingly, considering the footballing Gods are amongst the greatest scriptwriters mankind has known, the man whose goal one Barcelona the match? Philippe Coutinho. And it was an absolute screamer.
Result: Barcelona 1 - 0 Real Sociedad
Adios El Nino
De Nino A Leyenda. From a Boy to a Legend.
He signed his first professional contract with Atletico Madrid in 1999. He was 15. A couple of years later, he made his debut. Atletico were in the second division at the time. Two years after that, with Atletico back and entrenched in La Liga, he was named Captain. He was 19. El Nino. The Boy.
He scored 91 goals in 244 games before moving to Liverpool - where he took his game to stratospheric heights, smacking in 81 goals in 142 appearances and becoming the best striker in the world in the process. He then suffered a nosedive in form and performance having moved to Chelsea, before finally returning home via a short stint at AC Milan.
He's been home for 3 and a half years now.
Just last week, in his 11th and final season with the club he lifted the Europa League Trophy alongside club captain Gabi. His first trophy with his boyhood club. He's 34 now. And he is 'A Leyenda'. A Legend.
Yesterday he played his final game for the Rojiblancos. He was captain. He scored a brace.
Fernando Torres... you sir are quite simply awesome.
Result: Atletico Madrid 2-2 Eibar (both Torres goals were rather good)
Vamos Cristiano y Leo
These two. These two.
Lionel Messi has ended this season with his sixth Pichichi. He's scored 34 goals at a rate of one every 88 minutes and he's been utterly unstoppable at times this season. In La Liga, no one has been better. He's won Barcelona games by his lonesome, he's saved them from defeat, he's made the impossible possible... but then he's been doing it for nigh on a decade.
Cristiano Ronaldo was ridiculed during the first half of this season - a return of 1 goal in 9 games (he also missed the first 5 games due to suspension) made him the butt of jokes and he was written off. So, what does he do? End this season as the second highest scorer in La Liga. 26 goals at the same rate Messi banged them in at... one every 88 minutes.
Who the hell's stupid enough to write off Cristiano Ronaldo?
Result: Villarreal 2-2 Real Madrid (Ronaldo scored the opener)
The Final Standings (CL - top 4, EL - 5 & 6, Relegated - 18, 19, 20)
1. Barcelona (93)
2. Atletico Madrid (79)
3. Real Madrid (76)
4. Valencia (73)
5.Villarreal (61)
6. Real Betis (60)
18.Deportivo La Coruna (29)
19. Las Palmas (22)
20. Malaga (20)
La Liga Transfer Rumours
The Jamie Vardy Party is coming to Madrid
So Antoine Griezmann's deal with Barcelona seems to have been accepted as inevitable by the honchos at the Metropolitana, so they've lined up a replacement. Enter stage extreme right, Jamie Vardy. The Foxes star has been in good goalscoring form for quite a while now - and Diego Simeone does love his fighters. So the Mirror's connected the dots and what they are seeing is the Englishman replacing Griezmann.
Ah, imagine Vardy and Costa in the same team, playing as an old-fashioned front two. WOOF
Manchester United open talks with Sime Vrslajko
The live-blogger's nightmare and pretty good right back Sime Vrslajko appears to be under Manchester United's radar. This is as per the Mirror once again - who are getting really busy connecting those darned dots - and with United needing defensive reinforcements and Atleti always on the lookout for a sucker who'll overpay... this might just be a reasonable dot-connection exercise.
Some nonsense, because what's the summer window without it
Don Balon are going into overdrive - this time they've stated that Real Madrid are ready to offer €200 million PLUS Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos to PSG for the services of Neymar Jr.
I don't even...
