LONDON’s Kings Cross district has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, comprising the major refurbishment of two mainline railway stations and the emergence of Granary Square and Coal Drop Yard close by. It’s a trendy neighbourhood now with social and business development that has seen technology-orientated companies introduce a decidedly upbeat vibe. Where better […]
Tag: La Liga
Barcelona: The Covid impact revealed
BARCELONA have announced their preliminary figures for the 2019-20 season and it’s no great surprise – they made a post-tax loss of € 97 million. This only adds to a somewhat troubled period for the club in which they almost lost the talismanic Lionel Messi and washed some of their dirty linen in public. The […]
La Liga: Can anyone top the Real-Barca hegemony?
THE 90th La Liga season is about to kick-off with a sense of relief that the competition’s biggest unique selling point has decided to stay with Barcelona. La Liga without Lionel Messi is unthinkable, although the time will come soon when the Barca number 10 departs Spain and takes up a fresh challenge. La Liga’s […]
Lionel Messi won’t be going anywhere just yet
INCREASINGLY, it looks as though Lionel Messi won’t be moving to Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain or any other interested club for the time being. Messi is just too expensive to be signed by anyone. If La Liga’s support of Barcelona around the release terms of Messi’s contract remains, then a cool € 700 million will […]
Lionel Messi and Barca approach a fork in the road
BARCELONA fans may be in denial and hoping Lionel Messi stays with the club, but the wheels are already in motion and there will be a host of Messi discussions going on in the boardrooms of the world’s biggest – and not so biggest – clubs. It looks like the end of an era. It […]
The reign of Spain – Real and Barca top the Brand Finance table
REAL MADRID have not only been crowned La Liga champions, they have also topped Brand Finance’s rankings for the most valuable football brands. Real’s league title win, their first since 2017, partly compensates for the club’s relatively poor 2018-19 campaign when they were knocked-out of the UEFA Champions League earlier than usual and went through […]
Football’s competitive issues: Predictability is not just a “big five” problem
PRIOR TO this disrupted and somewhat confusing campaign, the past two seasons saw the same league champions across the “big five” leagues in Europe – domination by the rich and advantaged, namely Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Barcelona. It was seen as affirmation the game had become predictable, stale and lacking in […]
Barcelona really cannot afford to get messy with Lionel
IT LOOKS as though Real Madrid are going to lift their first La Liga title since 2017 and Barcelona, the reigning champions, will go into the close season resembling a family in conflict and misunderstanding. Amid this turmoil, Lionel Messi is one year away from the end of his contract and Barca officials’ nervousness continue […]
La Liga: It’s Real Madrid or Barcelona, but 2020 is no classic
THE LA LIGA title will go to either Real Madrid or Barcelona, as if we didn’t know it, but neither side will go down in history as one of the best for the Spanish giants. Given the influence and status of the two clubs, it is logical that they are always compared to the past […]